Historical Events
1795 – Hedges Treaty: Bataafse Republic becomes French vassal state
1968 – Earthquake kills 47 in Japan
1974 – USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
2019 – British people get drunk more than any other nation, 51 times a year according to the Global Drug Survey, with English-speaking countries drinking the most
2020 – 118-year old American department store JC Penney files for bankruptcy
Famous Birthdays
1782 – John Sell Cotman, English water color artist, born in Norwich, England (d. 1842)
1887 – Jakob van Hoddis [Hans Davidsohn], German Jewish expressionist poet, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1942)
1964 – John Salley, NBA star (Detroit Pistons)
1968 – Chingmy Yau, Hong Kong actress (Naked Killer), born in Hong Kong
1977 – Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer and songwriter (“Jungle Drum”; “Gollum’s Song”), born in Kópavogur, Iceland
Famous Deaths
1620 – William Adams, English navigator, first ever Western Samurai who life was the basis for novel “Shōgun”, dies in Japan at 55
1955 – James Agee, American author (African Queen, Death in Family), dies at 45
1977 – Edouard Van Remoortel, Belgian conductor (St Louis Symphony, 1958-62), dies at 50
2018 – Michael Slive, American college sports executive (Commissioner SEC 2002-15), dies of prostate cancer at 77
2019 – Bob Hawke, Australian politician and 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (Labor: 1983-91), dies at 89