1749 – Author Comte Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade (a.k.a. Marquis de Sade) was born in Paris.
1840 – Writer Thomas Hardy (The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D’Urbervilles) was born in Higher Bockhampton, England.
1857 – Composer Edward Elgar (Pomp and Circumstance) was born in Broadheath, England.
1865 – In an event marking the end of the Civil War, Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith signed surrender terms offered by Union negotiators.
1886 – Grover Cleveland became the first U.S. President to get married in the White House, when he exchanged vows with Florence Folsom.
1904 – Olympic swimmer – actor Johnny Weissmuller was born in Banat, Austria-Hungary (now Romania).
1924 – In one of the most ironic pieces of legislation in American history, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans.
President Calvin Coolidge posed with four Osage Indians after Coolidge signed the bill granting Indians full U.S. citizenship.
1953 – The coronation of 27-year-old Queen Elizabeth II of England was broadcast, becoming one of the first international news events to be given complete coverage on television.
1985 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the all-time leading point scorer in the National Basketball Association playoffs. He rang up a total of 4,458 points, smashing the previous record held by Jerry West, also of the Los Angeles Lakers.
1997 – Timothy McVeigh was convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Chief Writing Wolf 