Historical Events
- 1478 Pazzi conspirators attack Lorenzo de' Medici and kill Giuliano de' Medici in Florence
- 1920 Harlow Shapley and Heber D. Curtis hold the "Great Debate" on the nature of nebulae, galaxies and size of the universe at US National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
- 1945 Marshal Philippe Pétain, leader of France's Vichy collaborationist regime during World War II, arrested for treason
- 1956 First modern container ship, the Ideal X, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas
- 1986 World's worst nuclear disaster: The fourth reactor at Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union explodes, 31 die and radioactive contamination reaches much of Western Europe.
- 2005 Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of the country
- Historical Events Today Events in 2024
Today in Film & TV
- 1954 "Seven Samurai", Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune, is released
Today in Music
- 1965 Charles Ives' 4th Symphony premieres at Carnegie Hall, New York, 11 years after the composer's death
Today in Sport
- 1941 A tradition begins, 1st organ at a baseball stadium (Chicago Cubs)
Did You Know?
US Congressman Daniel E. Sickles is acquitted in the murder Philip Barton Key, on grounds of "temporary insanity" - 1st time this defense used successfully in the US
Famous Birthdays
Marcus Aurelius
121 AD - 180
John James Audubon
1785 - 1851
Frederick Law Olmsted
1822 - 1903
Rudolf Hess
1894 - 1987
Eddie Eagan
1897 - 1967
I. M. Pei
1917 - 2019
Celebrity Birthdays
Carol Burnett
91st Birthday
Nino Benvenuti
86th Birthday
Jet Li
61st Birthday
Melania Trump
54th Birthday
John Isner
39th Birthday
Famous Weddings
- 1709 Frisian Stadtholder and Prince of Orange John William Friso (21) weds Dutch Countess Maria Louise van Hessen-Kassel (21), until his death in 1702
- 1923 English prince Albert Duke of York (George VI) (27) marries Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (22) at Westminster Abbey
- 1946 Father Divine, controversial religious leader claimed to be God, marries the much-younger Edna Rose Ritchings, a celebrated anniversary in the International Peace Mission movement
Famous Divorces
- 1994 American actor Patrick Dempsey (28) divorces American talent manager and actress Rochelle "Rocky" Parker (56) after nearly 7 years of marriage
- 2004 Model-actress Deborah Falconer (38) divorces actor Robert Downey Jr (39) due to irreconcilable differences after 12 years of marriage
John Wilkes Booth
Count Basie
Broderick Crawford
Lucille Ball
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