Gerald R. Ford—who was the 38th president of the United States (1974–77) and the country’s only chief executive who was not elected as either president or vice president—died in California. 2006.

A massive earthquake shook the Indian Ocean floor west of the island of Sumatra, triggering a devastating tsunami that swamped coastal areas from Thailand to Africa and killed at least 225,000 people. 2004. 

The horror classic The Exorcist, an adaptation of a novel about a young girl possessed by the Devil, was released in the United States. The recipient of 10 Oscar nominations, including for director William Friedkin, it became one of the highest-grossing films of all time. 1973. 

The Beatles‘ single I Want to Hold Your Hand, with I Saw Her Standing There on the B-side, was first released in the United States. Hugely successful, it helped launch Beatlemania. 1963. 

Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in Sydney to become the first Black fighter to win the world heavyweight boxing championship. 1908. 

Mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage, who is credited with having conceived the first automatic digital computer, was born in London. 1791. 

Charles I and the Scots reached a secret agreement whereby the Scots offered to support the king’s restoration to power in return for his acceptance of Presbyterianism in Scotland and its establishment in England for three years. 1647.