Historical Events
1773 – State of Pennsylvania approves construction of Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia; it will become the first experiment with the practice of solitary confinement in the United States
1935 – RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt
1971 – Two Royal Ulster Constabulary officers shot and killed by the Irish Republican Army while on mobile patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast, North Ireland
2012 – 61st NBA All-Star Game, Amway Centre, Orlando, FL: West beats East, 152-149; MVP: Kevin Durant, OKC Thunder, F
2018 – Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, receives its 1 millionth seed on its 10 year anniversary
2023 – Dilbert comic strip creator Scott Adams faces widespread condemnation for his comments about African Americans in a YouTube show, prompting his strip and up-coming book to be cancelled
Famous Birthdays
1717 – John Randall, British organist and hymn composer, born in Cambridge, England (d. 1799)
1861 – Ferdinand I, 1st tsar of modern Bulgaria (1908-18), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1948)
1887 – Benegal Narsing Rau, Indian lawyer and civil servant, President of UN Security Council (1950), helped draft India’s constitution, born in Mangalore, India (d. 1953)
1958 – Greg Germann, American actor, born in Houston, Texas
1981 – Johnathan Wendel, American professional video gamer, born in Kansas City, Kansas
1984 – Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer, born in Mexico City
Famous Deaths
1538 – Worp van Thabor, Frisian abbott of Thabor (Chronicon Frisiae), dies
1906 – Manuel Fernandez Caballero, Spanish composer, dies at 70
1941 – Jan Keizer, Zaanse February striker, shot to death
1972 – Tom Manders, Dutch cabaret artist (Dorus), dies at 50
1973 – Doc Hayes, American basketball coach (Southern Methodist University 1947-67), dies in an auto accident at 67
2008 – John Yates, Anglican bishop (Bishop of Lambeth), dies at 82