1926 – “The Great Lover,” motion-picture actor Rudolph Valentino, died suddenly at age 31, prompting widespread public grief from his fans.
1939 -Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact dividing eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence.
1942 – Start of the Battle of Stalingrad in World War Two.
1980 – Poland’s communist government agreed to negotiate directly with striking shipworkers in Gdansk.
2005 – Israel completed the withdrawal of 15,000 Jewish settlers and supporters from the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
2006 – Austrian abductee Natascha Kampusch escapes captivity after eight years.
2011 – Libyan rebels celebrate at Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli.
Via Reuters / On This Day
