On This Day…

1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge: English army under King Harold II defeat invading Norwegians led by King Harald Hardrada and Harold’s brother Tostig, who were both killed.

1513 Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa crosses the Panama Isthmus becoming first European to see the Pacific Ocean.

1789 US Congress proposes the Bill of Rights.

1906 Leonardo Torres Quevedo successfully demonstrates the Telekino at Bilbao before a great crowd, guiding a boat from the shore, considered the birth of the remote control.

Births & Deaths:

2011 Kenyan politician and environmental activist Wangari Maathai—who was the first Black African woman to win a Nobel Prize (the 2004 Nobel Prize for Peace)—died in Nairobi.

Film & TV:

1957 18th Venice Film Festival: Influential Indian film “Aparajito” directed by Satyajit Ray is first film to win the Golden Lion and the Critics Award.

Music:

1975 Pink Floyd’s concept album “Wish You Were Here” reaches No. 1 in the US, goes on to sell 13 million copies.

Sport:

1844 Canada defeats USA by 23 runs in the 1st cricket international.

Via Britannica / On This Day