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1666 - Great Fire of London ends: A large fire in London burns out after three days. 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral were destroyed, but only 16 people are known to have died.

1698 - In an effort to move his people away from archaic customs, Tsar Peter I of Russia imposes a tax on beards; All men, except priests and peasants, are required to pay the tax of one hundred rubles a year for those above the lowest class, one kopeck each for commoners.

1774 - First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1793 - In France, the French National Convention votes to implement terror measures to enforce the principles of the French Revolution, initiating the Reign of Terror.

1836 - Sam Houston is elected as the second president of the Republic of Texas.

1862 - American Civil War: In the Confederacy's first invasion of the North, General Robert E. Lee leads 55,000 men of the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River at White's Ford near Leesburg, Virginia, into Maryland.

1877 - Indian Wars: Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse is bayoneted by a United States soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson in Nebraska.

1882 - The first United States Labor Day parade is held in New York City.

1901 - The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (later renamed Minor League Baseball), is formed in Chicago.

1905 - Russo-Japanese War: In New Hampshire, USA, the Treaty of Portsmouth, a treaty mediated by US President Theodore Roosevelt, is signed by victor Japan and defeated party Russia.

1906 - Brandbury Robinson throws the first legal forward pass in an American football game.

1914 - World War I: First Battle of the Marne begins. Northeast of Paris, the French attack and defeat German forces who are advancing on the capital.

1937 - Spanish Civil War: The fall of Llanes.

1939 - World War II: The United States declares its neutrality in the war.

1943 - World War II: The 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment under U.S. General Douglas MacArthur lands and occupies Nazdab in Papua New Guinea.

1945 - Iva Toguri D'Aquino, a Japanese-American suspected of being wartime radio propagandist Tokyo Rose, is arrested in Yokohama.

1948 - Robert Schuman becomes Prime Minister of France.

1949 - A former sharpshooter in World War II, Howard Unruh kills 13 neighbors in Camden, New Jersey, with a souvenir Luger to become the first U.S. single-episode mass murderer.

1957 - Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road goes on sale.

1960 - Cassius Clay wins the gold medal in boxing at the Rome Olympic Games.

1969 - My Lai Massacre: U.S. Army Lt. William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder for the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians in My Lai.

1970 - Vietnam War: Operation Jefferson Glenn begins: the United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thua Thien province.

1972 - Munich Massacre: A Palestinian terrorist group called "Black September" attack Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games.

1975 - In Sacramento, California, a follower of incarcerated cult leader Charles Manson named Lynette Fromme attempts to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is thwarted by a Secret Service agent.

1977 - Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay.

1977 - Hanns Martin Schleyer, President of the Employers Association, is kidnapped in Cologne, West Germany. Kidnappers kill three escorting police officers and his chauffeur. They demand release of Red Army Faction prisoners.

1978 - Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin peace process at Camp David, Maryland.

1980 - The St. Gotthard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.224 km) stretching from Goschenen to Airolo.

1983 - Tom Brokaw becomes lead anchor for NBC Nightly News.

1984 - STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' lands after its maiden voyage.

1984 - Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish capital punishment.

1986 - Pan Am Flight 73 with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport.

1988 - With US$2 billion in federal aid, the Robert M. Bass Group agrees to buy the Un

1991 - The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), wound up by the Congress of Peoples Deputies

2006 - Katie Couric becomes the first solo female evening news anchor on CBS.

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1187 - Louis VIII of France (d. 1226)

1494 - Hans Sachs, German Meistersinger (d. 1576)

1568 - Tommaso Campanella, Italian theologian, philosopher, and poet (d. 1639)

1638 - Louis XIV of France (d. 1715)

1667 - Giovanni Gerolamo Saccheri, Italian mathematician (d. 1733)

1695 - Carl Gustaf Tessin, Swedish politician (d. 1770)

1722 - Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony (d. 1763)

1725 - Jean-Étienne Montucla, French mathematician (d. 1799)

1735 - Johann Christian Bach, German composer (d. 1782)

1750 - Robert Fergusson, Scottish poet (d. 1774)

1771 - Archduke Charles of Austria, Austrian general (d. 1847)

1774 - Caspar David Friedrich, German artist (d. 1840)

1787 - François Sulpice Beudant, French mineralogist and geologist (d. 1850)

1791 - Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (d. 1864)

1806 - Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière, French general (d. 1865)

1807 - Richard Chenevix Trench, Irish Anglican clergyman and philologist (d. 1886)

1827 - Goffredo Mameli, Italian poet and writer (d. 1849)

1847 - Jesse James, American outlaw (d. 1882)

1857 - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian rocket scientist and inventor (d. 1935)

1867 - Amy Beach, American composer and pianist (d. 1944)

1874 - Nap Lajoie, baseball player (d. 1959)

1876 - Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (d. 1956)

1888 - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, second President of India (d. 1975)

1892 - Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (d. 1973)

1902 - Darryl F. Zanuck, American film producer and executive (d. 1979)

1905 - Arthur Koestler, Hungarian writer (d. 1983)

1912 - John Cage, American composer (d. 1992)

