EVENTS
- 1305 – William Wallace, Scottish revolutionary, is executed.
- 1839 – The United Kingdom gains control of Hong Kong.
- 1904 – Snow chains patented. Harry D. Weed of New York was awarded a patent for snow chains by the United States Patent Office. Snow chains are attached to tires of vehicles to improve their traction on snowy and icy roads.
- 1927 – Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were electrocuted inside a prison at Charlestown, Massachusetts. They had been convicted of a shoe factory payroll robbery during which the paymaster and a guard had been killed. Following their convictions, all appeals for a new trial had failed, despite the lack of hard evidence and a later admission by a known criminal that he had participated in the robbery with an organized criminal gang. The days and weeks leading up to their execution aroused worldwide protests amid accusations of unfair treatment because they had radical political views and were Italian.
- 1939 – Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact is signed. The German foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and the Soviet foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov signed a non-agression pact in Moscow. The pact stipulated that the USSR would not get involved in a war in Europe.
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact negotiations - 1944 – Romania switches sides in World War II. A coup in the Southeast European country moved its allegiance from the Axis powers to the Allies during the Second World War. In the early years of WW II, Romania had tried to remain neutral but in 1940, due to external pressures, the country joined Nazi Germany and the Axis powers. On this day, King Michael I removed the government of Ion Antonescu and declared Romanian support to the Allies. Some experts believe that by switching sides Romania helped shorten the war by several months.
- 1966 – First photograph of the Earth taken from the orbit of the Moon. NASA’s Lunar Orbiter 1 was the first American unmanned spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Taking black and white pictures of the Earth was not the Orbiter’s main task. Its primary task was to scope out landing sites on the Moon for future spacecraft.
- 1990 – Armenia Declares Independence From the Soviet Union. The Western Asian country had been part of the USSR since 1922. Until 1936, the country was part of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR), along with Azerbaijan and Georgia. In 1936, the TSFSR was broken up and Armenia was renamed the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The country declared itself independent of the USSR on the 23rd of August, 1990, and finally achieved independence a year later on September 21, 1991.
- 1990 – East and West Germany announce that they would unite.
- 1992 – Hurricane Andrew strikes land in South Florida.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1864 – Eleftherios Venizelos (Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece)
- 1912 – Gene Kelly (Actor and dancer)
- 1926 – Clifford Geertz (American anthropologist)
- 1946 – Keith Moon (Drummer for The Who)
- 1949 – Rick Springfield (Singer)
- 1970 – Jay Mohr (Actor)
- 1970 – River Phoenix (Actor)
River Phoenix - 1978 – Kobe Bryant (Basketball Player)
- 1982 – Natalie Coughlin (Swimmer)
- 1988 – Jeremy Lin (American basketball player)
- 1990 – Seth Curry
DEATHS
- 634 – Abu Bakr (Arabian caliph)
- 1305 – William Wallace (Scottish knight, landowner)
- 1819 – Oliver Hazard Perry (American naval officer)
- 1926 – Rudolph Valentino (Italian/American actor)
Rudolph Valentino - 2006 – Maynard Ferguson (Canadian trumpet player, bandleader)
