Historical Events
1594 – Having already inherited the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through his mother, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, succeeding his father John III of Sweden.
1897 – Inaugural meeting of the Women’s Institute at Stoney Creek, Ontario, set at the suggestion of Adelaide Hoodless, the organization will rapidly spread around the world
1928 – World champion French team Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet win the Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games; the couple marry in 1929 and take 2nd straight gold in 1932
1943 – German tanks under Major General Karl Buelowius attack Kasserine Pass, Tunisia
1977 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1987 – Musical revue “Stardust – The Mitchell Parish Musical”, featuring songs of the Lithuanian-American lyricist, opens at Biltmore Theater, NYC; runs for 101 performances
Famous Birthdays
1755 – Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten, Dutch Governor-General of Dutch East Indies (1796-1801), born in Bergen op Zoom (d. 1801)
1881 – Evert Gorter, Dutch children’s pioneering paediatrician (founder of Dutch medical child care), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1954)
1916 – Eddie Arcaro, American Racing Hall of Fame jockey (Triple Crown 1941 Whirlaway, 1948 Citation), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1997)
1952 – Gaëtan Dugas, French Canadian flight attendant and HIV patient erroneously vilifed as “Patient Zero”, born in Quebec City, Quebec (d. 1984)
1970 – Ruwan Kalpage, Sri Lankan cricket off-spinner
1983 – Assunta De Rossi, Filipino actress
Famous Deaths
1936 – Charles Harding Firth, British historian (b. 1857)
1994 – Vittorio Rieti, Jewish Italian-American composer, dies at 96
1995 – John Howard, American actor (The Philadelphia Story; My Three Sons), dies of heart failure at 81
1996 – Brenda Bruce, actress (December Bride, Nightmare), dies at 77
2016 – [Nelle] Harper Lee, American author (To Kill a Mockingbird), dies at 89
2023 – Richard Belzer, American comedian, actor (Homicide: Life on the Street; Law and Order: SVU – both shows “Det. John Munch”) and author (How To Be A Stand-Up; UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Believe), dies at 78