1. 1789 - Benjamin Franklin writes a letter to a friend in which he says: 'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes'
2. 1927 - The Holland Tunnel, under the Hudson River connecting the island of Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City, opens
3. 1942 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a measure lowering the minimum draft age from 21 to 18
4. 1949 - Whoopi Goldberg is born
5. 1969 - Britain's first live quintuplets this century are born at Queen Charlotte's maternity hospital in London
6. 1979 - The Times newspaper is published for the first time in nearly a year after a dispute between management and unions over manning levels and the introduction of new technology
7. 1985 - About 20,000 people are feared dead after a volcanic eruption in northern Colombia
8. 1997 - The musical The Lion King opens on Broadway
9. 1998 - Monica Lewinsky signs a deal with St. Martin's Press for the North American rights to her story about her affair with U.S. President Bill Clinton
10. 2009 - NASA announce that water has been discoved on the moon
11. 2011 - Mario Monti is approved as Italy's new Prime Minister by most of the Italian parliament after Silvio Berlusconi officially resigned
Sources: BBC, Wikipedia,historyorb.com, infoplease.com, history.co.uk,brainyhistory.com, on-this-day.com, thepeoplehistory, onthisdayinhistory.com
image: © Valerie Everett
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