Benjamin Franklin 1706, Al Capone 1899 - Gangster, Nevil Shute 1899 Betty White 1922 - Actress, James Earl Jones 1931 - Actor, "Star Wars" trilogy as the voice of Darth Vader, Shari Lewis (Hurwitz) 1934 Muhammad Ali 1942 - Boxer, Jim Carrey 1962 - Actor, comedian ("Batman Forever," "Liar Liar," "The Mask"), Michelle Obama 1964 |
1893 - Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown when a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate.
1912 - English explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole. Norwegian Roald Amundsen had beaten him there by one month. Scott and his party died during the return trip.
1913 - All partner interests in 36 Golden Rule Stores were consolidated and incorporated in Utah into one company. The new corporation was the J.C. Penney Company.
1934 - Ferdinand Porsche submitted a design for a people's car, a "Volkswagen," to the new German Reich government.
1945 - Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg disappeared in Hungary while in Soviet custody. Wallenberg was credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews.
1961 - In his farewell address, U.S. President Eisenhower warned against the rise of "the military-industrial complex."
1966 - A B-52 carrying four H-bombs collided with a refuelling tanker. The bombs were released and eight crewmembers were killed.
1998 - U.S. President Clinton gave his deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit against him. He was the first U.S. President to testify as a defendant in a criminal or civil lawsuit.
2001 - The director of Palestinian TV, Hisham Miki, was killed at a restaurant when three masked gunmen walked up to his table and shot him more than 10 times.