Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (1965), and Serbia declares war on Germany (1914). Born on this day: Andy Warhol, Alexander Fleming and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Died: Diego Velázquez, St. Paul VI and Fulgencio Batista.
34 events, 56 births and 71 deaths on this date.
On this day Johnson signed a law banning discriminatory voting tests and putting federal oversight into places with a history of blocking Black citizens from the ballot box. It followed the Selma marches and is still counted among the most important civil rights laws in American history.
Arnold Newman · Public domainSerbia formally entered the war against Germany, a step that pulled a small Balkan kingdom into the wider conflict. Austria also turned against Russia, widening the fighting across Europe.
The Cuban government under Fidel Castro seized American and other foreign-owned businesses and property across the island. The move deepened the rift with the United States and set Cuba on a path toward full state control of its economy.
Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada founded the settlement after a harsh Andes expedition that overcame the Muisca people. It was made capital of the New Kingdom of Granada, and Simón Bolívar later renamed it Bogotá to honour the Muisca.
After more than three centuries under Spanish and then British rule, Jamaica became a self-governing nation on this day in 1962. The island, whose economy was built on sugar and enslaved labour, took its place as an independent Caribbean state with Kingston as its capital.
Scientists said ALH84001, a rock found in Antarctica's Allan Hills, might preserve traces of ancient microbial life from Mars. Follow-up tests failed to settle the question, and it remains hotly debated.
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Andy Warhol was an American artist and filmmaker who turned soup cans and celebrity portraits into pop art. He became known for blurring the line between fine art and mass-produced consumer culture.
Bernard Gotfryd · Public domain
Fleming is remembered for noticing that a mould had killed bacteria on a dish, a find that led to penicillin, the first antibiotic. He later shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the work.
Official photographer · Public domain
Tennyson was the English poet who served as Poet Laureate for much of Queen Victoria's reign. Many of his lines, such as "Nature, red in tooth and claw", have slipped into everyday English.
Julia Margaret Cameron / Adam Cuerden · Public domain
Velázquez was the leading painter at the Spanish court under Philip IV, remembered for portraits and for Las Meninas, which many regard as his masterpiece. His loose, bold brushwork influenced painters centuries later, including Manet and Picasso.
Diego Velázquez · Public domain
Paul VI led the Catholic Church from 1963 until his death, guiding the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and pursuing closer ties with Orthodox and Protestant churches. He was the first reigning pope in over a century to travel abroad, visiting Jordan in 1964.
Fotografia Felici · Public domain
Batista was a Cuban army sergeant turned strongman who ruled the island in two separate spells. He was overthrown in 1959 by the revolution led by Fidel Castro, and died in exile in Spain.
Harris & Ewing · Public domain
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