1512 – Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regards to native Indians in the New World
1657 – “Flushing Remonstrance” petition signed in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, protesting the ban on Quaker worship
1932 – The internal passport system, previously denounced by Vladimir Lenin as one of the worst stigmas of tsarist backwardness and despotism, was reinstated in the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin.
1939 – Between 20,000 & 40,000 die in magnitude 8 quake in Erzincam, Turkey
1945 – International Monetary Fund formally established by 29 member countries based on ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes
1949 – Queen Juliana of the Netherlands grants independence to Indonesia
1978 – Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship as King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain’s 1st democratic constitution
1979 – After invading Afghanistan two days earlier Soviet forces pull off a coup in Kabul, killing President Hafizullah Amin
2001 – The People’s Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States.
2002 – Kenyan General Election: National Rainbow Coalition headed by Mwai Kibaki wins, overthrowing 39 year rule by the Kenya African National Union
2004 – Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet.
2007 – Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto, the first woman leader of a Muslim nation in modern history, was assassinated in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, while campaigning for upcoming parliamentary elections.
2009 – The World Health Organization says 208 countries, territories and communities have reported H1N1 cases, including at least 12,220 deaths
2012 – NASA unveils plans to capture a 500 ton asteroid in 2025
2013 – 29 people are killed after a bus plunged off the Huay Tong Bridge, Thailand
2015 – Iraqi forces retake IS held city of Ramadi (ISIS first captured in May)
Births & Deaths:
1901 – German American film actress Marlene Dietrich—whose beauty, voice, aura of sophistication, and languid sensuality made her one of the world’s most glamorous movie stars—was born.
1978 – Houari Boumedienne, president of Algeria, died at age 51.
2015 – American painter, sculptor, and printmaker Ellsworth Kelly—who was a leading exponent of the hard-edge style, in which abstract contours are sharply and precisely defined—died in Spencertown, New York.
Film & TV:
1947 – 1st “Howdy Doody Show” (Puppet Playhouse), telecast on NBC
Music:
1932 – Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City
Sport:
1981 – Oiler Wayne Gretzky becomes fastest NHLer to get 100 pts (38th game)
Via Britannica / On This Day
