Historical Events
1799 – Congress standardizes US weights and measures
1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escapes assassination when Roderick Maclean shoots at her while boarding a train in Windsor
1949 – 1st automatic street light (New Milford, Ct)
1977 – Libya amends constitution
1981 – Discovery of minor planet 5020 Asimov, named after sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov
2012 – Major League Baseball confirms the postseason will be expanded from 8 to 10 teams, with an extra wild card team in each league
Famous Birthdays
1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor (Ricky Ricardo-I Love Lucy), born in Santiago de Cuba (d. 1986)
1928 – Father John Romanides, Greek priest and professor (d. 2001)
1930 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 2007)
1943 – Peter Straub, American author
1978 – Giannis Skopelitis, Greek footballer
1985 – Luke Pritchard, British singer (The Kooks)
Famous Deaths
1122 – Floris II, the fat one, count of Holland, dies
1127 – Charles, the Good, Count of Flanders, murdered
1921 – Henryk Pachulski, Polish composer, dies at 61
1953 – Jim Lightbody, American runner (b. 1882)
2004 – Cormac McAnallen, Northern Irish Gaelic footballer (b. 1980)
2005 – Rick Mahler, American baseball player (b. 1953)