Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include author L. Frank Baum ("The Wizard of Oz") in 1856; French chemist Pierre Curie in 1859; author Katherine Anne Porter in 1890; former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley in 1902; actors Joseph Cotten in 1905 and James Mason in 1909; country singer Eddy Arnold in 1918; photographer Richard Avedon in 1923; Italian actor Anna Maria Alberghetti in 1936 (age 78); former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 1937 (age 77); singers Trini Lopez in 1937 (age 77) and Lainie Kazan in 1940 (age 74); British musician Brian Eno in 1948 (age 69); Hall of Fame baseball player George Brett and British composer Mike Oldfield, both in 1953 (age 61); sports broadcaster Dan Patrick in 1956 (age 58); writer Laura Hillenbrand in 1967 (age 47); and Hall of Fame football player Emmitt Smith in 1969 (age 45).
On this date in history:
In 1918, the first regular U.S. airmail service was established between Washington and New York City.
In 1930, Ellen Church became the first airline stewardess, flying on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Cheyenne, Wyo.
In 1940, nylon stockings went on sale in U.S. stores for the first time.
In 1941, the Gloster-Whittle E 28/39 aircraft flew over Cranwell, England, in the first successful test of an Allied aircraft using jet propulsion.
In 1962, Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper was launched into space atop an Atlas rocket. (He completed 22 orbits.)
In 1969, Justice Abe Fortas, under fire for a money deal with jailed financier Louis Wolfson, resigned from the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1972, Alabama Gov. George Wallace was seriously wounded at a presidential campaign rally in Laurel, Md. (He was partially paralyzed but active in Southern politics until his death in 1998.)
In 1988, Soviet forces began their withdrawal from Afghanistan in compliance with the Geneva accords.
In 1991, Edith Cresson, a Socialist and former trade minister, became the first woman prime minister of France.
In 2006, the U.S. State Department said it would restore diplomatic relations with Libya for the first time since 1980 and remove the country from its terrorism sponsors list.
In 2009, two of the "Big 3" U.S. automakers, bankrupt Chrysler and almost-bankrupt General Motors, sent notices terminating relationships with nearly 2,000 car dealers.
In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave British oil giant BP the go-ahead to use chemicals in an effort to break up a massive 26-day offshore crude oil leak spewing an estimated 70,000 barrels a day into the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2012, Socialist Francois Hollande was inaugurated as president of France.
In 2013, Steven Miller resigned as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service amid a controversy over its alleged targeting of the Tea Party and other conservative groups.
A thought for the day: Samuel Butler said, "The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you but he will make a fool of himself, too."
