Happy Birthday RIP George Campbell Scott(1927–1999)  Peter Boyle Jr(1935–2006)  ; Charles “Chuck” Berry–88 Dawn Wells–76 Michael Ditka–75 Pamela Dawber–63 Martina Navratilova–58 Erin Moran–54 Jean-Claude Van Damme(Varenberg)–54 Zachary Efron–27 ; 1867 – United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day ; 1898 – United States takes possession of Puerto Rico.