1873

The Spanish National Assembly abolished slavery in Puerto Rico, which was then a Spanish colony; enslaved people were required to work for three more years for their former owners.

1952

The Moondog Coronation Ball, considered the first rock ‘n’ roll concert, took place at Cleveland Arena.

1963

The United States closed Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary; over 1,500 inmates had been jailed at the island prison off the coast of San Francisco, California, over its three decades of use.

1965

Civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began their third attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama — this time under the escort of U.S. Army and National Guard troops assigned by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

1972

Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment and sent it to the states for ratification by March 1979 (later extended to 1982); 35 of the required 38 states met the ratification deadline.

Birthdays

Football Hall of Fame coach Tom Flores is 89. Actor Timothy Dalton is 80. Actor Gary Oldman is 68. Actor Matthew Broderick is 64. Comedian-actor Rosie O’Donnell is 64. Former soccer player Ronaldinho is 46. Actor Sonequa Martin-Green is 41. Actor Scott Eastwood is 40. Tennis player Karolína Plíšková is 34. Actor Jasmin Savoy Brown is 32. Actor Jace Norman is 26. Actor Forrest Wheeler is 22.