Historical Events
1263 – The battle of Largs fought between Norwegians and Scots.
1949 – USSR recognizes People’s Republic of China
1954 – Former French possession of Chandernagore made part of West Bengal, India
1961 – “Ben Casey” premieres on NBC-TV
1968 – St. Louis pitcher Bob Gibson establishes a new Baseball World Series mark by striking out 17 batters as the Cardinals beat Detroit, 4-0 in Game 1 of the Fall Classic
2004 – American Samoa joins the North American Numbering Plan
Famous Birthdays
1704 – Frantisek Ignac Antonin Tuma, composer
1873 – Stephen Warfield Gambrill, U.S. Congressman for Maryland’s 5th District (d. 1924)
1929 – Kenneth Leighton, composer
1932 – Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, Irish paramilitary and political leader of Sinn Féin, born in Longford, Ireland (d. 2013)
1953 – Ernest Bai Koroma, Sierra Leonean politician, President of Sierra Leone (2007-), born in Makeni, Sierra Leone
1968 – Mark James Crear, 110m hurdler (Olympic silver 1996), born in San Francisco, California
Famous Deaths
1629 – Antonio Cifra, Italian composer (b. 1584)
1629 – Pierre the Barulle, French cardinal/founder (French Oratorio), dies
1782 – Charles Lee, British and U.S. general (b. 1732)
1956 – George Bancroft, American actor (Texas, Stagecoach, Little Men), dies at 74
1993 – William Berger, Austrian American actor (Face to Face, Adventure of Hercules), dies of prostate cancer at 65
1996 – Ivan Mark Waller, mountaineer, dies at 89