Historical Events 1146 - Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay‚ urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine are present and join the Crusade. 1917 - The Danish West Indies are officially ceded to the US for $25 million and renamed the Virgin Islands 1958 - USSR suspends nuclear weapons tests‚ and urges US and Britain to do same 1970 - Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after 12 years in orbit 1984 - Mike Bossy becomes first player in NHL history to record 7 straight 50 goal seasons; scores 50th and 51st of the year in a 3-1 New York Islanders' win at Washington 1988 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Toni Morrison for her novel "Beloved" More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1360 - Philippa of Lancaster‚ Queen of Portugal as wife of King John I (1387-1415)‚ born in Leicester Castle‚ Leicester‚ England (d. 1415) 1536 - Ashikaga Yoshiteru‚ Japanese 13th shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate (1546-65)‚ born in Nanzen-ji Temple‚ Kyoto‚ Japan (d. 1565) 1651 - Karl II‚ Elector Palatine (d. 1685) 1960 - Anne Howard‚ American actress (Nicole Love-Another World)‚ born in San Diego‚ California 1964 - Erik Turner‚ American rock guitarist (Warrant - "Cherry Pie")‚ born in Omaha‚ Nebraska 1975 - Adam Green‚ American film director More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1928 - Medardo Rosso‚ Italian sculptor (portraits)‚ dies at 69 2003 - Tommy Seebach‚ Danish rock keyboardist‚ singer (Sir Henry and His Butlers)‚ and songwriter (Eurovision)‚ dies at 53 2005 - Terri Schiavo‚ American figure in right to die case (b. 1963) 2008 - William L. Dickinson‚ American politician (Rep-R-AL‚ 1965-93)‚ dies at 82 2014 - Charles Keating‚ American district attorney (Los Angeles California)‚ dies at 90 2016 - Hans-Dietrich Genscher‚ German Minister of Foreign Affairs (FDP)‚ worked to re-unify Germany‚ dies at 89 More Famous Deaths »