Historical Events
1905 – Whites win right to vote in South Africa
1943 – The Demyansk Shield for German troops in commemoration of Demyansk Pocket instituted
1945 – Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java
1972 – Hans-Werner Grosse glides 907.7 miles (1,461 km) in an AS-W-12
1976 – Elections in Vietnam for a National Assembly to reunite the country
2005 – Final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937
Famous Birthdays
1608 – Gaston, Duke of Orleans, brother of French King Louis XIII, born in Palace of Fontainebleau, France (d. 1660)
1903 – Camilla Horn, German actress (Rebus, Vertigine, Polterabend, Matinee Idol), born in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany (d. 1996)
1940 – Al Pacino, American actor (And Justice For All, The Godfather, Scorpio), born in NYC, New York
1948 – Yu Shyi-kun, Premier of the Republic of China (2002-05), born in Dongshan, Yilan County, China
1951 – Ian McCartney, British MP for Makerfield (1987-10), born in Lennoxtown, Scotland
1961 – Dinesh D’Souza, Indian-American author (2016: Obama’s America), born in Mumbai, India
Famous Deaths
1271 – Master Gerhard, first master mason of Cologne Cathedral, falls to his death from scaffolding during the building of the cathedral (b. c. 1210)
1974 – Pamela Courson, American woman and long-term companion of Jim Morrison, dies of a heroin overdose at 27
1996 – John Lorne Campbell, Scottish folklorist, dies at 90
2000 – Lucien le Cam, French mathematician (b. 1924)
2007 – Alan Ball, English footballer (b. 1945)
2009 – John Marchi, American politician (b. 1921)