
1516 – Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria endorsed “The German Beer Purity Law” (Reinheitsgebot) and added to it standards for the sale of beer in Bavaria, ensuring beer is only brewed from three ingredients – water, malt and hops
1597 – William Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” was first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance
1661 – English king Charles II was crowned in London
1662 – Connecticut was chartered as an English colony
1702 – Queen Anne was crowned at Westminster Abbey, London
1861 – Robert E. Lee was named commander of Virginia Confederate forces (US Civil War)
1867 – Queen Victoria & Napoleon III turned down plans for a channel tunnel
1900 – First know use of the word “hillbillie” (NY Journal)
1931 – US gangster film “The Public Enemy” starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow premiered
1940 – Dance hall fire killed at least 198 people in Natchez, Mississippi
1945 – Concentration camp Flossenburg was liberated
1954 – Hammerin’ Hank Aaron hit first of his 755 homeruns
1965 – “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” single was released by the Four Tops (Billboard Song of the Year 1965)
1968 – United Methodist Church formed
1969 – Sirhan Sirhan sentenced to death for killing US Senator Robert F. Kennedy (later computed to life sentence)
1972 – Apollo 16 astronauts explore the Moon’s surface
1977 – Dr. Allen Bussey completed 20,302 yo-yo loops
1982 – The 8-bit personal home computer the Sinclair ZX Spectrum was released (goes on to sell 5 million worldwide)
1984 – AIDS-virus identified as HTLV-III (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
1985 – New Coke debuts; Coca-Cola announced it is changing its secret flavor formula
1989 – Wine merchant William Sokolin broke a bottle of 1787 Château Margaux, possibly belonging to Thomas Jefferson, worth $500,000 at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York