Historical Events
1912 – 1st foreign feature film exhibited in US – “Queen Elizabeth” in NYC
1934 – Willy de Supervise swims world record 400m (5:16.0)
1952 – East German SED decides to form German DR army
1979 – “Disco Demolition Night” at Comiskey Park: fans go wild destroying disco records and cause the White Sox to forfeit second game of a doubleheader to the Detroit Tigers
1988 – USSR launches Phobos II for Martian orbit
1993 – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Sunset Promenade” opens in London
Famous Birthdays
1813 – Claude Bernard, French physiologist involved in the founding of modern physiology (blind experiments), born in Saint-Julien, Rhône (d. 1878)
1935 – Barrie Wilson, British religious scholar (How Jesus Became Christian) (d. 1995)
1941 – Joseph Whipp, American actor (Escape from Alcatraz), born in San Francisco, California
1943 – Paul Silas, American basketball player and coach (Boston Celtic, Seattle SuperSonic), born in Prescott, Arkansas
1977 – Francesca Lubiani, Italian tennis star (Futures-Amadora-POR), born in Bologna, Italy
1980 – Tina Tharp, rhythmic gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in Jacksonville, Florida
Famous Deaths
1633 – Simon Besler, German composer, dies at 49
1845 – Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian poet (Creation, Humanity, and Messiah) and author, dies at 37
1953 – Joseph Jongen, Belgian composer, dies at 79
1983 – Chris Wood, rocker (Traffic), dies at 39
1993 – Gusti Huber, Mother of Bibi Besch, dies of heart failure at 78
2002 – Edward Lee Howard, CIA Case Officer and alleged Soviet spy, dies at 50 after breaking his neck during a fall