Historical Events 1940 - Nazi collaborator Anton Mussert puts the fate of the Netherlands in Hitler's hands 1950 - NASCAR's first paved superspeedway, Darlington Raceway, hosts the Southern 500, the first 500-mile event in NASCAR history; Johnny Mantz wins in a Plymouth 1983 - Californian skier Scott Michael Pellaton sets barefoot waterski speed record at 119.36 mph (191.51 km/h) 1998 - First "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" hosted by Chris Tarrant debuts on ITV in Britain 2012 - A "magic carpet" that can help prevent falls among the elderly by warning them of unusual footsteps is developed by researchers at the University of Manchester More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1622 - Jacob Hintze, German composer, born in Bernau, Electorate of Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1702) 1905 - Antanas Račiūnas, Lithuanian composer and pedagogue, born in Užliaušiai, Lithuania (d. 1984) 1915 - Rudolf Schock, German opera tenor, born in Duisburg, Germany (d. 1986) 1944 - Gene Parsons, American rock drummer (The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers), born in Morongo Valley, California 1948 - Samuel Hui, Hong Kong Canto-pop singer-songwriter, born in Xiguan, Guangzhou, Republic of China More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1977 - Jean Rostand, French biologist and philosopher, dies at 82 1989 - Georges Simenon, Belgian born writer and director (Maigret detective novels), dies at 86 1991 - Dottie West [Dorothy Marsh], American country singer ("Here Comes My Baby"; with Kenny Rogers - "What Are We Doin' in Love"), dies from internal injuries sustained in a car crash at 58 2010 - Paul Conrad, American cartoonist (Pulitzer 1964, 71, 84), dies at 86 2018 - Bill Daily, American actor and comedian (I Dream of Jeannie - "Roger"; The Bob Newhart Show - "Howard"), dies at 91 More Famous Deaths »