2 Dey 1381 | Monday 23 December 2002

This day in four calendars

1936 (90 years ago) Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
1948 (78 years ago) Seven Japanese military and political leaders convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed by Allied occupation authorities at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan.
1968 (58 years ago) The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are released after eleven months of internment in North Korea.
1970 (56 years ago) The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a one-party state.
1970 (56 years ago) The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York is topped out at 417 metres (1,368 ft), making it the tallest building in the world.
1979 (47 years ago) Soviet–Afghan War: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.
1990 (36 years ago) History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia's overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.
2023 (3 years ago) A series of massacres targeting Berom civilians unfold in the Plateau State in Nigeria, killing over 200 people and further injuring over 500. No group claims responsibility.

1777 (249 years ago) Alexander I of Russia,
1790 (236 years ago) Jean-François Champollion, French philologist, orientalist, and scholar (died 1832)
1804 (222 years ago) Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French author, critic, and academic (died 1869)
1805 (221 years ago) Joseph Smith, American religious leader, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (died 1844)
1918 (108 years ago) Helmut Schmidt, German soldier, economist, and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (died 2015)
1933 (93 years ago) Akihito, Emperor of Japan
1940 (86 years ago) Mamnoon Hussain, Pakistani businessman and politician, 12th President of Pakistan (died 2021)
1967 (59 years ago) Carla Bruni, Italian-French singer-songwriter and model

1834 (192 years ago) Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and demographer (born 1766)
1953 (73 years ago) Lavrentiy Beria, Soviet general and politician, head of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (born 1899)
1972 (54 years ago) Andrei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-104 (born 1888)
2004 (22 years ago) P. V. Narasimha Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (born 1921)
2007 (19 years ago) Oscar Peterson, Canadian pianist and composer (born 1925)
2013 (13 years ago) Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian general and weapons designer, designed the AK-47 rifle (born 1919)
2021 (5 years ago) Joan Didion, American writer (born 1934)
2024 (2 years ago) Dési Bouterse, Surinamese general and politician, 9th President of Suriname (born 1945)