1609 – Galileo demonstrates his 1st telescope to Venetian lawmakers
1718 – Hundreds of French colonists arrive in Louisiana; New Orleans founded
1768 – Captain James Cook departs from Plymouth, England, on his first voyage on board the Endeavour, bound for the Pacific Ocean
1835 – New York’s The Sun began running a series of news accounts that falsely claimed British astronomer John Herschel had observed all sorts of life on the Moon, including winged human creatures about four feet tall; it became known as the Great Moon Hoax, though The Sun never retracted the stories.
1894 – Japanese scientist Shibasaburo Kitasato discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet
1944 – General Charles de Gaulle walks the Champs Elysees in Paris after the liberation of the city from Nazi occupation
1916 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed the “Organic Act,” which established the National Park Service.
1990 – UN security council authorizes military action against Iraq
Births & Deaths: 1930 – Sean Connorey, an Academy Award-winning Scottish actor who is best known for playing 007 in the early ‘James Bond’ spy movies, was born.
Sport: 1960 – AFL begins placing players names on back of their jerseys
Music: 1998 – “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” debut album by Lauryn Hill is released (5 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, Billboard Album of the Year 1998)
TV & Film: 1955 – 16th Venice Film Festival: “Ordet” directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer wins Golden Lion
