History Today
In 1798, the United States Marine Corps was formally re-established by Act of Congress, at which time the United States Marine Band was also created.
In 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton with a pistol in Weehawken, New Jersey. (Hamilton died the next day.)
In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell in London’s famous clock tower, rang for the first time.
In 1864, Confederate forces under General Jubal Early launched a failed invasion of Washington, DC, and retreated the next day.
In 1914, Babe Ruth made his major league debut as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, winning 4-3 against Cleveland.
In 1921, fighting in the Irish War of Independence ended with a truce.
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960.
In 1972, the World Chess Championship began in Reykjavik, Iceland, with grandmaster Bobby Fischer of the United States facing off against defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union (Fischer won in 21 games).
In 1979, the abandoned US space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and scattering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.
In 1991, a Nigerian Airways DC-8 carrying Muslim pilgrims crashed at Jeddah International Airport in Saudi Arabia, killing all 261 passengers and crew.
In 1995, Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, a UN-designated “safe zone,” fell to Bosnian Serb forces, after which more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed.
In 2006, eight bombs exploded on a commuter rail network in Mumbai, India, during the evening rush hour, killing more than 200 people.
In 2022, President Joe Biden unveiled the first images from NASA’s new space telescope, the furthest in time and distance humanity has ever seen, approaching the dawn of the universe and the edge of the cosmos.
birthday
Fashion designer Giorgio Armani is 90 years old.
Actress Susan Seaforth Hayes is 81 years old.
Actor Bruce McGill is 74 years old.
Actor Stephen Lang is 72 years old.
Actress Mindy Sterling is 71 years old.
Actress Sela Ward is 68 years old.
Reggae singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) is 67 years old.
Singer Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) is 67 years old.
Actor Mark Lester is 66 years old.
Saxophonist Kirk Whalum is 66 years old.
Singer Suzanne Vega is 65 years old.
Rock guitarist Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) is 65 years old.
Actress Lisa Rinna is 61 years old.
Author Jhumpa Lahiri is 57 years old.
Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is 57 years old.
Actor Justin Chambers (TV: Grey’s Anatomy) is 54 years old.
Actor Michael Rosenbaum (TV: Smallville) is 52 years old.
Rapper Lil’ Kim is 50 years old.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona is 49 years old.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Johnson is 43 years old.
Pop-jazz singer and musician Peter Cincotti is 41 years old.
Actress Serinda Swan is 40 years old.
Actor David Henrie is 35 years old.
Actor Connor Paolo is 34 years old.
Tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is 34 years old.
R&B/pop singer Alessia Cara is 28 years old.
