In 1515, Anne of Cleves, who became the fourth wife of England’s King Henry VIII, was born in Dusseldorf.
In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, Capt. Nathan Hale, 21, was hanged as a spy by the British in New York.
In 1792, the first French Republic was proclaimed.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in rebel states should be free as of January 1, 1863.
In 1911, pitcher Cy Young, 44, gained his 511th and final career victory as he hurled a 1-0 shutout for the Boston Rustlers against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field.
In 1927, Gene Tunney successfully defended his heavyweight boxing title against Jack Dempsey in the famous “long-count” fight in Chicago.
In 1938, the musical comedy revue “Hellzapoppin’,” starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson, began a three-year run on Broadway.
In 1949, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb.
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