Birthdays
1844 Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher & poet
1858 John L. Sullivan, an American boxer. He was the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring Rules and the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules
1920 Mario Puzo, Author
1943 Penny Marshall
1945 Jim Palmer
Events
1582 Gregorian calendar is introduced in Spain, Portugal, and the Papal States after skipping 10 days from October 4 to sync the calendar to the solar year and compensate for the drift that has occurred due to the Julian calendar having too many leap days
1815 Napoleon Bonaparte arrives on the island of Saint Helena to begin his exile
1881 "American Angler," the first American fishing magazine, is published
1899 MLB Cleveland Spiders close out the season by losing both ends of a doubleheader, 16-1 and 19-3, to the Cincinnati Reds on the road; Spiders end the year with a record of 20-134, still holding the record for the fewest wins (damn a little late in the season)
1917 Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari is executed by a firing squad in Vincennes near Paris for allegedly spying for Germany during World War
1940 "The Great Dictator," a satirical social commentary film by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released
1955 Country music radio show "Grand Ole Opry" is first broadcast on television in a live hour-long show by ABC
1956 First passenger plane lands safely on water: Pan Am Flight 6 from San Francisco to Honolulu, with all 24 passengers and 7 crew surviving
1964 American sprinter Bob Hayes equals the world record of 10.0 seconds to beat Cuba's Enrique Figuerola by 0.2 seconds and win the men's 100 m gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
1964 Craig Breedlove sets a land speed record of 526 mph
1966 Black Panther Party is created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California (good year for speed)
1969 Millions nationwide protest against the Vietnam War on Moratorium Day in the US
1970 Anwar Sadat is elected as the third President of Egypt
1971 World's first arcade video game, Computer Space, developed by Syzygy, is first demonstrated at the MOA Show in the US
1973 American country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton releases her single "Jolene," the title track of her forthcoming album, and tops the country charts in US and Canada
1977 Arkansas' Steve Little kicks a record-tying 67-yard field goal
1977 Don Ritchie runs a world record 100 miles in 11:30:51
1981 Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson leads what is believed to be the first audience wave in Oakland, California
1989 American radio and television evangelist Billy Graham receives the 1,900th star on Hollywood Boulevard, becoming the first clergyman to be granted a star
1989 Wayne Gretzky surpasses Gordie Howe as the NHL's all-time top scorer
1990 Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev wins the Nobel Peace Prize
1993 Nelson Mandela and South African President F. W. de Klerk are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
1993 Amstel Brewery on Curaçao produces its 1,000,000,000th bottle
1997 Britain's Andy Green sets jet-powered car record of 763.035 mph
2018 American retailer Sears files for bankruptcy
