This Day in History
1797: The U.S. frigate Constellation is launched at Baltimore, MD.
1812: The Battle of Borodino is fought near Moscow between the French, led by Napoleon, and the Russians. The French are victorious, and soon enter and occupy Moscow.
1822: In São Paolo, the independence of Brazil from Portugal is proclaimed.
1892: In the first modern boxing match played under Marquis of Queensbury rules, James J. Corbett defeats John L. Sullivan.
1901: A peace treaty with punitive conditions is forced upon the imperial Chinese government after the Boxer Rebellion and the occupation of Beijing by British, French, Japanese, Russian, German, and American troops.
1986: Pres. Augusto Pinochet of Chile survives an assassination attempt by the leftist opposition, and a state of siege is declared.
1999: Viacom, the world's largest cable network company, announces that it plans to buy CBS. An earthquake in Greece shakes the Athens region, killing 143 people and causing property damage estimated at nearly $650 million.
2003: In a televised address, Pres. George W. Bush asks Congress for $87 billion to rebuild Iraq.
Today's Birthdays
1533: Queen Elizabeth I, queen of England from 1558 to 1603 (Greenwich Palace, England; died 1603)
1707: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, naturalist (Montbard, France; died 1788)
1829: Friedrich August Kekul von Stradonitz, chemist (Darmstadt, Germany; died 1896)
1860: Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Moses), folk painter (Greenwich, NY; died 1961)
1887: Dame Edith Sitwell, poet/author and eccentric (Scarborough, Yorkshire, England; died 1964)
1908: Michael DeBakey, heart surgeon (Lake Charles, LA)
1909: Elia Kazan, director/producer (Istanbul, Turkey; died 2003)
1912: David Packard, electrical engineer/businessman (Pueblo, CO; died 1996)
1917: Sir John Warcup Cornforth, organic chemist and Nobel laureate (Sydney, Australia)
1923: Peter Lawford, actor (London, England; died 1984)
1930: Baudouin I, king of Belgium (near Brussels, Belgium; died 1993)
1931: Al McGuire, basketball coach and sportscaster (New York, NY; died 2001)
1936: Buddy Holly, singer/songwriter/musician (Lubbock, TX; died 1959)
1942: Richard Roundtree, actor (New Rochelle, NY)
1947: Ann Beattie, writer (Washington, D.C.)
1950: Peggy Noonan, columnist, speechwriter (Brooklyn, NY)
1951: Chrissie Hynde, singer/songwriter and member of the Pretenders (Akron, OH). Julie Kavner, actress (Los Angeles, CA)
1954: Corbin Bernsen, actor (North Hollywood, CA)
1956: Michael Feinstein, singer/pianist (Columbus, OH)
1973: Shannon Elizabeth, actress (Houston, TX)
1978: Devon Sawa, actor (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
