This Day in History
1756: According to a contemporary British account, prisoners taken in India by the nawab of Bengal die in the Black Hole of Calcutta, a small airless dungeon. The event arouses great anger among the British and is used as an excuse for harsh retaliation.
1789: In France, representatives of the third estate (commoners) meeting in Versailles defy the king and swear the Tennis Court Oath, stating that they will not dissolve until they have drafted a constitution for France.
1863: West Virginia is admitted to the Union as the 35th state.
1892: Lizzie Borden is found not guilty of the hacking death of her father and stepmother in Fall River, MA.
1900: The Boxer Rebellion begins in China when young rebels attack foreigners in Beijing.
1947: Pres. Harry Truman vetoes the Taft-Hartley Act, which curbed strikes.
1973: Juan Perón returns to Argentina after nearly 18 years in exile.
1991: Berlin becomes the capital of the newly united Germany.
1999: NATO ends its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, as Serb forces complete their withdrawal from Kosovo.
Today's Birthdays
1566: Sigismund III, king of Poland and, as Sigismund I, of Sweden (Gripsholm, Sweden; died 1632)
1819: Jacques Offenbach, composer (Cologne, Germany; died 1880)
1905: Lillian Hellman, playwright/author (New Orleans, LA; died 1984)
1909: Errol Flynn, actor (Hobart, Tasmania; died 1959)
1924: Audie Murphy, World War II hero and actor (Kingston, TX; died 1971). Chet Atkins, guitarist (Luttrell, TN; died 2001)
1931: Olympia Dukakis, actress (Lowell, MA)
1933: Danny Aiello, actor (New York, NY)
1934: Martin Landau, actor (New York, NY)
1940: John Mahoney, actor (Manchester, England)
1942: Brian Wilson, singer/songwriter and member of the Beach Boys (Hawthorne, CA)
1945: Anne Murray, singer (Springhill, Nova Scotia, Canada)
1946: Andre Watts, pianist (Nuremberg, Germany). Bob Vila, handyman/TV personality (Miami, FL)
1950: Lionel Richie, singer/songwriter (Tuskegee, AL)
1952: John Goodman, actor (St. Louis, MO)
1953: Cyndi Lauper, singer (New York, NY)
1967: Nicole Kidman, actress (Honolulu, HI)
