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1959–According to the song, American Pie, it’s “the day the music died.” Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens are all killed in a plane crash. The trio were en route to a concert date in Fargo, North Dakota, and with the weather being so bad and the heater on their bus having broken down, they decided to pay $36 each for plane tickets. The plane crashes eight miles from the Mason City, Iowa, airfield and the wreckage is discovered at 9:00 a.m.


6–Emperor Ping of Han China dies from poisoning, at age 15.

1014–Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, England, and parts of Norway, dies in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, at age 54.

1112–Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry and unite the fortunes of those two states.

1116–Coloman, King of Hungary, dies of encephalitis at age 45.

1161–King Inge I of Norway dies in Oslo, Norway, at age 26.

1338–Joanna of Bourbon is born in Vincennes, France. She was Queen of France as the wife of King Charles V.

1377–More than 2,000 people of the Italian city of Cesena are killed by the Condottieri (papal armed forces) in what comes to be called the "Cesena Bloodbath."

1428–Helena Palaiologina, Queen of Cyprus, is born at the Castle of Mistras in Morea, Greece. She was the mother of Queen Charlotte of Cyprus.

1451–Ottoman sultan, Murad II, dies in Edirne, Edirne Province, Ottoman Empire, at age 46. His son, Mehmed II, inherits the throne.

1468–German blacksmith, printer, publisher and artist, Johannes Gutenberg, dies in Mainz, Electorate of Mainz. He was buried in the Franciscan church at Mainz, the church and cemetery were later destroyed, and Gutenberg's grave was lost. Gutenberg was the inventor of movable type printing. The introduction of this technique brought about mass communication, and he is widely credited with a key role in the onset of the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Age of Enlightenment. Gutenberg's invention of movable type printing is thought to be the single most important event of the modern period. His major work, the Gutenberg Bible, is still valued for its technical quality.

1488–Bartolomeu Dias, of Portugal, lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, becoming the first known European to travel so far south.

1509–The Portuguese navy defeats a joint fleet of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamluk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Zamorin of Calicut, and the Republic of Ragusa, at the Battle of Diu in Diu, India.

1534–Irish rebel, Silken Thomas (Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare), is executed by the order of Henry VIII in London, England.

1637–Tulip mania collapses in the United Provinces (present-day the Netherlands) as sellers can no longer find buyers for their bulb contracts.

1690–The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America.

1706–During the Battle of Fraustadt, Swedish forces defeat a superior Saxon-Polish-Russian force by deploying a double envelopment.

1743–A “pesthouse” is established to quarantine immigrants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1747–Politician, Samuel Osgood, is born in Andover, Massachusetts. He served in the Massachusetts and New York State legislatures, represented Massachusetts in the Continental Congress, and was the first Postmaster General of the United States, serving during George Washington's first term.

1781–British forces seize the Dutch-owned Caribbean island Sint Eustatius.

1783–Spain recognizes United States independence.

1787–Militia led by General Benjamin Lincoln crush the remnants of Shays' Rebellion in Petersham, Massachusetts.

1807–A British military force, under Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, captures the Spanish Empire city of Montevideo, now the capital of Uruguay.

1808–Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach is born Marie Luise Alexandrina in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany.

1809–The Illinois Territory is established.

1809–Pianist and composer, Felix Mendelssohn, is born Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Hamburg, Germany. He wrote symphonies, concerti, oratorios, piano music, and chamber music. His best-known works include his Overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, The Hebrides, his mature Violin Concerto, and his String Octet. He is among the most popular composers of the Romantic era.

1811–Newspaperman, Horace Greeley, is born in Amherst, New Hampshire. He started The New York Tribune when he was 30, serving as editor until he died in 1872. Greeley used the paper to promote the Whig and Republican parties, and a host of reforms ranging from vegetarianism to socialism, as well as his opposition to slavery.

1813–José de San Martín defeats a Spanish royalist army at the Battle of San Lorenzo, part of the Argentine War of Independence.

1815–The world's first commercial cheese factory is established in Switzerland.

1820–Vietnamese Emperor, Gia Long, dies at age 57.

1821–Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female physician, is born in Bristol England.

1825–Vendsyssel-Thy, once part of the Jutland peninsula that formed westernmost Denmark, becomes an island after a flood.

1830–The London Protocol of 1830 establishes the full independence and sovereignty of Greece from the Ottoman Empire as the final result of the Greek War of Independence.

