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1879–Constantine Fahlberg discovers the artificial sweetener, saccharin. For over 30 years, in the mid-20th century, the substance was thought to be cancer causing, but after additional research, the FDA repealed all warning labels, declaring saccharin safe for consumption.


272–Roman Emperor, Constantine I, is born. He adopted Christianity.

380–Emperor Theodosius I and his co-Emperors, Gratian and Valentinian II, declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to trinitarian Christianity.

425–Roman Emperor Theodosius II founds the first university in the Western world in Constantinople, Turkey. The University employed 31 lecturers.

907–Abaoji, a Khitan Chieftain, is enthroned as Emperor Taizu, establishing the Liao Dynasty in northern China.

956–Theophylact of Constantinople dies after falling from a horse at age 39.

1425–Vasily I of Moscow dies in Moscow, Grand Duchy of Moscow, at age 53.

1560–The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland.

1572–Francis II, Duke of Lorraine, is born Francis of Lorraine at the Ducal Palace of Nancy in Nancy, France.

1575–John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, is born at Gottorf Castle in Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

1594–Henry IV is crowned King of France.

1617–Sweden and Russia sign the Treaty of Stolbovo, ending the Ingrian War and shutting Russia out of the Baltic Sea.

1626–Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci.

1691–Publisher, Edward Cave, is born in Newton near Rugby, Warwickshire, England. He founded The Gentleman's Magazine, the first general-interest "magazine" in a modern sense.

1700–The island of New Britain is discovered.

1702–Münejjim Bashi, Ottoman astrologer, Sufi, and historian, dies in Mecca, at age 71. His main work is the Jami’ al-Duwal (The Compendium of Nations), written in Arabic. It is a world history, beginning with Adam and ending in Ottoman times, in the year 1678. The original manuscript, considered lost for a long time, is kept partly at the Library of the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, with the rest at the Library of the Topkapi Sarayi Museum in Istanbul.

1711–Ottoman ruler, Constantine Mavrocordatos, is born in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire. He was a Greek noble who served as Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia.

1776–During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in North Carolina breaks up a Loyalist militia.

1782–The House of Commons of Great Britain votes against further war in America.

1801–The District of Columbia is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.

1807–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is born in Portland, Maine. He was the author of some of the most widely read, memorized,and parodied poems of the 19th century: “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” and “The Song of Hiawatha.” He started out as a teacher at Bowdoin college, but gradually the success of his poetry enabled him to devote himself entirely to writing: he became America's first writer to support himself through his own work. His poems were translated into at least 20 languages.

1809–Captain Bernard Dubourdieu captures the HMS Proserpine: one man is killed and 10 others are wounded.

1812–Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina in the city of Rosario for the first time.

1812–The young Lord Byron, making his maiden speech before the House of Lords, denounces a measure that would provide the death penalty for rebellious laborers.

1827–The first Mardi Gras celebration is held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1844–The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.

1854–Composer, Robert Schumann, is saved from a suicide attempt in Rhine, Germany.

1860–Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in New York City, which is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.

1861–Russian troops fire on a crowd in Warsaw protesting against Russian rule over Poland, killing five protesters.

1864–Near Andersonville, Georgia, Rebels open a new prisoner of war camp, “Camp Sumter.”

1870–The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships.

1872–Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Prime Minister of Romania, is born in Bobâlna, Romania.

1874–Baseball is played for the first time in England, at Lord's Cricket Grounds.

1879–Constantine Fahlberg discovers the artificial sweetener, saccharin. For over 30 years, in the mid-20th century, the substance was thought to be cancer causing, but after additional research, the FDA repealed all warning labels, declaring saccharin safe for consumption.

1881–Sveinn Björnsson, first President of Iceland, is born in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1883–Oscar Hammerstein of New York, grandfather of the famed Broadway composer, patents the first practical cigar-rolling machine.

1891–Radio and TV pioneer, David Sarnoff, is born in Uzlyany near Minsk, Russian Empire (present-day Belarus). He founded Radio Corporation of America (RCA). He was head of the ever-growing telecommunications and consumer electronics empire that included both RCA and NBC.

1892–Character actor, (Carl) William Demarest, is born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was best known for the role of Uncle Charley on the TV sitcom My Three Sons. He appeared in the films Diamond Jim, The Great Ziegfeld, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Little Men, The Lady Eve, Sullivan’s Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Jolson Story, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Viva Las Vegas, and That Darn Cat.

