Facts

1825: The third and last siege of Messolongion begins.

1865: Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony” premieres.

1903: At 10:35 am In North Carolina, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright make the world’s first powered airplane flight. Their flight lasts 1 minute, covering 850 feet. (American Air Force Day)

1915: The French occupy Kastelorizo, in their attempt to convince the government of Athens to take part in the war on their side. (World War I)

1967: The Panhellenic Anti-dictatorship Organization of Students “Rigas Feraios” is founded, later EKON Rigas Feraios, the youth organization of the KKE (in.).

1973: The American Psychiatric Association, for the first time, does not include homosexuality in the list of mental illnesses.

Births

1900: Katina Paxinou, Greek actress, with an international career. (D. 22/2/1973)

1905: Simo Heihe, famous Finnish sniper, also known by the nickname “white death”, hero of the Russo-Finnish war of 1939. (Died 1/4/2002)

1936: Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

Deaths

1273: Jelalanddin Rumi, Persian-speaking Sufi mystic and poet, known by the pen name Rumi and called Mevlana (“Our teacher”) by his disciples. His extensive lyric didactic poem entitled “Masnaviye Manavi” (“Spiritual Couplets”) exerted a far-reaching influence on Islamic mystical thought and poetry. After his death, his disciples organized the brotherhood of the Mevlevi, known in the West as “The Whirling Dervishes”. (Born 9/30/1207)

1830: Simon De Bolivar, “liberator” of the people of Latin America from the Spanish yoke and visionary of the United States of South America. (Born 24/7/1783)

1887: Nikolaos Sharipoulos, Cypriot jurist, founder of Public Law in Greece. (Born 13/3/1817)