American pianist, composer, conductor
American actor
American actor
French author
American actor, singer, director
Hungarian/American mathematician
British politician
First woman to rule Scotland in her own right
American biochemist
American model, actress
Mary, Queen of Scots was executed at Fotheringhay Castle in England at the age of 44 after being found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I in the Babington Plot. Her death marked the end of her claim to the English throne and led to a major political shift in Europe.
Isaac Newton presented his first paper on optics before the Royal Society in London, laying the groundwork for his later work on the nature of light and color.
The Battle of Eylau, fought between Napoleon's forces and the Russian Empire, ended inconclusively. This marked the first major battle that Napoleon did not emerge as the clear victor, and was a sign of the growing strength of his opponents.
Sandford Fleming proposed the idea of dividing the world into time zones, which was later adopted as Universal Standard Time. This revolutionized time keeping and made global communication and travel much easier.
The Boy Scouts of America was founded, modeled after the original Scout movement started by British General Robert Baden-Powell. The organization has since grown to become one of the largest youth organizations in the world.
The Stasi, or Staatssicherheit, was established in East Germany as the country's secret police. It became notorious for its widespread surveillance and repression of citizens, and was eventually dissolved in 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Queen Elizabeth II issued an Order-in-Council officially renaming the royal family from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the House of Windsor. She also declared that her descendants would take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
The first eight stars were added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which has since grown to include over 2400 stars honoring individuals in the entertainment industry.
The NASDAQ, the world's first electronic stock exchange, held its first day of trading with 50 listed companies and a starting value of 100. It has since grown to become a major player in the global financial market.