On This Day…

1611 – The King James Version of the Bible was first published 

1945– More than 1,000,000 German soldiers officially surrender to the Western Allies in Italy and Austria 

1945– World War II: Battle of Berlin ends as Soviet army takes Berlin and General Weidling surrenders 

1946 – An attempted prison escape by six inmates at Alcatraz resulted in two days of violent fighting, which became known as the Battle of Alcatraz. 

1949– Arthur Miller wins Pulitzer Prize for “Death of a Salesman” 

1997 – British Labour Party leader Tony Blair became prime minister of the United Kingdom; he was the youngest person to hold the office since 1812. 

1982 –  Falklands War: Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by British submarine Conqueror, killing more than 350 men 

2008– Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Myanmar killing over 130,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless 

2011– Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI’s most wanted man is killed by US special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan 

Births & Deaths: 

1903 – American pediatrician Benjamin Spock—who wrote a number of influential works on child rearing, notably Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946), which sold more than 50 million copies worldwide—was born. 

1921 – Bengali director Satyajit Ray, who brought Indian cinema to world recognition with the Apu Trilogy, was born in Calcutta (Kolkata). 

1975 – David Beckham, an English football player who gained international fame for his on-field play as well as for his highly publicized personal life, was born. 

2011 – Osama bin Laden—founder of the militant Islamist organization al-Qaeda and mastermind of numerous terrorist attacks, notably the September 11, 2001, attacks—was killed by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. 

2015 – Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge, the second child of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was born in London. 

Film: 

2008– First film in the  Marvel Cinematic Universe released “Iron Man” directed by Jon Favreau, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark 

Music: 

1936– Sergei Prokofiev’s musical “Peter and the Wolf” premieres in Moscow 

Sport: 

2016– Leicester City win the English Premier League title after starting the season at 5,000-1 odds 

Via Britannica / On This Day 

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