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March
6th |
Colombian writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, was born in Aracataca, Magdalena. He is widely considered as one of the greatest writers to emerge from 20th century South America. |
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March
10th |
American assassin, James Earl Ray, was born in Alton, Illinois. He was the convicted killer of black American civil rights leader Martin Luther King. |
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March
12th |
A dam collapsed in California and caused a severe flood which killed more than 600 people. |
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May
4th |
Egyptian politician, Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak, was born in Kafr-El Meselha, Egypt. He ascended to the rank of president of the Republic of Egypt following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Due to the constitution of Egypt, he run as sole candidate for the Presidency 3 more times and only in 2005 was there some amendment to the constitution to allow additional candidates. |
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May
9th |
English engineer, Colin Chapman, was born in London, England. He was on of the most innovative automobile engineers of the world, whose ideas and concepts can still be seen in the industry. He was the founder of the sports cars company Lotus. |
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June
4th |
German-American sex therapist and author, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, was born in Frankfurt. Best known simply as Dr. Ruth, she is one of the best known sex therapists and authors of her time. She was a soldier with the Israeli army during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. |
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June
18th |
Aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean, although she was only a passenger on that flight. |
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June
20th |
French politician, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was born in La Trinite-sur-Mer. He is a far-right nationalist politician as well as the president of the National Front party. |
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July
3rd |
The first ever colour television broadcast took place in London, England. |
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July
26th |
American film director, Stanley Kubrick, was born in the Bronx, New York City. He is regarded as the most innovative and influential figure of modern cinema. |
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August
6th |
American artist, Andy Warhol, was born in Forest City, Pennsylvania. Warhol was one of the founders of the Pop Art movement during the 1950s. He died in his sleep from a sudden heart attack after a routine gallbladder surgery at New York Hospital. |
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August
16th |
Serial killer, Carl Panzram, was arrested in Washington, DC. He admited to killing 21 people and is reported to have shown no remorse even at the final moments of his life, before his was hung. |
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August
31st |
American actor, James Coburn, was born in Laurel, Nebraska. He was a popular 'tough guy' actor who became a big star after starring in the hit movie, Our Man Flint. |
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September
15th |
Scottish biologist and pharmacologist, Sir Alexander Fleming, noticed a bacteria-killing mould that had grown in his laboratory. This discovery later formulated into what is known as penicillin. |
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September
27th |
The United States officially recognized the Republic of China. The Republic of China has been commonly referred to as 'Taiwan'. |
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November
10th |
Italian composer, Ennio Morricone, was born in Rome. He is one of the best known names in film music, having composed the music for over 500 movies. |
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December
30th |
American musician, Bo Diddley, was born in McComb, Mississippi. He was one of the most influential figures of the early rock and roll era. |
