EVENTS:
- 1874 – A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people.
- 1888 – Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
- 1891 – The International Electro-Technical Exhibition opens in Frankfurt, Germany, and will feature the world’s first long distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electrical current (the most common form today).
- 1914 – The first ever National Challenge Cup final is played. Brooklyn Field Club defeats Brooklyn Celtic 2-1.
- 1960 – Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
- 1975 – Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 2015 – A passenger train collides with a tractor and trailer on a level crossing at Ibbenbüren, Germany. Two people are killed and 40 are injured.
BIRTHS:
- 1831 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American scientist, co-invented the microphone (d. 1900)
- 1845 – Élie Metchnikoff, Ukrainian-French biologist and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
- 1923 – Merton Miller, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
- 1931 – K. Natwar Singh, Indian politician, Minister of External Affairs for India
- 1950 – Georg Bednorz, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1966 – Thurman Thomas, American football player
- 1969 – Tucker Carlson, American journalist, co-founded The Daily Caller
- 1976 – Dirk Nannes, Australian-Dutch cricketer
- 1983 – Daniel Kerr, Australian footballer
- 1985 – Anja Mittag, German footballer
- 1986 – Shakti Arora, Indian Actor
- 1995 – Elizabeth Ralston, Australian footballer
- 2000 – Luis Garcia, Dominican-American baseball player
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
- Mass Graves Day (Iraq)
- National Day, declared by Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan)
- Teachers’ Day (Malaysia)
- Martyrs of Sudan (Episcopal Church (USA)
