Historical Events
1917 – Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany during WWI at Vincennes near Paris
1939 – Yeshiva of Mir closes after 124 years
1963 – Ludwig Erhard succeeds Konrad Adenauer as Chancellor of West Germany
1980 – Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to Lawrence Klein
1984 – Central Intelligence Agency Information Act passes
1986 – MLB National League Championship: New York Mets beat Houston Astros, 4 games to 2
Famous Birthdays
1858 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer (first heavyweight gloved champion, de facto 1882-92; last heavyweight bare-knuckle champion), born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (d. 1918)
1911 – James H. Schmitz, American sci-fi author (Lion Game), born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1981)
1943 – Penny Marshall, American actress (The Odd Couple; Laverne and Shirley), and director (Big; Awakenings; A League of Their Own), and producer (Cinderella Man), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2018)
1957 – Mira Nair, Indian-American filmmaker (Monsoon Wedding), born in Rourkela, Odisha, India
1966 – Bill Charlap, American jazz pianist (Phil Woods; Tony Bennett; Sandy Stewart), and educator, born in New York City
1970 – Lonnie Palelei, American football offensive lineman (NY Jets), born in Nu’uuli, American Samoa
Famous Deaths
961 – Abd al-Rahman III, Umayyad Emir (912-29) and 1st Caliph of Córdoba (929-961), dies at 70
1268 – Dirk II, mister of Valkenburg, dies
2001 – Zhang Xueliang, Chinese ruler of Manchuria, dies at 100
2005 – Matti Wuori, Finnish politician, dies of cancer at 60
2008 – Tom Tresh, American baseball utility (MLB All-Star 1962, 63; AL Rookie of Year and World Series 1962 NY Yankees), dies from a heart attack at 70
2022 – Joyce Sims, American RandB singer-songwriter (“All and All”; “Come into My Life”), dies at 63