Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1509

Pope Julius II excommunicated the Italian state of Venice.

1805

A force led by U.S. Marines captured the city of Derna, on the shores of Tripoli.

1865

The steamer Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn., killing more than 1,400 Union prisoners of war.

1932

American poet Hart Crane drowned after jumping from a steamer while en route to New York. He was 32.

1937

The nation's first Social Security checks were distributed.

1947

"Babe Ruth Day" at Yankee Stadium was held to honor the ailing baseball star.

1973

During the Watergate scandal, acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned.

1978

Convicted Watergate defendant John D. Ehrlichman was released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months.

1982

The trial of John W. Hinckley Jr., who had shot four people, including President Reagan, began in Washington. Hinckley was acquitted by reason of insanity.

1987

The Justice Department barred Austrian President Kurt Waldheim from entering the United States, saying he aided in the deportation and execution of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War II.

1992

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed in Belgrade by the Republic of Serbia and its lone ally, Montenegro.

1992

Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics won entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

2000

New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani disclosed that he had prostate cancer. He later bowed out of the U.S. Senate race against Hillary Rodham Clinton.

1822

The 18th president of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio.

1521

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.

1999

Jazz trumpeter Al Hirt died in New Orleans at age 76.