Washington appoints Thomas Jefferson as first Secretary of State (1789), and The Beatles finish recording Lennon's Happiness Is a Warm Gun (1968). Born on this day: Martin Heidegger, T.S. Eliot and St. Paul VI. Died: Jacques Chirac, Paul Newman and Béla Bartók.
32 events, 65 births and 61 deaths on this date.
Washington chose Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, to lead the new federal government's foreign affairs department. Jefferson would later become a bitter rival of Alexander Hamilton and the third president himself.
Gilbert Stuart · Public domainThe band completed John Lennon's wildly varied track for their self-titled double album, which all four members counted as their favourite on it. Its shifting sections and odd title made it one of the most talked-about songs on the record.
Caesar dedicated the temple to Venus, whom he presented as the legendary forebear of his clan, the Julii. It was a bold piece of self-promotion by a man who by then held near-total power in Rome.
Ángel M. Felicísimo from Mérida, España · Public domain
After defeating Washington's army at Brandywine, British forces marched into Philadelphia, the American capital, and began a nine-month occupation. The loss forced the Continental Congress to flee and left the city in British hands until June 1778.
Ottoman troops had stored gunpowder in the ancient temple, so a Venetian shell hitting it during the siege caused a huge blast. The explosion wrecked much of the temple to Athena, which still stands as a symbol of ancient Greece.
Steve Swayne · CC BY 2.0
A pianist who worked across jazz, popular and classical music, Gershwin wrote Rhapsody in Blue and the opera Porgy and Bess, now considered an American classic. Its hit Summertime, and many of his songs, became jazz standards.
Carl Van Vechten · Public domain
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German philosopher whose book Being and Time (1927) reshaped how thinkers approached human existence and the question of what it means to be. His later work turned to technology, language and poetry, though his membership of the Nazi Party has long clouded his reputation.
Willy Pragher · CC BY-SA 3.0
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Eliot became one of the most influential English-language poets of the twentieth century, known for The Waste Land and Four Quartets. He later moved to Britain, took British nationality, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.
Thomas Stearns Eliot with his sister and his cousin by Lady Ottoline Morrell.jpg : Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873–1938) derivative work: Octave.H · Public domain
Giovanni Battista Montini became pope in 1963 and led the Catholic Church through the end of the Second Vatican Council. He is remembered for steering its reforms and for improving relations with Orthodox and Protestant churches.
Fotografia Felici · Public domain
Chirac led France as president from 1995 to 2007, after serving as prime minister and as Mayor of Paris. He was known for opposing the American-led invasion of Iraq and for acknowledging the Vichy government's role in deporting Jews.
Christian Lambiotte · CC BY 4.0
Paul Newman was an American actor and racing driver, best known for films such as Cool Hand Luke and The Color of Money, which won him an Academy Award. He also founded a food company whose profits went to charity.
Unknown author Unknown author , dedicated to Bettmann Archive · Public domain
Hungarian composer and pianist who blended folk melodies with modernist harmony, and who helped found comparative musicology by collecting peasant songs across Eastern Europe. His works include the opera Bluebeard's Castle and the Concerto for Orchestra.
RIA Novosti · CC BY-SA 3.0
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