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

1927 Work On Mount Rushmore Begins

Gutzon Borglum, the famous sculptor began work on the face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota.  This iconic work took 12 more years to complete and includes carved granite images of four US Presidents.  The faces are of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt

1954 Marilyn Files For Divorce

Marilyn Monroe announced her intention to file for divorce from Joe DiMaggio, the baseball player, after being married for less than nine months.

1957 The Start Of The Space Race

The Space Race began with the launch of SPUTNIK, the first artificial satellite by the Soviet Union.

BORN ON THIS DAY

  • 1961 – John Secada, the Cuban American singer-songwriter
  • 1958 – Anneka Rice, the television presenter
  • 1949 – Stephen Gyllenhaal, the American director
  • 1947 – Ann Widdecombe, the British politician

DIED ON THIS DAY

  • 2020 – Kenzō Takada, the Japanese fashion designer
  • 2014 -‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier, the Haitian dictator
  • 2010 – Norman Wisdom, English comedian
  • 1970 Janis Joplin, American rocker and blues singer-songwriter