Historical Events
1813 – Allied troops occupies Groningen
1826 – Dutch Business Me gets monopoly on opium trade in Java/Madura
1936 – Nazi-Germany and Japan sign Anti-Komintern pact
1979 – ABC-TV announces it would broadcast nightly specials on Iran hostage
2005 – 39th Country Music Association Awards: Keith Urban and Gretchen Wilson win
Famous Birthdays
1897 – Aneurin Bevan, Welsh-British politician (Member of Parliament, 1929-60; Minister of Health, 1945-51 – launched NHS), born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales (d. 1960)
1902 – Jack Ingram, American actor (Law of the West), and stuntman, born in Frankfort, Illinois (d. 1969)
1954 – Ab Bryant, Canadian rock bassist (Chilliwack, 1978-81 – “My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)”), born in Canada
1967 – E-40 [Earl Stevens], American rapper * “Tell Me When to Go”), born in Vallejo, California
1968 – Ol’ Dirty Bastard [Russell Jones], American rapper (Wu Tang Clan), born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 2004)
Famous Deaths
565 – Justinian I (The Great), Byzantinian Emperor (527-565), commissioned Corpus Juris Civilis, important civil law code, dies at 82
655 – Penda of Mercia, Pagan Anglo-Saxon King of Mercia, killed at the Battle of Winwaed and his head cut off at about 49 [b. 606. exact date uncertain]
1931 – C. A. J. van Dishoeck, Dutch publisher, dies at 68
1994 – Elizabeth George Speare, American author (The Witch of Blackbird Pond), dies at 85
1996 – Alger Hiss, former alleged spy/lawyer, dies at 92