Today in History

1381 Peasants’ Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath

1665 New Amsterdam legally becomes an English colony and renamed New York after English Duke of York

1665 England installs a municipal government in New York City

1830 Beginning of the French colonization of Algeria: 34,000 French soldiers land 27 kilometers west of Algiers, at Sidi Ferruch

1838 Iowa Territory forms with Burlington as its capital

1861 Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson calls for 50,000 volunteers to stop Federates from taking over his state

1864 The Battle of Trevilian Station, the bloodiest and largest all-cavalry battle of the American Civil War in Louisa County ends with Confederate tactical victory and Union successful retreat

1898 Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain

1917 US Secret Service extends protection of the President to include his family

1923 Harry Houdini frees himself from a straight jacket while suspended upside down, 40 feet (12 m) above ground in NYC

1931 Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition and perjury

1942 Anne Frank gets her diary as a birthday present in Amsterdam

1942 Tornado kills 35 in Oklahoma City

1964 Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison in South Africa

1967 US Supreme Court unanimously ends laws against interracial marriages

1977 Groundbreaking ceremony for John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

1980 Ronald Reagan says he will submit to periodic medical tests

1987 US President Ronald Reagan challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin wall

2007 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist and historian, is awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation for his humanitarian work by President Putin

2018 Singapore Summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump

2018 AT&T’s $85.4 billion takeover of Time Warner can go ahead according to US district court judge

2019 Earliest evidence of humans smoking cannabis discovered in 2,500-year-old grave in Pamir Mountains, China, published in “Science Advances”

Movies & TV

1963 “Cleopatra” directed by Joseph Mankiewicz and starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton premieres in NYC, then most expensive film ever made

1965 Sonny and Cher make their 1st TV appearance on “American Bandstand”

1966 Dave Clark Five sets record as they appear for 12th time on Ed Sullivan Show

1967 “You Only Live Twice”, 5th James Bond film starring Sean Connery, screenplay by Roald Dahl, premieres in London

1981 “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, the first Indiana Jones film directed by Stephen Spielberg, produced by George Lucas and starring Harrison Ford premieres

1997 “Batman and Robin” directed by Joel Schumacher, starring George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chris O’Donnell premieres in Los Angeles

2007 “Transformers”, directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox premieres in Sydney

2010 “Toy Story 3”, directed by Lee Unkrich, starring Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, premieres at the Taormina Film Fest in Italy - 1st animated film to earn 1 billion

2016 70th Tony Awards: “Hamilton” wins 11 awards after record 16 nominations

Music

1909 “Shine On, Harvest Moon” by Ada Jones & Billy Murray hits #1

1954 Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” is originally released

1970 Rocker and blues singer Janis Joplin debuts in Kentucky

1990 “Mariah Carey” debut album by Mariah Carey is released

Sports

1880 Worcester pitcher Lee Richmond throws first perfect game in MLB history in 1-0 win over Cleveland

1922 St Louis Brown Hub Pruett strikes out Babe Ruth 3 straight times

1928 NY Yankee Lou Gehrig hits 2 triples & 2 HRs to be White Sox 15-7

1950 Connie Mack named Honorary Manager of the All-Star Game

1975 Hank Aaron’s 1st HR in Milwaukee since 1965

1981 Larry Holmes TKOs Leon Spinks in 3 for WBC heavyweight boxing title

1990 Orioles Cal Ripken plays in his 1,308th consecutive game to move past Everett Scott into 2nd place on the all-time list