Historical Events
1815 – City of Kraków (Poland) declared a free republic state by the Congress of Vienna
1826 – English chemist John Walker invents friction matches
1920 – First American superhero film, “The Mark of Zorro,” directed by Fred Niblo and starring Douglas Fairbanks, is released in New York
1963 – The Convention on the Unification of Certain Points of Substantive Law on Patents for Invention is signed at Strasbourg
1971 – Soviet Mars 2 becomes 1st spacecraft to crash land on Mars
Famous Birthdays
1894 – Amphilochius of Pochayiv [Yakov Varnavovich Golovatyuk], Ukrainian Orthodox Christian saint, born in Mala Ilovytsya, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine (d. 1971)
1898 – Fredric Warburg, British publisher (Animal Farm) and author, born in Paddington, London (d. 1981)
1917 – Buffalo Bob Smith [Robert Emil Schmidt], American TV host (Howdy Doody), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1998)
1932 – Benigno Aquino Jr, Philippine opposition leader who was assassinated, born in Concepcion, Philippines (d. 1983)
1960 – Tim Pawlenty, American politician, Governor of Minnesota (2003-11), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Famous Deaths
1899 – Guido Gezelle, Flemish priest and poet, dies at 69
1930 – Johnny Tyldesley, English cricket batsman (31 Tests, 4 x 100, 9 x 50, HS 138; Lancashire CCC), dies at 57
1968 – Gino Roncaglia, Italian composer, dies at 85
1973 – Frank Christian, American jazz trumpeter, dies at 86
2024 – Maria Alexandru, Romanian table tennis player (World C’ship gold women’s doubles 1961, 1973, 1975), dies at 84