Historical Events
1809 – Spencer Perceval becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after William Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland retires due to ill health
1921 – Riccardo Zanella becomes first elected President of Free State of Fiume
1962 – US Air Force Major Robert A. Rushworth flies an X-15 to an altitude of 105,971 ft (32,300 m)
1991 – San Jose Sharks play first NHL game in franchise history, a 4-3 loss in Vancouver; native Californian Craig Coxe scores club’s first goal while Jeff Hackett makes an impressive 48 saves
1992 – “Real Inspector Hound” closes at Criterion Theater in NYC after 61 performances
Famous Birthdays
1945 – Clifton Davis, American actor (That’s My Mama; Amen) and singer-songwriter (“Never Can Say Goodbye”), born in Chicago, Illinois
1952 – Nina Carter, vocalist (Blonde on Blonde), born in London, England
1960 – Jennifer Anglin, American actress (Cheryl Stansbury in “General Hospital”), born in Adrian, Michigan
1961 – Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese creator of manga and trading card game Yu-Gi-Oh, born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 2022)
1980 – Morgan Spector, American actor (The Gilded Age, The Plot Against America), born in Santa Rosa, California
Famous Deaths
1893 – Pieter Elout van Soeterwoude, Dutch judge and politician (AR), dies at 88
1948 – Georg Kulenkampff, German concert violinist, dies of encephalitis at 50
1970 – Janis Joplin, American rock and blues singer-songwriter (“Piece of My Heart”; “Me and Bobby McGee”; “Mercedes Benz”), dies of a heroin overdose at 27
1975 – Joan Whitney Payson, American heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist (co-founder and majority owner of MLB’s New York Mets), dies at 72
2010 – Norman Wisdom, British comedian (Kraft Music Hall; Trouble In Store), dies at 95