American Revolution
"The Chancellor" is born, 1746. Robert R. (or R.R.) Livingston—later known as "the Chancellor"—becomes the first of nine children eventually born to Judge Robert Livingston and Margaret Beekman Livingston in their family seat, Clermont, on the Hudson River in upstate New York.
Automotive
Indy 500 champ Hélio Castroneves wins "Dancing with the Stars", 2007. Brazilian racecar driver Hélio Castroneves and his partner, professional ballroom dancer Julianne Hough, win the fifth season of the TV show "Dancing with the Stars." The runners-up were former Spice Girl Mel B ("Scary Spice") and her partner, dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. After his victory, Castroneves returned to the Indycar racing circuit, but his good luck did not hold: though he finished second overall in the 2008 season (and fourth in that year's Indy 500), in 2009 the racer found himself in federal court, charged with conspiracy, fraud and income-tax evasion.
Civil War
John Hunt Morgan escapes from the Ohio Penitentiary,
1863. Confederate cavalry raider John Hunt Morgan and several of his men break out of the Ohio state prison and escape to the South.
Cold War
Alger Hiss released from prison, 1954. After 44 months in prison, former government official Alger Hiss is released and proclaims once again that he is innocent of the charges that led to his incarceration. One of the most famous figures of the Cold War period, Hiss was convicted in 1950 of perjury for lying to a federal grand jury. Specifically, Hiss was judged to have lied about his complicity in passing secret government documents to Whittaker Chambers, who thereupon passed the papers along to agents of the Soviet Union
Crime
San Francisco leaders George Moscone and Harvey Milk are murdered, 1978. Former Board of Supervisors member Dan White murders Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk at City Hall in San Francisco, California.
Disaster
Freak storm dissipates over England, 1703. An unusual storm system finally dissipates over England after wreaking havoc on the country for nearly two weeks. Featuring hurricane strength winds, the storm killed somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 people. Hundreds of Royal Navy ships were lost to the storm, the worst in Britain's history.
General Interest
Iron Guard massacres former Romanian government, 1940. Two months after General Ion Antonescu seized power in Romania and forced King Carol II to abdicate, Antonescu's Iron Guard arrests and executes more than 60 aides of the exiled king, including Nicolae Iorga, a former minister and acclaimed historian.
Politics
PM Nehru appeals for disarmament, 1957. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru makes an impassioned speech for nuclear disarmament in New Delhi.
Hollywood
Bruce Lee born, 1940. Superstar actor and martial-arts expert Bruce Lee is born in San Francisco, California. In his all-too-brief career, Lee became a film star in Asia, and a pop-culture icon, posthumously, in America.
Literary
Robert Burns postpones emigration to Jamaica, 1786, as he had planned, and heads for Edinburgh instead.
Music
Jimi Hendrix born, 1942. Guitar legend Jimi Hendrix is born in Seattle. Hendrix grew up playing guitar, imitating blues greats like Muddy Waters as well as early rockers.
Aerosmith and 50 Cent headline a $10 million bar
mitzvah, 2005. For seasoned showbiz veterans Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith—middle-aged men long past worrying over their perceived "legitimacy"— the offer of a $2 million appearance fee for a 45-minute performance at a private event in New York City must have been a true no-brainer. For Curtis James Jackson III, on the other hand, there were likelycompeting impulses. Jackson—better known as the rapper 50 Cent—had built his professional persona on the image of a street-hardened former criminal who was tough enough to survive being shot nine times at point-blank range in 2001.
Old West
Custer massacres Cheyenne on Washita River, 1868
Presidential. Without bothering to identify the village or do any reconnaissance, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads an early morning attack on a band of peaceful Cheyenne living with Chief Black Kettle.
Presidential
White House housekeeper frets over presidential waistline, 1911. Elizabeth Jaffray, a White House housekeeper, writes in her diary about a conversation she'd had with President William Howard Taft and his wife about the commander in chief's ever-expanding waistline.
Sports
Gordie Howe scores his 600th goal, 1965. Detroit Red Wing Gordie Howe scores his 600th goal in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first (and the last, until Wayne Gretzky) NHL player to score 600 times in his career. He’d broken the previous record--544 goals, set by the legendary Canadien Maurice "Rocket" Richard--in November 1963. That game’s referee told reporters that "Gordie Howe can do more things better than anyone else. That’s just all there is to it."
Vietnam War
Pentagon calls for troop increase, 1965. The US Pentagon informs President Johnson that if General Westmoreland is to conduct the major sweep operations necessary to destroy enemy forces during the coming year, U.S. troop strength should be increased from 120,000 to 400,000 men.
South Vietnamese forces attacked near Cambodian border, 1970. A South Vietnamese task force, operating in southeastern Cambodia, comes under North Vietnamese attack near the town of Krek. The South Vietnamese command reported repelling the assault and killing enemy soldiers. The South Vietnamese command also reported killing 33 Viet Cong in the Rung Sat special zone, 23 miles southeast of Saigon.
World War I
Hindenburg celebrates Warsaw campaign, 1914. German commander Paul von Hindenburg issues a triumphant proclamation from the battlefields of the Eastern Front, celebrating his army's campaign against Russian forces in the Polish city of Warsaw.
World War II
French scuttle their fleet, 1942. French Admiral Jean de Laborde sinks the French fleet anchored in Toulon harbor, off the southern coast of France, in order to keep it out of German hands.