1478
George, Duke of Clarence, is drowned, according to tradition, by Richard III in a vat of Malmsey wine in the Tower of London.
Vincent Price gave the definitive portrait of this event as the Duke of Clarence in the 1939 movie "The Tower of London (1939)".
1516
Queen of England and Ireland Mary I born in Greenwich, England.
1848
Stained glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany born in New York City.
1860
Swedish artist and sculpture Anders Zorn born in Mora, Sweden.
1861
Jefferson Davis was inaugurated president of the Southern Confederacy in Montgomery, Alabama.
1883
Author Nikos Kazantzakis (Zorba the Greek) born in Heraklion, Crete.
1885
Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published for the first time in the United States.
It had previously been published in Great Britain in December of 1884.
1894
Classical guitarist Andres Segovia born Linares, Spain.
1909
Writer Wallace Stegner (Angle of Repose) born in Lake Mills, Iowa.
1919
Actor Jack Palance (Shane) born in Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania.
1925
Poet Jack Gilbert born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1928
Poet A. R. Ammons born in Whiteville, North Carolina.
1929
Author, historian and graphic artist Len Deighton (The IMPCRESS File) born in London.
1930
Cartoonist Gahan Wilson born in Evanston, Illinois.
1931
Novelist Toni Morrison born Lorain, Ohio.
Cartoonist Johnny Hart (B.C.) born in Endicott, New York.
1932
Film director Milos Forman (Amadeus) born in Cáslav ,Czechoslovakia.
1933
Artist Yoko Ono born Tokyo, Japan.
1953
The first 3D film "Bwana Devil" opened.
1960
VIII Winter Olympics open in Squaw Valley, California.