Today in History

Military coup in Bangkok, revokes Thailand’s constitution and establishes martial law.

German hikers near the Austria-Italy border discover the naturally preserved mummy of a man from about 3,300 BC; Europe’s oldest natural human mummy, he is dubbed Otzi the Iceman because his lower half was encased in ice.

Parents Music Resource Center formed by Tipper Gore (wife of then-Senator Al Gore) and other political wives lobby for Parental Advisory stickers on music packaging.

The first documented emoticons, :-) and :-(, posted on Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System by Scott Fahlman.

Jimmy Fallon, actor, comedian, musician, TV host (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon; currently scheduled to replace Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show in 2014).

Carl XVI Gustaf invested as King of Sweden, following the death of his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf.

First Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (originally called the Pilton Festival) is held near Pliton, Somerset, England.

Trisha Yearwood, Grammy and Country Music Association award-winning singer-songwriter (“How Do I Live”), actress (JAG TV series recurring role).

First underground nuclear test takes place in Nevada.

Argentina’s President Juan Peron is overthrown by rebels.

Joan Lunden, journalist, author, co-host of ABC’s Good Morning America for 17 years (1980–1997).

Barry Scheck, co-founder of Innocence Project dedicated to using DNA testing to exonerate wrongly convicted people.

Jeremy Irons, actor; won Tony Award for Best Actor (The Real Thing, 1984) and Academy Award for Best Actor (Reversal of Fortune, 1990).

Tanith Lee, author, screenwriter; first woman to win British Fantasy best novel award (Death’s Master, 1980).

Paul Williams, composer, singer, songwriter, director, actor (“Evergreen,” “Rainy Days and Mondays”).

Brian Epstein, music entrepreneur, manager of the The Beatles.

David McCallum, actor, musician (The Man from U.N.C.L.E, NCIS TV series).

Mike Royko, journalist, syndicated columnist; won Pulitzer Prize for commentary (1972).

Bettye Lane, photographer noted for documenting major events of the feminist, civil rights and gay rights movements in the US.

Adam West, actor (Batman in campy Batman TV series).

Helen Carter, singer, member of the pioneering all-female country group Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.

Masatoshi Koshiba, Japanese physicist who jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics (2002); his work focused on subatomic particles known as neutrinos.

American troops of the Allied North Russia Expeditionary Force receive their baptism of fire near the town of Seltso against Soviet forces.

Elizabeth Stern, Canadian pathologist who first published a case report linking a specific virus to a specific cancer.

William Golding, novelist best known for Lord of the Flies.

Bergen Evans, educator and author who wrote Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage.

President Emile Loubet of France pardons Jewish army captain Alfred Dreyfus, twice court-martialed and wrongly convicted of spying for Germany.

Rachel Field, novelist and playwright who wrote All This and Heaven Too and And Now Tomorrow.

New Zealand becomes the first nation to grant women the right to vote.

In Georgia, the two-day Battle of Chickamauga begins as Union troops under George Thomas clash with Confederates under Nathan Bedford Forrest.

The first railway to span a frontier is completed between Strasbourg and Basel, in Europe.

Charles de Barentin becomes lord chancellor of France.

The first hot-air balloon is sent aloft in Versailles, France with animal passengers including a sheep, rooster and a duck.

American forces under Gen. Horatio Gates meet British troops led by Gen. John Burgoyne at Saratoga Springs, NY.

Giles Corey is pressed to death for standing mute and refusing to answer charges of witchcraft brought against him. He is the only person in America to have suffered this punishment.

Francis, the king of France, and Charles V of Austria sign a peace treaty in Crespy, France, ending a 20-year war.

In a landmark battle of the Hundred Years’ War, English Prince Edward defeats the French at Poitiers.