2015: Coordinated terrorist attacks strike Paris. Islamic State gunmen and suicide bombers hit the Bataclan concert hall during a rock show, along with cafés, restaurants, and the area around the Stade de France. At least 130 people were killed and more than 350 wounded, with the Bataclan the deadliest site, and France declared a national state of emergency.
2001: Anti-Taliban forces take control of Kabul, Afghanistan. Northern Alliance fighters entered the capital as the Taliban withdrew, about five weeks after the U.S.-led invasion launched in response to the September 11 attacks. The Taliban lost their last major stronghold, Kandahar, the following month.
1985: A volcanic eruption in Colombia buries the town of Armero. Nevado del Ruiz, in the Andes of west-central Colombia, erupted twice, melting snow and ice that sent torrents of mud down the Lagunilla River valley. An estimated 23,000 to 25,000 people died, making it one of the deadliest volcanic disasters of the 20th century.
1982: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. Designed by Maya Lin while she was still an architecture student, the black granite wall is inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died or went missing in the war. It has become one of the most visited memorials in the capital.
1980: Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull has its world premiere. Shot mostly in black and white, the film tells the story of middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta. Robert De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role, and the film is often ranked among the greatest American movies ever made.
1970: The Bhola cyclone devastates East Pakistan. The storm and its surge swept over the low-lying coast of what is now Bangladesh, killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people, the deadliest tropical cyclone on record. Anger over the government's response fed the independence movement that produced Bangladesh the next year.
1956: The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down bus segregation in Alabama. The court affirmed a lower ruling that segregated seating on Montgomery's buses was unconstitutional. The decision led to the end of the Montgomery bus boycott, which began after Rosa Parks' arrest in December 1955 and brought Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence.
1940: Walt Disney's Fantasia is shown to the public for the first time. The feature set animation to classical music performed by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra, including Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and opened in New York. It stirred controversy at first and lost money on its initial run, but critics praised its visuals and it later became a classic.
1927: The Holland Tunnel opens beneath the Hudson River. It was the first vehicle tunnel under the Hudson, linking Lower Manhattan with Jersey City, New Jersey. It was named for chief engineer Clifford Holland, who died before it was finished.
1918: Saad Zaghloul founds Egypt's Wafd nationalist party. The party, whose name means “delegation,” formed to press for Egypt's independence from Britain after World War I. The British exile of Zaghloul in 1919 set off a national uprising, Britain granted Egypt formal independence in 1922, and Zaghloul later served as prime minister.
1916: The Battle of the Somme ends in northern France. The four-month British and French offensive against German lines along the Somme River began on July 1, 1916, and saw the first use of tanks in battle. The Allies gained only a few miles of ground at a cost of more than a million total casualties on both sides.
1770: Former British Prime Minister George Grenville dies in London. As prime minister from 1763 to 1765, he pushed through the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act to raise revenue from the American colonies. Colonial outrage over those taxes helped set the stage for the American Revolution.
1002: England's King Ethelred II orders the St. Brice's Day massacre of Danish settlers. Ethelred, known as Ethelred the Unready, ordered the killing of Danes living in England out of fear of a Danish plot. The Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard raided England repeatedly in the years that followed and eventually seized the English throne in 1013.
Born on This Day
2000: 24KGoldn, American rapper Turns 26. Best known for the chart-topping 2020 hit “Mood” with Iann Dior.
1999: Lando Norris, British race car driver Turns 27. McLaren Formula One driver and 2025 world champion.
1993: Julia Michaels, American singer and songwriter Turns 33. Known for her hit “Issues” and for writing songs for Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.
1969: Gerard Butler, Scottish actor Turns 57. Starred in 300, The Phantom of the Opera, and Olympus Has Fallen.
1967: Jimmy Kimmel, American TV host and comedian Turns 59. Host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and a multiple-time host of the Oscars.
1967: Steve Zahn, American actor Turns 59. Known for That Thing You Do! and The White Lotus; a Minnesota native, born in Marshall.
1960: Neil Flynn, American actor Turns 66. Played the Janitor on Scrubs and dad Mike Heck on The Middle.
1957: Greg Abbott, American politician Turns 69. Governor of Texas since 2015.
1955: Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedian Turns 71. Oscar winner for Ghost, star of The Color Purple, and longtime moderator of The View.
1954: Chris Noth, American actor Turns 72. Played Mr. Big on Sex and the City and Detective Mike Logan on Law & Order.
1952: Merrick Garland, American judge and former attorney general Turns 74. U.S. attorney general from 2021 to 2025 and a 2016 Supreme Court nominee.
1947: Joe Mantegna, American actor Turns 79. Played David Rossi on Criminal Minds and voices Fat Tony on The Simpsons.
1947: Toy Caldwell, American guitarist and songwriter Lead guitarist of the Marshall Tucker Band and writer of “Can't You See.”
1944: Timmy Thomas, American soul singer Best known for his 1972 hit “Why Can't We Live Together.”
1941: Mel Stottlemyre, American baseball pitcher and coach New York Yankees All-Star pitcher who later coached championship Mets and Yankees pitching staffs.
1934: Garry Marshall, American TV producer and film director Created Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley and directed Pretty Woman.
1932: Richard Mulligan, American actor Emmy-winning star of the sitcoms Soap and Empty Nest.
1850: Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author Wrote Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
