Facts

1322: The Scottish warlord Robert de Bruce defeats the King of England, Edward II, at the Battle of Byland and declares Scottish independence.

1862: In the afternoon the Athenian people gather in Othonos Square to celebrate the eviction of Othonos. After the eulogy, the president of the Provisional Government, Dimitrios Voulgaris, addresses the gathered crowd. Among the others, the following can be heard: “Let us swear on this Square, which already bears the beautiful name of Omonia, and let each one of us say: I swear loyalty to the country and obedience to the national decisions”.

1863: Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel patents the preparation of nitroglycerin. From his invention, he will earn a lot of money, enough to support the Nobel Foundation, which awards the prizes of the same name, to this day.

1944: German commander-in-chief Erwin Rommel, also known as the “Desert Fox” for his operations in North Africa during World War II, kills himself by drinking poison. His contacts with the conspirators who had attempted to assassinate Hitler had been revealed and he had been given the choice between trial and suicide.

1990: Municipal elections are held in Greece. Antonis Tritsis is elected mayor in Athens, Konstantinos Kosmopoulos in Thessaloniki and Stelios Logothetis in Piraeus.

1998: The Nobel Prize in Economics is awarded to the Indian professor of Trinity University, Cambridge, Amartya Sen, for his contributions and work on the economic analyzes of the Welfare State.

Births

1939: Ralph Lauren, American fashion designer.

1952: Haris Katsimihas, Greek songwriter.

1952: Panos Katsimihas, Greek songwriter.

Deaths

1990: Leonard Bernstein, American conductor and composer. (Born 25/8/1918)

1995: Eleni Vlachou, Greek journalist and publisher of the newspaper “Kathimerini”. (Born 18/12/1911)

2004: Vlasis Bonatsos, Greek rocker, actor and showman. (Born 30/11/1949)

2022: Alexandros Nikolaidis, Greek Tae Kwon Do athlete, twice crowned Olympic silver medalist. Alexandros Nikolaidis passed away after being struck by a rare form of cancer, causing pan-Hellenic emotion