Direct Action Day / Sports Illustrated / Elvis Presley

-1858

Queen Victoria sends the first transatlantic telegraph message to US President James Buchanan; he responds, "It is a victory more glorious than any conqueror has ever won in battle".

-1896

George Carmack discovered gold in the Klondike at Bonanza Creek in the Yukon, Canada.

-1930

The First British Empire Games opened in Hamilton, Canada.

-1930

"Fiddlesticks," the first color sound cartoon, was released by Ub Iwerks. (ex-Disney Studios)

-1945

The last Chinese Emperor and ruler of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo, Puyi, was captured by Soviet troops on his way to Japan.

-1946

Over 4,000 people are killed and 100,000 people are displaced in Calcutta in riots over whether Pakistan should be a separate state on Direct Action Day.

-1954

Sports Illustrated debuts on American newsstands; at its publisher, it's considered a joke and won't make money for most of its first decade.

-1977

Music legend Elvis Presley died in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 42. Doctors stated that he died from a heart attack, likely caused by his addiction to prescription barbiturates.

-2008

Usain Bolt won the 100m gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics by setting a new world record of 9.69 seconds.