On this day

In 1940, the Swiss-German painter Paul Klee died on this day in Muralto, Switzerland.

In 1941, the political activist Stokely Carmichael was born on this day in Trinidad.

In 1964, jazz saxophonist and flautist Eric Dolphy died in Berlin, West Germany.

In 1972, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered its decision in Furman v. Georgia
408 U.S. 238 which identified capital punishment as "cruel and unusual." The decision generated a moratorium on executions in the United States.

In 2006, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered its decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
548 U.S. 557 (.pdf).