Today in History

• The British slave ship Zong drowns 133 Africans into the ocean to claim insurance (1781)
• The Sand Creek Massacre of at least 150 Native American noncombatants takes place in the Colorado Territory (1864)
• Thomas Edison demonstrates his phonograph publicly for the first time (1877)
• LBJ establishes the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of JFK (1963)
• Atari releases Pong (1972)

Birthdays

• Amos Bronson Alcott, educator and reformer, father of Louisa May Alcott (1799)
• Christian Doppler, mathematician and physicist (1803)
• Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women (1832)
• Nellie Tayloe Ross, first elected female US governor (1876)
• Busby Berkeley, choreographer (1895)
• C. S. Lewis, fantasy author (1898)
• Adam Clayton Powell Jr, politician (1908)
• Billy Strayhorn, jazz musician (1915)
• Merle Travis, country musician (1917)
• Madeline L’Engle, fantasy author (1918)
• Dagmar, model and actress (1921)
• Vin Scully, sportscaster (1927)
• John Mayall, blues musician (1933)
• Diane Ladd, actress (1935)
• Peter Bergman, member of Firesign Theatre (1939)
• Suzy Chaffee, skier (1946)
• Garry Shandling, comedian (1949)
• Howie Mandel, television host (1955)
• Don Cheadle, actor (1964)
• Gena Lee Nolin, actress (1971)
• Anna Faris, actress (1976)

Deaths

• Thomas Wolsey, cardinal (1530)
• Claudio Monteverdi, composer (1643)
• Milt Gross, cartoonist (1953)
• Carl Stalling, composer (1972)
• Natalie Wood, actress (1981)
• Cary Grant, actor (1986)
• Ralph Bellamy, actor (1991)
• Frank Yerby, author (1991)
• J.R.D. Tata, businessman (1993)
• Gene Rayburn, game show host (1999)
• George Harrison, musician (2001)

Holidays and Celebrations