In 1556 A deadly earthquake killed 830,000 in Shensi Province, China. In 1742 Charles VII, king of Germany, was elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire during the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1848 James W. Marshall found a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California, a discovery that led to the gold rush of 1849. In 1861 The arsenal at Augusta, Georgia, was seized by the Confederacy. In 1899 The rubber heel was patented by Humphrey O'Sullivan. In 1908 The first Boy Scout troop was organized in England by Sir Robert Baden-Powell. In 1916 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal income tax is constitutional. In 1922 Christian K. Nelson of Onawa, Iowa, patented the Eskimo Pie. In 1924 The Soviet Union renamed the city of Petrograd to Leningrad. In 1935 Beer is first sold in cans in Richmond, Virginia. In 1942 A special court of inquiry into America's lack of preparedness for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor placed much of the blame on the Navy'

In 1712 Frederick I (the Great), king of Prussia (1740-86) In 1820 Journalist, Henry Raymond (co-founded the New York Times) In 1860 Businessmen, Bernard Kroger (founded Kroger grocery store chain) In 1862 Novelist, Edith Wharton In 1880 Elisabeth Achelis, inventor of World Calendar In 1883 Actress, Estelle Winwood (Miracle On 34th Street) In 1888 Inventor, Ernst Heinrich Heinkel (first rocket-powered aircraft) In 1910 Singer/actor, Sydney Pepple (voice of Bambi) [d: 10-20-93] In 1915 TV game show producer, Mark Goodson [d: 12-18-92] In 1915 Painter, Robert Motherwell (expressionist movement) [d: 7-16-91] In 1916 Sports announcer, Jack Brickhouse (Cubs) [d: 8-6-98] In 1916 Sports owner, Walter Haas Jr. (Oakland A's) [d: 9-20-95] In 1917 Actor, Ernest Borgnine (McHale's Navy, Airwolf, Single Guy) [d: 7-8-12] In 1918 Evangelist, Oral Roberts (Oral Roberts College) [d: 12-15-09] In 1920 Actor, Jerry Maren (Buster Brown, Lollipop kid-Wizard of Oz) [d: 5-24-18] In 1922 Actress, Ava

In 1934 "Smoke Gets Into Your Eyes" by Paul Whiteman was #1 on charts. In 1956 Buddy Holly recorded "Blue Days Black Night" in Nashville. In 1958 "Get A Job" by the Silhouettes, "Magic Moments" by Perry Como, and "Witchcraft" by Frank Sinatra all enter the U.S. top 40 charts. In 1964 The Beatles' first U.S. album, "Meet The Beatles," was released. In 1965 The Byrds began recording "Mr. Tambourine Man." In 1965 The Rolling Stones and the Kinks made their first appearances on TV's "Shindig." In 1965 Alan Freed, who coined the phrase "Rock & Roll," died at age 43. In 1967 The U.S. hit TV show "The Monkees" premiered on British TV. In 1967 The Rolling Stones' album "Between The Buttons" was released. In 1968 Bob Dylan performed for the first time, after a near-fatal motorcycle accident two years earlier, at a benefit for Woody Guthrie. In 1968 Donovan, Ji

In 1265 England's Parliament met for the first time. In 1801 John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the United States. In 1839 Chile defeated a confederation of Peru and Bolivia in the Battle of Yungay. In 1841 The island of Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain. In 1887 The U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base. In 1892 On this date, they played the first basketball game. In 1936 Britain's King George V died and was succeeded by Edward VIII. In 1929 Wayne Baxter won the first Academy Award for Best Actor in "Old Arizona." In 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first chief executive to be inaugurated on January 20, instead of March 4, due to the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. In 1942 Nazi officials held the notorious Wannsee conference in Berlin, calling for the extermination of Europe's Jewish population. In 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn into office for an unprecedented

In 1716 King Charles III of Spain (1759-88) In 1732 Statesman, Richard Henry Lee (signed Declaration of Independence) In 1734 Merchant, Robert Morris (signed Declaration of Independence) In 1760 Charles III, king of Spain (1759-88) In 1775 Physicist, Andre-Marie Ampere (the science of electromagnetism) In 1811 Engineer, Samuel Keefer (Niagra Falls suspension bridge) In 1873 Danish novelist Johannes V. Jensen (Nobel-1944) In 1891 Violinist, Mischa Elman In 1892 Actor, Roscoe Ates (1930-40s western films) In 1894 Cartoonist, Harold Gray (Little Orphan Annie) In 1896 Actor, George Burns (Burns & Allen Show, Oh God) [d: 3-9-96] In 1896 Actor, Rolfe Sedan (Mr. Beasley-Burns & Allen) In 1898 Actor, Colin Clive (Frankenstein) In 1898 Actress, Norma Varden (Harriet Johnson-Hazel) In 1903 Actor, Leon Ames (Gordon-Mr. Ed, Father of the Bride) [d: 10-12-93] In 1904 Ballerina, Alexandra Danilova (Turning Point) [d: 7-13-97] In 1910 Author/naturalist, Joy Adamson (Born Free) [d: 1-3-80] In

In 1950 Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow made their first appearances at the "Grand Ole Opry." In 1954 Muddy Waters recorded "Hoochie Coochie Man." In 1955 Marian Anderson made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, playing Ulrica in Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera." In 1956 "Memories Are Made Of This" by Dean Martin hits #1 on the U.S. top 40 chart and stays there for five weeks. In 1963 Gary U.S. Bonds sued Chubby Checker for plagiarism, claiming that Chubby's "Dancing Party" sounds too much like "Quarter to Three," the 1961 hit by Bonds. The suit is settled out of court. In 1963 Bobby Vee recorded "Charms" at the United Recording Studios in Hollywood. In 1967 The Royal Guardsmen's album "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron" was released. In 1969 Look magazine published an article on Jimi Hendrix called "Jimi Hendrix Socks It to the White House," featuring a picture of him lounging b

In 1536 Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII, died. In 1610 Astronomer Galileo discovers the four major moons of Jupiter. In 1782 The first U.S. commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opened in Philadelphia, PA. In 1789 The first U.S. presidential election was held. A month later, Americans voted for electors who chose George Washington to be the nation's first president. In 1894 One of the earliest motion picture experiments took place at the Thomas Edison studio in West Orange, NJ, as comedian Fred Ott was filmed sneezing. In 1927 Commercial transatlantic telephone service began between New York and London, England. In 1929 "Buck Rogers" and "Tarzan" debuted the first adventure comic strips. In 1942 The World War II siege of Bataan began. In 1953 In his State of the Union address, President Truman announced that the U.S. had developed the hydrogen bomb. In 1955 The opening of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa was televised for