Crew of the Santa Maria attempt mutiny against Columbus (1492), and Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations (1975). Born on this day: Harold Pinter, Ivo Andrić and Fridtjof Nansen. Died: Edith Piaf, Orson Welles and Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
31 events, 71 births and 67 deaths on this date.
Sailors aboard Columbus's flagship grew fearful as the voyage stretched on without sight of land, and some tried to turn the fleet back. Columbus persuaded them to continue, and days later they reached the Americas.
Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio · Public domainChristopher ColumbusHear the story in ChunksPapua New Guinea took its place at the United Nations earlier that year, after gaining independence, bringing a new Pacific nation into the organisation. The country covers the eastern half of New Guinea and has more spoken languages than any other nation on Earth.
Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, Ghana's finance minister, was turned away from a Delaware restaurant, and the American president personally apologised. The incident drew attention to segregation in the United States as Ghana was becoming independent.
Wilson triggered the blast that blew up the Gamboa Dike, marking the completion of most major construction on the Panama Canal. The canal would soon give ships a short route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Harris & Ewing, photographer · Public domain
The second church to stand on the Constantinople site later known as Hagia Sophia was opened, replacing an earlier building. It was destroyed in the Nika riots, and its successor, completed in 537, is the building visitors see today.
Chiang Kai-shek, a former army officer who had led the Northern Expedition, took charge of the Republic of China's government. He went on to lead China through the Second Sino-Japanese War and the civil war against the Communists.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
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Harold Pinter was an English playwright whose sparse, menacing dialogue reshaped British theatre, from The Birthday Party onward. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005 and also wrote screenplays such as The Servant.
Jack de Nijs for Anefo · CC0
Ivo Andrić was a Yugoslav novelist and diplomat whose books mostly portray life in Bosnia under Ottoman rule. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961, largely for The Bridge on the Drina.
Stevan Kragujević · CC BY-SA 3.0 rs
Norwegian explorer who crossed Greenland on skis in 1888 and set a record northern latitude on his Fram expedition. He later won the Nobel Peace Prize for humanitarian work after the First World War.
Henry Van der Weyde · Public domain
Edith Piaf was a French singer and lyricist who rose from Paris street corners to international fame, known for songs of love, loss and sorrow such as La Vie en rose. Her songs were often drawn from her own life, and she remains a touchstone of French culture.
Studio Harcourt · Public domain
Orson Welles was an American actor and filmmaker best known for directing and starring in Citizen Kane, widely ranked among the greatest films ever made. His radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds had also convinced some listeners that Martians had landed.
Carl Van Vechten · Public domain
Sirimavo Bandaranaike was elected Sri Lanka's prime minister in 1960, becoming the first woman in the world to lead a democratically chosen government. She served three separate terms, the longest total time in office of any Sri Lankan prime minister.
Centralna Agencja Fotograficzna · Public domain
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