This Day in History
1492: Christopher Columbus and his crew land in Cuba.
1787: The first of the Federalist Papers appears in a New York newspaper.
1795: The Treaty of San Lorenzo is signed by the United States and Spain, providing for free navigation of the Mississippi River.
1904: The first part of the New York City subway system opens.
1997: The Dow Jones industrial average falls 554.26 points, its largest one-day decline to date.
2002: The Anaheim Angels win their first baseball championship by defeating the San Francisco Giants 4-1 in the seventh and final game of the World Series.
2003: In five coordinated suicide bombing attacks at least 35 people are killed in Baghdad, Iraq; more than 200 others are wounded.
Today's Birthdays
1466?: Desiderius Erasmus, Renaissance humanist scholar (Netherlands; died 1536)
1728: James Cook, sea captain and explorer of the South Pacific (Yorkshire, England; died 1779)
1782: Nicolo Paganini, violinist (Genoa, Italy; died 1840)
1811: Isaac Singer, inventor (Pittstown, NY; died 1875)
1858: Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States (New York, NY; died 1919)
1872: Emily Post, etiquette expert (New York, NY; died 1960)
1914: Dylan Thomas, poet/playwright (Swansea, Wales; died 1953)
1917: Oliver Tambo, president of the African National Congress (Bizana, near Johannesburg, South Africa; died 1993)
1920: Nanette Fabray, actress (San Diego, CA). K. R. Narayanan, president of India (Uzhavoor, India; died 2005)
1922: Roy Lichtenstein, pop artist (New York, NY; died 1997)
1924: Ruby Dee, actress (Cleveland, OH)
1932: Sylvia Plath, poet (Boston, MA; died 1963)
1939: John Cleese, actor/writer (Weston-Super-Mare, England)
1940: John Gotti, crime boss (New York, NY; died 2002)
1940: Maxine Hong Kingston, writer (Stockton, CA)
1943: Lee Greenwood, country singer (Sacremento, CA)
1946: Peter Martins, ballet dancer and choreographer (Copenhagen, Denmark)
1952: Roberto Benigni, actor/director (Misericordia, Italy)
1956: Patty Sheehan, golfer (Middlebury, VT)
1967: Matt Drudge, internet journalist (Tacoma Park, MD). Scott Weiland, rock musician (Santa Cruz, CA)
1984: Kelly Osbourne, singer/TV personality (London, England)
