Partial list from the AP via Vindy.com LINK
On this date in:
1510: Early Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli dies in obscurity in Florence, Italy; he was probably in his mid 60s. (More than three centuries would pass before the art world rediscovered Botticelli and his works, such as “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera.”)
In 1792, the New York Stock Exchange had its origins as a group of brokers met under a tree on Wall Street.
In 1849, fire erupted in St. Louis, Mo., resulting in the loss of three lives, more than 400 buildings and some two dozen steamships.
In 1910, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts was established.
In 1939, Britain's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived in Quebec on the first visit to Canada by reigning British sovereigns.
In 1946, President Harry S. Truman seized control of the nation's railroads, delaying - but not preventing - a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen.
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down racially segregated public schools in its Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision.
In 1973, the Senate began its televised hearings into the Watergate scandal.
In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to allow legal same-sex marriages.
Ten years ago: Two former Ku Klux Klansmen were arrested on murder charges in the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Ala. that killed four black girls. (Thomas Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry were later convicted and sentenced to life behind bars. Cherry died in prison in 2004; Blanton is still serving his sentence.)
Today's Birthdays: Actor-director Dennis Hopper is 74. Actor Peter Gerety is 70. Singer Taj Mahal is 68. Singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester is 66. Rock musician Bill Bruford is 61. Singer-musician George Johnson (The Brothers Johnson) is 57. TV personality Kathleen Sullivan is 57. Actor Bill Paxton is 55. Boxing Hall-of-Famer Sugar Ray Leonard is 54. Actor-comedian Bob Saget is 54. Sports announcer Jim Nantz is 51. Singer Enya is 49. Talk show host-actor Craig Ferguson is 48. Rock singer-musician Page McConnell is 47. Singer-musician Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) is 45. Actress Paige Turco is 45. Rhythm-and-blues musician O'Dell (Mint Condition) is 45. Actor Hill Harper is 44. TV personality/interior designer Thom Filicia is 41. Singer Jordan Knight is 40. Rhythm-and-blues singer Darnell Van Rensalier (Shai) is 40. Actress Sasha Alexander is 37. Rock singer-musician Josh Homme (HAHM'-ee) is 37. Rock singer Andrea Corr (The Corrs) is 36. Actor Sendhil Ramamurthy (SEN'-dul rah-mah-MURTH'-ee) (TV: "Heroes") is 36. Actress Rochelle Aytes is 34. Singer Kandi Burruss is 34. Actress Kat Foster (TV: "'Til Death") is 32. Actor Tahj Mowry is 24. Actress Nikki Reed is 22. Actress Leven Rambin is 20. Actress Samantha Browne-Walters is 19. Actor Justin Martin is 16.
