1859 – Charles Darwin, a British naturalist, publishes his groundbreaking scientific work “Origin of the Species,” which argued that organisms gradually evolve though “natural selection.”
1960 – Philadelphia Warrior Wilt Chamberlain snags 55 rebounds against the Boston Celtics, setting an NBA record for the most rebounds in one game.
1963 – Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner, shoots and kills Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of Pres. John F. Kennedy, in the basement of a Dallas police station.
1971 – A hijacker calling himself D.B. Cooper parachutes from a passenger jet into a raging thunderstorm over Washington State with $200,000 in ransom money in his possession. He is never heard from again.
