1822: French chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur is born. He is regarded as the founder of microbiology.
1901: The “Blue Angel”, German singer and actress Marlene Dietrich, is born. A Hollywood and German Expressionist cinema diva, her real name was Maria Magdalene von Los.
1911: Around 300,000 cotton workers are left unemployed after employers shut factories in Britain’s Lancashire region in an effort to suppress trade union activity.
1923: Gustave Eiffel dies. The French engineer designed and constructed Paris’s iconic tower.
1929: In Greece, a new pensions bill increases the qualifying years of service for civil servants from 25 to 30.
1934: Persia is officially renamed Iran, by decision of the Shah.
1945: The decision of the Bretton Woods Conference comes into force, establishing the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
1947: In Greece, emergency legislation declares the Communist Party (KKE), EAM and National Solidarity illegal. Under the same law, communism is deemed a criminal offence, punishable by sentences up to death.
1948: French actor Gérard Depardieu is born.
1948: Singer Haris Alexiou is born.
1963: Large-scale student demonstrations in favour of Cyprus’s union with Greece take place in Athens and Thessaloniki.
1968: Apollo 8, the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, returns successfully to Earth.
1988: Engraver Vasso Katraki dies.
1993: Russia’s Environment Minister states that 15% of the country’s territory should be considered an environmental disaster zone.
1994: In France, the government temporarily suspends Air France flights to and from Algeria following the hijacking of an Air France aircraft.
1996: According to Turkish Cypriot officials, census figures show that the population of the occupied areas of Cyprus has nearly doubled over the past 36 years.
2002: Clonaid announces that it has succeeded in cloning a human being, without providing evidence.
2003: British actor Alan Bates dies.
2004: The most intense extrasolar phenomenon ever recorded is observed, as radiation from the explosion of star SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth.
2007: Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto is assassinated.
2009: Protests and demonstrations erupt in Iran against the regime, with security forces opening fire on the crowds.
This article was originally published on Polignosi.