China launches Shenzhou spacecraft with 3 astronauts:
This was the third human manned space flight mission of China’s Space Program.
NASA launches the Mars Observer:
The robotic space probe’s main goal was to study Mars. Almost a year later all communications with it were lost.
Runners run the first Chicago Marathon:
One of the world’s six major marathons, which include the marathons in Berlin, Boston, London, New York, and Tokyo, the Chicago Marathon was initially called the Mayor Daley Marathon. The first race was won by Rhud Metzner.
The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria is officially created:
Ferhat Abbas was appointed as the President of the Algerian National Assembly, and Ben Bella was seated as the country’s new Prime Minister.
- 1969 Catherine Zeta-Jones
Welsh actress
- 1952 Christopher Reeve
American actor
- 1932 Glenn Gould
Canadian pianist, composer
- 1903 Mark Rothko
Latvian/American painter
- 2011 Wangari Maathai
Kenyan environmentalist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 2003 Edward Said
Palestinian/American theoretician
- 1971 Hugo Black
American jurist, politician
- 1929 Miller Huggins
American baseball player, manager
