George Washington uses presidential veto for first time (1792), and Winston Churchill resigns as prime minister (1955). Born on this day: Thomas Hobbes, Gregory Peck and Bette Davis. Died: Chiang Kai-shek, Kurt Cobain and Saul Bellow.
32 events, 72 births and 76 deaths on this date.
Washington rejected a bill passed by Congress, the first time a United States president used the veto. Presidents have used the power many times since to block laws they oppose.
Gilbert Stuart · Public domainChurchill stepped down as prime minister, feeling his health and energy were fading with age. He had led Britain through the Second World War and was succeeded by Anthony Eden.
Thomas Hobbes, author of Leviathan, is born today. He went on to argue that people accept a strong ruler to escape the disorder of life without government, a view shaped by the English Civil War.
John Michael Wright · Public domain
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V rode into Rome in a parade styled on an ancient Roman victory procession, and to make room for it, a stretch of the old city was torn down. It was a display of imperial prestige in the papal capital.
Attributed to Titian · Public domain
King James I summoned this Parliament hoping to raise money, but MPs spent their time complaining and refused to grant the taxes he wanted. Dissolved after only about two months without passing any laws, it earned its nickname for achieving nothing.
On this night, Abdul-Jabbar scored a sky hook to surpass Wilt Chamberlain's career points record, a mark that had stood for fourteen years. He kept the record until 2023, when LeBron James overtook him.
Steve Jenner · Public domain
For the full day, download Chunks today. Every date, the stories behind them, and a new day each morning. Free to start.
Hobbes is remembered for Leviathan, his 1651 book arguing that people give up some freedoms to a strong sovereign to escape constant conflict. Writers now count him among those who shaped modern thinking about government, and he also worked on geometry and optics.
John Michael Wright · Public domain
Gregory Peck was an American film star whose most admired role was Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Across the 1940s to 1970s he was among Hollywood's most popular leading men, known for principled characters.
Studio · Public domain
Bette Davis was an American actress who played sharp, unsympathetic characters and won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice. She was the first person to earn ten Academy Award acting nominations, and she worked in film, television and theatre for decades.
Studio Publicity · Public domain
Chiang Kai-shek led the Republic of China through the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, then moved the government to Taiwan. He is remembered as the nationalist leader who ruled China's wartime government and later shaped Taiwan's politics for decades.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Kurt Cobain fronted Nirvana, whose 1991 album Nevermind made grunge a mainstream sound. He resented being cast as the spokesman for his generation.
P.B. Rage from USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Saul Bellow was a Canadian-American novelist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976. He is best known for Herzog, Seize the Day and The Adventures of Augie March, and he took the National Book Award for Fiction three times.
Photograph by Jeff Lowenthal. Published by Viking Press. · Public domain
Download on iOS
Download on Android