This Date In History
51
That's right, way back in 51 AD, the Roman emperor Domitian is born.
Anton von Leeuwenhoek, microbiologist and inventor of the microscope, is born.
The Treaty of Westphalia is signed, bringing an end to the Thirty Years' War.
British architect John Webb, most famous for his work on the Wilton House, dies.
Sarah Hale, colonial poet, is born.
Eminent American lawyer and statesman Daniel Webster passes away.
The noted French polymath Alexandra David Neel is born.
American playwright Moss Hart ("You Can't Take It With You", "The Man Who Came to Dinner") is born.
Comic strip artist and creator of Batman Bob Kane is born.
National Football League Hall of Famer and longtime New York Giant Y.A. Tittle is born.
"Black Thursday" on the stock market sets off a firestorm that indirectly leads to The Great Depression.
Ill-fated musician The Big Bopper is born J.P. Richardson.
Long-time Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman is born.
Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham, most famous for his role as Antonio Salieri in the Best Picture-winning film Amadeus, is born.
Louis Renault, the famed French automobile pioneer (and infamous Nazi collabartor during the Vichy regime), dies.
Vidkun Quisling, whose last name become synonomous with "traitor" after he helped the Germans take over Norway during World War II, is executed by firing squad. The United Nations is formally introduced into existence.
Kweisi Mfume, long time civil rights activist and Maryland Congressman, is born.
President Dwight David Eisenhower pledges America's full support to South Vietnam in the fight against the Communist element of the Viet Cong.
The Soviet Union invades and takes over Hungary.
Northern Rhodesia is granted independence by the United Kingdom (and becomes Zambia), though Southern Rhodesia remains a colony until 1980, when after 15 years of rioting and war, it is granted indepdence and becomes Zimbabwe.
Socialist Salvador Allende is elected President of Chile. Three years later he was assassinated in a coup by Augusto Pinochet, aided in part by the United States.
Baseball hall of famer Jackie Robinson passes away.
The Yom Kippur War comes to a close.
Gene Roddenberry, creator of the "Star Trek" series, dies.
Don Messick, the long-time voice of Scooby Doo, Papa Smurf, and others, passes away.