Highlights of Today in History: James Marshall finds a gold nugget;Winston Churchill dies;Ted Bundy is executed;Thurgood Marshall dies;John Belushi born.
In northern California, James Marshall finds a gold nugget at Sutter’s Mill — a discovery that sparks the Gold Rush the following year.
1965:
In London, former British prime minister Winston Churchill — who led his nation through the dark days of World War II — dies at age 90.
1989:
Confessed serial killer Ted Bundy is executed in Florida’s electric chair for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl.
1993:
Thurgood Marshall — the first African-American to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court — dies in Bethesda, Maryland.
Marshall — a legendary civil rights lawyer and activist before his time on the High Court — was 84.
And, 1949:
Actor John Belushi — who played Bluto in the movie “Animal House”, and one of the original cast members of TV’s “Saturday Night Live” — is born in Chicago.
