3114 BC – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Mayans, begins.
1898 – Spanish–American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
1919 – Andrew Carnegie, US steel Industrialist, dies at 83
1921 – Alex Haley, American historian and author (d. 1992) was born.
1925 – Mike Douglas, Chicago Ill, talk show host (Mike Douglas Show) born (Dies today too)
1929 – Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
1933 – Jerry Falwell, US, TV evangelist (Moral Majority)Birthed
1934 – The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island.
1939 – Ronnie Dawson, American rockabilly performer (d. 2003)Born
1942 – Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a Frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system (TESLA)that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi.
BORN:
1942 – Mike Huggs, rock drummer (Manfred Mann) [or 3/11/40]
1943 – Denis Payton, London, English rocker (Dave Clarke Five – Glad All Over)
1943 – James Kale, rocker (Guess Who)
1943 – Kenny Gamble, US songwriter (Me & Mrs Jones)
1943 – Pervaiz Musharaf, Delhi India, General and politician, 10th President of Pakistan (2001-2008)
1943 – Abigail Folger, American heiress and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
1949 – Eric Carmen, Cleveland Ohio, rocker (All by Myself Harry Nilsson)
1950 – Erik Brann, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Iron Butterfly) (d. 2003)
1950 – Steve Wozniak, co-founder (Apple Computers)
1953 – Hulk Hogan, American wrestler and actor was born.
1954 – Joe Jackson, English singer/pianist/composer (The Harder they Come, Steppin Out)
1954 – Santo Trafficante, Sr., Sicilian-born American mobster / Alleged JFK conspirator (b. 1886)- Dies
1956 – Jackson Pollock, abstract artist, dies in auto accident (East Hampton)
1957 – Richie Ramone, [Richie Beau], rock drummer (Ramones-Pet Semtary) Born
1958 – Jah Wobble, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Public Image Ltd and The Damage Manual) was born.
1962 – Vostok 3 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev becomes the first person to float in microgravity.
1965 – Race riots (the Watts Riots) begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles, California.
1967 – Joe Rogan, American television host / Stand Up Comedian – Born
1972 – Vietnam War: the last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam.
1976 – Ben Gibbard, American musician (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service)Born
1977 – James Evan Pilato (Founder of Media Monarchy, Contributor to the James Corbett Show, and the Jack Blood Show!)
1982 – A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, killing one teenager and injuring 15 passengers.
1984 – “We begin bombing in five minutes” – United States President Ronald Reagan, while running for re-election, jokes while preparing to make his weekly Saturday address on National Public Radio.
1994 – Peter Cushing, actor (Star Wars, Dr Who), dies of cancer at 81
1995 – Phil Harris, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1904) died.
2003 – Herb Brooks, American ice hockey coach, dies in a car accident at 66
2003 – NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
2006 – Mike Douglas, American singer and talk show host (b. 1925) Dies on birthday (common)
2009 – Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, sister of John F. Kennedy (b. 1921)Dies
2011 – Jani Lane, American heavy metal musician (Warrant) dies of alcohol poisoning aged 47