Marlene Dietrich is born (1901), and Johannes Kepler is born (1571). Born on this day: Louis Pasteur, Marlene Dietrich and Johannes Kepler. Died: Benazir Bhutto, Carrie Fisher and Gustave Eiffel.
28 events, 50 births and 66 deaths on this date.
Marlene Dietrich was born, and would become a German-American actress and singer whose role as Lola Lola in The Blue Angel made her an international name. Her wartime morale work and help for exiles are remembered as much as her films.
für die Datei Arths-at · Public domainJohannes Kepler, a German polymath, is born, and he later worked out laws describing how planets move. His books, Astronomia nova among them, helped make astronomy a modern science.
August Köhler [1] · Public domain
The pope went to Rome's Rebibbia prison to see Mehmet Ali Ağca, the man who shot him in St. Peter's Square in 1981. He told the gunman he forgave him.
Twenty-nine nations signed the agreement that brought the International Monetary Fund into formal existence. It was designed to help rebuild a shattered global economy and to stabilise currencies after the Second World War.
International Monetary Fund · Public domain
Justinian's rebuilt cathedral was inaugurated in Constantinople, a domed building that became the model for Byzantine and later Ottoman architecture. It was a church for nearly 1,100 years before becoming a mosque and then a museum.
Arild Vågen · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Taliban regained control of Bagram airfield, near Kabul, tightening their hold on the approaches to the capital. The group, which had emerged in 1994, was pushing across much of Afghanistan during the civil war.
For the full day, download Chunks today. Every date, the stories behind them, and a new day each morning. Free to start.
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist whose work showed that germs cause disease. He is best remembered for pasteurization, the heating of milk and wine to kill bacteria, and for early vaccines against rabies and anthrax.
Paul Nadar · Public domain
Dietrich became an international star after her role as Lola Lola in The Blue Angel, then built a Hollywood career and later toured the world as a live performer. She was also known for helping German and French exiles during the Second World War.
für die Datei Arths-at · Public domain
Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer and mathematician whose laws of planetary motion reshaped how people understood the orbits of the planets. He also wrote Somnium, a tale of a trip to the Moon often cited as an early work of science fiction.
August Köhler [1] · Public domain
Benazir Bhutto was a Pakistani stateswoman who twice served as prime minister and became the first woman elected to lead a democratic government in a country where Muslims form the majority. She was assassinated in Rawalpindi in 2007 while campaigning for election.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Carrie Fisher was an American actress and writer, best remembered for playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films. She also wrote novels such as Postcards from the Edge and was a sought-after script doctor in Hollywood.
By Riccardo Ghilardi - Crop of File:Actress Carrie Fisher © Riccardo Ghilardi photographer.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55103929 · CC BY-SA 3.0
French engineer whose company designed the Eiffel Tower for the 1889 Paris Exposition. He also helped build the internal iron framework of the Statue of Liberty and later turned to meteorology and aerodynamics.
François Touranchet · Public domain
Download on iOS
Download on Android