Historical Events
1916 – Belgian troops march into Kigali, German East Africa
1945 – General Johannes Blaskowitz surrenders German troops in Netherlands
1987 – American televangelist Jim Bakker and Rich Dortch dismissed from Assemblies of God after revelations of an alleged rape of a church secretary
1987 – Miroslav Mihailovic begins 54 hours of telling jokes
2008 – Chaiten Volcano erupts in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people
Famous Birthdays
1758 – Maximilien Robespierre, French revolutionary (President of the National Convention, Member of Committee of Public Safety), born in Arras, France (d. 1794)
1843 – Grove Karl Gilbert, American geologist (investigated Lake Bonneville, Utah), born in Rochester, New York (d. 1918)
1925 – Patrick Meaney, British businessman and CEO (Rank Organization), born in Wandsworth, London (d. 1992)
1947 – Ronald Rivest, American computer scientist (RSA cryptography), born in Schenectady, New York
1953 – Michelle Courchesne, Quebec politician and former President of the Treasury Board, born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Famous Deaths
850 – Ninmyō, 54th Emperor of Japan (833-50) during the Heian period, dies at 41
1727 – Catharine I of Russia [Marta Samuilovna], wife of Peter the Great, dies at about 42
1985 – Pete Desjardins, American diver (Olympic gold 10m platform, 3m springboard 1928), dies at 78
2014 – Geoffrey Maitland Smith, British accountant (Sir Charles Clore; Paul McCartney) and businessman (CEO of Sears, 1978-95), dies at 81
2018 – Cirilo Bautista, Filipino writer and poet, dies at 76