The first clinic for venereal diseases opened in London in 1747. The Battle of George Square took place in Glasgow in 1919, as workers striking for shorter working hours clashed with police in what is one of the worst riots in Glasgow history. Trotsky was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929. James Van Allen discovered the Van Allen radiation belt in 1958 (what are the chances of that?). A truck loaded with explosives was crashed into the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in 1996, killing 86 people and injuring 1400.
Born today: Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Zane Grey (1872-1939), Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), Alva Myrdal (1902-1986), Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks (1931), Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938), Phil Manzanera (1951), John Lydon (1956), Anthony Paglia (1959) and Lloyd Cole (1961).
It is International Leprosy Day. I'm guessing the point is awareness, not celebration.
