244
Major Events
- 1497 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon on his first voyage to India.
- 1776 – The Liberty Bell rang in Philadelphia to summon citizens for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
- 1889 – The Wall Street Journal published its first issue in the United States.
- 1947 – Reports of a crashed flying saucer near Roswell, New Mexico, gained widespread attention, sparking UFO theories.
- 1994 – Kim Jong-il assumed leadership in North Korea after the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.
Famous Birthdays
- John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937), American industrialist and philanthropist
- Nelson Rockefeller (1908–1979), U.S. Vice President and governor of New York
- Kevin Bacon (born 1958), American actor known for Footloose and Mystic River
- Beck (born 1970), American musician known for his eclectic style
- Milo Ventimiglia (born 1977), American actor known for This Is Us
- Sophie Lowe (born 1990), English-Australian actress and singer-songwriter
Notable Deaths
- Kim Il-sung (d. 1994), founding leader of North Korea (b. 1912)
- Sinéad Cusack (d. 2020), Irish actress with a prolific career on stage and screen (b. 1948)
- Satchel Paige (d. 1982), legendary African-American baseball pitcher (b. 1906)
Holidays
- Day of the Sea Battle of Angamos – Peru commemorates a key naval engagement during the War of the Pacific.
- National Video Game Day (USA, unofficial) – Celebrating the cultural impact of video games on entertainment and technology.
Fun Facts
- Kevin Bacon inspired the game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” highlighting how connected people are through film roles.
- The Liberty Bell cracked the first time it was rung after arriving in Philadelphia in 1752 — it was recast twice.
- Beck recorded most of his breakout album Mellow Gold in a home studio on a budget.
- The Wall Street Journal is now one of the largest newspapers by circulation in the U.S.
- The Roswell incident continues to influence science fiction and UFO culture decades later.