BIRTHS

Carl Schlechter (1874 – 27.12.1918) a leading Austrian Master who draw 10-10 a World Chess Championship match in 1910 with Emanuel Lasker.
Tibor Florian (1919-28.01.1990), a Hungarian International Master and tournament organizer.who was Hungarian Champion in 1945.
Yana Melnikova (1984), a Russian Woman Grandmaster.

DEATHS

John Cochrane (14.02.1798-1878), one of the best English players of his time who lived in India for nearly half a century. The author of the gambit with the same name

CHESS EVENT

2003 GM Krishnan Sasikiran of India beat GM Darmen Sadvakasov of Kazakhstan and won the gold at the 4th Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar.

WORLD EVENTS 

537 Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital.
986 Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
1498 Vasco da Gama’s fleet visits the Island of Mozambique.
1561 Mendoza, Argentina is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro del Castillo.
1791 Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
1797 The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
1855 Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
1888 The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.
1919 The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
1945 King Michael of Romania gives in to Communist government
1946 Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
1955 Norodom Sihanouk, king of Cambodia, abdicates the throne in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit.
1956 Morocco gained its independence from France.
1965 One of the most popular musical films of all time, “The Sound of Music”, starring Julie Andrewsand Christopher Plummer, is released;
2002 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins;

(Source: Wikipedia-Onthisday)

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