Historical Events
- 1497 Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci leaves for his first voyage to the New World (disputed)
- 1775 Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and issues paper currency for 1st time
- 1801 First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America (1st US foreign war)
- 1857 Indian Mutiny against rule by the British East India Company begins with the revolt of the Sepoy soldiers in Meerut
- 1869 Golden Spike driven, completing the 1st US Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah and connecting the Central Pacific Railroad with the Union Pacific
- 1940 Winston Churchill succeeds Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister at the head of a coalition government
- 1960 US atomic submarine USS Triton completes 1st submerged circumnavigation of the globe
- 1994 Nelson Mandela sworn in as South Africa's 1st black president
- Historical Events Today Events in 2024
Today in Film & TV
- 1956 9th Cannes Film Festival: "The Silent World" directed by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle wins the Palme d'Or
Today in Music
- 1963 Decca Records sign The Rolling Stones on advice of Beatle George Harrison [1]
Today in Sport
- 1970 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Bobby Orr scores famous OT winner as Boston beats St. Louis Blues, 4-3 for 4-0 series sweep; Bruins its first title since 1941
Did You Know?
Victoria Woodhull becomes 1st woman nominated for US presidency by Equal Rights Party at Apollo Hall, NYC
John Wilkes Booth
Gustav Stresemann
Alfred Jodl
Fred Astaire
Maybelle Carter
Arthur Kopit
Pat Summerall
Sid Vicious
Donovan
Bono
Fun Fact About Today
In an interview with the 'Belfast Telegraph' former Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill states: "if you give Roman Catholics a good job and a good house, they will live like Protestants, ... They will refuse to have 18 children"
Famous Weddings
- 1927 American "The Sun Also Rises" novelist Ernest Hemingway (27) weds for second time, to American journalist Pauline Pfeiffer (31); divorce in 1940
- 1959 British stage actress and singer Julie Andrews (23) weds British theatrical set designer Tony Walton (24) in Weybridge, Surrey, England; divorce in 1968
- 1976 "KISS" former lead guitarist Ace Frehley (25) weds Janette Trerotola
Famous Divorces
- 1994 Drew Barrymore (19) files for divorce from Jeremy Thomas (31)
Paul Revere
Stonewall Jackson
Henry Morton Stanley
Tommy Burns
Joan Crawford
John Wayne Gacy
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