656 – Ali ibn Abu Talib elected the 4th Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate
1579 – English navigator Francis Drake lands on the coast of California at Drakes Bay, names it “New Albion”
1631 -Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends more than 20 years building her tomb, the Taj Mahal
1789 – French Revolution: During the meeting of the Estates-General, the Third Estate proclaims itself the ‘National Assembly’
1837 – Charles Goodyear obtains his 1st rubber patent
1856 – Republican Party opens its 1st national convention in Philadelphia
1940 – The Soviet Red Army invaded Latvia, which led to the incorporation of the country into the U.S.S.R.
1944 – Iceland declared itself a republic.
1994 – American gridiron football hero O.J. Simpson was charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, though after a sensational trial he was acquitted the following year.
Births & Deaths:
1943 – American pop singer and songwriter Barry Manilow, who specialized in elaborately orchestrated romantic ballads, was born.
2012 – African American construction worker Rodney King—whose videotaped beating by white Los Angeles Police Department officers in March 1991 (and the officers’ subsequent treatment by the courts) sparked violent race riots—was found dead in his swimming pool in California.
TV & Film:
2018 – “The Incredibles 2” sets a box office record for an animated release, earning $180 million its opening weekend
Music:
1971 – Carole King’s album “Tapestry” goes to No. 1 on US album charts and stays there for 15 weeks
Sport:
1962 – US Open Men’s Golf, Oakmont CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his first major title by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff with Arnold Palmer
Via Britannica / On This Day
