Historical Events
1525 – Battle at Biblingen: Zwabische Union beats rebel Wurttemberg farmers
1789 – William Wilberforce makes his first major speech on abolition in the UK House of Commons, reasoning the slave trade morally reprehensible and an issue of natural justice
1911 – 1st Inter-Empire Championships open in London
1942 – Russia occupies Crackow, until Aug 23, 1943
1952 – Gaj Singh is crowned Maharaja of Jodhpur
2008 – Wenchuan earthquake, measuring 7.8 in magnitude occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 87,000, injuring 374,643 and leaving homeless between 4.8 million and 11 million people
Famous Birthdays
1496 – Gustav I, King of Sweden (1523-60) who abolished Sweden’s elective monarchy, born in Rydboholm Castle, Sweden (d. 1560)
1806 – Amos Beebe Eaton, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Catskill, New York (d. 1877)
1923 – Hector Laing, English biscuit manufacturer (McVitie and Price), pilot and Director of the Bank of England (d. 2010)
1938 – Millie Perkins, American actress (Diary of Anne Frank, Table for 5, Shooting), born in Passaic, New Jersey
1948 – Steve Winwood, English singer, songwriter and musician (Spencer Davis Group – “Gimme Some Lovin'”; Traffic – “Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys”; solo – ‘Higher Love”; “While You See A Chance”), born in Birmingham, England
1966 – Rafael Bournigal, Dominican infielder (Oakland A’s), born in Azua, Dominican Republic
Famous Deaths
1878 – Catherine Beecher, American educator (championed higher education for women), dies at 77
1909 – Bertha Townsend, American tennis player (US Nat C’ship 1888-89), dies at 40
1935 – Józef Piłsudski, Father of the Second Polish Republic who served as its Chief of State (1918-22), Marshall of Poland and later its de facto leader (1926-35), dies at 67
1963 – Stanisław Wiechowicz, Polish composer, dies at 69
1998 – Hermann Lenz, German writer (Swabian Chronicles), dies at 75
2001 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian aircraft designer (b. 1925)