This Day in History
1556: Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits ), dies in Rome.
1790: The U.S. Patent Office opens and issues the first U.S. patent.
1792: The cornerstone is laid for the Philadelphia Mint, the first U.S. government building.
1877: Thomas Edison receives a patent for his phonograph.
1914: In World War I, Germany declares war on Russia, France mobilizes its army and navy, and a general mobilization is declared for Austria-Hungary.
1948: New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated at Idlewild Field in New York.
1987: In Mecca, Saudi police clash with Iranian pilgrims; more than 400 die.
Today's Birthdays
1900: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, writer and aviator (France; died 1944)
1912: Milton Friedman, economist/author (Brooklyn, NY)
1919: Curt Gowdy, sportscaster (Green River, WY; died 2006)
1929: Don Murray, actor (Hollywood, CA)
1939: France Nuyen, actress (Marseilles, France)
1943: William J. Bennett, former education secretary/drug czar and author (Brooklyn, NY)
1944: Geraldine Chaplin, actress (Santa Monica, CA). Sherry Lansing, producer (Chicago, IL)
1951: Evonne Goolagong, tennis champion (Griffith, Australia)
1963: Wesley Snipes, actor (Orlando, FL)
1965: J.K. Rowling, author (Bristol, England)
1966: Dean Cain, actor (Mount Clemens, MI)
