Today in 1814, the London Beer Flood rolled through the St. Giles district as a vat at Meux’s Brewery on Tottenham Court Road ruptured, causing other vats to burst as well and sending more than 320-thousand gallons of beer into the streets; up to nine people were reported killed.
Today in 1907, Guglielmo Marconi's company began the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland.
Today in 1931, Al Capone was fined $50,000 and sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion. He was paroled after eight years and went to live in Miami, where he died a pauper almost ten years later. Though he was never convicted of it, he was suspected of killing over 500 people during his reign of terror in Chicago.
Today in 1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.
Today in 1989, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck northern California, killing 67 people and causing $7-billion worth of damage. Dubbed the Loma Prieta earthquake, it occurred in northern California at 5:04pm local time. Due to the sports coverage of the 1989 World Series, it became the first major earthquake in the United States that was broadcast live on national television. Rush-hour traffic on the Bay Area freeways was lighter than normal due to nearly 62,000 people present at the game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and this may have prevented a larger loss of life, as several of the Bay Area's major transportation structures suffered catastrophic failures.
Today in 1995, President Clinton told wealthy contributors at a Houston fund-raiser, "If you think I raised your taxes too much. It might surprise you to know that I think I raised them too much, too" – a statement that drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.
Today in 1996, the Atlanta Braves had the biggest blowout in post-season history, trouncing the St. Louis Cardinals – 15-0 in Game 7 of the NL championship series to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit. The Cardinals became the only club to blow a 3-1 edge three times in the post-season.
Today in 1998, negotiators David Trimble and John Hume were named recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the Northern Ireland peace accord.
Today in 1999, former nurse Orville Lynn Majors was convicted of murdering six patients at a western Indiana hospital. The jury deadlocked on a seventh count. Known as the “Angel of Death,” he is believed to have committed as many as 130 murders between 1993 and 1995, the period of time for which he was employed by the hospital where the deaths occurred, and for which he was investigated. It was reported that he murdered patients who were demanding, whiny, or disproportionately added to his workload. Major was sentenced the following month to a 360-year prison sentence. He died in September 2017 at the age of 56.
Today in 2005, “The Colbert Report” premiered on Comedy Central.
Today in 2006, the United States population reached 300-million. At the moment, we’re tallied at 328.8-million.
Today in 2007, Tenzin Gyatso – aka the 14th Dalai Lama – received the United States Congressional Gold Medal.
Today in 2012, Lance Armstrong lost his just about all of his endorsements in the wake of his doping scandal.
Today in 2019, Mick Mulvaney, then-President Trump's acting chief of staff, said the White House withheld nearly $400-million in military aid from Ukraine to further Trump's own political interests. He later denied ever saying that.