1630: The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changes its name to Boston.
1701: James Francis Edward Stuart, sometimes called the "Old Pretender", becomes the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England and Scotland.
1887: The first game of softball is played in Chicago, Illinois.
1875: James C. Penney, American department store founder, is born.
1891: Karl Dönitz, German naval leader, is born.
1893: Settlers race in Oklahoma for prime land in the Cherokee Strip.
1908: General Motors is founded.
1914: Allen Funt is born.
1919: The American Legion is incorporated.
1920: A bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J.P.Morgan building in New York City - 38 are killed with 400 injured.
1924: Lauren Bacall is born.
1925: B.B. King is born.
1927: Peter Falk is born.
1930: Anne Francis is born. Teenage boys didn't flock for Forbidden Planet just for the robot.
1940: Sam Rayburn is elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He is widely regarded as the most effective Speaker of the House in American history.
1949: Ed Begley, Jr. is born.
1955: Juan Perón is deposed in Argentina.
1956: David Copperfield is born.
1956: Mickey Rourke is born.
1958: Jennifer Tilley is born. Not only is she very attractive, she's also a World Series of Poker winner.
1960: Danny John-Jules is born. He played the Cat on Red Dwarf.
1963: Richard Marx is born. He wears his sunglasses at night.
1971: Amy Poehler is born.
1972: The Bob Newhart show premieres on CBS.
1974: President Ford announces a conditional amesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft evaders.
1975: The first prototype of the MiG-31 interceptor makes its maiden flight.
1987: The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer from depletion.
1991: The trial of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega begins in the United States.
Today in History elements mostly cribbed from The History Channel, Wikipedia, The New York Times, The Jewish World Review, The Writer's Almanac and anything else I can dig up.
