1349 – Jewish residents of Basel, Switzerland, are rounded up and incinerated because they were thought to be the cause of the Black Death.

1768 – The first modern circus takes place in London, England, when Philip Astley brings his circus ring to town.

1799 – In order to raise money for the war efforts in the Napoleonic Wars, British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger declared that all citizens should pay an imcome tax of two shillings.

1929 – The Seeing Eye, which is a company in Nashville, TN, that trains dogs to guide blind masters, was incorporated officially on this day.

1937 – Photography magazine Look, which was bi-weekly, went on sale for the first time on this date. It helped launch several prominent careers, especially that of Stanley Kubrick.

1947 – Elizabeth Short, a young actress with aspirations of making it big in Hollywood, was last seen alive on this date. She is better known as The Black Dahlia, a nickname given to her after she was found brutally murdered, disfigured, and dismembered.

1951 – The headquarters for the United Nations officially opens in New York City
on this day. The land on which the headquarters is built was purchased with an $8.5 million donation from the Rockefeller family.’

1960 – Construction begins on the Aswan Dam in Egypt when ten tons of dynamite are blown to destroy 20 tons of granite on the Nile River’s eastern bank. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser approved the start of the project.

1984 – The Wendy’s commercial which asked the question, “Where’s the beef?” first aired on this date with Clara Peller gaining instant fame as the lady demanding an answer to the question.

2007 – Steve Jobs reveals the first iPhone to the market.

1908 – Simone de Beauvoir, French philosopher and author (The Second Sex and She Came to Stay)
1913 – Richard Nixon, American politician and 37th President of the United States
1920 – Clive Dunn, English actor singer and author (Boys will be Boys, Dad’s Army)
1928 – Domenico Modugno, Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and politician
1933 – Wilbur Smith, Zambian-English journalist and author (The Courtney series and The Ballantyne series)
1941 – Joan Baez, American singer-songwriter (The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and Diamonds & Rust)
1944 – Jimmy Page, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Honeydrippers)
1954 – Philippa Gregory, English author (The Wideacre Trilogy, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Other Queen)
1967 – Dave Matthews, South African-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dave Matthews Band)
1970 – Lara Fabian, Belgian-Italian singer (Love by Grace, Adagio, To Love Again)
1982 – Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge