Sir Arthur Conan Doyle(author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes)β
Laurence Olivier(actor)β
Peter Nero(pianist)β
Paul Winfield(actor)β
Morrissey(singer)β
Naomi Campbell(model)β
Alastair Ralphs(wrestler)β
Ginnifer Goodwin(actress)β
Apolo Ohno(Olympic speed skater)β
Died
Martha Washington(U.S. First Lady)β
Victor Hugo(writer)β
Langston Hughes(writer)β
Thurl Ravenscroft(character voice, most well known for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakesβ pitchman Tony the Tiger)β
Tiffany Two(oldest known cat at the time)β
Events
Train of 100-plus wagons left Independence, Missouri, for Oregonβ
Representative Preston Brooks caned Senator Charles Sumner in Senateβ
Patent granted for Wright brothersβ βFlying-Machineββ
The American Cancer Society was foundedβ
The Space Needle’s revolving restaurant in Seattle, Washington, was dedicatedβ
Barry Bishop and the other members of a National Geographic expedition team were the first Americans to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Barry Bishop placed the U.S. flag on top of Mount Everestβ
First permanent IMAX theater opened in Torontoβ
Athlete Rick Hansen completed Man in Motion World Tourβ
Hubble telescope detected at least two more Saturn moonsβ
Weather
Northeast Maine had 6 inches of snowβ
Lewiston, Maine, reached 101 degrees Fβ
Rains caused flooding, New Mexicoβ
Heavy rain brought the Pearl River ten feet above flood stage at Carthage, Mississippiβ
A 2.5 mile-wide tornado touched down near Hallam, Nebraska.β
An EF-5 tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri, causing at least 155 deaths. An evaluation by the National Weather Service estimated the tornado’s wind speeds reached 198 miles per hour.β