1587 – Queen Elizabeth I of England signs death warrant for her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. 1790 – The first session of the Supreme Court of the United States was held, in New York City. 1843 – Oldest continuous writer of insurance in America – The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY) opens. 1884 – 1st volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, A-Ant, published. 1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luis Filipe are assassinated by Republican sympathizers in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon. 1923 – The private army of Blackshirts that had helped Benito Mussolini come to power in Italy was officially transformed into a national militia, the Voluntary Fascist Militia for National Security. 1960 – Protesting a segregated lunch counter at a Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, four African Americans began a sit-in; its success led to a wider sit-in movement throughout the South. 1968 – Saigon police chief NguyễnNgọc Loan executes Viet Cong officer NguyễnVănLém with a pistol shot to head. The execution is captured by photographer Eddie Adams and becomes an anti-war icon. 1979 – Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 15 years in exile. 1979 – The spacecraft Voyager 1 photographed Jupiter from a distance of 32.7 million km (20.3 million miles). 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
Births & Deaths:1901 – American motion-picture star Clark Gable was born in Cadiz, Ohio. 1902 – American writer Langston Hughes, one of the foremost interpreters to the world of the black experience in the United States, was born. 2013 – American politician Ed Koch—who had served as mayor of New York City (1978–89), earning a reputation for tenacity and brashness—died at age 88.
Music: 1896 – Giacomo Puccini’s Opera “La Boheme” premieres in Turin
TV & Film: 1893 – Thomas Edison completes worlds 1st movie studio at West Orange, New Jersey.
