Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include composer Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert and Sullivan, in 1842; French cubist painter Georges Braque in 1882; English novelist Daphne du Maurier in 1907; former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis in 1914; singer Mary Wells in 1943; actor/singer Bea Arthur in 1922; cult leader Jim Jones in 1931; actors Harvey Keitel in 1939 (age 75) and Senta Berger in 1941 (age 73); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer Ritchie Valens in 1941; singers Stevie Wonder, born Stevland Hardaway Judkins, in 1950 (age 64) and Darius Rucker in 1966 (age 48); basketball Hall of Fame member Dennis Rodman in 1961 (age 53); comedian Stephen Colbert in 1964 (age 50); and actor Robert Pattinson in 1986 (age 28).
On this date in history:
In 1607, Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America, was founded near the James River in Virginia.
In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico.
In 1912, Britain established its air force -- the Royal Flying Corps.
In 1981, Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca wounded Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. (Later, the pope, from his hospital bed, forgave his assailant.)
In 1985, a Philadelphia police helicopter bombed the fortified house of a radical organization, MOVE, to end a 24-hour siege. Eleven people died and the ensuing fire destroyed 53 homes.
In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton nominated Judge Stephen Breyer to succeed Justice Harry A. Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court. (Breyer joined the court in August.)
In 2005, Colombian authorities said they made the biggest drug raid in the nation's history, seizing 12 tons of cocaine valued at $300 million.
In 2009, astronauts on a 14-day servicing mission embarked on the first of five planned spacewalks to repair and update the 19-year-old Hubble Space Telescope. The project included installation of a wide-field camera and a Cosmic Origins Spectograph.
In 2011, in a reported retaliation to the slaying of terrorist chief Osama bin Laden, two suicide bombers killed 80 Pakistani recruits at a training center.
In 2012, The mutilated bodies of 49 people, apparently victims of an escalating war between the Zetas gang and Sinaloa drug cartel, were found along a highway between Monterrey, Mexico, and McAllen, Texas.
In 2013, psychologist and longtime newspaper columnist Joyce Brothers died in Fort Lee, N.J., at age 85.
A thought for the day: "Knowing what's right doesn't mean much unless you do what's right." -- Theodore Roosevelt
