Abdicate usually means “to renounce a position of power, such as a throne, high office, dignity, or function.” It can also mean “to fail to do what is required by (a duty or responsibility).”
☰Thought of the Day
"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela
- Fyodor Sologub, Russian Symbolist novelist, poet and translator, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1927)
- (Andrew) "Banjo" Paterson, Australian journalist, poet (Clancy of the Overflow), and lyricist ("Waltzing Matilda"), born near Orange, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1941)
- Luis A. Ferré, Puerto Rican industrialist and politician (Governor of Puerto Rico, 1969-73), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2003)
- Dame Patricia Routledge, British stage and screen actress and singer (Keeping Up Appearances; Talking Heads: A Lady of Letters), born in Higher Tranmere, England (d. 2025)
- Rick Majerus, American college basketball coach (5 × WAC Coach of the Year; Uni of Utah), born in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin (d. 2012)
- Joel Steed, American NFL nose tackle (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Frankfurt, Germany
- Martyn Bennett [-Knight], Canadian-Scottish celtic-fusion piper, pianist, and composer, born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (d. 2005)
- Václav "Vinny" Prospal, Czech NHL forward (Team Czech Olympic gold 1998, Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning), born in České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia
- Union forces led by William T. Sherman capture the state capital of Columbia, South Carolina. The city is ablaze by nightfall, fanned by high winds devastating much of the city. It is not known which side started the fires.
- KTVF TV channel 11 in Fairbanks, AK (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
- Kosmos 140 (Soyuz Test) launches into Earth orbit
- New York Yankees Don Mattingly wins highest salary arbitration ($1,975,000 per year)
- Discovery of a new mostly underwater continent, Zealandia, in the South Pacific is announced in the research journal "GSA Today"
- Raphaelle Peale, American painter (After the Rain, 1823), born in Annapolis, Maryland (d. 1825)
- Roy Black, American defense attorney known for representing William Kennedy Smith and Jeffrey Epstein, born in Forest Hills, New York (d. 2025)
- Rickey Medlocke, American rock guitarist, vocalist, and drummer (Blackfoot, 1969-97 - "Highway Song"' "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme"; Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1971-72 and 1996-present), born in Jackson, Florida
- Aaron Blaise, American animator, painter, and film director (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Brother Bear, The Lion King), born in Burlington, Vermont
- David Klingler, American NFL quarterback (Oakland Raiders, Cin Bengals), born in Houston, Texas
