Johnson orders US troop numbers in South Vietnam raised (1965), and Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia (1914). Born on this day: Hugo Chávez, Vajiralongkorn and Karl Popper. Died: Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi and Francis Crick.
32 events, 70 births and 71 deaths on this date.
President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he would expand the American force in South Vietnam by 50,000 soldiers, a major step in the escalation of the Vietnam War. The decision marked a turning point in the conflict and in American involvement abroad.
Arnold Newman · Public domainAustria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia, a month after Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination, set off a chain of alliances that drew much of Europe into the conflict. The fighting that followed became the First World War, which killed between 15 and 22 million people.
The settlement on Biscayne Bay was formally made a city, a step that set the stage for its growth into a major financial and cultural hub. Its origins lie in a small community that grew around the railway built by Henry Flagler.
Human remains found on the bank of the Columbia River in Washington State turned out to be some 9,000 years old. The find, later called Kennewick Man, sparked a long legal and scientific dispute over who should study and keep them.
The province's first constitution was approved at the Assembly Hall in Reocín, setting out how the region would be governed. Cantabria still marks the day each year as the Day of the Institutions.
Henry took Catherine Howard as his fifth wife, one of six marriages he is remembered for. He later ordered her beheaded, the second of his wives to die that way.
Hans Holbein the Younger · Public domain
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Hugo Chávez was a military officer who became president of Venezuela in 1999 and led the Bolivarian revolution, reshaping the country's politics. He ruled until his death in 2013, and his ideas gave rise to the movement known as Chavismo.
Roberto Stuckert Filho · CC BY-SA 2.0
Vajiralongkorn is the King of Thailand, reigning since 2016 and also known as Rama X. He was born in 1952 as the only son of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit, and trained as a fighter pilot and army officer before taking the throne.
The Public Relations Department (กรมประชาสัมพันธ์) · CC BY 3.0 th
Austrian-British philosopher who argued that scientific theories can never be proven, only falsified. He also defended open societies against totalitarian ideas, and helped found the philosophy department at the London School of Economics.
Franz Barta · No restrictions
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations and the St Matthew Passion, and is remembered for his mastery of counterpoint. A 1829 performance of the St Matthew Passion by Felix Mendelssohn helped start a revival of his reputation.
Elias Gottlob Haussmann · Public domain
Vivaldi wrote The Four Seasons, a set of violin concertos that remains among the most played works of the Baroque era. He had moved to Vienna hoping for the backing of Emperor Charles VI, who died soon after Vivaldi arrived there.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Crick co-discovered the double helix structure of DNA with James Watson in 1953, and later coined the term "central dogma" for how genetic information flows. He spent his final decades studying consciousness at the Salk Institute in California.
Unknown author Unknown author · CC BY 4.0
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