2024: Indian business leader Ratan Tata dies in Mumbai at 86. He chaired the Tata Group from 1991 to 2012 and turned the Indian conglomerate into a global name, buying brands such as Tetley, Jaguar, and Land Rover. He was widely admired for his ethics and for his philanthropy.
2012: A Taliban gunman shoots 15-year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai. She was attacked on a school bus in Pakistan's Swat Valley because she had spoken out against the Taliban's ban on educating girls. She survived a bullet wound to the head, recovered in a hospital in England, and in 2014 shared the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming its youngest winner at 17.
2004: Afghanistan holds its first presidential election. It was the first time Afghan voters had chosen their own president. The winner was Hamid Karzai, who had been serving as interim leader since the Taliban government fell in 2001.
2001: The USO names Wayne Newton to succeed Bob Hope as its celebrity front man. Hope had been the public face of the organization's shows for American troops since the early 1950s. Newton, the Las Vegas entertainer known for “Danke Schoen,” took over the role less than a month after the September 11 attacks.
1997: Italian playwright Dario Fo wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. Fo was also an actor and director, known for sharp political satire and comedies such as Accidental Death of an Anarchist. His plays poked fun at the powerful and were staged around the world.
1990: David Souter takes his seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The New Hampshire judge was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to replace William Brennan as an associate justice. He served until 2009, when Sonia Sotomayor succeeded him.
1982: Psychoanalyst Anna Freud dies in London at 86. The youngest daughter of Sigmund Freud, she was an author and a pioneer in the psychoanalysis of children. She left Vienna with her father in 1938 and spent the rest of her life working in London.
1936: Boulder Dam begins sending electricity to Los Angeles. The huge dam on the Colorado River, at the Arizona-Nevada border, started generating power for communities across the Southwest, and Los Angeles marked the occasion with a parade. It was later renamed Hoover Dam.
1888: The Washington Monument opens to the public. The marble-faced granite obelisk in Washington, D.C., honors George Washington and stands about 555 feet tall. Construction began in 1848, stalled for years, and was finished in 1884, with the dedication held in 1885.
1635: Massachusetts Bay Colony banishes Roger Williams. Colonial leaders expelled the minister for spreading what they called new and dangerous opinions, chief among them that government had no business in matters of religion. He went on to found Rhode Island, and more than 150 years later his argument was echoed in the First Amendment.
1514: Mary Tudor marries King Louis XII of France. The younger sister of England's Henry VIII became the French king's third wife. Louis died less than three months later, and Mary soon married Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.
Born on This Day
1997: Megan Moroney, American country singer Turns 29. Singer-songwriter who broke through with the hit “Tennessee Orange.”
1996: Bella Hadid, American model Turns 30. One of fashion's top runway models and the younger sister of model Gigi Hadid.
1993: Scotty McCreery, American country singer Turns 33. Won American Idol in 2011 and went on to hits including “Five More Minutes.”
1993: George Kittle, American football player Turns 33. All-Pro tight end for the San Francisco 49ers.
1992: Tyler James Williams, American actor Turns 34. Played the title role in Everybody Hates Chris and stars as Gregory on Abbott Elementary.
1979: Chris O'Dowd, Irish actor Turns 47. Played the kindhearted police officer in Bridesmaids and starred in The IT Crowd.
1976: Nick Swardson, American comedian and actor Turns 50. Twin Cities native known for Reno 911! and a string of Adam Sandler comedies.
1975: Sean Lennon, American musician Turns 51. Singer-songwriter son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, born on his father's 35th birthday.
1973: Steve Burns, American actor and television host Turns 53. The original host of the children's show Blue's Clues.
1970: Annika Sörenstam, Swedish golfer Turns 56. Winner of 10 major championships and one of the greatest players in the history of women's golf.
1967: Eddie Guerrero, American professional wrestler Former WWE champion and Hall of Famer who died in 2005.
1964: Guillermo del Toro, Mexican filmmaker Turns 62. Director of Pan's Labyrinth and the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water.
1958: Mike Singletary, American football player and coach Turns 68. Hall of Fame linebacker who anchored the 1985 Chicago Bears defense, and later an assistant coach with the Minnesota Vikings.
1954: Scott Bakula, American actor Turns 72. Star of Quantum Leap, Star Trek: Enterprise, and NCIS: New Orleans.
1954: John O'Hurley, American actor and game show host Turns 72. Played J. Peterman on Seinfeld and hosted Family Feud.
1953: Tony Shalhoub, American actor Turns 73. Emmy winner for playing the obsessive detective on Monk, also seen in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
1952: Sharon Osbourne, English television personality and music manager Turns 74. Managed the career of her husband, Ozzy Osbourne, and became a star herself on The Osbournes and The Talk.
1948: Jackson Browne, American singer-songwriter Turns 78. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer known for “Running on Empty” and “Doctor My Eyes.”
1944: John Entwistle, English rock musician Bass player for The Who, heard on “My Generation” and “Won't Get Fooled Again.” He died in 2002.
1940: John Lennon, English singer-songwriter Co-founder of the Beatles and writer of “Imagine.” He was shot and killed in New York City in 1980.
