1835 - Hans Christian Andersen published his first book of fairy tales.

1909 - The Pennsylvania Trust Company, of Carlisle, PA, became the first bank in the in the U.S. to offer a Christmas Club account.

1913 - Ford Motor Co. began using a new movable assembly line that ushered in the era of mass production.

1913 - The first drive-in automobile service station opened, in Pittsburgh, PA.

1919 - Lady Astor was sworn in as the first female member of the British Parliament.

1925 - The Locarno Pact finalized the treaties between World War I protagonists.

1934 - Sergei M. Kirov, a collaborator of Joseph Stalin, was assassinated at the Leningrad party headquarters.

1941 - In the U.S., the Civil Air Patrol was created. In April 1943 the Civil Air Patrol was placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Forces.

1942 - In the U.S., nationwide gasoline rationing went into effect.

1943 - In Teheran, leaders of the United States, the USSR and the United Kingdom met to reaffirm the goal set on October 30, 1943. The previous meeting called for an early establishment of an international organization to maintain peace and security.

1952 - In Denmark, it was announced that the first successful sex-change operation had been performed.

1955 - Rosa Parks, a black seamstress in Montgomery, AL, refused to give up her seat to a white man. Mrs. Parks was arrested marking a milestone in the civil rights movement in the U.S.

1959 - 12 countries, including the U.S. and USSR, signed a treaty that set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, which would be free from military activity.

1965 - An airlift of refugees from Cuba to the United States began.

1969 - The U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World War II.

1973 - David Ben-Gurion, the founding father of Israel and its first prime minister, died at the age of 87.

1981 - 180 people were killed when a chartered Yugoslav DC9 jetliner crashed into a mountain while approaching Ajaccio Airport in Corsica.

1983 - Rita M. Lavelle, a former Environmental Protection Agency official, was convicted in Washington of perjury and trying to obstruct a congressional inquiry.

1984 - A remote-controlled Boeing 720 jetliner was deliberately crashed into California's Mojave Desert to test an anti-flame fuel additive. The test proved to be disappointing.

1986 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan said he would welcome an investigation of the Iran-Contra affair if it were recommended by the Justice Department.

1987 - NASA announced four companies had been given contracts to help build a space station. The companies were Boeing Aerospace, G. E.'s Astro-Space Division, McDonnell Douglas Aeronautics, and Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International.

1989 - Dissidents in the Philippine military launched an unsuccessful coup against Corazon Aquino's government.

1989 - East Germany's Parliament abolished the Communist Party's constitutional guarantee of supremacy.

1990 - Iraq accepted a U.S. offer to talk about resolving the Persian Gulf crisis.

1990 - British and French workers digging the Channel Tunnel finally met under the English Channel.

1991 - Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union.

1991 - Shiite Muslim kidnappers pledged to release American hostage Joseph Cicippio within 48 hours.

1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin survived an impeachment attempt by hard-liners at the opening of the Russian Congress.

1992 - Amy Fisher was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco.

1993 - In Minnesota, 18 people were killed when a Northwest Airline commuter plane crashed.

1994 - The U.S. Senate gave final congressional approval to the 124-nation General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

1997 - Michael Carneal, 14 years old, fired upon a morning prayer group at Heath High School in West Paducah, KY. Three students were killed and five were wounded. Carneal pled guilty but insane and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole for 25 years.

1998 - Exxon announced that it was buying Mobil for $73.7 billion creating the largest company in the world to date.

Music

1709 - Composer Franz Xaver Richter was born.

1956 - The Leonard Bernstein musical "Candide" opened on Broadway. The work was based on the book by Voltaire.

1956 - The rock and roll film "Shake, Rattle and Roll" opened.

1957 - Three rock and roll acts made their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show: Buddy Holly & the Crickets ("That'll Be the Day"), Sam Cooke ("You Send Me"), and the Rays.

1958 - The musical "Flower Drum Song" Rodgers and Hammerstein opened on Broadway.

1960 - Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee were married.

1968 - Janis Joplin made her final appearance with Big Brother & the Holding Company.

1972 - Martha & the Vandellas gave their farewell performance in Detroit, MI.

1976 - The Sex Pistols appeared on the British TV "Today Show." In the interview Glenn Matlock said the word "f***." The result was the Sex Pistols being banned in several British cities.

1982 - Epic Records released the album "Thriller" by Michael Jackson.

1987 - Prince decided to cancel the release of "The Black Album." It was only a week away from release.

1989 - Sly Stone was sentenced to 55 days in jail for driving under the influence of cocaine.

1991 - The musical "Once on this Island" closed after 469 performances.

1994 - Tupac Shakur was convicted on charges of sexually abusing a woman in a hotel room. He was recovering from gunshot wounds he had suffered the day before.

1995 - An auction of Frank Sinatra's possessions earned him $2,072,000.

1999 - Jay-Z stabbed Lance Rivera at a party at Manhattan's Kit Kat Klub. Jay-Z pled guilty to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to three years probation on September 17, 2001.


Birthdays

Cyril Ritchard 1897
Mary Martin 1913
Stansfield Turner 1923
David Doyle 1925
Robert Symonds 1926
Billy Paul 1934
Woody Allen 1935
Lou Rawls 1935
Sandy Nelson 1938
Lee Trevino 1939
Dianne Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) 1939
Richard Pryor 1940
Federico Faggin 1941
Casey Van Beek 1942
John Densmore (Doors) 1944
Bette Midler 1945
Gilbert O'Sullivan 1946
Treat Williams 1951
Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) 1951
Kim Richey 1956
Charlene Tilton 1958
Carol Alt 1960
Jeremy Northam 1961
Nestor Cabonell 1967
Julie Condra 1970
Ron Melendez 1972
Sarah Masen 1975
Ashley Monique Clark 1988

All information provided is purely speculation as I do not test. Use the provided information at you own risk.