Holidays

Feast day of St. Catherine of Siena, St. Wilfrid the Younger, St. Hugh of Cluny, St. Endellion, St. Joseph Cottolengo, St. Robert of Molesme, and St. Peter the Martyr.

Japan: Greenery Day.

Events

1429 – Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a victory over the English.

1813 – A patent for rubber was given to J.F. Hummel of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1852 – The first edition of Peter Roget’s “Thesaurus” was published.

1854 – Ashmun Institute, the first college founded solely for African-American students, was officially chartered.

1861 – Maryland voted against seceding from the Union.

1862 – New Orleans fell to Union forces during the Civil War.

1864 – Theta Xi, a fraternity, was founded — in Troy, New York.

1913 – Swedish-born U.S. inventor Gideon Sundback patented the zipper.

1945 – American soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp, the first concentration camp established by the Nazi regime.

1945 – Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun and designated Admiral Karl Doenitz his successor. Hitler killed himself the next day.

1946 – Twenty-eight former Japanese leaders were indicted as war criminals.

1992 – Four white policemen in Los Angeles were acquitted of beating Rodney King, a black motorist, despite videotape evidence.

2003 – The Palestinian parliament approved Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister.

Births

1792 – Matthew Vassar, American, brewer, founder and namesake of Vassar College.

1818 – Alexander II, Russian emperor (1855-81), emancipated the serfs in 1861.

1863 – William Randolph Hearst, American publishing magnate.

1899 – Duke (Edward Kennedy) Ellington, American jazz musician, bandleader.

1901 – Hirohito, Japan’s longest reigning emperor (1926-1989).

1936 – Zubin Mehta, Indian-born American conductor, and son of Mehli Mehta, founder of the Bombay Symphony.

1951 – Dale Earnhardt, stock car driver, with one of the most successful careers in motorsports.

1954 – Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian and television celebrity.

1970 – Andre Agassi, professional tennis player.

Deaths

1980 – Alfred Hitchcock, English film director.

Source: Reference.com