757 – An Lushan, leader of a revolt against the Tang dynasty and emperor of Yan, is murdered by his own son, An Qingxu.
1790 – The first boat specializing as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne.
1834 – President Andrew Jackson orders first use of federal soldiers to suppress a labor dispute.
1845 – “The Raven” is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe
1863 – The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men women and children.
1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
1916 – World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins.
1967 – The “ultimate high” of the hippie era, the Mantra-Rock Dance, takes place in San Francisco and features Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, and Allen Ginsberg.
2002 – In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush describes “regimes that sponsor terror” as an Axis of Evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
Births
1499 – Katharina von Bora, wife of Martin Luther; formerly a Roman Catholic nun (d. 1552)
1843 – William McKinley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901)
1860 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (d. 1904)
1874 – John D. Rockefeller, Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1960)
1880 – W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (d. 1946)
1905 – Barnett Newman, American painter and etcher (d. 1970)
1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, actress, and producer, founded Harpo Productions
Deaths
1820 – George III of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)
1899 – Alfred Sisley, French-English painter (b. 1839)
1956 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist and critic (b. 1880)
1963 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (b. 1874)
1969 – Allen Welsh Dulles, banker, lawyer, and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1893)
2015 – Rod McKuen, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1933)
