Historical Events
626 – Battle at Constantinople: Slavic, Persians and Avar siege of Constantinople fails, keeping the Byzantine Empire intact
1900 – Diamond workers in Amsterdam strike
1930 – Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s Liberal Party loses the election to Richard Bedford Bennett of the Conservative Party
2008 – Russo-Georgian War: Georgia moves troops into the Russian-supported self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia in response to aggression; first European war of the 21st century
2012 – Heavy rain forces 20,000 people to flee their homes in Manila, Philippines
Famous Birthdays
1844 – Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist and petrologist, born in Paris (d. 1911)
1872 – Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff, Dutch politician (Governor-General of Dutch East Indies 1926-31), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1957)
1973 – Kevin Muscat, Australian soccer defender (Olyroos, Olympics 1996), born in Crawley, United Kingdom
1976 – Cathy Park Hong, American Korean poet (Dance Dance Revolution), born in Los Angeles, California
1977 – Samantha Ronson, British DJ, born in Camden, London
Famous Deaths
1821 – Caroline of Brunswick, Queen Consort of King George IV (1820-21), dies at 53
1942 – Richard Gott, British general (commandant of 8th Army), dies in battle at 43
1970 – Jonathan Jackson, US African American activist, shot dead in a shootout at 17
2004 – Red Adair, American oil field firefighter, dies at 89
2023 – DJ Casper [William Perry Jr.], American club DJ and songwriter (“Cha Cha Slide”), dies of cancer at 58