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

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