Historical Events
1501 – Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David, a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture
1968 – Albania withdraws from the Warsaw Pact
1988 – Gilbert is measured as the strongest hurricane ever in the Western Hemisphere, 26.13 barometer
1996 – Phil Simmons scores 171 and takes 6-14 for Leics v Durham
2023 – Rise in overdose deaths from fentanyl laced stimulants mark the “fourth wave” of the overdose crisis in the US, according to UCLA research
Famous Birthdays
1475 – Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, Italian aristocrat, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1507)
1877 – Stanley Lord, Captain of the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster, born in Bolton, Lancashire, England (d. 1962)
1894 – Anton Roosjen, Dutch politician and NCRV-chairman, born in Aalsmeer, Netherlands (d. 1978)
1897 – Gaspar Cassadó, Spanish cellist and composer, born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 1966)
1942 – Béla Károlyi, Hungarian Romanian-American gymnastics coach (Nadia Comăneci, Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug), born in Kolozsvár, Hungary (d. 2024)
Famous Deaths
1967 – Varian Fry, American journalist and recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations”, dies at 59
1989 – Yamada Koun, Zen teacher Sanbo Kyodan line, dies at 82
1991 – Ferry Barendse, Dutch trumpeter, composer, and singer (Ramblers), dies at 80
2025 – Mary Rose Oakar, American politician and the first Arab American woman in Congress (Rep-D-Ohio 1977-93), dies at 85
2025 – Akiko Tsuruga, Japanese jazz Hammond B-3 organist, pianist, and composer, dies at 58