1830–Robert (Arthur) Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, is born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1834–Wake Forest University is established in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

1836–The Whig Party holds its first national convention in Albany, New York.

1863–Samuel L. Clemens uses the pseudonym Mark Twain for the first time in a story in a Nevada Territory newspaper.

1870–The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, granting voting rights regardless of race.

1874–Lunalilo of Hawaii dies of tuberculosis in Haimoeipo, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, at age 39. He was the most liberal king in Hawaiian history, but was its shortest-reigning monarch: he was King for one year and 25 days.

1874–Writer and art collector, Gertrude Stein, is born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. At 27, she moved to Paris, France, to be with her brother Leo, who helped her get started as an art collector, and introduced her to her lifelong companion, Alice B. Toklas. She was one of the first collectors of Cubist and experimental art of such painters as Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, and Pablo Picasso, who painted her portrait. Stein and Toklas opened their home in Paris to the art world as a “salon” and gathering place for the “lost generation” artists: Ernest Hemingway, Sherwood Anderson, and F. Scott Fitzgerald were regulars at the salons. Stein’s first published book was Three Lives, which consisted of three stories of working class women. Her book The Making of Americans: Being a History of a Family's Progress, was a 900-page novel that had no dialogue or action. Many critics thought she was trying to translate Cubist art into literature, but the writing was too obscure and confusing for most readers. Her one popular success was her book, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, which was ostensibly the story of Stein's secretary and companion, but was in reality her own life story.

1882–Circus owner, P.T. Barnum, buys his world famous elephant, Jumbo.

1889–Western outlaw, Belle Starr, dies from multiple shotgun wounds near King Creek, Indian Territory, at age 40. Although an obscure figure outside Texas throughout most of her life, Belle's story was picked up by the dime novel and National Police Gazette publisher, Richard K. Fox. Fox made her name famous with his novel, Belle Starr, the Bandit Queen, published the year she was murdered. This novel is still often cited as an historical reference and was the first of many popular stories that used her name.

1894–American artist and illustrator, Norman (Perceval) Rockwell, is born in New York, New York. Rockwell is best known for The Saturday Evening Post cover illustrations he created for more than 40 years. His illustration work typically depicted everyday scenes of American life. Some of his most famous works are “Rosie the Riveter,” “Saying Grace,” and the “Four Freedoms” series. After illustrating 321 Saturday Evening Post covers, Rockwell went on to paint scenes of civil rights and space exploration for Look magazine. In 1969, he completed one of his last paintings, a portrait of Judy Garland.

1897–The Greco-Turkish War breaks out.

1900–Governor of Kentucky, William Goebel, dies of a wound sustained in an assassination attempt three days earlier in Frankfort, Kentucky.

1904–Bank robber, Pretty Boy Floyd, is born Charles Arthur Floyd in Adairsville, Georgia. He was one of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” criminals: in fact, on July 23, 1934, following the death of John Dillinger, he was named “Public Enemy No. 1.” Despite his life of crime, Floyd was viewed positively by the general public. When he robbed banks he would destroy mortgage documents, which freed many citizens of their debts.

1907–Author, James A. Michener, is born James Albert Michener in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. His works include Tales of the South Pacific, Sayonara, and Hawaii. He wrote screenplay adaptations for The Bridges at Toko-Ri, Until They Sail, Centennial, and Space.

1909–Philosopher and mystic, Simone Weil, is born in Paris, France. Weil's philosophy contained elements of both spirituality and politics: she had both an intensely personal spiritual drive and a social philosophy that emphasized the relationships between individuals and groups. This intersection of thought developed into an interest in healing social rifts of the proletariat and providing for the physical and psychological needs of humanity. In the 1950s and 1960s, her work became famous in Europe and throughout the English-speaking world. Her fame began to decline in the late 1960s, and her philosophy is now rarely taught at universities, although Albert Camus described her as "the only great spirit of our times."

1913–The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal Government to impose and collect a graduated income tax.

1916–The Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada, burn down, killing seven people.

1916–Hugo Ball's Cabaret (Café) Voltaire opens, in Zürich, Switzerland, as a meeting place for artists of the newly forming Dada movement. The most widely accepted account of the naming of the movement, which flourished until about 1920, is an incident at the cabaret when a paper knife inserted into a French-German dictionary pointed to the word “dada,” a child's word for a horse, and the members seized upon it for their anti-aesthetic creations and protest activities, which in turn had been engendered by disgust for bourgeois values and despair over World War I.

