1945

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were executed by Italian partisans after attempting to flee the country.

1947

A six-man expedition led by Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl set out from Peru aboard a balsa raft named the Kon-Tiki on a 101-day, 4,300 mile (6,900 km) journey across the Pacific Ocean to the Polynesian Islands.

1967

Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was stripped of his WBA title after he refused to be inducted into the armed forces.

2001

A Russian rocket lifted off from Central Asia carrying the first space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, and two cosmonauts on a journey to the International Space Station.

2004

The world first viewed images of prisoner abuse and torture by U.S. troops at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, via a report broadcast on the CBS television news program “60 Minutes II.”

Birthdays

Actor-singer Ann-Margret is 84. Chef Alice Waters is 81. TV host-comedian Jay Leno is 75. Actor Mary McDonnell is 73. Musician Kim Gordon is 72. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan is 65. Rapper Too Short is 59. Actor Bridget Moynahan is 54. Actor Jorge Garcia is 52. Actor Penelope Cruz is 51. TV personalities Drew and Jonathan Scott are 47. Actor Jessica Alba is 44.