2006: Novelist William Styron dies at 81. The Virginia-born author won the Pulitzer Prize for The Confessions of Nat Turner and wrote Sophie's Choice, published in 1979 and later made into an Oscar-winning film starring Meryl Streep. He also wrote Darkness Visible, a frank memoir about his depression.
1999: Chicago Bears great Walter Payton dies at 45. Known as “Sweetness,” the Hall of Fame running back died of bile duct cancer linked to a rare liver disease. He retired in 1987 as the NFL's career rushing leader and helped the Bears win Super Bowl XX.
1997:Titanic has its first public screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival. James Cameron's epic opened in U.S. theaters the following month, became the highest-grossing film of its time, and won 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture. It made Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet international stars.
1994: NASA launches the Wind spacecraft to study the solar wind. The probe was sent to a halo orbit around a point between the Sun and Earth, where it measures the stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun before it reaches our planet. It went on to operate for decades.
1993: The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, creating the European Union. Signed in the Dutch city of Maastricht in 1992, the treaty built on the European Community and set the path toward a shared currency, which became the euro. It also created EU citizenship and expanded cooperation on foreign policy and justice.
1981: Antigua and Barbuda gains independence from Britain. The Caribbean island nation became a sovereign member of the Commonwealth, with Vere Bird as its first prime minister. Queen Elizabeth II remained head of state.
1967:Cool Hand Luke opens in U.S. theaters. Paul Newman starred as a defiant prisoner on a Southern chain gang, one of his most famous antihero roles. George Kennedy won an Oscar for his supporting performance, and the line “What we've got here is failure to communicate” became a classic.
1950: Puerto Rican nationalists try to assassinate President Harry Truman. Gunmen Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attacked Blair House in Washington, where Truman was living while the White House was renovated. White House police officer Leslie Coffelt was mortally wounded but killed Torresola, and the president was unhurt.
1938: Seabiscuit beats War Admiral by four lengths in a famous match race. Ridden by George Woolf, the underdog defeated the Triple Crown winner at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore before a huge crowd and a national radio audience. During the Great Depression, Seabiscuit became a symbol of hope for many Americans.
1922: Turkey's Grand National Assembly votes to abolish the Ottoman sultanate. The move, pushed by Mustafa Kemal, later known as Atatürk, ended more than six centuries of Ottoman rule. The last sultan, Mehmed VI, went into exile weeks later, and the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923.
1765: The Stamp Act takes effect in Britain's American colonies. It was the first direct tax Parliament placed on the colonies, covering newspapers, legal documents, and other commercial papers. Colonists protested under the cry of “no taxation without representation,” and Parliament repealed it in 1766.
1755: A massive earthquake devastates Lisbon, Portugal. The quake struck on All Saints' Day and was followed by a tsunami and fires that together destroyed more than 9,000 buildings. Tens of thousands of people died, and the disaster deeply influenced European thinking about science, religion, and rebuilding.
1611: Shakespeare's The Tempest reportedly has its first performance. It was staged before King James I at Whitehall Palace in London. Thought to be one of the last plays Shakespeare wrote on his own, it follows the exiled magician Prospero on a remote island.
1512: Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling is opened to public view. Painted over about four years for Pope Julius II, the vast fresco shows scenes from the Book of Genesis, including the famous Creation of Adam. It is considered one of the great achievements of Renaissance art.
996: A land grant by Emperor Otto III contains the first known use of the name that became “Austria.” The Holy Roman Emperor gave the Bavarian bishopric of Freising 30 royal hides of land, roughly 2,000 acres. The document called the region Ostarrîchi, an early form of Österreich, the German name for Austria.
Born on This Day
1991: Anthony Ramos, American actor and singer Turns 35. Starred in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton and in the film version of In the Heights.
1986: Penn Badgley, American actor Turns 40. Played Dan Humphrey on Gossip Girl and Joe Goldberg on the thriller series You.
1975: Bo Bice, American singer Turns 51. Rock singer who finished second to Carrie Underwood on American Idol in 2005.
1972: Toni Collette, Australian actress Turns 54. Earned an Oscar nomination for The Sixth Sense and starred in Little Miss Sunshine and Hereditary.
1972: Jenny McCarthy, American TV host and actress Turns 54. Longtime TV personality who has co-hosted The View and served as a judge on The Masked Singer.
1964: Sophie B. Hawkins, American singer-songwriter Turns 62. Known for the hits “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover” and “As I Lay Me Down.”
1963: Rick Allen, English rock drummer Turns 63. Def Leppard drummer who kept playing after losing his left arm in a 1984 car crash.
1963: Big Kenny, American country singer Turns 63. One half of the country duo Big & Rich, known for “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy).”
1962: Anthony Kiedis, American rock singer Turns 64. Lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, known for “Under the Bridge” and “Californication.”
1960: Tim Cook, American business executive Turns 66. Succeeded Steve Jobs as chief executive of Apple in 2011.
1960: Fernando Valenzuela, Mexican baseball pitcher Los Angeles Dodgers star whose 1981 rookie season sparked “Fernandomania” and a World Series title.
1957: Lyle Lovett, American country singer-songwriter Turns 69. Grammy-winning Texas singer known for blending country, swing, and blues with his Large Band.
1949: David Foster, Canadian music producer and songwriter Turns 77. Multiple Grammy winner who produced hits for Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Chicago.
1947: Jim Steinman, American songwriter and producer Wrote Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell and Bonnie Tyler's “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
1944: Bobby Heenan, American pro wrestling manager and announcer The wisecracking “Brain” managed wrestlers in the Minneapolis-based AWA before becoming a WWF star manager and commentator.
1942: Marcia Wallace, American actress Played receptionist Carol on The Bob Newhart Show and voiced teacher Edna Krabappel on The Simpsons.
1940: Barry Sadler, American singer and soldier Army Green Beret whose “The Ballad of the Green Berets” was the No. 1 song of 1966.
1937: Bill Anderson, American country singer-songwriter Turns 89. Grand Ole Opry star nicknamed “Whisperin' Bill,” known for “Still” and many hits written for others.
1935: Gary Player, South African golfer Turns 91. Winner of nine major championships and one of golf's “Big Three” with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