1917–The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany a day after the latter announces a new policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

1918–The Twin Peaks Tunnel in San Francisco, California, begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at 11,920 feet long.

1918–Comedian, Joey Bishop, is born Joseph Abraham Gottlieb, in the Bronx, New York. He started out in comedy and then hosted his own late night talk show, The Joey Bishop Show. He later became a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin. He appeared in the films Onionhead, Oceans’s 11, Sergeants 3, Texas Across the River, A Guide for the Married Man, and Who’s Minding the Mint?

1919–The League of Nations holds its first meeting in Paris, France.

1919–Maria Theresa of Austria-Este dies at Wildenwart Castle in Chiemgau, Bavaria, at age 69. She was the last Queen of Bavaria.

1920–Doctor-inventor, Henry Judah Heimlich, developer of the Heimlich Maneuver, is born in Wilmington, Delaware. The maneuver is a technique of abdominal thrusts for stopping choking, described in Emergency Medicine in 1974.

1920–Surgeon and medical researcher, Henry Judah Heimlich, is born Wilmington, Delaware. He is best known as the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver, a technique of abdominal thrusts that can stop choking, which was described in Emergency Medicine in 1974. His nephew is actor, Anson Williams.

1922–Painter, John Butler Yeats, dies in Chestertown, New York, at age 82. He was the father of poet, William Butler Yeats.

1924–Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, dies of a stroke and other heart-related problems in Washington, D.C., at age 67.

1925–Comedian, Shelley Berman, is born Sheldon Leonard Berman in Chicago, Illinois. In 1957, Berman landed his first job as a comedian at Mister Kelly's in Chicago, which led to other nightclub bookings, and a recording contract with Verve Records. His comedy albums earned him three gold records, he won the first Grammy Award for a non-musical recording, and he was the first standup comedian to perform at Carnegie Hall.

1928–Singer, Frankie Vaughan, is born Frank Ableson in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He was a vocalist of easy listening and traditional pop music, with more than 80 singles in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after one of his early hits. He appeared in the films Ramsbottom Rides Again, These Dangerous Years, Wonderful Things!, The Heart of a Man, The Lady Is a Square, Let's Make Love, and The Right Approach.

1929–The Revolutionary Socialist Party forms in Amsterdam.

1930–The Communist Party of Vietnam is founded at a "Unification Conference" held in Kowloon, British Hong Kong.

1931–The Hawke's Bay earthquake in New Zealand, kills 258 people.

1932–Child actress, Peggy Ann Garner, is born in Canton, Ohio. She had her first film role in 1938, and won the Academy Juvenile Award for her work in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in 1945. She also appeared in the films Jane Eyre, Junior Miss, Daisy Kenyon, Bomba, The Jungle Boy, and Black Widow.

1933–Adolf Hitler announces that the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe, and its ruthless Germanisation, are the ultimate geopolitical objectives of Third Reich foreign policy.

1935–Musician, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, is born John Watson, Jr. in Houston, Texas. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, Watson recorded throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

1936–Film director, James Bridges, is born in Paris, Arkansas. His films include The Baby Maker, The Paper Chase, September 30, 1955, The China Syndrome, Urban Cowboy, Mike’s Murder, Perfect, and Bright Lights, Big City.

1936–Photographer, Jim Marshall, is born James Joseph Marshall in Chicago, Illinois. He was hired by Atlantic Records and Columbia Records to photograph their musical artists. His photos appeared on the covers of over 500 albums and were also published in Rolling Stone.

1938–Actor, Victor Buono, is born Victor Charles Buono in San Diego, California. He appeared in the films The Guns of Navarone, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, 4 for Texas, My Six Loves, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Robin and 7 Hoods, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Silencers, and Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

1939–Film director, Michael Cimino, is born in New York, New York. The subject matter of Cimino's films frequently focuses on aspects of American history and culture, notably disillusionment over the American Dream. His films include Silent Running, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Deer Hunter, The Rose, and Heaven’s Gate.

1940–Sports figure, Fran Tarkenton, is born Francis Asbury Tarkenton in Richmond, Virginia. He played with the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

1941–The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Federal Wage and Hour Law, that sets minimum wages and maximum hours for American workers.

1943–The SS Dorchester is sunk by a German U-boat: only 230 of 902 men aboard survive.

1943–Record executive, Neil Bogart, is born in New York, New York. He is best known as the founder of Casablanca Records. He signed rock group, KISS, and later became identified with the rise of disco by promoting the careers of acts such as Donna Summer and The Village People.

