Who was born on this date?

1521 - Pope Leo X gave King Henry VIII of England the title of "Defender of the Faith" following the publication of his book against Martin Luther.

1727 - The coronation of King George II took place in London.

1776 - Brigadier General Bendict Arnold, with a force of 15 gunboats, attempted to block the British from New York at the battle of Valcour Island. The British under Carleton pursued Arnold over two days after which practically all Arnold's ships were destroyed.

1779 - The Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski was killed fighting for American independence at the battle of Savannah, Georgia.

1797 - A Dutch fleet was defeated by the British off Camperdown, Holland.

1871 - The Great Fire of Chicago was finally extinguished after three days. At least 300 people were killed, 90,000 left homeless and damage was estimated at over $200 million.

1881 - D.H. Houston of Cambria, Wisconsin patented roll film for cameras.

1890 - The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in Washington, DC.

1899 - The Anglo-Boer War between the British Empire and the South African Boers of Transvaal and Orange Free State began. Boers, also known as Afrikaners, were the descendants of the original Dutch settlers of southern Africa. The war, which began because Great Britain was interested in the gold mines located in the Boer republics, ended with a British victory in 1902. During the Anglo-Boer War, the first attempted use of wireless telegraphy took place.

1911 - Nationalist Chinese overthrew the Chinese monarchy on mainland China.

1932 - Live from New York, the first political campaign to be telecast was seen on about 5 television sets. The show, which aired on CBS, was sponsored by the Democratic Committee.

1933 - Latin American nations signed the Rio de Janeiro nonaggression pact.

1936 - The radio show, "Professor Quiz", aired for the first time. The first national quiz show on radio, it stayed on air until 1948. Contestants asked Professor Quiz, Dr. Craig Earl, questions to see if they could stump him. If they could, they won a $25 prize. Annoncers for "Professor Quiz" were Robert Trout and Arthur Godfrey. Sponsors included Kelvinator refrigerators, Teel Shampoo and Velvet pipe tobacco.

1939 - Albert Einstein and other United States scientists outlined to President Roosevelt the possibilities of developing an atomic bomb.

1939 - On Bluebird Records, "Body and Soul", was recorded by jazz great Coleman Hawkins. It can still be found today on CD compilations.

1940 - In a session at Victor studios in New York, Glenn Miller recorded "Make Believe Ballroom Time" for Bluebird Records. The song would become the theme for "Make Believe Ballroom" on WNEW, New York, hosted by Martin Block who created the illusion of live radio complete with performers, on records. Songs played "live" included those by Harry James or Frank Sinatra, from the "Crystal Studios" at WNEW.

1944 - The murder-romantic classic, Laura, starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, and Vincent Price, opened in United States theaters. Based on the Vera Caspary novel, the film also featured David Raksin's haunting theme. Rouben Mamoulian started directing the film, then Otto Preminger took over. Joseph LaShelle's lush black-and-white cinematography earned an Oscar. Webb's performance was critically acclaimed, and he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Preminger, too, received a nomination for Best Director.

1948 - One of NBC radio’s last soap operas to debut, "The Brighter Day", took place in the fake town of Three Rivers, home to the Dennis family. The action centered around the Dennis’ and their extended family. The soap lasted six years on radio, before moving to television.

1948 - From tonight unitl 792 performances later, the musical "Where’s Charley?" was on Broadway. The score included the hit song: "Once in Love with Amy".

1952 - Francis DeReus, a referee in the Iowa Wesleyan-Dubuque football game, stopped the action when Dubuque's coach, Moco Mercer, became "too profane." DeReus tossed coach and team from the game, and called the game because of profanity. The final score was Iowa Wesleyan 1, Dubuque 0.

1958 - Spencer Tracy was virtually the whole movie in The Old Man and the Sea, which opened in United States theaters on this date. Based on Hemingway's novel, critics were of mixed opinion on the film. Dimitri Tiomkin's expressive score later won an Oscar.

1962 - Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the first meeting of the council since 1869-70.

1963 - The United Nations, in a 106-1 vote, condemned repression in South Africa.

1963 - A newspaper report stated that in the United States, women outnumber men by almost 4 million.

1968 - The United States launched Apollo 7, the first manned space mission to transmit live television broadcasts from orbit.

1970 - Quebec Labor Minister Pierre Laporte was kidnapped and murdered by Quebec separatists. His body was found on October 17.

1971 - Hugh Downs left his spot at the "Today" show and "Concentration", "...to spend the next year or so just milling around." He would come back as a part of ABC’s "20/20", which he has hosted since its second show.

1975 - With George Carlin acting as its first guest host, the late-night comedy show, "Saturday Night Live", made its debut. The cast included: Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin and the voice of Don Pardo. "SNL", with its changing cast, would remain the highest rated late-night show ever.

1975 - William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Rodham married in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The groom was 29 and the bride was 27 years old. Later, they became United States President Bill Clinton and First Lady (and future Senator) Hillary Rodham Clinton.

1976 - After the death of Chinese leader Mao Zedong, Mao's widow Jiang Qing and three others, dubbed the "Gang of Four," were arrested and charged with plotting a coup. The four were put on trial in 1980 on charges of subverting the government and torturing innocent people. Jiang Qing is found guilty and sentenced to death - a sentence later commuted to life imprisonment. She died in 1991 and is thought to have committed suicide.

1977 - North Yemeni president Colonel Ibrahim al-Hamdi together with his brother and brother in law were killed by unknown assassins.

1980 - Two Soviet cosmonauts concluded the longest space mission up to that time, 185 days, aboard Salyut 6.

1982 - The ``Mary Rose,'' once Henry VIII's flagship, was raised from the Solent, off southern England.

1984 - The world’s largest movie studio based, not in Hollywood, but in Houston, Texas, began construction. The Kamric/Cinergy Futursonics Studio was expected to surpass the size of the Pinewood Studio in London (where the James Bond 007 flicks were made). Cost of the project: $30 million.

1984 - Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first United States female astronaut to walk in space when she exited the space shuttle Challenger. Attached only by a narrow life-support tether, Sullivan worked in space for three-and- one-half-hours before returning to Challenger's controlled environment.

1985 - United States fighter jets forced an Egyptian airliner carrying terrorists who had hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro to Italy. The hijackers were then arrested.

1988 - Pope John Paul's speech to the European parliament in Strasbourg was disrupted when hardline Northern Ireland Protestant the Reverend Ian Paisley began shouting "Anti-Christ" and waved a red banner reading "John Paul II Anti-Christ."

1989 - An international consortium led by Texaco Inc. discovered high-quality crude oil in a previously unexplored area off the African coast.

1990 - A crowd of 150,000 packed the May 1 stadium in the North Korean capital Pyongyang to see North Korea beat South Korea 2-1 in an historic soccer friendly -- the first sports competition between the divided nation on home soil.

1991 - Comedian Redd Foxx died at age 68 from a heart attack he suffered on the rehearsal set of his new TV show, The Royal Family. Foxx would be best-remembered for his patriarch role in the classic sitcom, Sanford and Son. His bawdy comedy routines were a hit on the nightclub circuit, and he recorded 50 party records, which sold more than 20 million copies.

1993 - William Nygaard, a Norwegian publisher whose firm translated "The Satanic Verses" by British author Salman Rushdie, was shot and seriously wounded in Oslo.

1993 - A United States ship carrying United Nations representatives was blocked from docking in Haiti by army-backed troops.