Disney's animated Bambi is released in cinemas (1942), and Mona Lisa stolen from the Louvre (1911). Born on this day: Usain Bolt, Muḥammad VI and William IV. Died: Leon Trotsky, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Henrik Pontoppidan.
29 events, 68 births and 41 deaths on this date.
Walt Disney's cartoon took its story loosely from Felix Salten's novel about a young deer growing up in the forest. It earned three Oscar nominations and was later placed in the US National Film Registry for its cultural importance.
Walt Disney Company · Public domainAn employee at the Louvre, Vincenzo Peruggia, walked off with Leonardo's famous portrait by hiding it under his coat. The painting stayed missing for two years, becoming one of the most talked-about thefts of the century.
The Soviet Union tested its R-7 Semyorka over a long distance, showing the rocket could reach targets on another continent. The success made it the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile.
A sudden burst of gas from Lake Nyos rolled through nearby valleys, suffocating people living within about 20 kilometres of the lake. Estimates of the death toll reach as many as 1,800 people.
Three days before it was due to enter orbit around Mars, NASA's Mars Observer went silent, and it was never heard from again. The mission, meant to map the planet's surface and climate, was a costly setback for the agency.
Song troops under Yue Fei beat a Jin force led by Wuzhu near Yancheng, during the Jin–Song Wars over northern China. Yue Fei is remembered as one of the dynasty's most celebrated military commanders.
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Jamaican sprinter who collected eight Olympic gold medals, and many consider him the fastest person ever to run. At the 2008 Beijing Games he set world records in both the 100 and 200 metres, then later retired after a long run of titles.
Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil · CC BY 3.0 br
Mohammed VI has been king of Morocco since 1999, succeeding his father Hassan II. He is known for modernising the country, expanding women's rights in family law, and recognising Berber language and culture.
UN Climate Change · CC BY 2.0
William IV was a naval officer before he became king in 1830, and was nicknamed the Sailor King. His reign brought the Reform Act 1832 and the abolition of slavery across nearly all of the British Empire.
Martin Archer Shee · Public domain
Leon Trotsky was a Russian revolutionary who helped lead the 1917 October Revolution and then built the Red Army during the civil war. Exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929, he was assassinated in Mexico in 1940.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
The Indian-American astrophysicist who calculated the mass limit beyond which a white dwarf collapses, work that earned him a share of the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics. Many things now bear his name, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Gift of Kameshwar Wali · Attribution
Danish realist novelist who shared the 1917 Nobel Prize for Literature with Karl Gjellerup. His novels offer a wide view of Denmark's society and its changing times.
Nobel Foundation · Public domain
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