Facts

1497: Portuguese navigator Vasco Da Gama circumnavigates the Cape of Good Hope, opening new avenues of navigation and trade.

1923: The elections in Greece are turning into a triumph for Eleftherios Venizelos, due to the abstention of the anti-Venizelos forces. It is the last election to be held with a pellet.

1940: The American magazine LIFE is published with a Greek cholia on its cover.

1985: The first law on the National Health System (NHS) is passed by the Parliament.

1991: The second (extraordinary) conference of the Coalition (December 16-19) is being held. 1,250 delegates from 430 organizations elect Nikos Konstantopoulos as president.

1991: At the initiative of Germany, the Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Union accepts the dissolution of the unified Yugoslavia, effectively recognizing the state entity of Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia.

Births

1770: Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer. (D. 26/3/1827)

1775: Jane Austen, English author. (“Logic and Sensibility”, “Pride and Prejudice”) (Died 7/18/1817)

1917: Arthur Clarke, English science fiction writer. (“2001: A Space Odyssey”) (Died 3/19/2008)

Deaths

1821: Antonis Oikonomou, water fighter of the Greek Revolution, who was murdered in Argos. (Born 1775)

1859: Wilhelm Carl Grimm, German storyteller, one of the two Grimm brothers. (Born 2/24/1786)

1974: Kostas Varnalis, Poet, writer, critic, translator and generally an intellectual of the Left, Kostas Varnalis bequeathed us some important works, such as the poetic compositions “The Burning Light” (1922) and “Slaves Besieged” (1927), the radical study “Solomon without metaphysics” (1925) and the much-acclaimed narrative work “The True Apology of Socrates” (1931). (Born 14/2/1884)