1912 - Kristina Söderbaum, German actress and photographer (d. 2001)

1913 - Frank Thomas, American animator (d. 2004)

1916 - Frank Yerby, American novelist (d. 1991)

1921 - Jack Valenti, American political advisor and film executive

1927 - Paul Volcker, American banker

1929 - Bob Newhart, American actor and comedian

1929 - Andrian Nikolayev, cosmonaut

1934 - Carol Lawrence, American actress and singer

1936 - Bill Mazeroski, baseball player

1937 - Antonio Valentin Angelillo, Argentinian footballer

1939 - William Devane, American actor

1939 - George Lazenby, Australian actor

1942 - Raquel Welch, American actress

1942 - Werner Herzog, German film director

1945 - Al Stewart, Scottish singer and songwriter

1946 - Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar-born singer and songwriter (Queen) (d. 1991)

1946 - Loudon Wainwright III, American singer and composer

1947 - Buddy Miles, American musician

1948 - Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian diplomat and politician

1950 - Cathy Guisewite, American cartoonist

1950 - Paul William Roberts, Canadian writer

1951 - Michael Keaton, American actor

1956 - Roine Stolt, Swedish guitarist (The Flower Kings)

1961 - Marc-André Hamelin, Canadian pianist

1962 - Peter Wingfield, Welsh actor

1963 - Juan Alderete, American bassist (Racer X)

1963 - Jeff Brantley, Baseball player

1963 - Taki Inoue, Japanese racing driver

1967 - Jane Sixsmith, English field hockey player

1969 - Dweezil Zappa, American musician

1969 - Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo, Brazilian footballer

1970 - Liam Lynch, American musician (Sifl and Olly)

1973 - Rose McGowan, Italian-born actress

1974 - Derek Neikirk, American professional wrestler

1975 - Rod Barajas, baseball player

1975 - Matt Geyer, Australian rugby player

1976 - Tatyana Gutsu, Ukrainian gymnast

1977 - Minoru Fujita, Japanese professional wrestler

1978 - Chris Jack, New Zealand rugby player

1979 - George O'Callaghan, Irish footballer

1979 - John Carew, Norwegian footballer

1981 - Filippo Volandri, Italian tennis player

1991 - Skandar Keynes, English actor

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1165 - Emperor Nijo of Japan (b. 1143)

1201 - Constance, Duchess of Brittany (b. 1161)

1235 - Henry I, Duke of Brabant (b. 1165)

1629 - Domenico Allegri, Italian composer

1786 - Jonas Hanway, English merchant, traveler, and philanthropist (b. 1712)

1803 - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, French general and author (b. 1741)

1803 - François Devienne, French composer (b. 1759)

1808 - John Home, Scottish writer (b. 1722)

1836 - Ferdinand Raimund, Austrian playwright (b. 1790)

1838 - Charles Percier, French architect (b. 1764)

1857 - Auguste Comte, French sociologist (b. 1798)

1877 - Crazy Horse, Sioux chief (b. 1849)

1898 - Sarah Edmonds, Canadian nurse, soldier, and spy (b. 1841)

1901 - Ignacij Klemenčič, Slovenian physicist (b. 1853)

1902 - Rudolf Virchow, German pathologist and politician (b. 1821)

1906 - Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (b. 1844)

1912 - Arthur MacArthur, Jr., U.S. Army general (b. 1845)

1917 - Marian Smoluchowski, Polish physicist (b. 1872)

1920 - Robert Harron, American actor (b. 1893)

1930 - Robert Means Thompson, American naval officer (b. 1849)

1948 - Richard C. Tolman, American mathematical physicist (b. 1881)

1965 - Thomas Johnston, Scottish-born politician (b. 1882)

1966 - Dezső Lauber, Hungarian athlete (b. 1879)

1970 - Jochen Rindt, Austrian race car driver (b. 1942)

1973 - Jack Fournier, baseball player (b. 1889)

1975 - Georg Ots, Estonian singer (b. 1920)

1982 - Douglas Bader, RAF fighter pilot in World War II (b. 1910)

1988 - Gert Fröbe, German actor (b. 1913)

1990 - Ivan Mihailov, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1896)

1992 - Fritz Leiber, American author (b. 1910)

1995 - William Kunstler, American lawyer and activist (b. 1919)

1997 - Georg Solti, Hungarian conductor (b. 1912)

1997 - Mother Teresa, Albanian missionary and humanitarian, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1910)

1998 - Leo Penn, American film director (b. 1921)

1999 - Allen Funt, American radio and television personality (b. 1914)

1999 - Bryce Mackasey, Canadian politician (b. 1921)

2001 - Vladimir Zerjavic, Croatian UN statistician (b. 1912)

2003 - Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian singer (b. 1927)

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Roman festivals - Jupiter Stator to commemorate that Jupiter helped Romulus to stop the Sabine invasion under Titus Tatius.

RC Saints - Saint Lorenzo Giustiniani; the feast day of Teresa of Calcutta, currently pending sainthood.

India - The birthdate of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is celebrated as Teacher's Day in India.