1942

Six days after departing the Philippines during World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia to become supreme commander of Allied forces in the southwest Pacific theater.

1950

Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley announced they had created a new radioactive element, “californium.”

1966

A U.S. Navy midget submarine located a missing hydrogen bomb that had fallen from a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber into the Mediterranean off Spain. (It took several more weeks to actually recover the bomb.)

1969

Golda Meir took power in Israel, beginning a stint as prime minister that would last through five crucial years in the nation’s history.

1970

The United States cast its first veto in the U.N. Security Council, killing a resolution that would have condemned Britain for failing to use force to overthrow the white-ruled government of Rhodesia.

Birthdays

Singer-songwriter John Sebastian is 80. Actor Kurt Russell is 73. Actor Rob Lowe is 60. Actor Amelia Heinle is 51. Country singer Keifer Thompson is 51. Singer and TV personality Tamar Braxton is 47. Pop/rock singer-songwriter Hozir is 34. Actor John Boyega is 32.