1566 – UFO’s were sighted over Basel, in Switzerland, and recorded in a woodcutting

1606 – The first documented performance of ‘Macbeth’ took place at the Great Hall at Hampton Court.

1782 – George Washington ordered the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honour soldiers wounded in battle. It was later renamed the Purple Heart.

1789 – The United States War Department was established.

1794 – In America, The Whiskey Rebellion began: farmers in the Monongahela Valley of Pennsylvania rebelled against the federal tax on liquor and distilled drinks.

1840 – Parliament passed the Chimney Sweeps Act prohibiting boys under 16 from becoming apprentice chimney sweeps and anyone under the age of 21 being sent up a chimney.

1888 – Swiss-American inventor, Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia, received a patent for the revolving door.

1889 – Anna Månsdotter became the last woman in Sweden to be executed, for murder.

1926 – The first ever British Grand Prix took place at Brooklands race track in Surrey

1942 – World War II: the Battle of Guadalcanal began – United States Marines initiated the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.

1945 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman announced the bombing of Hiroshima with an atomic bomb while returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

1947 – A balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, captained by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, completed a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru to Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelago, near Tahiti. Heyerdahl wanted to prove his theory that prehistoric South Americans could have colonised the Polynesian islands by drifting on ocean currents. He proved it. The 6 man crew made successful landfall and all returned safely.

1954 – Johnny Cash married Vivian Liberto at St Ann’s Catholic Church in Memphis. Cash had plans of becoming a Memphis appliance salesman, but he instead formed a band with Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant, and was signed to Sun Records a year later.

1955 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, began selling its first transistor radios in Japan.

1957 – The Quarry Men played at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, (without Paul McCartney who was away at Boy Scout summer camp). The Cavern was still a jazz club, but skiffle was tolerated, but when John Lennon dared to play ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, the club owner sent a note to the stage saying, “Cut out the bloody rock!”

1959 – The United States launched Explorer 6, which sent back the first pictures of the Earth from space.

1974 – Frenchman Philippe Petit performed a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre 1,368 ft (417.0m) in the air. The feat was made into the award-winning documentary ‘Man on Wire’. When asked why he did the stunt, Petit would say “When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk.”

1976 – Viking program: Mars probe Viking 2 entered into orbit around the red planet after an 11-month flight from Earth.

1976 – UK music weekly Melody Maker gave The Sex Pistols their first front cover.

1982 – Dexy’s Midnight Runners were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Come On Eileen’, their second and last No.1. It was the best-selling single of 1982 and the song won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards.

1982 – ‘Kids From Fame’ by The Kids From Fame started an eight week run at No.1 on the UK album chart.

1987 – An American woman became the first person to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union. Lynne Cox, 30, took two hours and six minutes to cross the Bering Strait which separates the Arctic and Pacific oceans – and the two superpowers.

1990 – Operation Desert Shield, in the first Gulf War, began as the U.S. deployed troops to Saudi Arabia

1992 – The luxury liner “QE2″ ran aground off Massachusetts.

2002 – Three members of Oasis were injured when the taxi they were travelling in was involved in a crash during a US tour in Indianapolis. Noel Gallagher, Andy Bell and Jay Darlington were all taken to hospital and treated for cuts and bruises.

2002 – Former Boyzone singer Keith Duffy made his acting debut in ‘Coronation Street’ playing the role of Peter Barlow’s old Navy mate Ciaran McCarthy.

2002 – A Chinese fashion show was being held for the first time in Tiananmen Square

2003 – The Osmonds received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2003 – At a conference, Sven Goran Eriksson’s girlfriend Nancy Dell’Olio said that Britain should ditch the pound and try to embrace the whole of Europe

2003 – Magician Paul Daniels revealed he’d applied to take over the role of the wizard Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films

2005 – James Blunt was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘You’re Beautiful’

2007 – Lily Allen had her US work visa cancelled after arriving at Los Angeles airport. The 22-year-old, who was due to tour America in September, had flown in for the MTV Video Music Awards launch. She was held at the airport for five hours in connection with an arrest for an alleged assault in London in June.

2007 – Pete Doherty was warned by a judge that he could face jail or a community order over drugs offences. In July, the 28-year-old Babyshambles frontman pleaded guilty to driving illegally while in possession of crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis. The judge said: “What I have in mind is a community order or prison… if he does not show his motivation, it’s prison – it’s as simple as that.”

