Historical Events
1903 – The Wright brothers attempt to fly the Wright Flyer for the first time at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
1960 – Australia v West Indies 1st Test Cricket at the Gabba ends in a tie
1977 – Test Cricket debut of Pakistan spin bowling great Abdul Qadir v England in 1st Test at Lahore
1978 – China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
1994 – Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam, China
1998 – 64th Heisman Trophy Award: Ricky Williams, Texas (RB)
Famous Birthdays
1681 – Giuseppe Valentini, Italian violinist, poet, and composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1753)
1853 – Henry Wood, English cricket wicket-keeper (4 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 134no; Kent CCC, Surrey CCC), born in Dartford, England (d. 1919)
1870 – Dirk Jan de Geer, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1926-29, 39-40), born in Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1960)
1915 – Ruth Railton, British musical director (National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, 1948-65), born in Kent, England (d. 2001)
1952 – Germain Houde, French Canadian actor, born in Petit-Saguenay, Quebec
1966 – Carl Herrera, Trinidadian-born Venezuelan NBA forward, 1991-99 (San Antonio Spurs, and 2 other teams), born in Trinidad and Tobago
Famous Deaths
1417 – John Oldcastle, English nobleman and pro-protestant Lollard leader, whom Shakespeare based his Falstaff character on, hanged for heresy at 39
1799 – George Washington, American Founding Father, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during War for Independence and 1st President of the United States (1789-97), dies at 67
1806 – John Breckinridge, American lawyer (5th United States Attorney General) and politician (U.S. Senator from Kentucky), dies at 46
1860 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Peelite: 1852-55) and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1841-46), dies at 76
1918 – Sidónio Pais, Portuguese politician (4th President of Portugal, 66th Prime Minister of Portugal), murdered at 46
2000 – George Sholty, American harness driver (2,934 career wins; $20 million+ purse money), dies at 68