Historical Events
1887 – 1st US bacteriology laboratory opens (Brooklyn)
1914 – In a secret meeting of civil and military leaders, Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov convinces them to support a plan for seizing the straits, controlled by Turkey, that block access to the Mediterranean
1957 – Dodgers (Fort Worth) and Cubs (LA) “trade” minor league franchises
1975 – Watergate figures John Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John D Ehrlichman sentenced to 2½-8 yrs for conspiracy and obstruction of justice
1989 – Pete Rose meets with Commissioner Ueberroth to discuss his gambling
2014 – 10 words from the 15th C Voynich manuscript have been decoded
Famous Birthdays
1877 – Jacob D du Toit [Totius], South African poet/theologist
1937 – Ron Clarke AO, MBE, Australian athlete (17 x WRs, 5,000m, 10,000m, 20,000m; 2, 3, 6, 10 miles) and politician (mayor Gold Coast), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2015)
1939 – Ron Nagle, American sculptor, and songwriter, born in San Francisco, California
1940 – Peter McEnery, England, actor (Game is Over, Moonspinners)
1943 – David Geffen, American record producer (Geffen Records, Asylum) and film studio executive (DreamWorks SKG), born in Brooklyn, New York
1946 – Anthony Daniels, British actor and mime artist (Star Wars – “C-3PO”), born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Famous Deaths
1730 – Benedict XIII [Pietro F Orsini], Pope (1724-30), dies at 81
1918 – Neltje Blanchan, American nature writer, dies at 52
1956 – Edwin Franko Goldman, composer, dies at 78
1989 – Otar Vasilisdze Taktakishvili, Georgian composer, conductor, teacher, and musicologist, dies at 64
2005 – Ara Berberian, American opera singer (b. 1930)
2012 – Baron Hooson [Hugh Emlyn], British politician and peer, dies at 86