1791– Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris. 1796 – Napoléon Bonaparte is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in Italy. 1807 – US Congress bans the slave trade within the US, effective January 1, 1808. 1888 – The Convention of Constantinople signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace. 1946 – Ho Chi Minh elected President of North Vietnam. 1956 – Morocco tears up the Treaty of Fez, declaring independence from France. 1967 – Senator Robert Kennedy proposes a three-point plan to help end the war. The plan included a suspension of the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam and the gradual withdrawal of U.S. and North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam with replacement by an international force. 1970 – White government of Rhodesia declares itself a republic. 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: US conventional forces first deployed as part of Operation Anaconda.
Births & Deaths: 1904 – Theodor Geisel, better known to the world as Dr Seuss, the author and illustrator of such beloved children’s books as “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Ham,” is born in Springfield. 1968– Daniel Craig, the sixth actor to assume the role of playboy spy James Bond, was born in Chester, England. 1999– British singer Dusty Springfield—who made her mark during the 1960s beat boom that resulted in the British Invasion, recording such hits as Son of a Preacher Man—died in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. 2009 – President João Bernardo Vieira of Guinea-Bissau was assassinated by government soldiers, following years of unrest between Vieira and the military.
Film: 1933– “King Kong” film directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Fay Wray premieres at Radio City Music Hall and RKO Roxy in NYC. 1965 – One of the most popular musical films of all time, “The Sound of Music”, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1966).
Sport: 1962– Philadelphia centre Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points, most ever by an NBA player in a single game, during Warriors’ 169-147 win over NY Knicks in Hershey; 36-of-63 from the field, 28-of-32 from the free-throw line.
