NBC broadcasts Elvis Presley's comeback television special (1968), and Illinois becomes the 21st US state (1818). Born on this day: Julianne Moore, Ozzy Osbourne and Joseph Conrad. Died: Robert Louis Stevenson, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and St. Francis Xavier.
30 events, 65 births and 47 deaths on this date.
Presley had not performed live for seven years when NBC aired this special, which marked his return to the stage. It is remembered as the start of his comeback after years away from live performance.
RCA Records · Public domainOn this day Illinois joined the Union, having been settled by French traders and then American farmers arriving by river from Kentucky. Its rich prairie soil later made it one of the most productive farming regions in the world.
Born Józef Korzeniowski, he went on to write novels such as Lord Jim, many set at sea, that probe human conflict against an indifferent world. Though English came to him only as a young man, he became one of its most admired prose stylists.
George Charles Beresford · Public domain
The console arrived in Japan after Sony's earlier CD-ROM deal with Nintendo had collapsed, and it went on to sell 962 million units. Its more than 4,000 games put it up against the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn.
Evan-Amos · Public domain
Berengar of Friuli, a northern Italian ruler, received the imperial crown from Pope John X. The pope had hoped that backing him would unify Italy under one leader.
Astronomer Charles Dillon Perrine spotted Himalia from California's Lick Observatory, adding a distant moon to Jupiter's family. At roughly 140 kilometres across, it is the sixth largest moon orbiting the planet.
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona · Public domain
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American actress known for emotionally complicated roles, from Boogie Nights and Far from Heaven to Still Alice, which won her an Academy Award. She is one of just two women to have won acting prizes at all three of the world's major film festivals.
Nicolas Genin · CC BY-SA 2.0
Known as the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne sang with Black Sabbath from their formation, helping shape heavy metal in the 1970s. He later built a solo career, selling over 100 million albums across his work with the band and on his own.
F darkbladeus · Public domain
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born writer who learned English as an adult and became one of its great prose stylists. He is remembered for novels such as Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness, often set at sea.
George Charles Beresford · Public domain
Scottish writer remembered for Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He spent his final years in Samoa, where he died of a stroke at his island home.
Henry Walter Barnett · Public domain
A leading French Impressionist, Renoir painted luminous scenes of everyday life and feminine beauty, including dancers, bathers and boating parties. He died in 1919 at Cagnes-sur-Mer, having kept painting despite severe arthritis.
Unknown Unknown Musée d'Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt · Public domain
Navarrese Jesuit missionary who carried Christianity across India, Japan and the East Indies. He died on Shangchuan Island off the Chinese coast while trying to enter mainland China.
Public domain
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