The French emperor Napoleon III declared war on Prussia, beginning the Franco-German War. 1870
Lizzie Borden—who was suspected of murdering her stepmother and father but was acquitted in a trial that became a national sensation in the United States—was born in Fall River, Massachusetts. 1860
The Summer Olympics opened in Moscow, though some 60 countries refused to attend because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979; it was the largest boycott in the history of the Olympic movement. 1980.
The first episode of Mad Men aired, and the series, which starred Jon Hamm, quickly became a critical and commercial hit, noted for its nuanced representation of social life in the 1960s and for its stylish visual flair.
Vitali Klitschko (born July 19, 1971, Belovodsk, Kirgiziya, U.S.S.R. [now Belovodskoye, Kyrgyzstan]) is a Ukrainian boxer and politician whose colossal size—6 feet 7 inches (2 metres) tall and over 240 pounds (109 kg)—helped propel him to great boxing success, including the World Boxing Council (WBC) world heavyweight title. He later served as mayor of Kyiv.
