Major Robert Lawrence(the first African American astronaut, was killed during training exercises)β
John Lennon(musician, founding member of The Beatles)β
John Glenn(astronaut, first American to orbit Earth)β
Caroll Spinney(puppeteer; best known for Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch)β
Ryan O'Neal(actor)β
Events
American Federation of Labor is organized at Columbus, Ohio, with Samuel Gompers as first presidentβ
American Bird Banding Association formed, first such society in U.S.β
The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra gave its first concertβ
John McCrae’s In Flanders Fields poem was publishedβ
U.S. declared war on Japan (WW II)β
Nine N.Y.C. newspapers shut down when International Typographical Union workers strikeβ
Musician and former Beatle John Lennon was shot and killed in New York Cityβ
Russian leaders announced the dissolution of the Soviet Unionβ
Element 111, roentgenium, first createdβ
At three Anheuser-Busch properties (Merrimack, New Hampshire; St. Louis, Missouri; and Fort Collins, Colorado) 896 couples gathered to kiss under the mistletoe, setting a new Guinness World Recordβ
Weather
Icefalls at Gay Hill, Texas, averaged four to six inches in diameterβ