EVENTS
- 1953 – Jonas Salk announces the Polio vaccine.
- 1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention comes into effect. The treaty bans the development, production and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. It has now been ratified by most countries worldwide.
- 1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in Washington, DC.
Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty - 1991 – 4 South American countries establish Mercosur. Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay were the founding members of the Southern Common Market.
- 1992 – Soviet Cosmonaut Serge Krikalev returned to a new country (Russia) after spending 313 days on board the Mir Space Station. During his stay in space, the Soviet Union (USSR) collapsed and became the Commonwealth of Independent States.
- 1995 – The Schengen Agreement enters into force. Within the Schengen Area, which encompasses most of Europe, regular border checks have been abolished.
- 2000 – Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia. The ex-KGB officer has been lauded for leading Russia out of the 1990 economic crisis and criticized for building a regime that many have described as authoritarian and undemocratic.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1874 – Robert Frost (Poet)
- 1911 – Tennessee Williams (Playwright)
- 1925 – Pierre Boulez (French pianist, composer, conductor)
- 1930 – Sandra Day O’Conner (First woman Supreme Court Justice)
- 1931 – Leonard Nimoy (Spock on Star Trek)
- 1939 – James Caan (Actor)
- 1940 – Nancy Pelosi (American politician, 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives)
- 1941 – Richard Dawkins (Kenyan/English biologist)
- 1944 – Diana Ross (Singer)
Diana Ross - 1948 – Steven Tyler (Singer for Aerosmith)
- 1950 – Martin Short (Actor)
- 1960 – Marcus Allen (NFL Football player)
- 1968 – Kenny Chesney (Country music singer)
- 1985 – Keira Knightley (Actress)
DEATHS
- 1827 – Ludwig van Beethoven (German pianist, composer)
- 1892 – Walt Whitman (American poet, author)
Walt Whitman - 1902 – Cecil Rhodes (English/South African businessman, politician, founded De Beers)
- 1973 – Noël Coward (English actor, playwright, composer)
- 1984 – Ahmed Sékou Touré (Guinean politician, 1st President of Guinea)
