202 v. Chr.: The peasant leader Liu Bang defeats his rival Xiang Yu and establishes the Chinese Han dynasty as Emperor Gaozu.
1892: The Austrian Wilhelm Steinitz defended his world championship title in chess by beating the Russian Mikhail Chigorin with 12.5:10.5 points.
1902: Vienna: Last ride of the tramway company’s horse-drawn carriage from Mariahilfer Strasse to the Winkelmannstrasse depot.
1922: Egypt becomes formally independent but remains under de facto British tutelage. The British secure control of the Suez Canal. Sultan Ahmed Fuad accepts the title of king as Fuad I.
1962: In secret negotiations with the Algerian liberation movement FLN, the French government agrees in principle to a roadmap for independence after eight years of war.
1982: In Addis Ababa, 19 delegations leave the week-long conference of foreign ministers of the OAU (Organization of African Unity) in protest against the acceptance of the GUERILLA organization POLISARIO as a full member of the OAU. The deliberations will continue anyway.
1987: Philippine President Corazon Aquino announces full amnesty for those communist rebels who lay down their arms.
1997: An earthquake in northern Iran claims around 3,000 lives.
2002: Launch of Envisat, ESA’s most massive satellite to date, on an Ariane 5 rocket.
2007: The EU Commission gives the go-ahead for the takeover of BAWAG PSK Bank by the US fund Cerberus. The Brussels competition authorities do not see the transaction as affecting competition. The Americans shelled out 3.2 billion euros for the union bank, with 2.6 billion euros going to the previous owner ÖGB to reduce debt and around 600 million euros going into a capital increase at BAWAG itself. This is the most expensive cash bank purchase in Austrian economic history. BAWAG PSK is the fifth largest bank in Austria.
birthdays: Thomas Theodor Heine, German painter/caricaturist (1867-1948); George Malcolm, British harpsichordist/conductor (1917-1997); Brian Jones, British musician (“Rolling Stones”) (1942-1969); Dino Zoff, former Italian soccer goalkeeper (WM 1982) and soccer coach (1942); Sabine Haag, Austria art historian (1962); Claudio Chiappucci, Italian ex-cyclist (1962); Rory Cochrane, US actor (1972); Axel Stein, German cabaret artist, actor (1982).
days of death: Aegidius Tschudi, Switzerland. historian (1505-1572); Anny Ondra, German actress (1902-1987); Arthur Schlesinger, US historian (1917-2007); Nora Kaye, US ballet dancer (1920-1987); Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (1920-2002); Fritz Hakl, Austria chamber actor (1932-2012); Vladimir Petrov, Russian ice hockey legend (1947-2017); Franz Hütterer, Austria Cabaret artist (1954-2012).
name days: Oswald, Antonia, Roman, Walfriede, Silvana, Hilary, Sira, Elizabeth.