Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include French writer and alchemist Nicolas Flamel in 1330; Frances Willard, founder of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, in 1839; sports entrepreneur and IOC President Avery Brundage in 1887; CBS Chairman William Paley and TV variety show host and columnist Ed Sullivan, both in 1901; former heavyweight boxing champ Max Schmeling in 1905; cartoonist Al Capp (L'il Abner) in 1909; actors Peter Finch in 1916, Arnold Stang in 1918, William Windom in 1923 and Marcello Mastroianni in 1924; actor and animal rights advocate Brigitte Bardot in 1934 (age 80); musician Ben E. King in 1938 (age 76); former congressman and football Hall of Fame member Steve Largent in 1954 (age 60); hockey Hall of Fame member Grant Fuhr in 1962 (age 52); and actors Jeffrey Jones in 1946 (age 68), Janeane Garofalo in 1964 (age 50), Mira Sorvino in 1967 (age 47), Naomi Watts in 1968 (age 46) and Hilary Duff in 1987 (age 27).
On this date in history:
In 490 B.C., the Greeks defeated the Persians at Marathon. A Greek soldier named Phidippides ran more than 26 miles to tell Athenians of the victory and died after his announcement. His feat provided the model for the modern marathon race.
In 1892, Mansfield University was the home team for the first night football game. The contest at Smythe Park in Mansfield, Pa., was called off at halftime because the electrical lighting was inadequate.
In 1920, in baseball's biggest scandal, a grand jury indicted eight Chicago White Sox players for throwing the 1919 World Series with the Cincinnati Reds.
In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin.
In 1982, the first reports appeared of deaths in the Chicago area from Extra-strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. (Seven people died and the unsolved case resulted in tamper-proof packaging for consumer products).
In 1987, a federal appeals court declared Boston public schools officially desegregated after a 13-year effort.
In 1989, former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos died in exile in Hawaii.
In 1992, a Pakistani jetliner carrying 167 people crashed into a hill southeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, killing all aboard.
In 2003, legendary Broadway and film director Elia Kazan died at his home in New York at the age of 94.
In 2004, the price of oil topped $50 a barrel for the first time in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In 2008, U.S. congressional negotiators and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson agreed on a $700 billion banking industry bailout plan. It gave the Treasury Department unprecedented authority, including the ability to buy a range of troubled financial assets.
In 2009, Iran said it successfully tested long-range missiles, one of which had a range of 1,250 miles, which put Moscow, southern Italy and Athens, Greece, within striking distance.
In 2012, a twin-engine propeller plane carrying 19 people to Lukla near Mount Everest hit an eagle and crashed in Nepal, killing all aboard.
In 2013, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake killed about 20 people and caused much destruction in the province of Balochistan in Pakistan four days after at least 500 people died in a 7.7 quake in the same region.
A thought for the day: "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." -- Elmore Leonard.
