1346 – Hundred Years’ War: the military supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow and armoured knights is established at the Battle of Crécy.
1466 – A conspiracy against Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici in Florence, led by Luca Pitti, is discovered. (but “conspiracies” no longer exist….)
1498 – Michelangelo is commissioned to carve the Pietà.
1748 – The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1768 – Captain James Cook sets sail from England on board HMS Endeavour.
1789 – The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is approved by the National Constituent Assembly of France. (Precursor to US Bill of Rights)
1791 – John Fitch is granted a United States patent for the steamboat.
1845 – Mary Ann Nichols, English victim of Jack the Ripper (d. 1888) was born.
1862 – Herbert Booth, Canadian songwriter and bandleader (d. 1926) was born.
1880 – Guillaume Apollinaire, France, poet/movie critic (Alcoola)- Born
The plastic virtues: purity, unity, and truth, keep nature in subjection.
Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the early 20th century, as well as one of the forefathers of surrealism. He is credited with coining the word “surrealism”, and writing one of the earliest works described as surrealist, the play The Breasts of Tiresias (1917, used as the basis for a 1947 opera).
Two years after being wounded in World War I, he died in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 at age 38.
1903 – Jimmy Rushing, US blues singer – Born
1910 – Mother Teresa, Macedonian-Indian missionary, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997) was born.
1914 – World War I: the German colony of Togoland is invaded by French and British forces, who take it after 5 days.
1920 – The 19th amendment to United States Constitution takes effect, giving women the right to vote.
1925 – Sangharakshita, Buddhist Philosopher, Founder of the Western Buddhist Order – Born
1930 – Lon Chaney, actor (Thunder, Big City, Unholy 3), dies at 47
1935 – Geraldine Ferraro, (Rep-D-NY) 1st female dem VP candidate (1984) Born
1937 – Andrew W. Mellon, American banker, industrialist and Secretary of the Treasury (1921-32), dies at 82 and goes directly to HELL!
1938 – Maurice Williams, rocker Born
1938 – Jet Black, English drummer, one of the founding members of The Stranglers – Born
1942 – Holocaust in Chortkiav, western Ukraine: At 2.30 am the German Schutzpolizei starts driving Jews out of their houses, divides them into groups of 120, packs them in freight cars and deports 2000 to Belzec death camp. 500 of the sick and children are murdered on the spot.
1944 – World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.
1944 – Maureen Tucker, American singer-songwriter and drummer (The Velvet Underground) was born.
1945 – Tom Ridge, American sergeant and politician, 1st Secretary of Homeland Security was birthed
1960 – Branford Marsalis, jazz saxophonist (Bring on the Night, Tonight Show)Born
1963 – Jack Blood (Poet, Artist, Revolutionary social commentator) Born
1966 – Shirley Manson, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress (Garbage, Angelfish, and Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie) was born.
1967 – Beatles, Mick Jagger & Marianne Faithfull meet Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
1970 – The then new feminist movement, led by Betty Friedan, leads a nation-wide Women’s Strike for Equality.
1974 – Charles Lindbergh, US aviator, dies at 72
1978 – Papal conclave: Pope John Paul I is elected to the Papacy.
1978 – Charles Boyer, actor (Gaslight, Rogues), dies at 78
1980 – Tex Avery, American cartoonist (b. 1908)Dies
1980 – John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey’s Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, US.
1981 – Lee Hays, rocker / Folk artist, activist… dies of a heart attack
1980 – Macaulay Culkin, NYC, actor (Home Alone, My Girl, Richie Rich)Born
1981 – Roger Nash Baldwin, American union leader, co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union (b. 1884) died.
1985 – French government denies knowledge of attack on Rainbow Warrior
1986 – Jennifer Levin, strangled by Robert Chambers in Central Park
1986 – Ted Knight, [Tadeus Konopka], actor (Mary Tyler Moore), dies at 62
1999 – Russia begins the Second Chechen War in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade.
2005 – Denis D’Amour, Canadian guitarist (Voivod) (b. 1960)Dies