EVENTS
- 1717 – The world’s first Masonic Grand Lodge is established. Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that has counted among its members a large number of known intellectuals. Due to its secretive nature, many myths about their underground activities have emerged through the ages. A Grand Lodge is the governing body for a certain geographic area.
- 1821 – Venezuela becomes independent from Spain.
- 1880 – The first performance of the song O Canada, which became the national anthem of Canada.
- 1901 – First exhibition of Pablo Picasso’s art opens.
- 1916 – Mary Pickford becomes first movie star to get million dollar contract.
- 1948 – Soviet Russia began a blockade of Berlin. Two days later the Allies responded with an emergency airlift to relieve two million isolated West Berliners. During the Berlin Airlift, American and British planes flew about 278,000 flights, delivering 2.3 million tons of food, coal and medical supplies. A plane landed in Berlin every minute from eleven Allied staging areas in West Germany. The Russians lifted their blockade of Berlin on May 12, 1949, however the airlift continued until September 30th.
- 1982 – A British Airways jumbo jet experiences a sudden total engine failure. At the same time, the crew observed a mysterious glow in the darkness. The Boeing 747’s pilots had unwittingly flown into a cloud of volcanic ash caused by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, causing all four engines to flame out. The crew eventually succeeded in restarting the engines and landing safely in Jakarta.
- 1983 – The first female American astronaut, Sally Ride, returns to earth.
- 2002 – Africa’s worst ever train disaster kills 281. The crash occurred near Msagali, Tanzania, when a passenger train with some 1200 passengers rolled back down Igandu hill after its brakes had failed.
- 2010 – Labor Party deputy Julia Gillard became Australia’s first female Prime Minister. She was born in Wales and had moved to Australia as a child. She worked as a lawyer before entering politics.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1400 – Johannes Gutenberg (Invented the Printing Press)
- 1533 – Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, favourite of Queen Elizabeth I
- 1850 – Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (English field marshal)
- 1895 – Jack Dempsey (Boxer)
- 1942 – Mick Fleetwood (Musician)
- 1945 – George Pataki (Govenor of New York)
- 1978 – Juan Román Riquelme (Argentine footballer)
- 1986 – Solange Knowles (Singer)
- 1987 – Lionel Messi (Argentine soccer player)
DEATHS
- 1398 – Hongwu Emperor of China (Founder of the Ming Dynasty)
- 1604 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (English courtier)
- 1908 – Grover Cleveland (American lawyer, politician, 22nd President of the United States)
- 1987 – Jackie Gleason (American actor, singer)
- 2000 – Rodrigo (Argentinian singer-songwriter)