This Day in History
1712: The last issue of the Spectator, an influential 18th-century journal written by English essayists Sir Richard Steele and Joseph Addison, appears.
1790: Philadelphia becomes the U.S. capital, succeeding New York City. (It remains the nation's capital until Washington, D.C., takes on the function in 1800.)
1865: The 13th Amendment is ratified, abolishing slavery.
1917: Much of Halifax, Nova Scotia, is destroyed by a tidal wave caused when 2 ships, 1 loaded with explosives, collide in Halifax Harbor.
1969: A free rock concert at the Altamont Speedway in Livermore, CA, ends with the fatal stabbing of a fan by a member of Hell's Angels, who were hired as security guards.
1973: Gerald Ford is sworn in as vice president, following the resignation of Spiro Agnew.
1997: In a runoff election, Lee Brown is elected the first black mayor of Houston, TX.
Today's Birthdays
1421: Henry VI, king of England (Windsor, England; died 1471)
1478: Count Baldassare Castiglione, diplomat/soldier/author (Italy; died 1529)
1732: Warren Hastings, British statesman and colonial administrator (Churchill, Oxfordshire, England; died 1818)
1886: Joyce Kilmer, poet (New Brunswick, NJ; died 1918)
1887: Lynn Fontanne, actress (Britain; died 1983)
1896: Ira Gershwin, lyricist (New York, NY; died 1983)
1898: Alfred Eisenstaedt, photojournalist (Dirschau, Prussia; died 1995). Gunnar Myrdal, economist/sociologist (Sweden; died 1987)
1906: Agnes Moorehead, actress (Clinton, MA; died 1974)
1914: Claude Renoir, film cameraman (Paris, France; died 1993)
1920: Dave Brubeck, jazz musician (Concord, CA)
1927: Patsy T. Mink, liberal Democratic HI congresswoman (Paia, Hawaii; died 2002)
1945: James Naughton, actor (Middletown, CT)
1953: Tom Hulce, actor (Whitewater, WI). JoBeth Williams, actress (Houston, TX)
1955: Stephen Wright, comedian (New York, NY)
1962: Janine Turner, actress (Lincoln, NE)
