Facts:

1912 The Assembly of Samos, chaired by Themistocles Sofoulis, declares the union with Greece.

1918 The Entente powers and Germany sign an armistice. End of World War I.

1940 The first jeep rolls off the production line. It is a World War II military vehicle and its history begins in February 1940, when the US Army asked the country’s automakers for a multipurpose vehicle with the above features. Three companies responded and 9 months later the first vehicle of this type rolled off the production line.

By the end of the great war, 600,000 jeeps were made available to the US military. The prototype vehicle of the Willis-Overland company, later absorbed by Chrysler, is what we now call the Jeep.

The origin of the word Jeep is an unsolved mystery. One explanation is that it comes from a corruption of the initial letters of the words General Purpose. Another theory, more convincing to many, states that the word Jeep comes from the “paper” hero Eugene the Jeep, who crosses walls, climbs ceilings and flies. It’s a figure from Popeye, which fits, as they say, perfectly with the character of the vehicle.

1942 The Turkish Parliament passes a law imposing an extraordinary levy on movable and immovable property (Varlik vergisi). This law, an instrument of racial persecution, is directed mainly against Greeks, Jews and Armenians.

1950 A swarm of Greek warplanes is leaving for Korea, in order to take part in the operations there, under the UN forces. (Korean War)

2002 The Annan plan for the solution of the Cyprus issue, drawn up by Mr. of the UN, Kofi Annan, is handed over to the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot side and the guarantor powers Greece, Turkey and Britain. The Greek Prime Minister, Costas Simitis, and the Cypriot President, Glaukos Cleridis, state that “the plan is negotiable.”

Births

1885 George Patton, American general, who distinguished himself during World War II. In 1912 – a young lieutenant at the time – he competed in the Stockholm Olympics with the US team in the modern pentathlon and placed fifth after failing to shoot. (D. 21/12/1945)

1928 Carlos Fuentes, Mexican writer and diplomat. (Thu. 5/15/2012)

1974 Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor.

Deaths

1950 Alexandros Diomedes, Greek banker and politician. (Born 22/12/1875)

1990 Alexis Minotis, Greek actor and theater director. (Born 8/8/1898)

1990 Yannis Ritsos, Greek poet. (Born 1/5/1909)