1783 – A hot-air balloon was demonstrated by Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier. It reached a height of 1,500 feet.
1784 – Marie Thible became the first woman to fly in a hot-air balloon. The flight was 45 minutes long and reached a height of 8,500 feet.
1896 – Henry Ford made a successful test drive of his new car in Detroit, MI. He called the vehicle was called a “Quadricycle.”
1919 – The U.S. Senate passed the Women’s Suffrage bill.
1939 – The first shopping cart was introduced by Sylvan Goldman in Oklahoma City, OK. It was actually a folding chair that had been mounted on wheels.
1969 – In Glenrowan, Australia, hundreds of people signed a petition protesting against the casting of Mick Jagger in the role of the Australian folk hero Ned Kelly in the film of the same name. The film, directed by Tony Richardson, was released in October 1970.
1974 – Sally Murphy became the first woman to qualify as an aviator with the U.S. Army.
1985 – Elton John began a high court battle with Dick James Music, seeking the rights to early songs and recordings plus damages estimated at more than £30 million ($51 million). The singer lost a six-month court battle to recover the copyright to 169 songs however, the court ordered Dick James to cough up millions in unpaid royalties.
1990 – American punk rock singer Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church died after being hit by a taxi in Paris, France.
1992 – The US Postal Service announced the results of a poll conducted to see which picture of Elvis Presley should be used on a commemorative stamp. The young Elvis beat the (older and larger) Vegas Elvis.
photo: commercialappeal.com
1993 – Kurt Cobain was arrested after a dispute at his house in Seattle; the disagreement allegedly concerned the Nirvana’s guitarist’s collection of firearms.
1997 – The body of Jeff Buckley was found floating in a harbor leading to the Mississippi River. Buckley had disappeared the previous Thursday while swimming in a Memphis harbor.
1998 – George and Ira Gershwin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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