Facts

1282: The inhabitants of Palermo revolt against the French invaders. The uprising, accompanied by massacres, will go down in history as the Sicilian Vespers.

1822: The Turks massacre the inhabitants of Chios, raising a storm of reactions throughout Europe.

1867: The Russians sell Alaska to America for $7.2 million, not knowing that black gold is hidden under the ice. The US media accuses their government of squandering public money to buy an iceberg.

1870: British tourists and an Italian diplomat are arrested in Pikermi and held hostage by the Arvanitaki brothers gang. The bandits demand money to release the hostages. The episode will end on April 9 with the Delesi Massacre.

1980: The Police appear at the Sporting Stadium, the first major rock concert in Athens since the Rolling Stones episodic concert in April 1967.

1981: The film “Roads of Fire”, the music of which was written by Vangelis Papathanasiou, premieres in London.

Births

1853: Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch painter with an adventurous life and a tragic end, a legendary figure in the history of art. Included by the technocritics in the climate of post-impressionism, he exerted a huge influence on the art of the 20th century with his work. (D. 29/7/1890)

1937: Warren Beatty, American actor.

[1945: Eric Clapton, stage name of Eric Patrick Clapp, English rocker.

Deaths

1872: Nikolaos (Halkiopoulos) Mantzaros, Corfu musician, the composer of the National Anthem of Greece. (Born 26/10/1795)

1896: Charilaos Trikoupis, leading Greek politician. (Born 11/7/1832)

1992: Manolis Andronikos, Greek archaeologist, who became world famous when he discovered the tomb of the Macedonian king Philip II in Vergina. (Born 23/10/1919)