Columbus first sights Dominica (1493), and Lebanese magazine reports secret US arms sales to Iran (1986). Born on this day: Charles Bronson, Aurangzeb and Amartya Sen. Died: Henri Matisse, Jean-Bédel Bokassa and Constantius II.
29 events, 67 births and 64 deaths on this date.
On his second Atlantic voyage, Columbus spotted the mountainous island of Dominica, which he passed on a Sunday, so named for the day. The sighting extended Spanish reach deeper into the Lesser Antilles, a chain of islands that would soon be contested by European powers.
Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio · Public domainChristopher ColumbusHear the story in ChunksThe Beirut magazine Ash-Shiraa revealed that Washington had been quietly selling weapons to Tehran, hoping to free Americans held by pro-Iranian militants in Lebanon. The disclosure exposed what became the Iran-Contra affair, a scandal that shook the Reagan administration.
After more than two centuries of French and British rule, the Caribbean island of Dominica became an independent nation, taking its place as a republic within the Commonwealth. It is known today as the Nature Island of the Caribbean, with dense rainforest and the world's second-largest hot spring.
The United States ended its trusteeship over the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, which became self-governing while keeping close defence and financial ties to Washington. The arrangement let them gain sovereignty without fully cutting those links.
Nixon went on television to ask Americans who had stayed out of the big anti-war marches for their backing. He hoped to win over ordinary citizens who supported his Vietnam policy but kept quiet about it.
Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. U.S. Army Audiovisual Center. (ca. 1974 - 05/15/1984) · Public domain
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, sent his soldiers into Liège, which they plundered and burned after the townspeople had rebelled against his rule. The sack was one of the harshest punishments the duke ever inflicted on a city that defied him.
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Born Charles Buchinsky in a Pennsylvania coal town, he became a granite-faced action star, best known for Death Wish and The Dirty Dozen. He was especially popular in Europe, where he led many Westerns and crime films.
Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0
Aurangzeb ruled the Mughal Empire for nearly fifty years, from 1658 until 1707, and presided over its greatest territorial reach. He is remembered as a formidable military commander who took power by defeating and imprisoning his own father.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Indian economist and philosopher who won the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on welfare economics. He is also known for his studies of famine and for measuring how well countries are doing beyond income alone.
Fronteiras do Pensamento · CC BY-SA 2.0
Henri Matisse was a French painter who used bold colour and loose, confident line to reshape modern art alongside Picasso. Late in life, when illness kept him from painting, he made vivid cut-paper collages instead.
Carl Van Vechten · Public domain
Former army officer who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and crowned himself emperor a decade later. His brutal, extravagant rule ended in a 1979 coup, and he was later convicted of murdering schoolchildren.
image comes from the National Archives · Attribution
Sole Roman emperor after defeating the usurper Magnentius, Constantius II spent much of his reign fighting Persia and dealing with religious feuds that outlived him. He died in 361 while marching against Julian, the rival who had been proclaimed emperor.
Mary Harrsch · CC BY-SA 2.0
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