Roosevelt dedicates Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg (1938), and Adresseavisen, Norway's oldest surviving newspaper, publishes its first edition (1767). Born on this day: Franz Kafka, Tom Cruise and Julian Assange. Died: Jim Morrison, Theodor Herzl and Mehmed V.
30 events, 60 births and 40 deaths on this date.
Speaking at the Gettysburg battlefield, Franklin Roosevelt lit an eternal flame at a memorial to the Civil War veterans who fought there. The gathering marked the 75th anniversary of the battle, with former soldiers from both sides present.
Leon Perskie · CC BY 2.0The Trondheim paper began a run that has never stopped, making it the longest-running newspaper still in print in Norway. It was then part of Denmark–Norway, when the country's press was still small and largely controlled by the crown.
Idaho joined the Union on this day in 1890, bringing the number of states to forty-three. It had spent decades as territory, first part of Oregon and Washington, before gaining its own organisation in 1863.
Carter quietly approved secret American aid for the Afghan rebels, the mujahideen, fighting a Soviet-backed government. It was an early step in a long American role in Afghanistan's war.
Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Naval Photographic Center · Public domain
Explorer Samuel de Champlain established a French trading post on the cliffs above the St Lawrence River, which grew into Quebec City. It is widely regarded as the first lasting European settlement in Canada.
Karl Benz showed the public his Patent-Motorwagen, a machine conceived as a car from the outset. His patent and public drive that year helped earn him the nickname 'father of the car'.
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Franz Kafka wrote novels and stories about isolated people trapped by baffling bureaucracy and surreal predicaments. His best-known works, including The Metamorphosis, gave rise to the word Kafkaesque, though he was little known in his lifetime.
Atelier Jacobi: Sigismund Jacobi (1860–1935) · Public domain
Tom Cruise is an American actor and producer, known for Top Gun, Jerry Maguire and the Mission: Impossible series, and for doing many of his own stunts. His films have grossed over $13 billion worldwide.
Kevin Paul · CC BY 4.0
Australian programmer and publisher who founded WikiLeaks, the site that exposed secret US military logs and diplomatic cables in 2010. He spent years fighting extradition and remains a polarising figure over his role in publishing leaked material.
Kacy Bao · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jim Morrison was the lead singer and main lyricist of The Doors, known for his poetic lyrics and wild live shows. He died in a Paris apartment at 27, and the cause of his death was never settled.
Elektra Records · Public domain
Theodor Herzl was a Hungarian-born journalist whose 1896 pamphlet Der Judenstaat argued for a Jewish state, and who went on to found the Zionist Organization. He died at 44, still campaigning for a homeland for Jews.
Carl Pietzner · Public domain
Mehmed V, the Ottoman sultan who reigned as a figurehead while the Committee of Union and Progress ran the state, died as the empire faced defeat in the First World War. He had declared jihad against the Allies in 1914, though he had little real power.
Bain News Service, publisher · Public domain
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