Historical Events
1253 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.
1655 – English General-at-Sea Robert Blake (he was never titled Admiral) beats North African pirate fleet
1937 – 1st animated cartoon electric sign displayed (NYC)
1959 – 6th National Film Awards (India): “Sagar Sangamey” wins the Golden Lotus
1959 – KPLR TV channel 11 in Saint Louis, MO (IND) begins broadcasting
2016 – NFL Draft: Cal quarterback Jared Goff first pick by Los Angeles Rams
Famous Birthdays
1795 – Charles Sturt, English explorer (Australia), born in Bengal, British India (d. 1869)
1810 – Daniel Ullman, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Wilmington, Delaware (d. 1892)
1900 – Bruno Apitz, German writer (Nackt unter Wölfen, born in Leipzig (d. 1979)
1922 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (The Guns of Navarone), born in Shettleston, Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1987)
1952 – Chuck Leavell, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band, Rolling Stones), born in Birmingham, Alabama
1957 – Leopold Eyharts, French cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-26, TM-28/27)
Famous Deaths
1710 – Thomas Betterton, British actor and dramatist (Coriolanus), dies at 74
1945 – Benito Mussolini [Il Duce], Fascist Italian dictator (1922-43), shot by communist partisans at 61
1960 – Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, 19th and 25th President of Chile, dies at 82
1978 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, 1st President of Afghanistan (1973-78) and Prime Minister of Afghanistan (1953-63), dies at 68
1982 – EW “Nobby” Clark, Engl cricketer (32 wickets in 8 Tests 1929-34), dies
2005 – Percy Heath, American jazz bassist (Modern Jazz Quartet) (b. 1923)