Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1777

The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.

1812

American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army and Indian forces in the War of 1812.

1819

Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.

1829

The original Siamese twins, Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston aboard the ship Sachem to be exhibited to the Western world.

1841

U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.

1858

U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.

1861

President Lincoln prohibited the states of the Union from trading with the seceding states of the Confederacy.

1891

The Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed.

1896

Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.

1900

The Battle of Elands River during the Second Boer War ends after a 13-day siege is lifted by the British. The battle had begun when a force of between 2,000 and 3,000 Boers had surrounded a force of 500 Australians, Rhodesians, Canadians and British soldiers at a supply dump at Brakfontein Drift.

1913

Tohoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tohoku University) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students.

1920

US baseball player Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees. Next day, Chapman will become the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game.

1923

The United Kingdom gives the name "Ross Dependency" to part of its claimed Antarctic territory and makes the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand its administrator.

1927

The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.

1929

The 1929 Palestine riots break out in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.

1954

Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc.

1956

Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democrati National Convention in Chicago.

1960

Britain granted independence to the crown colony of Cyprus.

1960

Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico, United States, at 102,800 feet, setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.

1966

The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.

1972

In an unsuccessful coup attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.

1975

Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically hands over land to the Gurindji people after the eight-year Wave Hill walk-off, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 song by Paul Kelly and an annual celebration.

1987

Thousands of people worldwide began a two-day celebration of the ''harmonic convergence,'' which heralded what believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.

1987

Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashes after takeoff in Detroit, Michigan, killing 154 of the 155 on board, plus two people on the ground.

1988

Vice President George Bush chooses Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle to be his running mate.

1989

A solar particle event affects computers at the Toronto Stock Exchange, forcing a halt to trading.

1991

Indian Airlines Flight 257, a Boeing 737-200, crashes during approach to Imphal Airport, killing all 69 people on board.

2000

Delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles formally nominated Al Gore for president.

2005

West Caribbean Airways Flight 708, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashes in Machiques, Venezuela, killing all 160 people on board.

2008

The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago is topped off at 1,389 feet, at the time becoming the world's highest residence above ground-level.

2012

South African police fatally shoot 34 miners and wound 78 more during an industrial dispute at Marikana near Rustenburg.

2013

The ferry <i>St. Thomas Aquinas</i> collides with a cargo ship and sinks at Cebu, Philippines, killing 61 people with 59 others missing.

2015

More than 96 people are killed and hundreds injured following a series of air-raids by the Syrian Arab Air Force on the rebel-held market town of Douma.

2015

Trigana Air Flight 267, an ATR 42, crashes in Oksibl, Bintang Mountains Regency, killing all 54 people on board.

2020

The August Complex fire in California burns more than one million acres of land.

1894

George Meany, the first president of the AFL-CIO, was born in New York City. (d. 1980)

1948

Baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53. (b. 1895)

1956

Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-American actor, best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror film classic Dracula, Ygor in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and his roles in many other horror films. (b. 1882)

1977

Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist and actor. Known as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Elvis died at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 42. (b. 1935)

2003

Idi Amin, Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern world history. (b. 1928)

2018

Aretha Franklin, American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone magazine twice named her as the greatest singer of all time. (b. 1942)

2019

Peter Fonda, American actor, director, and screenwriter, who was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fonda produced, co-wrote and starred in the movie Easy Rider about bikers traveling through the United States. (b. 1940)

2021

Sean Lock, English comedian and actor. In 2000 he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic. (b. 1963)