This Day in History
1386: Swiss win a decisive battle in the struggle for independence from Austrian rule at Sempach.
1497: Portuguese explorer and navigator Vasco da Gama, commissioned by the king of Portugal to reach India by sea, sails from Lisbon with four ships.
1850: Pres. Zachary Taylor dies and is succeeded by Vice Pres. Millard Fillmore.
1868: The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, defining U.S. citizenship and providing that states cannot abridge the rights of citizens without due process and equal protection under the law.
1896: William Jennings Bryan delivers his famous "Cross of Gold" speech to the Democratic national convention en route to winning the party’s presidential nomination.
1943: During World War II, American, Canadian, and British forces begin the invasion of Sicily.
1977: In one of golf 's most dramatic confrontations, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus conclude the British Open with identical scores of 68-70-65; Watson then shoots a 65 over the final 18 holes to win over Nicklaus's 66.
1986: An advisory panel named by the attorney general links sexual violence to some pornography and calls for increased action against the pornography industry.
1992: Bill Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, names Tennessee Sen. Al Gore as his running mate.
2002: Baseball 's All-Star Game ends in a tie after 11 innings when both teams run out of players.
Today's Birthdays
1764: Ann Radcliffe, gothic novelist (London, England; died 1823)
1819: Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine (Spencer, MA; died 1867)
1858: Franz Boas, anthropologist (Germany; died 1942)
1894: Peter Leonidovich Kapitza, physicist and Nobel laureate (Kronshtadt, Russia; died 1984)
1901: Barbara Cartland, romance novelist (Hatfield, England; died 2000)
1916: Sir Edward Heath, British prime minister (St. Peter's-in-Thanet, England; died 2005)
1927: Ed Ames, actor/singer (Boston, MA)
1928: Vince Edwards, actor (Brooklyn, NY; died 1996)
1929: Hassan II, king of Morocco (Rabat, Morocco). Derek Almey Ratcliffe, ornithologist (London, England; died 2005)
1932: Donald Rumsfeld, government and business leader, U.S. secretary of defense (Chicago, IL)
1934: Michael Graves, architect, designer, and educator (Indianapolis, IN)
1937: David Hockney, artist (Bradford, England)
1938: Brian Dennehy, actor (Bridgeport, CT)
1945: Dean Koontz, writer (Everett, PA)
1947: O. J. Simpson, football player/sportscaster, actor, and murder defendant (San Francisco, CA)
1952: John Tesh, musician/composer and TV personality (Garden City, NY)
1955: Jimmy Smits, actor (New York, NY)
1956: Tom Hanks, actor (Oakland, CA)
1957: Kelly McGillis, actress (Newport Beach, CA)
1964: Courtney Love, singer/actress (San Francisco, CA)
1975: Jack White, musician (Detroit, MI)
1976: Fred Savage, actor (Highland Park, IL)
