Gordon Brown becomes UK Prime Minister (2007), and British forces capture Buenos Aires (1806). Born on this day: Helen Keller, Emma Goldman and Louis XII. Died: Joseph Smith, Giorgio Vasari and Jack Lemmon.
33 events, 61 births and 59 deaths on this date.
Gordon Brown took over as Prime Minister and Labour leader after serving a decade as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Tony Blair. He held the post until 2010, when Labour lost power after a general election.
Unknown photographer · OGL 3British troops seized Buenos Aires, now Argentina's capital, in an early move of Britain's campaign against the River Plate region. The capture opened that campaign, which targeted Spanish-ruled territories around the river.
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph was sent up to watch the lower atmosphere of the Sun, the thin layers where the chromosphere meets the corona. Its data helps scientists understand how energy heats the solar atmosphere.
Doctors in Sudan identified what would later be recognised as the first known case of Ebola, a disease that causes severe fever and bleeding. The outbreak that followed showed how quickly the virus could spread through contact with body fluids in hospitals.
Nixon arrived in Moscow for a summit with Leonid Brezhnev, the first visit to the Soviet Union by a sitting American president. The trip produced agreements on arms limits and trade, easing tensions during the Cold War.
Sailing for Spain along South America's northern shore, Vespucci reached the coast of today's Amapá in northern Brazil. His published accounts of these voyages were widely read, and cartographers later named the New World America after him.
Public domain
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Helen Keller was an American writer and campaigner who lost her sight and hearing as a toddler, then became a leading voice for disability rights. She graduated from Radcliffe College, wrote fourteen books and was a founding member of the ACLU.
Los Angeles Times; restored by User:Rhododendrites · Public domain
Emma Goldman was a Russian-born anarchist who became one of the most famous public speakers of her era, drawing crowds of thousands. She later campaigned for women's rights and birth control and was deported from the United States in 1919.
Takuma Kajiwara · Public domain
Louis XII was a French noble who became king in 1498 and ruled until 1515. He is remembered for his Italian campaigns, which won Milan and briefly Naples, and for a marriage to Anne of Brittany that tied Brittany closer to France.
Workshop of Jean Perréal · Public domain
He said an angel led him to golden plates, which he translated into the Book of Mormon. The movement he founded now counts millions of followers, mostly through the LDS Church.
Lucian Rose Foster · Public domain
Vasari was a Mannerist painter and architect who worked for the Medici court in Florence. He is remembered above all for his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, the book that shaped how Western art history was written.
Attributed to Jacopo Zucchi · Public domain
Jack Lemmon moved easily between comedy and drama, often playing decent, jittery men caught in ordinary troubles. He won Academy Awards for Mister Roberts and Save the Tiger, and the Guardian called him the most successful tragi-comedian of his age.
Wire photo · Public domain
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