1779 – John Paul Jones aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard defeats the British frigate HMS Serepis and becomes the United States first well-known naval hero
1845 – Hunger strike in Hague
1857 – Russian warship Leffort disappears in a storm in the Gulf of Finland; 826 die
1911 – Earl Ovington becomes 1st air mail pilot
1927 – “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans”, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor, is released (Academy Awards Unique and Artistic Picture 1927)
1944 – Proclamation No. 30 was issued, declaring the existence of a state of war between the Philippines and the United States and the United Kingdom
1970 – Abdul Razak bin Hussain becomes premier of Malaysia
1974 – John Lennon’s single “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night”, featuring Elton John, released in US; it was Lennon’s only solo No. 1 single during his lifetime
1979 – Jane Fonda and 200,000 attend anti-nuke rally in Battery Park, NYC
1988 – Premiere of director Paul Schrader’s crime biopic “Patty Hearst”