Historical Events
1789 – Explorer Alexander Mackenzie sets out on his first expedition to the Pacific from Fort Chipewyan (finds the Arctic Ocean instead)
1861 – 1st American Civil War land battle: Union forces defeat the Confederacy at Philippi in modern-day West Virginia
1916 – US National Defense Act establishes Reserve Officers Training Corps
1944 – Generals Giraud and de Gaulle reach agreement on constitution
1987 – Cubs and Astro tie Oriole and Ranger record of 3 grand slams in a game
1989 – Beginning of the Tiananmen Square Massacre as Chinese troops open fire on pro-democracy supporters in Beijing
Famous Birthdays
1866 – George Howells Broadhurst, English director (d. 1952)
1891 – Mary Browne, American tennis player (US Nat C’ship 1912-14), born in Ventura County, California (d. 1971)
1923 – Michael Jaffe, English professor and museum director (Fitzwilliam Museum), born in London, England (d. 1997)
1946 – Eddie Holman, American singer (“Hey There Lonely Girl”; “You Make My Life Complete”), born in Norfolk, Virginia
1978 – Lyfe Jennings, American RandB singer-songwriter, born in Toledo, Ohio
1991 – Yordano Ventura, Dominican MLB pitcher (Kansas City Royals), born in Samaná, Dominican Republic (d. 2017)
Famous Deaths
1397 – William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English military leader, dies at 68
1849 – Francois de Paule Jacques Raymond de Fossa, French classical guitarist and composer, dies at 73
1983 – Ypk van der Fear, Dutch writer (Reade Runen), dies at 75
2000 – William E. Simon, American businessman, US Secretary of Treasury under Nixon, dies at 72
2015 – Bevo Francis, American basketball forward (NCAA record for points scored in a game [113] 1954–2012), dies at 82
2017 – Jimmy Piersall, American baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1954, 56; his bipolar disorder subject book and film, “Fear Strikes Out”), dies at 87