Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1305

First Scottish War of Independence: Sir John Stewart of Menteith, the pro-English Sheriff of Dumbarton, successfully manages to capture Sir William Wallace of Scotland, leading to Wallace's subsequent execution by hanging, evisceration, drawing and quartering, and beheading 18 days later.

1583

Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes the first English colony in North America, at what is now St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

1620

The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England, carrying would-be settlers, on its first attempt to reach North America; it is forced to dock in Dartmouth when its companion ship, the Speedwell, springs a leak.

1735

New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true.

1858

Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It will operate for less than a month.

1861

In order to help pay for the Civil War, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US$800; rescinded in 1872).

1864

Union Adm. David G. Farragut is said to have given his famous order, ''Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!'' as he led his fleet against Mobile Bay, Ala., during the Civil War.

1884

The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.

1888

Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.

1914

The first electric traffic lights were installed, in Cleveland.

1924

The comic strip ''Little Orphan Annie'' by Harold Gray made its debut.

1926

Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.

1939

The Thirteen Roses: Thirteen female members of the Unified Socialist Youth are executed by Francoist forces in Madrid, Spain.

1944

The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.

1949

In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.

1957

American Bandstand, a show hosted by Dick Clark and playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.

1962

American actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead at her home from a drug overdose.

1962

Nelson Mandela is jailed in South Africa. He would not be released until 1990.

1964

American aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for alleged strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.

1965

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.

1966

A group of red guards at Experimental High in Beijing, beat the deputy vice principal, Bian Zhongyun, to death with sticks after accusing her of counter-revolutionary revisionism, producing one of the first fatalities of the Cultural Revolution.

1969

The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars, sending back photographs and scientific data.

1974

President Richard Nixon, under orders of the US Supreme Court, releases the "Smoking Gun" tape, recorded on June 23, 1972, clearly revealing his actions in covering up and interfering investigations into the break-in. His political support vanishes completely.

1981

President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.

1992

Federal civil rights charges were filed against four Los Angeles police officers acquitted of state charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King; two were later convicted.

1994

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington chose Kenneth W. Starr to take over the Whitewater investigation from Robert Fiske.

1998

Marie Noe of Philadelphia was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, accused of smothering eight of her children to death between 1949 and 1968. (Noe later received 20 years' probation.)

2010

Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.

2012

The Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting took place in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six victims; the perpetrator committed suicide after being wounded by police.

2015

The Environmental Protection Agency at Gold King Mine waste water spill releases three million gallons of heavy metal toxin tailings and waste water into the Animas River in Colorado.

2021

Australia's second most populous state Victoria enters its sixth COVID-19 lockdown, enacting stage four restrictions statewide in reaction to six new COVID-19 cases recorded that morning.

1862

Joseph Merrick, often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital. (d. 1890)

1906

John Huston was an American film director, screenwriter, actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics, including The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. (d. 1987)

1911

Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor and singer who was one of the most popular leading men of cinema. (d. 1969)

1918

Betty Oliphant, English-Canadian ballerina, co-founded Canada's National Ballet School (d. 2004)

1922

Lowell Tom Perry was an American businessman and religious leader who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1974 until his death. (d. 2015)

1930

Neil Alden Armstrong was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who in 1969 became the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. (d. 2012)

1940

Robert Braddock is an American country songwriter and record producer. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has numerous hit songs during more than 40 years in the industry.

1943

Sammi Smith was an American country music singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1971 crossover hit "Help Me Make It Through the Night", which was written by Kris Kristofferson. (d. 2005)

1945

Loni Anderson is an American actress. She played receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978-1982), which earned her three Golden Globe Awards and two Emmy Award nominations.

1945

Loni Anderson was an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Marlowe on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati from 1978–1982. Her performance earned her two Emmy and three Golden Globe nominations. (d. 2025)

1947

Rick Derringer is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang on Sloopy", was a number-one hit in 1965.

1947

Greg Leskiw is a Canadian guitarist best known for playing guitar with the Guess Who from 1970 to 1972.

1948

David Hungate is an American bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015.

1956

Maureen McCormick is an American actress. She portrayed Marcia Brady on the ABC television sitcom The Brady Bunch, which ran from 1969 to 1974, and reprised the role in several of the numerous Brady Bunch spin-offs and films.

1959

Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guitarist for grunge band Nirvana.

1966

Jonathan Silverman is an American actor, known for his roles in the comedy films Brighton Beach Memoirs, Weekend at Bernie's, and its sequel Weekend at Bernie's II.

1968

Marine Le Pen, French lawyer and politician.

1970

James Gunn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

1980

Jesse Williams is an American actor, director, producer and activist. He played Dr. Jackson Avery on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

1981

Rachel Scott was an American student who was the first fatality of the Columbine High School massacre, during which 11 other students and a teacher were also murdered by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then committed suicide. (d. 1999)

1729

Thomas Newcomen was an English inventor who created the atmospheric engine, the first practical fuel-burning engine in 1712. He was an ironmonger by trade and a Baptist lay preacher by calling. (b. 1664)

1895

Friedrich Engels was a German philosopher, historian, political theorist, critic of political economy, and revolutionary socialist. He was also a businessman, journalist, and Karl Marx's closest friend and collaborator. (b. 1820)

1929

Millicent Fawcett was an English politician, writer and activist. She campaigned for women's suffrage by legal change and in 1897-1919 led Britain's largest women's rights association, the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) (b. 1847)

1955

Carmen Miranda, was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films. (b. 1909)

1968

Luther Perkins, was an American country music guitarist and a member of the Tennessee Three, the backup band for singer Johnny Cash. (b. 1928)

1984

Richard Burton was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and gave a memorable performance as Hamlet in 1964. (b. 1925)

1991

Soichiro Honda was a Japanese engineer and industrialist. In 1948, he established Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and oversaw its expansion from a wooden shack manufacturing bicycle motors to a multinational automobile and motorcycle manufacturer. (b. 1906)

2000

Sir Alec Guinness was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), in which he played eight different characters. (b. 1914)

2002

Chick Hearn was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years. Hearn is remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style. (b. 1916)

2008

Reg Lindsay OAM was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality. He won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 songs in his 50-year music career. (b. 1929)

2008

Neil Bartlett was a chemist who specialized in fluorine and compounds containing fluorine, and became famous for creating the first noble gas compounds. (b. 1932)

2019

Toni Morrison, American author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Nobel laureate. (b. 1931)

2022

Judith Durham was an Australian singer, songwriter and musician who became the lead singer of the Australian folk music group The Seekers in 1963. (b. 1943)

2024

Jonathan Aprea, American actor whose acting career landed him roles on "Godfather Part II" and "Full House", died of natural causes in Los Angeles. (b. 1941)