1492 - Christopher Columbus is the first European to sight Hispaniola (modern Dominican Republic and Haiti)
1941 - Patrick Hamilton's "Angel Street" premieres in NYC
1941 - US aircraft carrier Lexington and 5 heavy cruisers leave Pearl Harbor
1955 - Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery, Alabama by Rosa Parks and other civil rights activists
1957 - NYC is first US city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law)
1975 - NASA launches space vehicle S-196, it failed

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Famous Birthdays

1914 - Hans Hellmut Kirst, German author (The Lieutenant Must Be Mad), born in Osterode, Germany (d. 1989)
1932 - James Cleveland, American gospel singer, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1991)
1940 - Peter Pohl, Swedish writer, born in Hamburg, Germany
1947 - Rick Wills, British bass guitarist (Peter Frampton, 1972-74: Foreigner, 1977-91), born in Cambridge, England
1951 - Tom Purtzer, American golfer (5 PGA Tour titles), born in Des Moines, Iowa
1965 - Johnny Rzeznik, American singer, songwriter and guitarist (Goo Goo Dolls), born in Buffalo, New York

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Famous Deaths

1745 - Christoph Förster, German composer, dies at 52
1965 - Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist (shock therapy-Nobel 1944), dies of heart disease at 91
1995 - Bill Bruton, American baseball outfielder (NL stolen bases leader 1953-55 Milwaukee Braves), dies of a heart attack at 70
2001 - Peter Blake, New Zealand yachtsman (Whitbread Round the World Race 1989-90; America's Cup 1995, 2000) and Special Envoy UN Environment Program, killed by pirates on the Amazon River at 53
2008 - Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (The Ten Commandments, Spartacus, An American in Paris), dies from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome at 84
2008 - Beverly Garland [Fessenden], American actress (My Three Sons, Scarecrow and Mrs. King), dies at 82