Russian writer Anton Chekhov is born (1860), and Students storm Indonesia's parliament demanding President Wahid's resignation (2001). Born on this day: Anton Chekhov, William McKinley and Oprah Winfrey. Died: George III, Fritz Haber and Robert Frost.
33 events, 76 births and 70 deaths on this date.
Chekhov trained as a doctor but became one of the most admired writers of all time, known for four major plays and for short stories that reshaped the modern form. He once called medicine his lawful wife and literature his mistress.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainThousands of student protesters forced their way into the parliament building in Jakarta, demanding that President Abdurrahman Wahid step down over alleged corruption scandals. The protest added to mounting pressure that would soon end his presidency.
Kansas was admitted to the Union as the 34th state, and it came in as a free state rather than a slave state. That choice followed years of violent fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, a period known as Bleeding Kansas.
During the Second World War, an Allied bombing raid completely destroyed the Anatomical Theatre inside Bologna's Archiginnasio, a wood-panelled lecture hall dating from the 1600s. The loss removed one of Europe's most celebrated surviving early anatomy rooms.
President Chirac declared that France would stop testing its nuclear weapons for good, a reversal of the country's earlier stance. The announcement drew strong protests from Pacific nations and environmental groups, who had long opposed the tests at Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls.
Christian Lambiotte · CC BY 4.0
Rebel leader An Lushan, who had challenged the Tang dynasty and declared himself emperor of Yan, was murdered by his own son, An Qingxu, in a palace conspiracy. The killing wounded the rebellion, which continued under others for years after.
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Anton Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short story writer who trained as a doctor and kept medicine going alongside writing. His four great plays, including The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard, and his short stories reshaped modern drama and the form of the short story.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
McKinley led the United States through the Spanish–American War and its acquisition of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. He was assassinated in 1901, and his death brought Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency.
photographer · Public domain
American television host, actress and producer who built The Oprah Winfrey Show into a daytime talk programme watched across the United States for 25 years. Born into poverty in rural Mississippi, she went on to become the wealthiest female celebrity.
Maryland GovPics · CC BY 2.0
George III ruled Great Britain and Ireland for almost sixty years, through the loss of the American colonies and the long wars with Napoleonic France. He spent his last decade with a permanent mental illness, and his son ruled as regent in his place.
Allan Ramsay · Public domain
Fritz Haber was a German chemist whose process for making ammonia from air and hydrogen underpins modern fertiliser and feeds a large share of humanity. He also pioneered chemical weapons in the First World War, a legacy that shadows his Nobel Prize.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Frost wrote about farms, woods and stone walls in rural New England, using plain speech to explore hard questions. He won four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, more than any other poet.
Fred Palumbo, World Telegram staff photographer · Public domain
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