The Diet of Worms began on this day in 1521. Make your own joke. The Russian Academy of Sciences was founded in 1724. The best novel in the English language* was published in 1813. In 1898, Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, became the first person in the world to be issued a citation for speeding when he was found to be driving a positively reckless 8 mph when the speed limit was 2 mph. His fine was 1 shilling. In 1986, the space shuttle, Challenger, broke apart during take-off, killing all seven crew members.
Born today: Colette (1873-1954), Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), Acker Bilk (1929), Claes Oldenburg (1929), Alan Alda (1936), Nicolas Sarkozy (1955) and Jamie Carragher (1978).
It is the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas.
*
Pride and Prejudice by Miss Jane Austen, of course.
