Historical Events
1258 – Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, tens of thousands slaughtered, ending the Islamic Golden Age
1907 – English suffragettes storm British Parliament and 60 women are arrested
1917 – Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari is arrested in Paris on suspicion that she is a German spy
1993 – Merlene Ottey runs world record 200m indoor (21.87 sec)
2014 – Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu is first to break 100 points barrier in the short program (101.45 points) at the Sochi Winter Olympics, on way to the men’s singles gold medal
2019 – Suicide attack on bus carrying Iranian military’s Revolutionary Guard kills 23 in Sistan-Baluchestan province, separatist group Jaish al-Adl claim responsibility
Famous Birthdays
1874 – Hendrik Spiekman, Dutch journalist and politician (social-democratic)
1923 – Chuck Yeager, American test pilot who was the 1st man to break the sound barrier, born in Myra, West Virginia (d. 2020)
1944 – Jerry Springer, English-born US talk show host (Jerry Springer Show), born in London, England
1962 – Hugh Dennis, English comedian and actor (Not Going out), born in Kettering, England
1964 – Ylva Johansson, Swedish politician, born in Huddinge Municipality, Sweden
1997 – Michael Jackson Jr., son of Michael Jackson, born in Beverly Hills, California
Famous Deaths
1629 – Girolamo Giacobbi, composer, dies at 61
1963 – Harry Steers, bowling hall of famer, dies
1964 – Ken Hubbs, 2nd baseman (Chicago Cubs), dies in plane crash at 22
2008 – Henri Salvador, French Caribbean singer, dies at 90
2015 – John McCabe, British composer and pianist, dies at 75
2017 – Seijun Suzuki, Japanese cult film director, dies at 93