Events 1571 - Battle of Lepanto occurs. 1777 - Battle of Second Saratoga occurs. 1780 - Battle of King's Mountain American irregulars defeat British forces in South Carolina. 1879 - Germany and Austria-Hungary create the Dual Alliance. 1886 - Spain abolishes slavery in Cuba. 1908 - Crete revolts against the Ottoman Empire and aligns with Greece. 1913 - Henry Ford introduces the assembly line. 1940 - Germany invades Romania. 1943 - Japan executes 100 American prisoners on Wake Island. 1949 - German Democratic Republic (East Germany) formed. 1950 - United States forces invade Korea by crossing the 38th parallel. 1957 - Dick Clark's American Bandstand debuts. 1957 - A fire in the Windscale plutonium production reactor, north of Liverpool, England, cause the release of radioactive material, which is later blamed for 39 cancer deaths 1985 - Achille Lauro hijacked by Palestinian terrorists. 1998 - Matthew Shepard is beaten and left tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyoming. 2001 - Start of U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. 2003 - 2003 California recall: California governor Gray Davis is recalled from office and replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Births 1841 - King Nicholas I of Montenegro († 1921) 1853 - James Whitcomb Riley, poet († 1916) 1885 - Niels Bohr, Danish physicist (†1962) 1888 - Henry A. Wallace, American politician and Vice President of the United States († 1965) 1894 - Del Lord, pioneer Hollywood director († 1970) 1897 - Elijah Mohammed, Black Muslim leader († 1975) 1900 - Heinrich Himmler, Nazi official and leader of the SS († 1945) 1905 - Andy Devine, actor († 1977) 1911 - Vaughn Monroe, singer († 1973) 1914 - Alfred Drake, actor († 1992) 1917 - June Allyson, actress 1931 - Desmond Tutu, South African archbishop and anti-apartheid activist 1934 - Amiri Baraka, playwright, poet (born LeRoi Jones) 1935 - Thomas Keneally, Australian author 1939 - Harold Kroto, British chemist 1943 - Oliver North, United States Marine involved in Iran-Contra affair 1951 - John Cougar Mellencamp, singer 1952 - Vladimir Putin, Russian politician and president 1955 - Yo-Yo Ma, cellist 1957 - Jayne Torvill, figure skater 1979 - Simona Amanar, Romanian gymnast Deaths 336 - Pope Marcus 1792 - George Mason, U.S. patriot, "Father of the United States Bill of Rights" 1849 - Edgar Allen Poe, American writer 1894 - Oliver Wendell Holmes, poet 1925 - Christy Mathewson, baseball star 1926 - Emil Kraepelin, German psychologist 1959 - Mario Lanza, singer 1992 - Tevfik Esenc, last speaker of the Ubykh language Holidays UN - Universal Children's Day See Also: October 6 - October 8 - September 7 - November 7 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
October 6 - October 8 - September 7 - November 7 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December