On this day :

1936 First issue of Life is published, 1749 Reluctant Patriot Edward Rutledge is born, 1966 Elvis Presleys Spinout opens in US theaters, 1819 Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss born, 1981 Reagan gives CIA authority to establish the Contras, 1959 The Birdman of Alcatraz is allowed a small taste of freedom, 1980 Southern Italy rocked by earthquake, 1499 Flemish pretender executed in London, 1859 Billy the Kid born, 1876 Boss Tweed delivered to authorities, 1979 IRA member sentenced for Mountbattens assassination, 1990 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory creator Roald Dahl dies, 2012 Larry Hagman star of Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie dies, 1874 Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy is published, 1936 Blues legend Robert Johnson makes firstever recording, 1903 Colorado governor sends militia to Cripple Creek, 1804 Franklin Pierce is born, 1984 BC wins on Hail Mary, 1970 Laird discloses the details of the Son Tay Raid, 1972 Paris peace talks deadlocked, 1915 Battle of Ctesiphon in Mesopotamia, 1940 Romania becomes an Axis power,