1943–Actress, Blythe (Katherine) Danner, is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has appeared in the films Lovin’ Molly, Hearts of the West, Futureworld, The Great Santini, Man, Woman and Child, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Prince of Tides, Husbands and Wives, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, and Meet the Parents. She is the mother of actress, Gwyneth Paltrow, and director, Jake Paltrow.

1944–During the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, U.S. Army and Marine forces seize Kwajalein Atoll from the defending Japanese garrison.

1945–As part of Operation Thunderclap, 1,000 B-17s of the Eighth Air Force bomb Berlin, Germany, a raid which kills between 2,500 and 3,000 people and leaves another 120,000 homeless.

1945–The United States and the Philippine Commonwealth begin a month-long battle to retake Manila from Japan.

1945–Television producer, Don Ohlmeyer, is born Donald Winfred Ohlmeyer, Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was president of the NBC network's West Coast division. Ohlmeyer formed his own production company, Ohlmeyer Communications Company (OCC), in 1982. There he produced several made-for-television movies, network series, and specials.

1947–The lowest temperature in North America (-83.0 °F) is recorded in Snag, Yukon.

1947–Dave Davies, of The Kinks, is born David Russell Gordon Davies in Fortis Green, London, England. He is the younger brother of musician, Ray Davies, who was the lead singer of the band.

1947–Singer, Melanie, is born Melanie Anne Safka in Astoria, Queens, New York. Her hits include Brand New Key, What Have They Done to My Song, Ma, and Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).

1950–Actress, Morgan Fairchild, is born Patsy Ann McClenny in Dallas, Texas. Fairchild has worked mostly in television, appearing in shows such as Kojak, Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, Police Woman, Magnum, P.I., and The Love Boat. She appeared in the films The Initiation of Sarah, The Seduction, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, and Red Headed Stranger.

1950–Actress, Pamela Franklin, is born in Yokohama, Japan. She is a British actress who worked in feature films from 1961 until 1976, and on American television throughout the 1970s. She appeared in the films The Innocents, The Nanny, The Night of the Following Day, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, And Soon the Darkness, and The Legend of Hell House.

1953–The Batepá massacre occurs in São Tomé, when the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners unleash a wave of violence against the native creoles known as forros.

1956–Actor, Nathan Lane, is born in Jersey City, New Jersey. His work on Broadway includes Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Butley, The Odd Couple, and Waiting for Godot. He has appeared in the films Frankie and Johnny, The Birdcage, Stuart Little, and The Producers.

1958–The founding of the Benelux Economic Union creates a testing ground for a later European Economic Community.

1959–According to the song, American Pie, it’s “the day the music died.” Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens are all killed in a plane crash. The trio were en route to a concert date in Fargo, North Dakota, and with the weather being so bad and the heater on their bus having broken down, they decided to pay $36 each for plane tickets. The plane crashes eight miles from the Mason City, Iowa, airfield and the wreckage is discovered at 9:00 a.m.

1960–British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan speaks of "a wind of change," signalling that his government is likely to support decolonization.

1961–The U.S. Air Forces begins “Operation Looking Glass,” and over the next 30 years, a “Doomsday Plane” is always in the air, with the capability of taking direct control of the United States' bombers and missiles in the event of the destruction of the Stratigic Air Command's headquarters.

1961–Bob Dylan makes his first recording, taping San Francisco Bay Blues in New York.

1962–President John F. Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba except for food and drugs.

1963–EMI announces plans to tape The Beatles at the Cavern Club for a live album. Unfortunately, this never happens.

1964–The Beatles go to the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France, to obtain visas and permits to visit and work in the United States.

1966–The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first rocket-assisted landing on the Moon.

1967–Ronald Ryan, the last person to be executed in Australia, is hung in Pentridge Prison, Melbourne.

1967–Producer and songwriter, Joe Meek, dies from a self-inflicted shotgun wound in London, England, at age 37. He shot his landlady, Violet Shenton, prior to committing suicide. His best-remembered hit is the Tornados' Telstar, which became the first record by a British group to reach #1 on the U.S. “Hot 100.”

1969–Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestine Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress in Cairo, Egypt.

1969–John (Francis) Spence, of No Doubt, is born in Anaheim, California. Spence was known as an energetic frontman for the band, doing backflips and wild screams on the stage.

