Historical Events
659 – Forces from the Mayan city of Palenque, under its leader Pakal, defeat nearby Santa Elena and take its ruler captive
1885 – Five German warships anchor off Zanzibar
1964 – Turkey begins air attack on Greek Cypriots
1991 – Courts rules Manuel Noriega, may access some secret US documents
2010 – Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, John Randle, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
2016 – American swimmer Katie Ledecky sets a new world record with a time of 3:56.46 to win the gold medal in the women’s 400m freestyle at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Famous Birthdays
1925 – M. S. Swaminathan, Indian agricultural scientist, leader of the green revolution in India, born in Kumbakonam, Madras Presidency (d. 2023)
1929 – Don Larsen, American MLB pitcher (only perfect game in World Series history, Game 5 1956; World Series MVP 1956; NY Yankees), born in Michigan City, Indiana (d. 2020)
1942 – Carlos Monzón, Argentine boxer (Undisputed world middleweight champion 1970-74, 76-77), born in San Javier, Argentina (d. 1995)
1975 – Gaahl [Kristian Eivind Espedal], Norwegian black metal vocalist (Gorgoroth), born in Sunnfjord, Norway
1978 – Vanness Wu, Taiwanese-American singer (F4, Kangta and Vanness), born in Santa Monica, California
1988 – Melody Oliveria, American internet blogger (bowiechick)
Famous Deaths
1942 – Janusz Korczak [Henryk Goldszmit], Polish-Jewish educator and pedagogue (ran an orphanage in the Warsaw Ghetto), is gassed at Treblinka extermination camp along with the residents of his orphanage at 64
2011 – Hugh Carey, American politician and attorney (Gov-D-NY), dies at 92
2017 – David Maslanka, American composer (Angel Of Mercy; Sea Dreams), and educator, dies of colon cancer at 73
2018 – Stan Mikita, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center (Stanley Cup 1961; Hart Memorial Trophy [MVP] 1967, 68; 6 x NHL First All-Star Team), dies of Lewy body dementia at 78
2022 – David McCullough, American author (Truman; John Adams), popular historian, TV documentary host and narrator (Seabiscuit; The Civil War), dies at 89
2023 – William Friedkin, American film director, producer, writer (The Exorcist; The French Connection), dies of heart failure at 87