On this day in history —

• The Swiss defeat the Burgundians at the Battle of Grandson. (1476)
• British control of Georgia ends in the Battle of the Rice Boats. (1776)
• Legal slave importation ends in the United States. (1808)
• “El Pirata Cofresi” is captured. (1825)
• Rutherford B. Hayes is elected President by the House of Representatives even though he lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College. (1877)
• The first International Congress of the Communist Party meets in Moscow. (1919)
• King Kong premiers at Radio City Music Hall. Admission is a wallet-breaking 35¢. (1933)
• The Boeing B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II becomes the first plane to circle the globe nonstop. (1946)
• Wilt Chamberlain sets a single-game scoring record of 100 points. (1962)
• Pioneer 10 is launched (1972)
• The “Storm of the Century” drops up to 12″ of snow in such places as Alabama and Florida, causes power outages for 10 million, and kills 310 people. (1993)

It’s the birthday of —

• Daniel Craig, 6th Bond (1968)
• Jon Bon Jovi, rocker (1962)
• Karen Carpenter, too rich and too thin (1950)
• John Irving, author (1942)
• Lou Reed, wild side walker (1942)
• Mikhail Gorbachev, general secretary (1931)
• Tom Wolfe, new journalist (1931)
• Desi Arnaz, bandleader (1917)
• Mel Ott, baseball player (1909)
• Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), children’s author (1904)
• Moe Berg, baseball player and spy (1902)
• Kurt Weill, “Mack the Knife” composer (1900)
• Sholem Aleichem, author (1859)
• Sam Houston, city namesake (1793)

Deaths —

• Randolph Scott, actor (1987)
• Philip K. Dick, science fiction author (1982)
• Fred Merkle, boner maker (1956)
• D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley author (1930)
• Horace Walpole, author (1797)
• John Wesley, Methodism founder (1791)

Holidays —

• Texas Independence Day (Texas)
• Victory at Adwa Day (Ethiopi)
• Omizu-Okuri Festival (Obama, Japan)
• Feast of ‘Alá (Bahá’í)