20 Aban 1383 | Wednesday 10 November 2004

This day in four calendars

1674 (352 years ago) Third Anglo-Dutch War: As provided in the Treaty of Westminster, Netherlands cedes New Netherland to England.
1940 (86 years ago) The 1940 Vrancea earthquake strikes Romania killing an estimated 1,000 and injuring approximately 4,000 more.
1945 (81 years ago) Heavy fighting in Surabaya between Indonesian nationalists and returning colonialists after World War II, today celebrated as Heroes' Day (Hari Pahlawan).
1971 (55 years ago) In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge forces attack the city of Phnom Penh and its airport, killing 44, wounding at least 30 and damaging nine aircraft.
1975 (51 years ago) Treaty of Osimo between Yugoslavia and Italy
1995 (31 years ago) In Nigeria, playwright and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with eight others from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), are hanged by government forces.
2008 (18 years ago) Over five months after landing on Mars, NASA declares the Phoenix mission concluded after communications with the lander were lost.
2020 (6 years ago) Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a ceasefire agreement, ending the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and prompting protests in Armenia.

1483 (543 years ago) Martin Luther, German monk and priest, leader of the Protestant Reformation (died 1546)
1697 (329 years ago) William Hogarth, English painter, illustrator, and critic (died 1764)
1728 (298 years ago) Oliver Goldsmith, Irish-English author, poet, and playwright (died 1774)
1759 (267 years ago) Friedrich Schiller, German poet and playwright (died 1805)
1919 (107 years ago) Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian general and engineer, designed the AK-47 (died 2013)
1925 (101 years ago) Richard Burton, Welsh actor and singer (died 1984)
1928 (98 years ago) Ennio Morricone, Italian trumpet player, composer, and conductor (died 2020)
1960 (66 years ago) Neil Gaiman, English author, illustrator, and screenwriter

461 (1565 years ago) Pope Leo I,
1241 (785 years ago) Pope Celestine IV,
1549 (477 years ago) Pope Paul III,
1891 (135 years ago) Arthur Rimbaud, French poet and educator (born 1854)
1938 (88 years ago) Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, Turkish field marshal and statesman, 1st President of Turkey (born 1881)
1982 (44 years ago) Leonid Brezhnev, Ukrainian-Russian general and politician, 4th Head of State of the Soviet Union (born 1906)
2007 (19 years ago) Norman Mailer, American novelist and essayist (born 1923)
2015 (11 years ago) Helmut Schmidt, German soldier, economist, and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (born 1918)