Today in History

Civil rights activists are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi.

Willie Mays begins playing for the New York Giants.

Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman), singer and songwriter.

Amy Johnson becomes the first woman to fly from England to Australia.

William Trevor, Irish short story writer and novelist (The Old Boys, The Boarding House).

Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist (And Quiet Flows the Don).

Arthur Vineberg, Canadian heart surgeon.

Samuel I. Newhouse, American publisher.

The Brooklyn Bridge opened as the first suspension bridge in New York City and, at the time, was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Lillian Moller Gilbreth, pioneer in time-motion studies.

Bushwackers led by Captain William Marchbanks attack a Federal militia party in Nevada, Missouri.

General Benjamin Butler declares slaves to be the contraband of war.

General Zachary Taylor captures Monterey.

Samuel Morse taps out the first telegraph message.

Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1836-1901).

Believing that a French invasion of Ireland is imminent, Irish nationalists rise up against the British occupation.

Boston lawyer James Otis denounces “taxation without representation,” calling for the colonies to unite in opposition to Britain’s new tax measures.

Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary.

The Methodist Church is established.

The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, protecting Protestants. Roman Catholics are specifically excluded from exemption.

After years of unprofitable operation, Virginia’s charter is revoked and it becomes a royal colony.

Sir Thomas Gates institutes “laws divine moral and marshal, ” a harsh civil code for Jamestown.

Captain Christopher Newport and 105 followers found the colony of Jamestown at the mouth of the James River on the coast of Virginia.

William Gilbert, English physician and scientist.

Nicolaus Copernicus publishes proof of a sun-centered solar system. He dies just after publication.