Historical Events
1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine are present and join the Crusade.
1917 – The Danish West Indies are officially ceded to the US for $25 million and renamed the Virgin Islands
1958 – USSR suspends nuclear weapons tests, and urges US and Britain to do same
1970 – Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere after 12 years in orbit
1984 – Mike Bossy becomes first player in NHL history to record 7 straight 50 goal seasons; scores 50th and 51st of the year in a 3-1 New York Islanders’ win at Washington
1988 – Pulitzer prize awarded to Toni Morrison for her novel “Beloved”
Famous Birthdays
1360 – Philippa of Lancaster, Queen of Portugal as wife of King John I (1387-1415), born in Leicester Castle, Leicester, England (d. 1415)
1536 – Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese 13th shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate (1546-65), born in Nanzen-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan (d. 1565)
1651 – Karl II, Elector Palatine (d. 1685)
1960 – Anne Howard, American actress (Nicole Love-Another World), born in San Diego, California
1964 – Erik Turner, American rock guitarist (Warrant – “Cherry Pie”), born in Omaha, Nebraska
1975 – Adam Green, American film director
Famous Deaths
1928 – Medardo Rosso, Italian sculptor (portraits), dies at 69
2003 – Tommy Seebach, Danish rock keyboardist, singer (Sir Henry and His Butlers), and songwriter (Eurovision), dies at 53
2005 – Terri Schiavo, American figure in right to die case (b. 1963)
2008 – William L. Dickinson, American politician (Rep-R-AL, 1965-93), dies at 82
2014 – Charles Keating, American district attorney (Los Angeles California), dies at 90
2016 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German Minister of Foreign Affairs (FDP), worked to re-unify Germany, dies at 89