1928

“Steamboat Willie,” the first cartoon with synchronized sound as well as the first release of the character Mickey Mouse, debuted on screen at the Colony Theater in New York.

1978

U.S. Rep. Leo J. Ryan of California and four others were killed on an airstrip in Jonestown, Guyana, by members of the Peoples Temple; the killings were followed by a night of mass murder and suicide resulting in the deaths of more than 900 cult members.

1991

Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon freed Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland, the American dean of agriculture at the American University of Beirut.

1999

12 people were killed and 27 injured when a bonfire under construction at Texas A&M University collapsed.

2003

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state constitution guaranteed gay couples the right to marry, the first state supreme court to do so.

Birthdays

Author Margaret Atwood is 85. Rock musician Kirk Hammett (Metallica) is 62. Author and lecturer Brené Brown is 59. Actor Owen Wilson is 56. Actor Damon Wayans Jr. is 42. Olympic track and field gold medalist Allyson Felix is 39. Fashion designer Christian Siriano is 39. NFL quarterback Caleb Williams is 23.