1892–French luggage maker, Louis Vuitton, dies at age 70. He was the founder of the Louis Vuitton brand of leather goods now owned by LVMH.

1895–French chef and restaurateur, Fernand Point, is born in Louhans, Saône-et-Loire, France. His restaurant, La Pyramide, was considered by many to be the greatest in the world. Paul Bocuse, Louis Outhier, Alain Chapel, and Jean and Pierre Troisgros, all trained under Point, and he is considered to be the father of modern French Cuisine.

1898–King George I of Greece survives an assassination attempt.

1900–Felix Hoffman, of the Farbenfabriken of Elberfeld Company, is issued a patent for “Acetyl Salicylic Acid,” that would soon to be marketed by Bayer as the pain reliever, Aspirin.

1900–The British Labour Party is founded.

1902–English-Australian lieutenant, Breaker Morant, is executed by firing squad in Pretoria, South African Republic, at age 37. In the century since his death, Morant has become a folk hero to some in Australia. His story has been the subject of several books, a stage play, and a major Australian feature film.

1902–Author, John Steinbeck, is born John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. in Salinas, California. He tried his hand at painting, chemistry, fruit picking, and a dozen other jobs before making it as a writer. He started off as a reporter for a paper in New York, but was fired for editorializing and making up details instead of sticking to facts. His first novel, Cup of Gold, was followed by two other unsuccessful books before he won recognition with Tortilla Flats and Of Mice and Men. His greatest popular and critical success came in 1939, with The Grapes of Wrath, the classic story of the Joads, a poor farm family who flee the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma for California.

1905–Actor, Franchot Tone, is born Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone in Niagara Falls, New York. He is best known for the role of Roger Byam in Mutiny on the Bounty, alongside Clark Gable. He appeared in the films Dancing Lady, Moulin Rouge, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Quality Street, I Love Trouble, Advise & Consent, and In Harm’s Way. He was married to actresses, Joan Crawford and Barbara Payton.

1910–Actress, Joan (Geraldine) Bennett, is born in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Bennett was cast in more than 70 motion pictures, from the days of silent movies into the sound era. She appeared in the films Little Women, Girl Trouble, Father of the Bride, and We’re No Angels.

1913–Novelist, Irwin Shaw, is born Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff in the Bronx, New York. He wrote Rich Man, Poor Man, and its sequel, Beggerman, Thief. Rich Man, Poor Man was made into a successful TV mini-series in the mid-1970s. His other books include The Young Lions, Two Weeks in Another Town, and The Top of the Hill.

1917–John Connally, Governor of Texas (1963-1969), is born John Bowden Connally, Jr. in Floresville, Texas. On November 22, 1963, Connally was seriously wounded while riding in President Kennedy's limousine at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, when the President was assassinated. He recovered from wounds in his chest, wrist, and thigh.

1921–The International Working Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna, Austria.

1922–A challenge to the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Leser v. Garnett.

1923–Jazz saxophonist, Dexter Gordon, is born in Los Angeles, California. His studio and live performance career spanned over 40 years. Gordon's height was 6 feet 6 inches, so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" and "Sophisticated Giant." In 1986, his performance in the film, 'Round Midnight, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Leading Role, and he won a Grammy for Best Film Soundtrack.

1925–Teacher, poet, and playwright, Kenneth Koch, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Along with poets John Ashbery and Frank O'Hara, he would become a part of the "New York School" of poetry in the 1950s.

1929–Engineer, Stefan Kudelski, is born in Warsaw, Poland. He invented the Nagra series of professional audio recorders.

1930–Actress, Joanne Woodward, is born Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward in Thomasville, Georgia. She is best known for the role of the young woman with multiple personalities in The Three Faces of Eve. She was married to actor, Paul Newman: the two appeared together in 10 films and Newman directed five films in which she starred. She appeared in the films A Kiss Before Dying, No Down Payment, The Long, Hot Summer, The Fugitive Kind, From the Terrace, Paris Blues, The Stripper, A New Kind of Love, A Fine Madness, Rachel, Rachel, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams, Sybil, See How She Runs, Harry & Son, and Philadelphia.