1971–New York Police Officer, Frank Serpico, is shot during a drug bust in Brooklyn, and survives to later testify against police corruption. Many believe the incident proves that N.Y.P.D. officers tried to kill him. His story is told in the film, Serpico, starring Al Pacino.

1972–The worst blizzard in recorded history dumps up to 26 feet of snow across rural areas in northwestern, central, and southern Iran, resulting in the burial of at least 4,000 people. In the villages of Kakkan, Kumar, and Sheklab, there were no survivors.

1972–The XI Winter Olympic Games open in Sapporo, Japan. This is the first time that the Olympics has been hosted in Asia.

1973–President Richard Nixon signs the Endangered Species Act.

1973–At the world-famous Cavern Club it is announced that following last orders this evening, the club will close its doors for business. Manager Roy Adams says, “We’ve got to go. There’s nothing we can do about it!” Following a last minute reprieve from the local council, the Cavern stays in business until May 27th.

1976–Actress, Isla (Lang) Fisher, is born in Muscat, Oman. She co-starred in the TV soap opera Home and Away. She has appeared in the films The Wannabes, I Heart Huckabees, Wedding Crashers, and Definitely, Maybe.

1977–In an interview, when asked about a Beatles reunion, George Harrison says, ”Physically we’re all in different places and we don’t spend time together anymore. That’s the problem. We’d have to get to know each other again. Everyone’s into their own lives. I know a lot of people like The Beatles, but it’s eight years ago we split up and it’s different, you know. It’s like we all grew up and left home. It’s like trying to get the family back again or trying to get us to go back to school again.”

1978–On the 19th anniversary of Buddy Holly's death, his birthplace in Lubbock, Texas, is scheduled for demolition by the Lubbock Building Department. The Department had no idea the house had any association with the town's most famous son. However a few days earlier, a man had bought the place, moved it intact outside the city limits, and fixed it up so his family could move in. He too, did not know the significance of the house, and he became the man who accidentally saved Buddy Holly's birthplace.

1978–The TV-movie Dead Man's Curve, the tragic Jan and Dean story, premieres on ABC-TV.

1979–A sold-out crowd packs into the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, for a concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. DJ Wolfman Jack hosts, with featured performances by Del Shannon, Jimmy Clanton, and The Drifters.

1984–The first baby conceived by embryo transplant is born in Long Beach, California.

1984–The STS-41-B is launched using Space Shuttle Challenger.

1985–American physicist, Frank Oppenheimer, dies of cancer in Sausalito, California, at age 73. A younger brother of renowned physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Frank conducted research on aspects of nuclear physics during the time of the Manhattan Project, and made contributions to the process of uranium enrichment.

1989–After a stroke two weeks earlier, South African President P. W. Botha resigns as leader of the National Party, but stays on as president for six more months.

1989–A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay since 1954.

1989–A four-hour radio special entitled “Meet The Beatles: The 25th Anniversary” is syndicated across many radio stations in the U.S. It is in celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Beatles arrival in America.

1989–A winter storm brings heavy snow and high winds to the Western U.S. Up to three feet of snow blankets the Sierra Nevadas of California, and buries parts of northeastern Washington State under three feet of snow.

1989–Actor-director, John Cassavetes, dies of cirrhosis of the liver in Los Angeles, California, at age 59. Cassavetes was a pioneer of American independent film, by writing and directing over a dozen movies, some of which he partially self-financed. His films include Shadows, Too Late Blues, A Child Is Waiting, Faces, Husbands, Minnie and Moskowitz, A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night, and Gloria. He appeared in the films The Night Hold Terror, Crime in the Streets, Edge of the City, Saddle the Wind, The Killers, The Dirty Dozen, Rosemary’s Baby, Two-Minute Warning, The Fury, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, The Incubus, Tempest, and Love Streams.

1989–Composer and conducer, Lionel Newman, dies of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles, California, at age 83. Newman's tenure with Twentieth Century Fox spanned 46 years, during which he worked on over 200 films.

1990–Baseball player, Darryl Strawberry, voluntarily enters the Smither Center for Alcohol Rehabilitation.

1990–Thunderstorms bring seven tornadoes to Alabama, including one which touches down north of Birmingham, injuring 15 people and causing nearly $3 million in damage.

1990–Jockey, Billy Shoemaker, retires after 40,350 horse races.

1991–Television producer, Harry Ackerman, dies in Burbank, California, at age 78. As Vice President of Production at Screen Gems, Ackerman delivered the classic sitcoms Father Knows Best, Bachelor Father, Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show, Hazel, Gidget, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Flying Nun, The Monkees, and The Partridge Family.

