Today in History

Historical Events

1815 - City of Kraków (Poland) declared a free republic state by the Congress of Vienna
1826 - English chemist John Walker invents friction matches
1920 - First American superhero film, "The Mark of Zorro," directed by Fred Niblo and starring Douglas Fairbanks, is released in New York
1963 - The Convention on the Unification of Certain Points of Substantive Law on Patents for Invention is signed at Strasbourg
1971 - Soviet Mars 2 becomes 1st spacecraft to crash land on Mars

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Famous Birthdays

1894 - Amphilochius of Pochayiv [Yakov Varnavovich Golovatyuk], Ukrainian Orthodox Christian saint, born in Mala Ilovytsya, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine (d. 1971)
1898 - Fredric Warburg, British publisher (Animal Farm) and author, born in Paddington, London (d. 1981)
1917 - Buffalo Bob Smith [Robert Emil Schmidt], American TV host (Howdy Doody), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1998)
1932 - Benigno Aquino Jr, Philippine opposition leader who was assassinated, born in Concepcion, Philippines (d. 1983)
1960 - Tim Pawlenty, American politician, Governor of Minnesota (2003-11), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota

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Famous Deaths

1899 - Guido Gezelle, Flemish priest and poet, dies at 69
1930 - Johnny Tyldesley, English cricket batsman (31 Tests, 4 x 100, 9 x 50, HS...