Historical Events
1497
Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope.
1773
The Boston Tea Party: colonists protest British taxation by dumping tea into the harbor.
1835
The Great Fire of New York destroys 700 buildings.
1944
The Battle of the Bulge begins, Germany's last major offensive on the Western Front.
1991
Kazakhstan declares independence from the Soviet Union.
Famous Birthdays
1770
Ludwig van Beethoven
German composer who continued to compose even after going deaf; creator of nine symphonies.
1775
Jane Austen
English novelist known for Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.
1888
Wassily Kandinsky
Russian painter who is considered one of the first abstract artists.
1917
Arthur C. Clarke
British science fiction writer known for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
1966
Benjamin Bratt
American actor known for Law & Order.