1932–Actress, Elizabeth (Rosemond) Taylor, is born in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, England. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. Her much-publicized personal life included eight marriages and several life-threatening illnesses. From the mid-1980s, Taylor championed HIV and AIDS programs: she co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985, and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1993. She appeared in the films Lassie Come Home, National Velvet, Life with Father, Little Women, Father of the Bride, A Place in the Sun, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Giant, Raintree County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, BUtterfield 8, Cleopatra, The Sandpiper, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Taming of the Shrew, The Only Game in Town, and Ash Wednesday. She was married to Conrad Hilton, Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton (twice), John Warner, and Larry Fortensky.

1933–The German Parliament building, the Reichstag, in Berlin, is set on fire by the Communists.

1934–Consumer advocate, Ralph Nader, is born in Winsted, Connecticut. Nader came to prominence in 1965, with the publication of his book, Unsafe at Any Speed, a critique of the safety record of American automobile manufacturers in general, and most importantly the Chevrolet Corvair. As an activist, areas of particular concern to Nader have included consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government. Nader was a five-time independent or third-party candidate for President of the United States.

1935–The 7th Annual Academy Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: It Happened One Night; Best Actor: Clark Gable for It Happened One Night; Best Actress: Claudette Colbert for It Happened One Night; Best Director: Frank Capra for It Happened One Night. The ceremonies are held at the Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California. The host is Irvin S. Cobb.

1936–Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, dies of double pneumonia in Leningrad, Soviet Union, at age 86. Conscious until his very last moment, Pavlov asked one of his students to sit beside his bed to record the circumstances of his dying. He wanted to create unique evidence of subjective experiences of this terminal phase of life. The concept for which Pavlov is famous is the "conditioned reflex" (or in his own words the “conditional reflex”) he developed jointly with his assistant Ivan Filippovitch Tolochinov in 1901.

1937–Actress, Barbara Babcock, is born in Fort Riley, Kansas. She is best known for the role of Grace Gardner on the TV series, Hill Street Blues, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. She appeared in the films Bang the Drum Slowly, The Black Marble, Back Roads, The Lords of Discipline, That Was Then... This Is Now, Far and Away, and Space Cowboys.

1939–The U.S. Supreme Court rules that sit-down strikes violate property owners' rights and are therefore illegal.

1940–Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14.

1940–Actor, Howard Hesseman, is born in Lebanon, Oregon. He is best known for the role of disc jockey Johnny Fever on the TV sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati. He appeared in the films Petulia, Some Kind of a Nut, Billy Jack, Cisco Pike, Steelyard Blues, Jory, Shampoo, The Sunshine Boys, The Other Side of Midnight, Honky Tonk Freeway, Doctor Detroit, This Is Spinal Tap, Amazon Women on the Moon, and About Schmidt.

1941–The 13th Annual Academy Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: Rebecca; Best Actor: James Stewart for The Philadelphia Story; Best Actress: Ginger Rogers for Kitty Foyle; Best Director: John Ford for The Grapes of Wrath. The ceremonies are held at the Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California. The host is Bob Hope. This is the first year that sealed envelopes are used to keep the names of the winners secret, which led to the famous phrase: "May I have the envelope, please." The accounting firm of Price Waterhouse was hired to count the ballots, after the fiasco of leaked voting results in 1939 by The Los Angeles Times.

1942–During World War II, an Allied strike force is defeated by a Japanese task force in the Java Sea in the Dutch East Indies.

1943–The Smith Mine #3 explodes in Bearcreek, Montana, killing 74 men.

1943–In Berlin, the Gestapo arrest 1,800 Jewish men with German wives, leading to the Rosenstrasse protest.

1943–Actress, Mary Frann, is born Mary Frances Luecke in St. Louis, Missouri. She is best known for the role of Bob Newhart's wife, Joanna Loudon, on the TV series Newhart.

1945–U.S. troops land in Iwo Jima, Japan.

1949–Chaim Weizmann becomes the first Israeli President.

1950–General Chiang Kai-shek is elected President of Nationalist China.

1951–The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, limiting Presidents to two terms.

1954–Neal Schon, rock guitarist for Journey, is born Neal George Joseph Schon on Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. He is Journey's only permanent member, having participated in every album and tour to date.

1956–Specialty Records releases Little Richard's Slippin' and Slidin'.

1958–Harry Cohn, CEO of Columbia Pictures, dies of a heart attack in Phoenix, Arizona, at age 66. Cohn was the last Hollywood movie mogul of the studio system era, retaining power after the departures of rivals such as Darryl F. Zanuck and Louis B. Mayer. His brash, controlling, and intimidating management style led most of those who ever worked with Cohn to despise him. The majority of those who attended his funeral were said to have done so because they wanted confirmable proof that Harry Cohn was dead.

