Historical Events
1867 – Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel patents dynamite in England, the first of three patents he would receive for the explosive material
1907 – Central American Court of Justice inaugurated in San Jose, Costa Rica – first standing tribunal for International Law in the world
1913 – Plot by English suffragettes to blow up part of St Paul’s cathedral thwarted when the bomb is discovered
1954 – French surrender to Vietminh after 55-day siege at Dien Bien Phu
1955 – USSR signs peace treaty with France and Great Britain
1995 – Twins beat Indians 10-9 in 17 innings, 6 hours and 36 minutes
Famous Birthdays
1855 – Willie Fernie, Scottish golfer (British Open 1883), born in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland (d. 1924)
1890 – Billy House, American actor (Imitation of Life; Bedlam: The Egg and I), born in Mankato, Minnesota (d. 1961)
1909 – Edwin Land, American inventor of instant photography and co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation, born in Bridgeport, Connecticut (d. 1991)
1931 – Gene Wolfe, American sci-fi author (Soldier of Arete), born in New York City
1933 – Nexhmije Pagarusha, Albanian singer ‘the Nightingale of Kosovo’ and actress, born near Malishevë, Kosovo (d. 2020)
1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian NHL defenseman (Anaheim Mighty Ducks), born in Regina, Saskatchewan
Famous Deaths
973 – Otto I the Great, Holy Roman Emperor (962-973), dies at 60
1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist, singer, and composer, dies at 50
1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1924)
2018 – Mikhail German, Russian writer, dies at 85
2020 – John Macurdy, American operatic bass (Met Opera), dies at 91
2021 – Yegor Ligachev, Soviet politician (ally then challenger to Gorbachev), dies at 100