Historical Events
- 1565 First Spanish settlement in the Philippines founded at Cebu City
- 1865 Steamboat "SS Sultana" explodes in the Mississippi River, killing up to 1,800 of the 2,427 passengers in the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. Most were paroled Union POWs on their way home.
- 1904 The Australian Labor Party under Prime Minister Chris Watson becomes the first Labor government in the world
- 1945 Italian partisans capture Benito Mussolini at Dongo (Lake Como)
- 2005 The superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France
- Historical Events Today Events in 2024
Today in Film & TV
- 2014 "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" late-night talk and news show fronted by John Oliver premieres on HBO
Today in Music
- 1810 Ludwig van Beethoven composes his famous piano piece "Für Elise"
Today in Sport
- 1956 Undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano, retires from the ring
Did You Know?
Blind and impoverished, English poet John Milton sells the copyright of "Paradise Lost" for £10
Famous Birthdays
- Mary Wollstonecraft
1759 - 1797 - Samuel Morse
1791 - 1872 - Ulysses S. Grant
1822 - 1885 - Draža Mihailović
1893 - 1946 - Rogers Hornsby
1896 - 1963 - Sheila Scott
1927 - 1988
Celebrity Birthdays
- Jack Klugman
1922 - 2012 - Casey Kasem
1932 - 2014 - George Gervin
72nd Birthday - Patrick Stump
40th Birthday - Lizzo
36th Birthday
Famous Weddings
- 1597 Astronomer Johannes Kepler marries widow Barbara Müller
- 1862 Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (28) weds Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva at Nikolaev Engineering Institute's church in Saint Petersburg, Russia
- 1981 Beatle Ringo Starr (40) weds American actress Barbara Bach (33) at Marylebone Town Hall, London, England
Famous Divorces
- 1927 Inventor and electrical engineer Guglielmo Marconi (53) divorces Beatrice O'Brien after 22 years of marriage
- 1962 American actress Natalie Wood (23) divorces American actor Robert Wagner (30) after almost 5 years of marriage; they remarry in 1972
- 2004 Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry files for divorce from her second husband, R&B singer Eric Benet, six months after the couple separated