2008 – Elvis Presley’s peacock jumpsuit, was sold at auction for $300,000, making it the most expensive piece of Elvis memorabilia ever sold at an auction. The white outfit with a plunging V-neck and high collar featured a blue-and-gold peacock design, hand-embroidered on the front and back and along the trouser legs.

2008 – Georgia launched a military offensive to surround and capture the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, from Russian control, starting the South Ossetia War.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
/> 1921 – Manitas de Plata, Gypsy guitarist, was in the 1960s one of the most renowned flamenco guitarists in the world, his name means ‘Little Hands of Silver’ (91)

1928 – James Randi, Canadian magician, often referred to as a “debunker” of paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims. He has offered a million dollars to anyone who can demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event, under test conditions agreed to by both parties (84)

1942 – Tobin Bell, American actor, best known for playing John Kramer, AKA Jigsaw, in the Saw films. (70)

1944 – Robert Mueller, current Director of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) (68)

1948 – Greg Chappell, Australian cricketer and former Aussie captain twice. He was rather good but don’t tell the Aussies that. (64)

1952 – Alexei Sayle, British alternative comedian and Trotskyite. Or is he a Marxist-Leninist? I can never remember. Anyway, he’s now a novelist. (60)

1955 – Wayne Knight, American actor, best known for his role as Newman in ‘Seinfeld’ and as the naughty fat bloke in ‘Jurassic Park’, responsible for letting the dinosaurs run riot (57)

1958 – Bruce Dickinson, English singer with ‘Iron Maiden’ who had a 1991 UK No.1 with “Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter” believe it or not (54)

1960 – David Duchovny, American actor, best known as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in ‘The X-Files’ and Hank Moody in ‘Californication’, has also appeared in the films ‘Evolution’ and ‘Zoolander’ (53)

1960 – Jacquie O’Sullivan, British singer with ‘Bananarama’, she replaced Siobhan Fahey but later left the band after complaining that she was basically a paid employee of the band with no creative input (52)

1961 – Walter Swinburn, Irish retired flat-racing jockey, nicknamed “The Choirboy” – he rode the famous Shergar to win the 1981 Derby before it was kidnapped (51)

1963 – Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (49)

1963 – Harold Perrineau Jr., American actor, best known for playing Michael Dawson in ‘Lost’, Link in ‘The Matrix’ films, Augustus Hill in the TV series ‘Oz’ and he played Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Romeo + Juliet’. (49)

1964 – Ian Dench, English guitarist and songwriter with ‘EMF’, had a 1990 UK No.3 with “Unbelievable”. He co-wrote “Beautiful Liar” for Beyoncé (48)

1965 – Raul Malo, American lead singer/songwriter with ‘The Mavericks’, had a 1998 UK No.4 with karaoke favourite “Dance The Night Away” (47)

1966 – Jimmy Wales, American internet entrepreneur, co-founder of Wikipedia (46)

1971 – Dominic Cork, England cricketer, swing bowler who now plays for Hampshire. He once got a hattrick for England against the West Indies

(41) 1974 – Michael Shannon, American actor, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ‘Revolutionary Road’ which starred Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio (38)

1975 – Charlize Theron, South African actress whose films include ‘Mighty Joe Young’, ‘The Devil’s Advocate’, ‘Hancock’ and ‘The Cider House Rules’. She won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in ‘Monster’ (37)

1977 – Samantha Ronson, British-American DJ, younger sister of producer Mark Ronson, twin sister of fashion designer Charlotte, and on-off girlfriend of Lindsay Lohan (35)

1977 – Charlotte Ronson, British-American fashion designer, younger sister of producer Mark Ronson, twin sister of Samantha (35)

1978 – Cirroc Lofton, American actor, best known for playing Jake Sisko in ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ (34)

1978 – Lindsey Dawn McKenzie, Large-chested English glamour model and B-List celeb (34)

1982 – Marco Melandri, Italian motorcycle racer, rides for the Hayate Racing Team in MotoGP (30)

1983 – Tina O’Brien, British actress, played Sarah-Louise Platt on ‘Coronation Street’ (29)