168 BC – Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat and capture Macedonian King Perseus, ending the Third Macedonian War.
1559 – Jewish quarter of Prague burned & looted
1611 – Henry Hudson set adrift in Hudson Bay by mutineers on his ship Discovery & never seen again
1633 – Galileo Galilei forced to recant Earth orbits Sun by Pope (on Oct 31, 1992, Vatican admits it was wrong) — The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe in the form he presented it in, after heated controversy.
1774 – The British pass the Quebec Act, setting out rules of governance for the colony of Quebec in British North America.
1775 – 1st Continental currency issued ($3,000,000)
1807 – In the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair, the British warship HMS Leopard attacks and boards the American frigate USS Chesapeake.
1813 – War of 1812: After learning of American plans for a surprise attack on Beaver Dams in Ontario, Laura Secord sets out on a 30 kilometer journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon.
1825 – The British Parliament “abolishes” feudalism and the seigneurial system in British North America.
1839 – Cherokee leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot are assassinated for signing the Treaty of New Echota, which had resulted in the Trail of Tears.
1844 – Influential North American fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon is founded at Yale University.
1848 – Beginning of the June Days Uprising in Paris.
1848 – Barnburners (anti-slavery) party nominates Martin Van Buren for Pres
1870 – US Congress created the United States Department of Justice
1887 – Julian S Huxley, biologist/philosopher, Darwin’s Bulldog, 1st head of UNESCO (Aldous Huxley’s Brother) birthed in London, England
1893 – The Royal Navy battleship HMS Camperdown accidentally rams the British Mediterranean Fleet flagship HMS Victoria which sinks taking 358 crew with her, including the fleet’s commander, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon.
1897 – British colonial officers Charles Walter Rand and Lt. Charles Egerton Ayerst are assassinated in Pune, Maharashtra, India by the Chapekar brothers and Mahadeo Vinayak Ranade, who are later caught and hanged.
1898 – Spanish–American War: United States Marines land in Cuba.
1903 – John Dillinger, Indianapolis Indiana, notorious bank robber, born
1906 – Billy Wilder, dir (Some Like It Hot, Apartment, Stalag 17), born in Vienna, Austria
1907 – The London Underground’s Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway opens.
1911 – George V and Mary of Teck are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
1916 – Johnny Jacobs, American television announcer (d. 1982) was born.
1922 – Herrin massacre, 19 strikebreakers and 2 union miners are killed in Herrin, Illinois.
1928 – Ralph Waite, White Plains New York, American actor, director and political candidate (Cool Hand Luke, The Waltons) Born
1930 – Lou Gehrig hits 3 HRs in a game, Ruth hits 3 in doubleheader
1933 – Dianne Feinstein, 1st female mayor of SF/(Sen-D-Ca) Birthed
1934 – The work on first prototypes of The Peoples Car what became the ( Volkswagen Beetle ) was started by Ferdinand Porsche but it would take until 1936 before the first prototype was completed
1934 – John Dillinger is informally named America’s first Public Enemy Number One
1936 – Kris Kristofferson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, Intelligence Officer, Rhodes Scholar, and actor (The Highwaymen) was born.
1937 – Joe Louis KOs James J Braddock in 18 for heavyweight boxing title
1939 – Bobby Harrison, England, rock drummer (Procol Harum-Conquistador) Born
1940 – France falls to Nazi Germany; armistice signed, France disarms
1941 – (Germany, Italy & Romania declare war on Soviet Union) Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.
1942 – Pledge of Allegiance formally adopted by Congress
1942 – Murphy Dunne, American actor and keyboard player (The Blues Brothers) was born.
1943 – Brit Hume, American journalist was birthed.
1944 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill.
1947 – “Pistol” Pete Maravich, Aliquippa Pennsylvania, NBA star (Atlanta Hawks) Born
1948 – Todd Rundgren, Upper Darby PA, singer/guitarist (Hello it’s Me) Born
1949 – Larry Junstrom, American bass player (38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd) was born.
1949 – Meryl Streep, American actress and singer was born.
