1978 – Hawaii hosts the first Ironman Triathlon
Contestants have to swim 2.4 miles (3.86 km), bike 112 miles (180.25 km) and complete a marathon run measuring 26.2 miles (42.2 km).
1977 – The Space Shuttle takes off on its maiden flight
The “Enterprise” was mounted on a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft; the first free flight took place on August 12, 1977
1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established
Despite many controversies, Scientology has gained thousands of members since its inception.
1943 – The Gestapo arrests German resistance fighter Sophie Scholl and other White Rose activists
21-year-old student Scholl and her fellow campaigners were executed for having distributed flyers criticizing the Nazi regime.
1930 – Pluto is discovered
Clyde W. Tombaugh discovered the dwarf planet when sifting through photographs taken a month earlier.
1974 – Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Russian tennis player
1967 – Roberto Baggio
Italian footballer
1954 – John Travolta
American actor, singer, producer
1933 – Yoko Ono
Japanese/American singer-songwriter
1838 – Ernst Mach
Austrian physicist
1967 – J. Robert Oppenheimer
American physicist
1906 – John Batterson Stetson
American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company
1564 – Michelangelo
Italian painter, sculptor
1546 – Martin Luther
German monk, priest, leader of the Protestant Reformation
1294 – Kublai Khan
Mongolian Emperor
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