Historical Events
1862 – General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry in Tennessee
1894 – Bottle opener patented by William Painter
1900 – The Battle of Vaal Krantz, South Africa (Boers vs British army)
1943 – 1st Spitfire in action above Darwin, Australia, Mu Ki-46 shot down
1971 – James Saunders (22), a member of the IRA, is shot and killed by the British Army during a gun battle near the Oldpark Road, Belfast
2002 – 52nd Berlin International Film Festival: “Spirited Away” and “Bloody Sunday” win the Golden Bear (tie)
Famous Birthdays
1838 – Yisrael Meir Kagan [Chofetz Chayim], Belarusian rabbi, born in Dzyatlava, Belarus (d. 1933)
1929 – Oscar Sambrano Urdaneta, Venezuelan writer, born in Boconó, Venezuela (d. 2011)
1949 – Richie Zisk, American retired baseball player and pro scout (Chicago Cubs), born in Brooklyn, New York
1963 – Mike Hough, Canadian NHL left wing (Florida Panthers), born in Montreal, Quebec
1969 – Tim Sherwood, English footballer and manager, born in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
1971 – Peter Tchernyshev, Russian dance skater (with Naomi Lang), born in St Petersburg, Russia
Famous Deaths
1740 – Clement XII [Lorenzo Corsini], Italian Pope (1730-40) who despite ill health and total blindness (1732) unsuccessfully stemmed decline of papal influence, dies at 87
1793 – Carlo Goldoni, Italian playwright and librettist (Belisario, Servant of Two Masters), dies at 85
1976 – Ritwik Ghatak, Bengali filmmaker (Titash Ekti Nadir Naam), dies at 50
1989 – Chris Gueffroy, East German attempted defector (b. 1968)
2012 – Janice Voss, American astronaut (shuttle radar topography mission), dies from breast cancer at 55
2020 – Jan Liberda, Polish soccer forward (35 caps; Polonia Bytom), dies at 83