1949 – Gary Moffet, Montreal, rock guitarist (April Wine) Born
1951 – Craig Gruber, American bass player (Rainbow, Elf, Bible Black, and Raven Lord (d. 2015) was born.
1953 – Cyndi Lauper, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (Blue Angel) was born.
1956 – Green [Gartside], rock vocalist (Scritti Politti-Flesh & Blood) Born
1957 – Garry Gary Beers, Australian bass player, songwriter, and producer (INXS and Absent Friends) was born.
1960 – Erin Brockovich, American lawyer and environmentalist was born.
1962 – Clyde “Glide” Drexler, NBA Guard (Houston Rockets, Port Trailblazers), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
1964 – Kevin Sargeant, rocker (Thrashing Doves-Reprobate’s Hymm) born
1964 – Mike Edwards, British rock vocalist (Jesus Jones-Devil you Know) born
1964 – Dan Brown, Exeter, New Hampshire, American author of thriller fiction (The Da Vinci Code) born
1965 – David O Selznick, producer (Gone With the Wind), dies at 63
1969 – The Cuyahoga River catches fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to water pollution, and spurring the passing of the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
1969 – Judy Garland, actress (Wizard of Oz, Easter Parade), dies at 47 of an overdose
1970 – Steven Page, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Barenaked Ladies) was born.
1970 – President Nixon signs 26th amendment (voting age lowered to 18) — President Nixon signed a bill to lower the voting age to 18 for all federal, state and local elections, In addition to lowering the voting age, the bill placed a five-year extension on the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which gave more than one million African Americans in the South the right to vote.
1970 – Supreme Court ruled juries of less than 12 are constitutional
1971 – Mary Lynn Rajskub, Trenton, Michigan, American actress (Chloe O’Brian-24) Born
1973 – Carson Daly, American television personality, Birthed
1975 – The Ulster Volunteer Force (British Loyalists!) try to derail a train by planting a bomb on the railway line near County Kildare, Ireland; a civilian tries to stop the UVF volunteers, and is stabbed-to-death (his actions delay the explosion enough to let the train pass safely)
1977 – Former AG John Mitchell starts 19 months in Alabama prison
1977 – Peter Laughner, American singer, songwriter and guitarist (Rocket From the Tombs, Pere Ubu) (b. 1952) dies
1978 – Pluto’s satelite Charon is discovered
1979 – Little Richard quits rock & roll for religious pursuit
1981 – Monty Oum, American animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2015) was born in Providence, Rhode Island
1981 – Iran president Bani Sadr deposed
1983 – 1st time a satellite is retrieved from orbit by Space Shuttle
1986 – Pirate Radio Euro Weekend (Holland) begins transmitting
1987 – Fred Astaire, actor/dancer (Royal Wedding, Let’s Dance), dies at 88
1990 – Adam Sandler joins “Saturday Night Live”
1992 – 2 skeletons excavated in Yekaterinburg identified as Tsar Nicholas II & Tsarina Alexandra
1992 – Supreme Court rules “hate crime” laws violated free-speech rights
1993 – Pat Nixon, American economist and educator, 44th First Lady of the United States (b. 1912) died.
1993 – Wilson Pickett plead guilty to auto assault due to drunk driving
1999 – Former Mpumalanga premier, Ndaweni Mahlangu causes a storm within political circles with his now infamous statement, “It is acceptable for politicians to lie”, South Africa
2007 – Nancy Benoit, American wrestler and manager (b. 1964)died. She and her son were killed by her husband, wrestler Chris Benoit, who committed suicide two days later.
2008 – George Carlin, American comedian, actor, and author (b. 1937) died.
2009 – Eastman Kodak Company announces that it will discontinue sales of the Kodachrome Color Film, concluding its 74-year run as a photography icon.
2011 – After hiding for 16 years, Boston gangster Whitey Bulger is arrested outside an apartment in Santa Monica, California
2014 – Teenie Hodges, American rhythm and blues guitarist, dies from complications from emphysema at 68