999 – Gerbert of Aurillac elected as first French Pope
1513 – Florida discovered, claimed for Spain by Ponce de Leon
1792 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.
1800 – first performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 1st Symphony in C
1884 – London prison for debtors closed
1912 – Titanic undergoes sea trials
1921 – Professor Albert Einstein lectures in New York City on his new Theory of Relativity
1932 – Charles Lindbergh turns over $50,000 as ransom for kidnapped son
1956 – Soap operas “As the World Turns” & “Edge of Night” premiere on TV
1958 – Wind speed reaches 279mph in tornado, Wichita Falls, TX
1966 – Soviet Union’s Luna 10 becomes first spacecraft to orbit Moon
1973 – ITT admits to asking CIA to influence Chilean presidential election
1978 – Velcro was first put on the market
1982 – Several thousand Argentine troops seize the Falkland Islandsfrom Great Britain
1986 – 4 US passengers killed by bomb at TWA counter Athens Airport Greece
1987 – IBM introduces PS/2 & OS/2
1992 – John Gotti found guilty of five murders (Paul Castellano, Thomas Bilotti, Robert DiBernardo, Liborio Milito and Louis Dibono), conspiracy to murder Gaetano “Corky” Vastola, loansharking, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, bribery and tax evasion. 1995 – NY Police Department and Transit Police merge into one organization
2006 – Over 60 tornadoes break out, hardest hit is Tennessee with 29 people killed.
2013 – Uruguay passes legislation to legalize same-sex marriage
Birthdays
742 – Charlemagne, 1st Holy Roman emperor (800-14)
1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark, author of 150 fairy tales
1891 – Max Ernst, Germany, painter/sculptor
1908 – Buddy Ebsen, Belleville Il, actor (Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones)
1914 – Alec Guinness, London England, British actor (Bridge on River Kwai)
1936 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (world champ 1966)
Anniversaries
1836 – English novelist and social critic Charles Dickens (24) marries Catherine Thomson Hogarth (20)
Deaths
1872 – Samuel Morse developer of electric telegraph, dies at 80
1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist (b. 1884)
2005 – Pope John Paul II, Polish Roman Catholic Pope (b. 1920)
Edited from various sources including historyorb.com, the NYTimes.com
and other internet searches
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