1180 Manuel I Komnenos, last Emperor of the Komnenian restoration dies. The Byzantine Empire slips into terminal decline.
1789 US Federal Judiciary Act passes, creating a six-person Supreme Court.
1869 Black Friday; Wall St panic after Gould & Fisk attempt to corner gold.
1877 Battle of Shiroyama, decisive victory of the Imperial Japanese Army over the Satsuma Rebellion.
1950 Operation Magic Carpet concludes after having transported 45,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel.
1957 Racial desegregation took centre stage when federal troops were dispatched to Little Rock, Arkansas, to maintain order and enforce the right of black students to attend the local public high school.
1960 The first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Enterprise, was launched by the United States.
2015 According to Saudi officials, 769 people died in a stampede during the hajj to Mecca; however, other estimates claim that more than 2,400 were killed, making it one of the deadliest accidents in the pilgrimage’s history.
Births & Deaths:
1896 American short-story writer and novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald—famous for his depictions of the Jazz Age, his most brilliant novel being The Great Gatsby (1925)—was born.
Film & TV:
2007 “The Big Bang Theory” created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and starring Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco premieres on CBS.
Music:
1957 “jailhouse rock” single released by Elvis Presley (Billboard Song of the Year 1957).
Sport:
1934 2,500 fans see Babe Ruth’s farewell Yankee appearance at Yankee Stadium.
