2005 The Airbus A380 takes to the skies for the first time1992 For the first time in its 700-year history, the British House of Commons is presided over by a female Speaker1961 Sierra Leone becomes an independent republic1810 Ludwig van Beethoven composes “Für Elise”Births On This Day1963 Russell T Davies (Welsh screenwriter, producer)1935 Theodoros Angelopoulos (Greek director, producer, screenwriter)1912 Zohra Sehgal (Indian Actress & choreographer)1822 Ulysses S. Grant (American general, politician, 18th President of the United States)1791 Samuel Morse (American painter, inventor, co-invented the Morse code)1759 Mary Wollstonecraft (English author, philosopher)Deaths On This Day1992 Olivier Messiaen (French composer, ornithologist)1972 Kwame Nkrumah (Ghanaian politician, 1st President of Ghana)1938 Edmund Husserl (Austrian mathematician, philosopher)1896 Henry Parkes (English/Australian politician, 7th Premier of New South Wales)1521 Ferdinand Magellan (Portuguese explorer)
2005 The Airbus A380 takes to the skies for the first time
The double-deck airliner is the world’s largest commercial jet.
1992 For the first time in its 700-year history, the British House of Commons is presided over by a female Speaker
Betty Boothroyd served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1992 to 2000.
1961 Sierra Leone becomes an independent republic
The West African country’s first Prime Minister, Sir Milton Margai, ended over 150 years of British colonial rule.
1810 Ludwig van Beethoven composes “Für Elise”
“Bagatelle No. 25” for solo piano is one of the German composer’s most popular works and one of the most recognized melodies in the history of music.