This Day in History
1638: An earthquake rocks Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts, the first such event to be recorded and described in writing in the United States.
1792: Kentucky is admitted to the Union as the 15th state.
1796: Tennessee is admitted to the Union as the 16th state.
1973: The military junta ruling Greece abolishes the monarchy, proclaims Greece a republic, and names Col. Georgios Papadopoulos to the presidency.
1980: CNN, the Cable News Network, goes on the air.
1988: The INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty goes into effect, after ratification agreements are signed and exchanged by Pres. George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
2001: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills himself and 21 others at a Tel Aviv nightclub. Nepal's Crown Prince Dipendra kills 9 members of the royal family, including his parents, the king and queen, over an apparent dispute about marital arrangements.
2004: Interim government leaders are appointed in Iraq .
Today's Birthdays
1637: Père Jacques Marquette, Jesuit missionary and explorer (Laon, France; died 1675)
1801: Brigham Young, Mormon religious leader (Whittingham, VT; died 1877)
1878: John Masefield, author and poet laureate (Ledbury, England; died 1967)
1926: Andy Griffith, actor (Mount Airy, NC). Marilyn Monroe, actress (Los Angeles, CA; died 1962)
1929: James Billington, librarian of Congress (Bryn Mawr, PA)
1934: Pat Boone, singer (Jacksonville, FL)
1937: Morgan Freeman, actor (Memphis, TN). Colleen McCullough, writer (Wellington, New South Wales, Australia)
1939: Cleavon Little, actor (Chickasha, OK; died 1992)
1940: Rene Auberjonois, actor (New York, NY)
1945: Frederica Von Stade, opera singer (Somerville, NJ)
1946: Brian Cox, actor (Dundee, Scotland)
1947: Ron Wood, musician and member of the Rolling Stones (London, England)
1974: Alanis Morissette, singer (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
1982: Justine Henin-Hardenne, tennis player (Liège, Belgium)
