Important Events

644 Umar ibn al-Khattab, second Muslim caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina

1534 English Parliament passes Act of Supremacy: Henry VIII and subsequent monarchs become Head of Church of England

1620 Great Patent granted to Plymouth Colony

1640 English Long Parliament forms

1906 International Radiotelegraph Conference in Berlin selects “SOS” (· · · – – – · · ·) distress signal as the worldwide standard for help

1957 Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 with space dog Laika aboard, a mostly-Siberian husky, the 1st animal in space

1970 US President Richard Nixon promises gradual troop removal of Vietnam

Today In Film & TV

1953 “Tokyo Story”, Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu, starring Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama and Setsuko Hara, is released

Today In Music

1992 “I Will Always Love You” (Dolly Parton cover) single released by Whitney Houston (Billboard Song of the Year 1993)

Today In Sports

1991 Ayrton Senna wins Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide; shortest F1 race ever run (14 laps) because of wet conditions; Senna retains his 3rd World Drivers Championship by 24 points from Nigel Mansell