Who was born on this date?

1497 - Portugal's Vasco Da Gama became the first navigator to sail around the Cape of Good Hope in his search for a sea route to India.

1718 - Edward Teach, known as "Blackbeard" the pirate, was killed off the coast of North Carolina.

1774 - Robert Clive, soldier and colonial administrator, committed suicide. The first British administrator of Bengal, Clive was instrumental in the foundation of British rule in India.

1830 - The Belgian Congress voted to turn the country into a monarchy.

1842 - Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington erupted and became the the first volcano to erupt in America for which a date could be established.

1878 - In Afghanistan, the British under Sir Samuel Browne bombed and captured the Ali Masjid fortress thus heralding the start of Second Afghan War.

1880 - In New York City, Lillian Russell made her vaudeville debut.

1899 - Under the laws of the State of New Jersey, the Marconi Wireless Company of America was incorporated.

1906 - Delegates atthe International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin, Germany voted to use SOS (...---...) as the letters for the new international signal. It stands for "Save Our Souls". SOS pads are named after a patented process, Soap on Steel.

1909 - Helen Hayes made her first appearance on the New York stage as a member of the cast of "In Old Dutch"; which opened at the Herald Square Theatre.

1910 - Arthur F. Knight of Schenectady, New York patented the steel shaft golf club.

1917 - The National Hockey League came into being, officially formed in Montreal, Canada.

1935 - 20,000 people waved good-bye to the first transpacific airmail flight that left San Francisco, California. The "China Clipper", piloted by Captain Edwin Musick, began its 8,000 mile journey with 110,865 letters on board. The Pan American Martin 130 took off from San Francisco and in 59 hours and 48 minutes, landed at Manila in the Philippines.

1938 - For Victor Records, Bunny Berigan and his orchestra recorded "Jelly Roll Blues".

1943 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, United States President Franklin Roosevelt and Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek met in Cairo to discuss the war against Japan.

1943 - After 23 years of French rule, Lebanon achieved independence.

1950 - The lowest score in the National Basketball Association was posted when the Fort Wayne Pistons, later Detroit Pistons, beat the Minneapolis Lakers, later Los Angeles Lakers, 19-18.

1955 - RCA Records paid the then unheard of sum, $25,000, to Sam Phillips of Memphis, Tennessee for the rights to the music of truck driver Elvis Presley from Tupelo, Mississippi.

1957 - In New York, the Miles Davis Quintet debuted with a jazz concert at Carnegie Hall.

1963 - President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

1965 - The "Man of LaMancha", including the "The Impossible Dream", opened for the first of 2,328 performances in New York City.

1966 - The film, "A Man for All Seasons", opened in New York City.

1967 - The United Nations Security Council approved Resolution 242, calling for Israel to withdraw from territories it captured in 1967.

1968 - The Beatles released their so-called White Album, a record called simply "The Beatles."

1974 - Gunmen hijacked a British Airways VC10 at Dubai; three days later they abandoned the plane at Tunis after murdering a passenger and securing the release of Palestinians from jails in Cairo and The Hague.

1975 - King Juan Carlos was sworn in as King of Spain, the first Spanish monarch since Alfonso XIII went into exile in 1931. General Francisco Franco, who had ruled Spain since 1939, died two days earlier.

1975 - For the first time "Dr. Zhivago" appeared on television. The production earned $93 million from tickets over ten years. NBC paid $4 million for the broadcast rights.

1975 - Barry Manilow's second Number 1 recording entered the Billboard record charts on this date, I Write The Songs. It was on the charts for 16 weeks and was certified gold.

1977 - The Anglo-French Concorde began regular flights to New York from London and Paris.

1977 - After a self-imposed, three-month retirement following the suicide of his friend, Freddie Prinze, Tony Orlando returned to the concert stage in San Carlos, California.

1980 - Actress and writer, Mae West, died at age 88. West was best-known for her clever sexual innuendoes during the earlier part of the century, making her a target for criticism and arrest. West's style of vulgar eroticism has never been equaled, although it has been often imitated. She was one of the biggest movie box office attractions of the 1930s. West was famous for her sexual innuendoes, which included "Is that a pistol in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?" and "When I'm good I'm very good, but when I'm bad I'm better." Her films included She Done Him Wrong, I'm No Angel, Klondike Annie, and My Little Chickadee.

1984 - "Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood" presented a sweater, knitted by Fred Roger's, the show's star, mother, to the Smithsonian Institution as "a symbol of warmth, closeness and caring," according to museum officials.

1985 - The largest swearing-in ceremony was held as 38,648 immigrants became United States citizens after six days of rallies around the country. Chrysler Corporation’s Lee Iacocca helped preside over the swearing ins.

1986 - Mike Tyson, only 20 years and 4 months old, became the youngest to wear the world heavyweight boxing crown when he knocked out Travor Berbick in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1989 - The newly-elected president of Lebanon, Rene Muawad, was assassinated in west Beirut while passing through the city in a motorcade to celebrate Independence Day. Sixteen others died in the attack.

1989 - In Minneapolis, Kirby Puckett signed a three-year, $9 million contract, becoming the first baseball player to earn $3 million a year.

1990 - British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigned after 11 years in office.

1991 - The United Nations Security Council picked Egyptian deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros Ghali to be United Nations secretary general to succeed Javier Perez de Cuellar.

1993 - Mexico's Senate overwhelmingly approved the North American Free Trade Agreement.

1995 - British housewife Rosemary West was found guilty of killing 10 women and girls, including her daughter and stepdaughter. She was sentenced to life in prison for each of them.