Treaty of Versailles takes effect (1920), and North Korea withdraws from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (2003). Born on this day: Donald Knuth, Robert Woodrow Wilson and Leonid Kravchuk. Died: Carolus Linnaeus, David Bowie and Gabriela Mistral.
27 events, 65 births and 78 deaths on this date.
The peace treaty Germany had signed the year before now took effect, ending the war for most of the nations involved. The United States was the exception, standing apart from the settlement altogether.
David Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson and Georges Clemenceau · Public domainNorth Korea announced its exit from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, becoming the first country ever to leave it. The move raised alarm worldwide, as it signalled Pyongyang's determination to pursue its own nuclear weapons programme outside international monitoring.
Drillers at Spindletop hit a gusher that blew crude high above the derrick, the first great strike of its kind in Texas. It showed the state held vast oil reserves and helped launch its oil industry.
Florida's convention voted to secede from the United States, becoming the third state to break away before the Civil War began. The move was an early step toward the conflict that would tear the country apart over slavery.
Galba, who had taken power the year before, chose Piso as his deputy. It gave the ageing ruler a named successor at a time when his grip on Rome was uncertain.
Paine's 47-page pamphlet argued that the colonies should break from Britain, and nearly every patriot read it. An English-born newcomer who had arrived only two years earlier, he helped turn protest into a demand for full independence.
Auguste Millière / After George Romney / After William Sharp · Public domain
For the full day, download Chunks today. Every date, the stories behind them, and a new day each morning. Free to start.
American computer scientist known for The Art of Computer Programming, a multi-volume work, and for creating the TeX typesetting system. He is often hailed as a founder of the rigorous analysis of algorithms.
Flickr user Jacob Appelbaum , uploaded to en.wikipedia by users BeSherman , Duozmo · CC BY-SA 2.5
An American astronomer who, with Arno Penzias, found a faint sky hum they first blamed on pigeon droppings. It turned out to be the afterglow of the early universe, earning them a share of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Victor R. Ruiz from Arinaga, Canary Islands, Spain · CC BY 2.0
Leonid Kravchuk was the first president of an independent Ukraine, leading it out of the Soviet Union in 1991. His term also saw Ukraine hand over its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal, though an economic crisis cost him re-election.
Yuriy Ivanov / Юрий Иванов · CC BY-SA 3.0
Swedish naturalist who gave plants and animals the two-part Latin names still used today, earning him the title father of modern taxonomy. He died at Uppsala in 1778, by then among the most celebrated scientists in Europe.
Alexander Roslin · Public domain
David Bowie was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor who reinvented his sound and image again and again. He is remembered for Ziggy Stardust, Let's Dance and the Berlin albums, and his influence on pop, fashion and art rock.
Adam Bielawski · CC BY-SA 3.0
Chilean poet and teacher Gabriela Mistral was the first Latin American writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945. Her image now appears on Chile's 5,000-peso banknote, and her poems often return to motherhood, nature and loss.
Anna Riwkin-Brick · Public domain
Download on iOS
Download on Android