Check out some of the events that took place on this day in history:

1836 Darwin Returns From Travels

Naturalist Charles Darwin returned to England this day in 1836 after a five-year journey and voyage of exploration on HMS Beagle.  The findings from his travels went on to be the basis for his theory of evolution by natural selection.

1957 The Bridge On The River Kwai

The iconic war film, The Bridge on the River Kwai had its world premiere, and subsequently went on to win the Academy Award for best picture.

1968 British Sextuplets Born

The first set of sextuplets were born in the UK following the trial of a new fertility drug by a young woman of 30 who been trying for a baby for over 30 years.

2009 Brazil Awarded Summer Olympics

The 2016 Summer Olympics were awarded to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil after the other shortlisted cities, Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo were eliminated in the voting.

BORN ON THIS DAY

  • 1869 – Mahatma Gandhi, the political activist
  • 1890 – Groucho Marx, the actor and director
  • 1951 – Sting, the singer and musician
  • 1945 – Don McLean, the singer/composer and musician

DIED ON THIS DAY

  • 1985 – Rock Hudson, the actor
  • 1998 – Gene Autry, the actor
  • 2017 – Tom Petty, the singer