1991–Actress, Nancy Kulp, dies of cancer in Palm Desert, California, at age 69. She is best known for the role of Jane Hathaway on the TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. She appeared in many other TV shows, including The Life of Riley, I Love Lucy, Our Miss Brooks, December Bride, The Bob Cummings Show, and My Three Sons. She appeared in the films Shane, Sabrina, Forever, Darling, The Three Faces of Eve, The Parent Trap, and Who’s Minding the Store?

1993–The trial of four police officers charged with civil rights violations in a videotaped beating of Rodney King begins in Los Angeles, California.

1994–President Bill Clinton lifts the U.S. trade embargo against Vietnam.

1994–STS-60 is launched, carrying Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard the Space Shuttle.

1995–Astronaut, Eileen Collins, becomes the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle, as mission STS-63 gets underway at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

1996–Actress, Audrey Meadows, dies of lung cancer in Beverly Hills, California, at age 73. She is best known for the role of Alice Kramden on the TV comedy series The Honeymooners.

1998–A United States military pilot causes the death of 20 people, when his low-flying plane cuts the cable of a cable-car near Trento, Italy.

1998–Postage stamps commemorating Princess Diana go on sale across Great Britain.

2002–Super Bowl XXXVI: The New England Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams, 20-17.

2003–Legendary record producer, Phil Spector, is arrested for allegedly murdering actress, Lana Clarkson, in his home in Alhambra, California.

2006–An Egyptian passenger ferry sinks in the Red Sea during bad weather, killing more than 1,000 passengers.

2006–Actor, Al Lewis, dies of natural causes in New York, New York, at age 82. He is best known for the role of Grandpa Munster on the TV series The Munsters. He also co-starred in Car 54, Where Are You?

2007–A Baghdad market bombing kills at least 135 people and injures 339 others.

2008–Super Bowl XLII: The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 17-14.

2011–Actress, Maria Schneider, dies of cancer in Paris, France, at age 58. She is best known for the role of Jeanne opposite Marlon Brando in Bernardo Bertolucci's film Last Tango in Paris (1972). She appeared in the films The Passenger, A Woman Like Eve, Mama Dracula, Merry-Go-Round, and Jane Eyre.

2012–Actor, Ben Gazzara, dies of pancreatic cancer in New York, New York, at age 81. He appeared in the films Anatomy of a Murder, The Young Doctors, Husbands, The Death of Richie, They All Laughed, An Early Frost, and Road House.

2012–Actor-director, Zalman King, dies of cancer in Santa Monica, California, at age 69. He is best known for Red Shoe Diaries, which became a long-running television series for the Showtime network.

2013–Super Bowl XLVII: The Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers, 34-31.

2014–Two people are shot and killed and 29 students are taken hostage at a high school in Moscow, Russia.

2015–A collision between a commuter train and a passenger vehicle kills six people in Valhalla, New York.

2016–Comedian, Joe Alaskey, dies of cancer in Los Angeles, California, at age 63. As a voice artist, he is credited as one of the successors of Mel Blanc in impersonating the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety, and other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons.

2017–According to Tohoku Electric Power, radiations levels within one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant, damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, are at its highest level since experiencing a meltdown, with a reading of 530 sieverts an hour.

2017–The United Nations and various humanitarian groups call on the international community to help prevent a possible famine in Somalia, as rising food prices and drought have left over six million people at risk of starvation.

2017–A 29-year-old man armed with a machete is wounded as he tries to enter the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, in what police describe as a terror attack. The man shouted "Allahu akbar" before attacking the soldiers on patrol at the world famous museum.

2018–The United States releases a new policy on nuclear arms, the first update since 2010. It calls for the introduction of two new types of weapons in the U.S. nuclear arsenal: low-yield nuclear submarine-launched ballistic (SLBM) and cruise (SLCM) missiles.

2018–According to the U.S. Department of State, passport “execution fees” will increase from $25 to $35 starting April 2, 2018.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Johannes Gutenberg; tulips; Horace Greeley; Gertrude Stein; Norman Rockwell; Simone Weil; Joey Bishop; Peggy Ann Garner; Fran Tarkenton; Melanie; Nathan Lane; The Beatles at the Cavern Club; Frank Serpico; a scene from Dead Man's Curve; John Cassavetes; Nancy Culp; Audrey Meadows; and Ben Gazzara.
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