1959–Jerry Lee Lewis and his first wife, Myra Gale Brown, welcome their son, Steve Allen Lewis. The child would tragically drown in Lewis' swimming pool just three years later.

1959–Johnny Van Zant, singer with Lynyrd Skynyrd, is born John Roy Van Zant in Jacksonville, Florida. He is the younger brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd co-founder and former lead vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant.

1960–Adriano Olivetti dies on a train from Milan to Lausanne, Italy, at age 58. He was known worldwide as the Italian manufacturer of Olivetti typewriters, calculators, and computers.

1961–The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.

1962–Two dissident Vietnam Air Force pilots bomb the Independence Palace in Saigon, in a failed attempt to assassinate South Vietnam President, Ngo Dinh Diem.

1962–Actor, Adam Baldwin, is born in Winnetka, Illinois. He had a starring role in the TV series Firefly. He has appeared in the films My Bodyguard, Ordinary People, Reckless, Poison Ivy, Full Metal Jacket, Next of Kin, Guilty by Suspicion, Radio Flyer, Wyatt Earp, How to Make an American Quilt, and Independence Day.

1962–Actor, Grant (Alan) Show, is born in Detroit, Michigan. He is best known for the role of Jake Hanson on the TV series Melrose Place (1992-1997).

1963–The Dominican Republic has its first democratically elected President, Juan Bosch.

1964–Twenty-one-year-old former hairdresser and cloakroom attendant at Liverpool's Cavern Club, Cilla Black, scores her first U.K. #1 single with Anyone Who Had a Heart, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

1964–The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.

1965–France conducts an underground nuclear test at Ecker, Algeria.

1968–Frankie Lymon, of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, dies of a drug overdose in Harlem, New York, at age 25. He was found dead on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom. The group’s hits include Why do Fools Fall in Love, I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent, and Goody Goody.

1969–A record winter storm in Maine brings two to four feet of snow. Drifts cover many single-story homes, and the weight of the snow collapses many roofs.

1970–Elvis Presley plays his first-ever stadium concert with an afternoon show at the Texas Livestock Show at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The concert, held on a weekday, is sparsely attended, and the rotating stage leaves him, in his own words, "singing to a cow." The evening show, however, would break all attendance records and would jump-start Presley’s arena concert career.

1970–The New York Times falsely reports that the U.S. Army has ended domestic surveillance.

1970–Officials in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, fine Jefferson Airplane $1,000 for using profanity onstage during their show.

1971–Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start to perform aborti provocati.

1972–Actor, Pat Brady, dies in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, at age 57. He was best known as cowboy Roy Rogers' "comical sidekick." When Rogers moved to television in 1951, he took Brady with him. Brady enlivened over 100 episodes of The Roy Rogers Show, happily driving about the sagebrush at the wheel of his faithful jeep "Nellybelle."

1973–Members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), together with a number of local and traditional Native Americans, begin a 72-day occupation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women, and children. The AIM goal was to protest injustices against their tribes, violations of the many treaties, and abuses and repression of their people. The U.S. government responds with a military-style assault against the protesters.

1974–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1974–People magazine begins publication.

1976–The formerly Spanish territory of Western Sahara, under the auspices of the Polisario Front, declares independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

1977–While sleeping at Toronto's Harbour Castle Hotel, Keith Richards is awakened by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who search the suite. They find 22 grams of heroin, five grams of cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. The Rolling Stone is arrested and charged with possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to traffic. He's released on $25,000 bail and trial is set for October.

1978–France conducts a nuclear test at Muruora Island.

1980–The 22nd Annual Grammy Awards announces its winners. Record of the Year: The Doobie Brothers for What a Fool Believes; Album of the Year: Billy Joel for 52nd Street; Song of the Year: Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald (songwriters) for What a Fool Believes; Best Vocal Performance, Male: Billy Joel for 52nd Street; Best Vocal Performance, Female: Dionne Warwick for I'll Never Love This Way Again; Best Performance by a Vocal Group: The Doobie Brothers for Minute by Minute; Best Country & Western Performance: Kenny Rogers for The Gambler; Best Rhythm & Blues Performance: Michael Jackson for Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough; Best Rock Performance: Donna Summer for Hot Stuff; Best Instrumental Performance: Paul McCartney & Wings for Rockestra Theme; Best New Artist: Rickie Lee Jones. The ceremonies are held at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. There is no host.

