Facts

1820: The farmer Giorgos Kentrotas, digging on his estate in Milos, discovers a female statue. It is the now well-known Aphrodite of Milos, which is in the Louvre Museum and which the French obtained at gunpoint.

1896: A miners’ strike is declared in Lavrio. The guards kill two strikers. The strikers kill the guards, blow up warehouses and offices, and disarm the police. The strike will end on April 21, with a small increase in workers’ wages.

1941: The Germans “crack” the front of the Greek defense at the “Metaxa Line”.

1963: Odysseas Elytis takes over as EIR program manager. He would remain in office until April 28, 1964.

1989: The KKE, the Greek Left, the EDA and independent leftists constitute the Coalition of the Left and Progress. Charilaos Florakis is appointed president and Leonidas Kyrkos as secretary.

1990: New Democracy emerges as the first party, with a percentage of 46.8% and 150 seats, in the third parliamentary elections within a year. They are followed by PASOK with 38.6% and the Coalition with 10.2%.

Births

1788: Spyridon Trikoupis, Greek politician, diplomat, scholar and historian, father of Charilaos Trikoupis. (D. 12/2/1873)

1798: Dionysios Solomos, the national poet of our country. (D. 9/2/1857)

1929: Jacques Brel, Belgian songwriter. His songs have been covered by many rock artists, including David Bowie, Alex Harvey and Ray Charles. (D. 9/10/1978)

Deaths

1867: Dimitrios Kallergis, Greek army officer, leader of the September 3rd Revolution. (Born 1803)

1973: Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter. (Born 25/10/1881)

1990: Apostolos Kaldaras, Greek folk composer. (Born 7/4/1922)