1994 – Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa's first black president
Mandela's inauguration came after more than 300 years of white rule. Before becoming president, he was a pivotal figure in the fight against the racist apartheid regime and was incarcerated for 27 years.
1954 – Bill Haley releases “Rock Around the Clock”
It was the first rock song to top the Billboard charts and has become a classic of the early rock era.
1941 – Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachutes into Scotland to broker a peace agreement
Hess was captured and interrogated. He was the last in a long line of prominent figures to be incarcerated in the Tower of London. Hitler characterized his peace mission four years before the end of World War II as treason.
1933 – Nazis ceremonially burn about 25,000 allegedly “un-German” books
The book burnings were part of the right-wing German Student Union's Action against the Un-German Spirit. Among the burnt books were works by Albert Einstein, Bertolt Brecht, Sigmund Freud, and Franz Kafka.
1869 – In the United States, the first coast to coast railroad is completed
The Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad systems were joined at Promontory Summit in Utah, using a “Golden Spike”. This last spike is now housed in the Cantor Arts Museum at Stanford University.
1977 – Nick Heidfeld
German race car driver
1960 – Bono
Irish singer-songwriter, actor, activist
1957 – Sid Vicious
English singer, bass player
1946 – Donovan
Scottish/English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor
1899 – Fred Astaire
American actor, singer, dancer
1977 – Joan Crawford
American actress
1897 – Andrés Bonifacio
Filipino activist
1863 – Stonewall Jackson
American general
1818 – Paul Revere
American military officer
1774 – Louis XV of France
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