Historical Events
1794 – French National Convention proclaims abolition of slavery
1922 – First part of Katherine Mansfield’s short story “The Garden Party” appears in the Saturday Westminster Gazette
1959 – Israel begins exporting copper ore
1972 – Dutch speed skater Ard Schenk wins the 5,000m at the Sapporo Winter Olympics; also wins the 1,500m and 10,000m gold medals
1988 – Despite union calls to end the strike, rank-and-file seamen at major British ports refuse to return to work
1998 – Bill Gates gets a pie thrown in his face in Brussels, Belgium
Famous Birthdays
1778 – A. P. de Candolle, Swiss botanist (d. 1841)
1889 – Walter Catlett, American actor (Climax, Front Page, Tale of 2 Cities), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1960)
1916 – Colin Morris, playwright/documentary filmmaker
1950 – Philip Ehart, rock drummer (Kansas)
1970 – Todd Peterson, NFL kicker (Seattle Seahawks)
1976 – Chen Kun, Chinese actor (Painted Skin), born in Chongqing, China
Famous Deaths
856 – Hrabanus Maurus, East France, archbishop of Mainz, dies
1189 – Gilbert of Sempringham, English monastery founder/saint, dies
1781 – Willem Crul, British admiral (West-Indies), dies in battle during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War at 59
1992 – Fred Slyter, dialogue coach, dies after long illness at 56
2013 – Theresia van der Pant, Dutch sculptor, dies at 88
2016 – Edgar Whitcomb, American politician and Governor of Indiana (1969-73), dies at 98