This Day in History
1795: The 11th Amendment is ratified, restricting the power of the federal judiciary in relation to the states.
1821: An American sealer, Capt. John Davis, makes the first known landing on Antarctica.
1973: The Senate establishes the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to investigate the Watergate scandal.
1984: Using jet thrusters attached to their backpacks, Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart become the first men to fly free of a spacecraft , during a space shuttle Challenger mission.
1986: Pres. Jean Claude Duvalier of Haiti flees to exile in France.
1999: King Hussein, who ruled Jordan for 46 years, dies.
Today's Birthdays
1478: Sir Thomas More, scholar and Lord Chancellor of England (London, England; died 1535)
1812: Charles Dickens, novelist (Portsmouth, England; died 1870)
1867: Laura Ingalls Wilder, children's author (Lake Pepin, WI; died 1957)
1883: Eubie Blake, composer/pianist/singer (Baltimore, MD; died 1983)
1885: Sinclair Lewis, novelist (Sauk Center, MN; died 1951)
1932: Gay Talese, author (Ocean City, NJ)
1953: Dan Quisenberry, baseball pitcher (Santa Monica, CA; died 1998)
1954: Miguel Ferrer, actor (Santa Monica, CA)
1960: James Spader, actor (Boston, MA)
1962: Garth Brooks, country singer (Tulsa, OK)
1966: Chris Rock, comedian/actor (South Carolina)
1973: Juwan Howard, basketball player (Chicago, IL)
1978: Ashton Kutcher, actor (Cedar Rapids, IA)
