| *1859 | Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, born this day in 1859, was best known for his creation of the detective Sherlock Holmes—one of the most vivid characters in English fiction. Holmes's friend is the good-hearted but comparatively obtuse Dr. Watson, and the detective's principal enemy is the archcriminal Professor Moriarty. The brilliantly eccentric hero, in deerstalker or dressing gown, has been portrayed in a variety of media and has put Conan Doyle's other works—chiefly historical romances—somewhat in the shade. | |
| *1859 | The creator of "Sherlock Holmes," Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born. | |
| *1844 | American painter Mary Cassatt was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. | |
| *1813 | German dramatic composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig. | |
| 2003 | At the Colonial in Fort Worth, TX, Annika Sorentam became the first woman to play on the PGA tour in 58 years. She ended the day at 1-over par. | |
| 2002 | Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit his 583rd career home run. He tied Mark McGwire for fifth on the all-time list. | |
| 2002 | Chandra Levy's remains were found in Washington, DC's Rock Creek Park. She was last seen on April 30, 2001. California Congressman Gary Condit was questioned in the case due to his relationship with Levy. | |
| 2002 | In Birmingham, AL, a jury convicted former Ku Klux Klansman Bobby Frank Cherry of murder in the 1963 church bombing that killed four girls. | |
| 1998 | A federal judge said that Secret Service agents could be compelled to testify before a grand jury in Monica Lewinsky investigation concerning U.S. President Clinton. | |
| 1998 | Bolivia was hit with a series of powerful earthquakes. At least 18 were killed. The quakes ranged in magnitude from 5.9 to 6.8. | |
| 1998 | New information came to light about the June 1996 bombing that killed 19 American airmen. The information indicated that Saudi citizens had been responsible and not Iranians as once believed. | |
| 1998 | Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland turned out to cast ballots giving approval to a Northern Ireland peace accord. | |
| 1997 | Kelly Flinn, the U.S. Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepted a general discharge. She thereby avoided court-martial on charges of adultery, lying and disobeying an order. | |
| 1992 | Johnny Carson hosted NBC's "Tonight Show" for the last time. He had been host for 30 years. | |
| 1990 | In the Middle East, North and South Yemen merged to become a single state known as the Republic of Yemen. | |
| 1990 | Microsoft released Windows 3.0. | |
| 1986 | Sylvester Stallone agreed to a 10-picture, six-year deal with United Artists. He signed for a reported $15 million for each film. | |
| 1985 | Pete Rose passed Hank Aaron as National League run scoring leader with 2,108. | |
| 1977 | Janet Guthrie set the fastest time of the second weekend of qualifying, becoming the first woman to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500 since its inception in 1911. | |
| 1972 | The island Ceylon adopted a new constitution and became the republic of Sri Lanka. | |
| 1972 | U.S. President Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit Russia. He met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. | |
| 1969 | A lunar module of Apollo 10 flew within nine miles of the moon's surface. The event was a rehearsal for the first lunar landing. | |
| 1967 | "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" premiered on PBS. | |
| 1967 | The final "To Tell the Truth" program was seen on CBS-TV. | |
| 1960 | One of the largest earthquakes on record struck the southern coast of Chile, killing about 5,700 people and creating seismic sea waves that caused death and destruction in Japan and Hawaii and on the Pacific coast of the United States. | |
| 1955 | A scheduled dance to be headlined by Fats Domino was canceled by police in Bridgeport, Connecticut because "rock and roll dances might be featured." | |
| 1955 | Jack Benny did his last live network radio broadcast after a run of 23 years. He devoted his time fully to TV. | |
| 1947 | The Truman Doctrine was enacted by the U.S. Congress to appropriate military and economic aid Turkey and Greece. | |
| 1942 | Mexico entered World War II by declaring war on Germany, Italy, and Japan. | |
| 1939 | Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy signed the Pact of Steel, a full military and political alliance between their countries. | |
| 1908 | The Wright brothers registered their flying machine for a U.S. patent. | |
| 1900 | A. DeVilbiss, Jr. patented his pendulum-type computing scale. | |
| 1900 | Edwin S. Votey received a patent for the pianola (a pneumatic piano player). It could be attached to any piano. | |
| 1900 | The Associated Press was incorporated as a non-profit news cooperative in New York. | |
| 1892 | Dr. Sheffield, a British dentist, invented the toothpaste tube. | |
| 1891 | The first public motion picture was given in Thomas Edison's lab. | |
| 1885 | French poet, novelist, and dramatist Victor Hugo died in Paris. | |
| 1882 | The U.S. formally recognized Korea. | |
| 1872 | The Amnesty Act restored civil rights to Southerners. | |
| 1868 | Near Marshfield, IN, The "Great Train Robbery" took place. The robbery was worth $96,000 in cash, gold and bonds to the seven members of the Reno gang. | |
| 1849 | Abraham Lincoln received a patent for the floating dry dock. | |
| 1841 | Henry Kennedy received a patent for the first reclining chair. | |
| 1819 | The steamship Savannah became the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean. | |
| 1761 | In Philadelphia, the first life insurance policy was issued in the U.S. | |
| 1570 | Abraham Ortelius published the first modern atlas in Belgium. | |
| 1455 | King Henry VI was taken prisoner by the Yorkists at the Battle of St. Albans, during the War of the Roses. | |
| 1246 | Henry Raspe was elected anti-king by the Rhenish prelates in France. | |
| 337 | On this day Constantine I, having practiced Christianity since his youth, became, on his deathbed, the first Roman emperor to be baptized in the Christian church. Constantine had hoped to be baptized in the Jordan River but instead received the sacrament near Nicomedia, putting off the imperial purple for the white robes of a neophyte; he died soon after. | |
