The serial killer “Son of Sam” was arrested. (1977) David Berkowitz was convicted of killing six people and injuring another seven in New York City over the course of a year. He was sentenced to six life sentences, or 365 years.
The Smithsonian Institute was established. (1846) The institution was created by a charter from the US Congress. It was named after James Smithson, an English scientist who left $500,000 US Dollars to the US government in his will with specific instructions to establish the institute. Interestingly, Smithson had never visited the United States.
The Manson cult murdered Rosemary and Leno LaBianca one day after murdering Sharon Tate and four of her friends. (1969) Charles Manson and several of his cult followers were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. None were executed, however, because California temporarily eliminated the death penalty in 1972, which commuted all death sentences to life in prison.
John Walsh’s son’s head was found after the boy had gone missing two weeks earlier. (1981) John Walsh’s son Adam was abducted from a shopping mall in Hollywood, Florida, and murdered. His murder led to the creation of the American TV show America’s Most Wanted, which his father hosts. More than 1,000 fugitives have been captured with help from the show.
The NASA space probe Magellan began mapping Venus. (1990) Magellan arrived at its destination after 15 months. It created the highest resolution maps of the planet to date and was the first unmanned mission launched by NASA since 1978 when the Pioneer Orbiter went to Venus to conduct experiments.
The first marriage in space took place. (2003) A Ukrainian-Russian astronaut, Yuri Malenchenko, married Ekaterina Dmitrieva while he was on the International Space Station. Ekaterina was in Texas during the wedding, some 240 miles (386 kilometers) below her new husband.
The United Kingdom records temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius) for the first time. (2003) The temperature in Kent, measured 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit (38.5 degrees Celsius). The summer of 2003 was Europe’s hottest on record in 500 years.
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio. (1921) The disease paralyzed Roosevelt from the waist down. When he became the 32nd President of the United States in 1933, he established the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which became the March of Dimes.
Michael Phelps broke his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley at the Beijing Summer Olympics. (2008) The record swim of 4:03.84 earned him the first of the record-setting eight gold medals he would go on to win at that Olympiad.
The world’s first electric guitar patent was awarded to Electro String Corporation. (1937) Inventor G.D. Beauchamp, who teamed up with Adolph Rickenbacher from the Electro String Instrument Corporation in Los Angeles, was awarded the patent for his guitar, the Rickenbacker Frying Pan.
The American television show Candid Camera made its debut. (1948) The show had previously aired on radio and was called Candid Microphone.