In 1793, the first president of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, was born near Lexington, Va.
In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.
In 1939, Roman Catholic Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected Pope. He took the name Pius XII.
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Children's author Theodore Seuss Geisel, better known as
"Dr. Seuss" (1904)
Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev (1931)
Author John Irving (1942)
Singer Lou Reed (1944)
Actress Laraine Newman (1952)
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"Humanitarianism needs no apology ... Unless we ... feel it toward all men without exception, we shall have lost the chief redeeming force in human history."