1703 ~ Antonio Vivaldi entered the priesthood. He had asthma attacks, or faked them, when he said Mass. But he never had the same problem while conducting a church orchestra or choir.

1792 ~ Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major (the "Surprise Symphony") performed publicly for the first time, in London.

1743 ~ George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" had its London premiere, at which the first "standing ovation" was recorded. King George was so inspired by the “Halleluiah” chorus that he jumped to his feet after which everyone else followed suit.

1912 ~ Birthday of Wernher von Braun, Rocket Scientist.

1919 ~ Benito Mussolini founded his Fascist political movement in Milan, Italy.

1925 ~ The state of Tennessee enacted a law that made it a crime for a teacher in any state-supported public school to teach any theory that was in contradiction to the Bible's account of man's creation.

1929 ~ Birthday of Roger Bannister, Runner who broke the “4 minute mile” barrier in 1954.

1963 ~ The Beach Boys released "Surfin' U.S.A.".

1994 ~ Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's National Hockey League (NHL) career record with his 802nd goal.

1998 ~ The movie "Titanic" won 11 Oscars at the Academy Awards.

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Eudaimonia