1993
Death of Sam Wanamaker, American actor and director .
United States
1989
The British Labour Party abandoned its policy on trade union closed shops
Great Britain
1969
Death penalty for murder abolished in Britain (had already been suspended since Oct 1965)
Great Britain
1958
The first satellite broadcast was made when US President Dwight Eisenhower delivered a goodwill message to the world via the SCORE.
1957
Dorothy L. Sayers died 1957 (born 1893). Author of the Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels and of the cycle of 12 radio plays on the life of Christ, The Man Born to be King, broadcast with some controversy to huge audiences in 1941.Translated Dante's Divin
1907
Christopher Fry born 1907 (died 2005). Respected playwright whose verse plays included The Lady's Not for Burning (1949), the title of which provided Margaret Thatcher with a memorable joke in a speech on October 10, 1980.
1892
First performance of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet (in St Petersburg)
Russian Federation
1707
Birth of Charles Wesley born, a founder of Methodism and hymn writer.
1642
Abel Janszoon Tasman first European to set foot in New Zealand