1980–Chelsea (Victoria) Clinton, daughter of President Bill Clinton and Hillary (Rodman) Clinton, is born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1981–Singer, Josh Groban, is born Joshua Winslow Groban in Los Angeles, California. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number one, best-selling artist in America, with over 21 million records sold.

1981–In America, John Lennon’s will, dated November 12, 1979, is published, revealing that he has left £2,522,217 gross ($3,531,103). Experts predict that this figure represents only a fraction of John’s true fortune, with conservative estimates putting it over £125 million ($175 million), a sum currently growing at £100,000 ($140,000) a day from worldwide record royalties alone.

1985–American farmers converge in Washington, D.C., demanding economic relief.

1985–Diplomat and senator, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., dies in Beverly, Massachusetts, at age 82. He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 presidential election.

1986–The U.S. Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis.

1989–Venezuela is rocked by the Caracazo riots.

1991–The Gulf War ends after Iraqi troops retreat and Kuwait is liberated.

1991–Soul singer, James Brown, is released from prison at the Lower Savannah Work Center in South Carolina, after serving two years of a six-year sentence.

1992–Tiger Woods, at age 16, becomes the youngest PGA golfer in 35 years.

1993–Actress, Lillian Gish, dies of heart failure in New York, New York, at age 99. She appeared in the films Duel in the Sun, Portrait of Jennie, The Trip to Bountiful, The Cobweb, The Night of the Hunter, The Unforgiven, Follow Me, Boys!, Warning Shot, The Comedians, A Wedding, Hambone and Hillie, Sweet Liberty, and The Whales of August.

1994–The XVII Winter Olympic Games close in Lillehammer, Norway.

1995–A terrorist explosion in a market in Zakho in District of the Dohuk Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan, kills about 100 people and injures 150 others.

1997–Legislation banning most handguns in Britain goes into effect.

1997–Divorce becomes legal in Ireland.

1998–Apple discontinues its Newton computer.

1998–Actor, J.T. Walsh, dies of a heart attack in Lemon Grove, California, at age 54. He appeared in the films Hannah and Her Sisters, Good Morning, Viet Nam, Tin Men, House of Games, Tequila Sunrise, The Big Picture, Wired, Misery, The Grifters, Backdraft, A Few Good Men, Hoffa, The Client, Sling Blade, and Pleasantville.

2002–A Muslim mob torches a train returning from Ayodhya, India, killing 59 Hindu programs.

2002–The 44th Annual Grammy Awards announces its winners. Record of the Year: U2 for Walk On; Album of the Year: Various Artists for O Brother, Where Art Thou?; Song of the Year: Alicia Keys for Fallin’; Best Vocal Performance, Male: James Taylor for Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight; Best Vocal Performance, Female: Nelly Furtado for I’m Like A Bird; Best Performance by a Vocal Group: U2 for Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of; Best Country & Western Performance: Dolly Parton for Shine; Best Rhythm & Blues Performance: Usher for U Remind Me; Best Rock Performance: Lenny Kravitz for Dig In; Best Instrumental Performance: Jeff Beck for Dirty Mind; Best Rap Performance: Missy Elliott for Get Ur Dreak On; Best New Artist: Alicia Keys. The ceremonies are held at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California. The host is Jon Stewart.

2002–Irish comedian, Spike Milligan, dies of kidney failure in Rye, East Sussex, England, at age 83. He was the co-creator, main writer, and a principal cast member of the BBC’s The Goon Show. He appeared in the films The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film, The Bed-Sitting Room, The Magic Christian, The Ruling Class, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Three Musketeers, The Last Remake of Beau Geste, Monty Python's Life of Brian, History of the World Part I, and Yellowbeard.

2003–Fred Rogers, host of TV's Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, dies of stomach cancer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at age 74. Over the course of three decades on television, Fred Rogers became an indelible American icon of children's entertainment and education, as well as a symbol of compassion, patience, and morality.

2004–The initial version of the John Jay Report, with details about the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in the United States, is released.

2004–Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, is sentenced to death for masterminding the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack.

2004–A bombing of a Superferry in the Philippines by terrorist Abu Sayyaf kills 116 people.

