This Day in History
1775: In a speech to the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry says, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
1965: Virgil Grissom and John Young orbit the earth 3 times in the Gemini 3 spacecraft.
1983: President Ronald Reagan announces plans for a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) for missile defense, soon dubbed "Star Wars."
Barney Clark dies in Salt Lake City, UT, 16 weeks after receiving an artificial heart.:
1989: Two scientists claim they have achieved "cold fusion"-- nuclear fusion at room temperature.
2001: The U.S. expels 40 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the recent discovery that FBI agent Robert Hanssen had been spying for the Russians for years.
2003: 5 U.S. troops are captured and 7 killed when a supply vehicle is ambushed near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
U.S. forces accidentally down a British fighter jet in Iraq , killing the two-man crew.:
2004: At hearings of the 9/11 Commission, Sec. of State Powell and Defense Sec. Rumsfeld testify that intelligence available at the time could not have prevented the 9/11 attacks.
Today's Birthdays
1900: Erich Fromm, psychoanalyst (Germany; died 1980)
1904: Joan Crawford (San Antonio, TX; died 1977)
1910: Akira Kurosawa, director (Tokyo, Japan; died 1998)
1912: Werner von Braun, engineer/rocketry pioneer (Germany; died 1977)
1929: Roger Bannister, runner and first man to break the 4-minute mile (Harrow, Middlesex, England)
1953: Louie Anderson, comedian/actor (Minneapolis, MN). Chaka Khan, singer (Great Lakes, IL)
1955: Moses Malone, basketball player (Petersburg, VA)
1957: Amanda Plummer, actress (New York, NY)
1964: Hope Davis, actress (Englewood, NJ)
1973: Jason Kidd, basketball player (San Francisco, CA)
1976: Keri Russell, actress (Fountain Valley, CA)
