Birthday
1803 Christian Doppler, Austrian physicist (Doppler effect), born in Salzburg, Austria (d. 1853)
1832 Louisa May Alcott, American author (Little Women), born in Germantown, Pennsylvania (d. 1888)
1898 C. S. Lewis [Clive Staples], British sci-fi author (Silver Chair), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 1963)
1926 Beji Caid Essebsi, Tunisia's 1st freely elected President (2014-present), born in Sidi Bou Said
1927 Vin Scully, American sportscaster (Los Angeles Dodgers), born in The Bronx, New York
1960 Cathy Moriarty, American actress (Raging Bull, Bless This House), born in The Bronx, New York
1960 Howard Johnson, American baseball player (NY Mets), born in Clearwater, Florida
Deaths
1924 Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer (Mme Butterfly), dies in Brussels at 65
1980 Dorothy Day, American journalist, social activist and devout Catholic convert, dies of a heart attack at 83
2001 George Harrison, English pop star and Beatle (Traveling Wilburys-My Sweet Lord), dies of lung cancer at 58
Wedding
1916 Erwin Rommel marries Lucie "Lu" Mollin
1927 Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) (23) marries first wife fellow author and editor Helen Palmer (28)
2003 Composer and former Oingo Boingo singer Danny Elfman (50) weds actress Bridget Fonda (39) at First Congressional Church in Los Angeles
Historical Events
1596 King Philip II devalues Spanish currency
1812 Napoleon's Grand Army crosses Berezina River in retreat from Russia
1877 US inventor Thomas Edison demonstrates his hand-cranked phonograph for the first time
1900 General Horatio Kitchener assumes command of the British forces in South Africa from General Lord Roberts
1902 Gerhart Hauptmann's "Der arme Heinrich" premieres in Vienna
1929 Richard E. Byrd sends "My calculations indicate that we have reached vicinity of South Pole" (He was wrong)
1935 Physicist Erwin Schrödinger publishes his famous thought experiment 'Schrödinger's cat', a paradox that illustrates the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics
1945 "The Lost Weekend", based on Charles R. Jackson's novel, directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1946)
1952 US President-elect Eisenhower visits Korea to assess war
1963 LBJ sets up Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of JFK
1968 John Lennon and Yoko Ono release their 1st album "Two Virgins" in UK
1972 Co-founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell releases Pong, first commercially successful video game in Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California
1974 Coco the Clown [Nicolai Poliakoff] special memorial service held at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England
1975 US President Gerald Ford requires states to provide free education for handicapped
1976 NY Yankees sign free agent Reggie Jackson to 5-year contract
1987 Joe Montana of 49ers completes NFL record 22 consecutive passes
1994 "My Life" 2nd studio album by Mary J Blige is released (Billboard Music Award Top R&B Album 1995)
1995 US President Bill Clinton lifts ban on exports of oil from the Alaskan North Slope; the ban was imposed after the oil embargo by Arab oil producers in 1973
2010 "Rolling in the Deep" single is released by Adele (Billboard Song of the Year 2011, Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year 2012)
Source
OnThisDay