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2005 |
The trial of Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, began in Baghdad. |
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2005 |
Hurricane Wilma became the strongest hurricane on record over the Atlantic basin. |
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2003 |
Pope John Paul II, beatified (recognized her as a saint) Mother Teresa, 8 years after her death. |
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1991 |
An earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale struck Northern Italy resulting in over 2000 fatalities. |
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1989 |
The Guildford four convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeals. The four persons were wrongly convicted in the United Kingdom in October 1975 for the Provisional IRA's Guildford pub bombing and had spent 15 years in prison. |
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1985 |
The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest video-dvd rental enterprise which in 1994 was sold to Viacom at a price of $8.4 billion. |
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1974 |
The island nation of Niue became independent from New Zealand. |
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1960 |
The United States government activated an embargo on Communist Cuba. The embargo has lasted until modern times (2006). |
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1954 |
The first ever ascent of Cho Oyu took place. Cho Oyu is the sixth highest peak in the world and is part of the Himalayas. |
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1945 |
American actor, John Lithgow, was born in New York. He won a scholarship to Harvard University, where he was living in the same dormitory as former US Vice President Al Gore and fellow actor Tommy Lee Jones.
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1933 |
Germany withdrew its membership from the League of Nations. |
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1932 |
American actor, Robert Reed, was born in Illinois. He studied Shakespeare in college and it is said that he was unhappy with his role in the hit sitcom, The Brady Bunch, which made him famous. |
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1931 |
English novelist, John le Carre, was born in Dorset, England. He is one of the most prominent espionage writers of the 20th and 21st centuries. |
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1813 |
The Battle of Leipzig ended in which Napoleon Bonaparte suffered one of his worst defeats. It was the largest battle to take place in Europe before World War 1. |
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