American politician, 46th Governor of Kansas
American comedian, actor, screenwriter
Irish politician
Chinese basketball player
American publisher, founded Alfred A. Knopf Inc.
American author
American agronomist, humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor
Irish minister, politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland
American poet
Charles Messier, a French astronomer, made a mistake in recognizing the Crab Nebula. This led him to start his famous Messier Catalogue.
Fritz Hofmann, a German chemist, was awarded the first ever patent for synthetic rubber, paving the way for numerous modern applications of this versatile material.
While waiting for a red light in Bloomsbury, Leó Szilárd formulated the idea of a nuclear chain reaction, which would largely shape the world's energy framework in the following decades.
Four teenagers, led by their dog, discovered the ancient Lascaux Cave Paintings dating back 17,000 years in a hole near Lascaux, France.
The US Supreme Court ruled that the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas must allow integration, marking a significant step in the civil rights movement.
Luna 2 was launched by the USSR, making history as the first spacecraft to impact the Moon.
Physician Mae C. Jemison was a Mission Specialist on NASA’s 50th space flight, STS-47, which was also the second journey of space shuttle Endeavour. During her 190 hours in space, she conducted experiments on weightlessness and motion sickness.
Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown in a coup led by the Derg, a group from the Ethiopian armed forces and law enforcement agencies. Following the coup, Selassie was imprisoned and passed away two years later on August 28, 1975. Followers of Rastafarianism, a religion that originated in Jamaica, often view Selassie as a Messiah.
The Soviet Union launched Luna 16, the first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return to Earth with rock samples. The probe landed back on Earth on September 24.
The much-anticipated wedding of Jacqueline Bouvier and John Fitzgerald Kennedy took place in Newport, Rhode Island. Kennedy was then serving as a Senator in the US Congress from Massachusetts. Following his marriage, in 1960, Kennedy was elected as President after defeating the Republican candidate Richard Nixon.
At Hitler's command, German paratroopers conducted the Gran Sasso Raid, also known as Operation Eiche. The airborne operation's goal was to free the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was held at a ski resort on orders from the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III. The German troops were successful in their mission and rescued Mussolini using gliders.