Historical Events 843 - Icon veneration officially re-instated in Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople 1665 - NY approves new code guaranteeing Protestants religious rights 1835 - HMS Beagle anchors off Valparaiso‚ Chile 1892 - 1st public basketball game (Springfield‚ Massachusetts) 2003 - Nicholas Winton (93)‚ former British stockbroker who helped 669 young Jews flee Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Nazi invasion in 1939‚ receives knighthood from Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace 2007 - 48th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Florida beats Arkansas‚ 77-56 More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1731 - Robert Treat Paine‚ American judge and Founding Father (signed US Declaration of Independence)‚ born in Boston‚ Massachusetts (d. 1814) 1902 - Josef Martin Bauer‚ German writer and director (As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me)‚ born in Taufkirchen‚ Germany (d. 1970) 1930 - David Gentleman‚ designer/painter 1933 - Sandra Milo [Salvatrice Greco]‚ Italian actress (8½; Juliet of the Spirits)‚ and television personality‚ born in Tunis‚ French Tunisia (d. 2024) 1966 - Pavel Petrovich Mukhortov‚ Russian cosmonaut 1971 - Johnny Knoxville [Philip Clapp]‚ American stunt performer and actor (Jackass franchise)‚ born in Knoxville‚ Tennessee More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1925 - Andreas Hallen‚ composer‚ dies at 78 1955 - Alexander Fleming‚ Scottish bacteriologist (invented penicillin; Nobel Prize 1945)‚ dies of a heart attack at 73 1982 - Edmund Cooper‚ British sci-fi writer (Tomorrow Came)‚ dies at 55 1989 - Johan Fleerackers‚ Flemish linguist‚ dies at 57 1993 - Dino Bravo‚ wrestler (WWF)‚ shot to death at 44 2012 - Sid Couchey‚ American comic book artist‚ dies at 92 More Famous Deaths »