Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include British anti-government conspirator Guy Fawkes in 1570; Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, in 1743; Frank Woolworth, founder of the five-and-dime stores, in 1852; outlaw Butch Cassidy in 1866; Alfred Butts, inventor of the game "Scrabble," in 1899; Irish playwright Samuel Beckett in 1906; Harold Stassen, former Minnesota governor who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination seven times, in 1907; author Eudora Welty in 1909; actor/singer Howard Keel and atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, both in 1919; actors Don Adams in 1923, Lyle Waggoner in 1935 (age 79), Paul Sorvino in 1939 (age 75) and Tony Dow (Wally on "Leave It To Beaver") in 1945 (age 69); composer Bill Conti in 1942 (age 72); singers Al Green in 1946 (age 68) and Peabo Bryson in 1951 (age 63); author and critic Christopher Hitchens in 1949; Max Weinberg, band leader and Bruce Springsteen drummer, in 1951 (age 63); actors Ron Perlman in 1950 (age 64) and Rick Schroder in 1970 (age 44); and chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1963 (age 51).
On this date in history: In 1742, George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" made its world premiere.
In 1943, the Jefferson Memorial was dedicated in Washington, on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth.
In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first African-American to win an Oscar for Best Actor, honored for his work in "Lilies of the Field."
In 1970, an oxygen tank exploded aboard Apollo 13 en route to a planned moon landing. (The craft returned safety to Earth after some harrowing moments.)
In 1972, the first Major League Baseball strike ended, eight days after it began.
In 1984, Christopher Wilder, the FBI's "most wanted man," accidentally killed himself as police moved in to arrest him in New Hampshire. Wilder was a suspect in the deaths, rapes and disappearances of 11 young women in eight states.
In 1987, the Population Reference Bureau reported that the world's population had exceeded 5 billion.
In 1997, Tiger Woods, 21, won the Masters, the youngest golfer to accomplish that feat and the first African-American to win any of the four major professional golf tournaments for men.
In 2005, as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to four bombings that killed two people and injured more than 120. Among the attacks were bombings at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and two abortion clinics. Rudolph was sentenced to life in prison.
In 2008, about 1,300 Iraqi police officers and soldiers were fired in Basra and Kut for failing to fight Shiite militias, the Iraqi government said. Some of those fired were said to have merely switched sides during the battle.
In 2009, music producer Phil Spector was found guilty of second-degree murder by a Los Angeles jury in his second trial for the 2003 slaying of Lana Clarkson, an actress and club hostess. (He was sentenced to 19 years-to-life in prison.)
In 2012, the White House reported that President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama had income of $789,674 in 2011 and paid $162,074 in taxes, a rate of about 20.5 percent. They paid an additional $31,914 to the state of Illinois.
In 2013, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis appointed eight cardinals to look into ways of reforming the Roman Catholic Church.
A thought for the day: "Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." -- Oprah Winfrey
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