Historical Events
1655 – Warsaw falls without resistance to a small force under the command of Charles X Gustav of Sweden during The Deluge.
1907 – The Quebec Bridge over St Lawrence River collapses during construction, killing 75 workers
1947 – B.R. Ambedkar is appointed chairman of the drafting committee for the Indian constitution
1954 – San Francisco International Airport (SFO) opens
1960 – Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser wins blue ribband 100m freestyle gold medal at the Rome Olympics; retains title won in Melbourne 1956; will win unprecedented 3rd consecutive 100m gold in Tokyo 1964
1990 – C-5 transport plane crashes at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, killing 13
Famous Birthdays
1862 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian poet (Blue Bird, Nobel 1911), born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1949)
1891 – Michael Chekhov, Russian-American actor (Abie’s Irish Rose, Rhapsody), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1955)
1923 – Lester Trimble, American composer, music critic and educator, born in Bangor, Wisconsin (d. 1986)
1959 – Tony Johnson, New Zealand rugby commentator and presenter (Newstalk ZB; TV3; SKY Television), born in Picton, New Zealand
1962 – Carl Banks, American NFL linebacker (Cleveland Browns, NY Giants), born in Flint, Michigan
1967 – Neil Gorsuch, American lawyer and US Supreme Court Judge (2017-) nominated by Donald Trump, born in Denver, Colorado
Famous Deaths
1910 – Allen Hill, cricket bowler (England, 2 Tests), dies
1933 – Georgy Eduardovich Konyus, Russian composer, and music theorist dies at 70
1965 – Paul Waner, American Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder (NL MVP 1927; NL batting champion 1927, 34, 36; MLB All-Star 1933–35, 37; Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 62
1973 – Michael Dunn, American short actor (Justine, Boom, Madigan), dies at 38
1995 – Thomas Strittmatter, German writer, dies at 33
2007 – Alfred Peet, Dutch-American entrepreneur and the founder of Peet’s Coffee and Tea (b. 1920)