Historical Events 1903 - The Wright brothers attempt to fly the Wright Flyer for the first time at Kitty Hawk‚ North Carolina 1960 - Australia v West Indies 1st Test Cricket at the Gabba ends in a tie 1977 - Test Cricket debut of Pakistan spin bowling great Abdul Qadir v England in 1st Test at Lahore 1978 - China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor‚ PRC 1994 - Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam‚ China 1998 - 64th Heisman Trophy Award: Ricky Williams‚ Texas (RB) More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1681 - Giuseppe Valentini‚ Italian violinist‚ poet‚ and composer‚ born in Florence‚ Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1753) 1853 - Henry Wood‚ English cricket wicket-keeper (4 Tests‚ 1 x 100‚ HS 134no; Kent CCC‚ Surrey CCC)‚ born in Dartford‚ England (d. 1919) 1870 - Dirk Jan de Geer‚ Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1926-29‚ 39-40)‚ born in Groningen‚ Netherlands (d. 1960) 1915 - Ruth Railton‚ British musical director (National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain‚ 1948-65)‚ born in Kent‚ England (d. 2001) 1952 - Germain Houde‚ French Canadian actor‚ born in Petit-Saguenay‚ Quebec 1966 - Carl Herrera‚ Trinidadian-born Venezuelan NBA forward‚ 1991-99 (San Antonio Spurs‚ and 2 other teams)‚ born in Trinidad and Tobago More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1417 - John Oldcastle‚ English nobleman and pro-protestant Lollard leader‚ whom Shakespeare based his Falstaff character on‚ hanged for heresy at 39 1799 - George Washington‚ American Founding Father‚ Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during War for Independence and 1st President of the United States (1789-97)‚ dies at 67 1806 - John Breckinridge‚ American lawyer (5th United States Attorney General) and politician (U.S. Senator from Kentucky)‚ dies at 46 1860 - George Hamilton-Gordon‚ 4th Earl of Aberdeen‚ Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Peelite: 1852-55) and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1841-46)‚ dies at 76 1918 - Sidónio Pais‚ Portuguese politician (4th President of Portugal‚ 66th Prime Minister of Portugal)‚ murdered at 46 2000 - George Sholty‚ American harness driver (2‚934 career wins; $20 million+ purse money)‚ dies at 68 More Famous Deaths »