2005–The 77th Annual Academy Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: Million Dollar Baby; Best Actor: Jamie Foxx for Ray; Best Actress: Hilary Swank for Million Dollar Baby; Best Director: Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby; Best Foreign Film: The Sea Inside (Spain). The ceremonies are held at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, California. The host is Chris Rock.

2007–The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in 10 years.

2008–William F. Buckley, Jr., American conservative author and commentator, dies in Stamford, Connecticut, at age 82. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, which had a major impact in stimulating the conservative movement. Buckley and his editors used his magazine to define the boundaries of conservatism, and to exclude people or ideas or groups they considered unworthy of the conservative title. He denounced Ayn Rand, the John Birch Society, George Wallace, racists, white supremacists (starting in the 1960s), and anti-Semites. Buckley's column, “On The Right” was syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate beginning in 1962. From the early 1970s, his twice-weekly column was distributed to more than 320 newspapers across the country.

2010–An 8.8 earthquake strikes central parts of Chile, killing over 500 people and injuring thousands. The quake triggered a tsunami, which struck Hawaii shortly thereafter.

2010–A weak tornado causes no damage as it moves across California's southern San Joaquin Valley. It is the only tornado reported in the United States during the month.

2011–The 83rd Annual Academy Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: The King's Speech; Best Actor: Colin Firth for The King's Speech; Best Actress: Natalie Portman for Black Swan; Best Director: Tom Hooper for The King's Speech; Best Foreign Film: In a Better World (Denmark). The ceremonies are held at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, California. The hosts are James Franco and Anne Hathaway.

2012–A section of a nine-story apartment building in the city of Astrakhan, Russia, collapses in a natural gas explosion, killing 10 people and injuring at least 12 others.

2013–At least 19 people are killed when a fire breaks out at an illegal market in Kolkata, India.

2013–Five people (including the perpetrator) are killed and five others are injured in a shooting at a factory in Menznau, Switzerland.

2013–Classical pianist, Van Cliburn, dies of bone cancer in Fort Worth, Texas, at age 78. A Texas native and Julliard graduate, Cliburn rose to fame at age 23 in 1958, after winning the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia. That year he was on the cover of Time magazine with the headline, "The Texan Who Conquered Russia." Although Russia and the United States were battling at the time, Cilburn became a hero to the Soviets. Cliburn performed for royalty and every American president since Harry Truman. He was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, and in 2011, President Barack Obama presented him with the National Medal of the Arts.

2013–Actor, Dale Robertson, dies of pneumonia in La Jolla, California, at age 89. He is best known for the role of Jim Hardie in the TV series Tales of Wells Fargo, and as the host of the syndicated Death Valley Days anthology series. He appeared in the films The Boy with Green Hair, Two Flags West, Call Me Mister, The Outcasts of Poker Flat, Sitting Bull, and Son of Sinbad.

2015–Actor, Leonard Nimoy, dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Los Angeles, California, at age 83. He is best known for the role of Spock on the original TV series Star Trek, as well as playing the role in the film franchise based on the series. He also appeared in the films Rhubarb, Zombies of the Stratosphere, Francis Goes to West Point, Them!, The Brain Eaters, North By Northwest, The Balcony, Deathwatch, Baffled, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

2016–Thousands of people, including some from Australia, protest in London, England, against the renewal of the United Kingdom's Trident nuclear deterrent system. It is the largest anti-nuclear rally since 1983.

2016–Three people are stabbed and one person is critically wounded after a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rally in Anaheim, California, turns violent. Several people are arrested.

2017–SpaceX announces that it will take two space tourists on an orbit of the Moon in 2018.

2017–A total of 21 combatants die in a three-week offensive by the government against the Communist Party of the Philippines.

2018–President Donald Trump names Brad Parscale as his 2020 presidential campaign manager, as he formally declares he is running for re-election, a record 980 days before the election.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Roman Emperor Constantine I; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; “Camp Sumter” near Andersonville, Georgia; David Sarnoff; John Steinbeck; Irwin shaw; Joanne Woodward; Elizabeth Taylor; It Happened One Night poster; Howard Hesseman; Mary Frann; Harry Cohn; Cilla Black; Frankie Lymon; Pat Brady; Billy Joel's 52nd Street album; Lillian Gish; O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack; William F. Buckley, Jr.; and Van Cliburn.
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