1672– Isaac Newton reads 1st optics paper before Royal Society in London. 1807– Battle of Eylau ends inconclusively between Napoleon’s forces and Russian Empire – 1st battle Napoleon isn’t victorious. 1904 – Following the Russian rejection of a Japanese plan to divide Manchuria and Korea into spheres of influence, Japan launches a surprise naval attack against Port Arthur, a Russian naval base in China. 1960– Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name “Mountbatten-Windsor”. 1971– Nasdaq Composite stock market index debuts with 50 companies and a starting value of 100. 1974 – The use of Skylab, a U.S. space station, came to an end after 171 days. 1984– 1st time 8 people in space.
Births & Deaths: 1931 – American actor James Dean, who became a symbol of the confused, restless, and idealistic youth of the 1950s, was born. 1999 – British novelist and philosopher Dame Iris Murdoch—who wrote more than 25 novels that were distinguished by a mixture of vivid storytelling, cultural allusions, and complex philosophical inquiry—died in Oxford, England.
Film: 1915 - “The Birth of a Nation” the first 12-reel film in America, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Lillian Gish and Mae Marsh, opens at Clune’s Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Music: 2009– 51st Grammy Awards: Best Album “Raising Sand” and Record of the Year “Please Read The Letter” by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.
