364 – Roman Emperor Jovian dies after a reign of eight months. He is found dead in his tent at Tyana (Asia Minor) en route back to Constantinople in suspicious circumstances.
1600 – The philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive, for heresy, at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome.
1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
1904 – Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
1933 – Newsweek magazine is first published.
1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
1972 – Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
Births
1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (d. 1762)
1844 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, founded Montgomery Ward (d. 1913)
1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American businessman (d. 1956)
1942 – Huey P. Newton, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (d. 1989)
Deaths
1339 – Otto, Duke of Austria (b. 1301)
1609 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)
1909 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (b. 1829)
1982 – Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (b. 1917)
Click here to listen to ‘Straight no Chaser’
1982 – Lee Strasberg, American actor and director (b. 1901)
Edited from various sources including historyorb.com, wikipedia.com, NYTimes.com and internet searches