As of today, July 8, 2023

What happened like today in Greece and the world.

1099: Thousands of Christian soldiers march in formation around the walls of Jerusalem, as part of the First Crusade.

1497: The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon bound for India.

1709: Peter I of Russia (the Great) defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava, effectively ending the Nordic country’s role as a major power in Europe.

1730: An estimated 8.7-magnitude earthquake triggers a tsunami that destroys more than 1,000 kilometers of coastline in Chile.

1821: The Greek Fleet destroys eight Turkish cargo ships in the Tsagli strait between Samos and the coast of Asia Minor.

1824: A force of 6,000 Ottomans under Abbas Pasha, Veli Aga and Prachos Prevista clash at Binitsa in Lidoriki with a small Greek force under Skaltsa. After a six-hour hard battle, the Greeks will turn the opponents into disorderly flight.

1889: The Wall Street Journal is launched for the first time.

1892: Agios Ioannis Nea Gei is destroyed by a great fire.

1912: At the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Konstantinos Tsiklitiras wins a gold medal in the freestyle, with a performance of 3.37 meters.

1921: The Greek Army scores a great victory at the Battle of Dorylaeus in Eskişehir, Asia Minor and advances towards Ankara.

1941: The former metropolitan of Corinth, Damascenes, is enthroned on the archbishopric throne of Athens. Archbishop Chrysanthos, former Metropolitan of Trebizond, was removed from his duties a few days earlier, following a demand by the German Occupation Authorities, because he refused to swear the oath to the dosilogous government of Georgios Tsolakoglou.

1943: In the district of Eptalofou in Thessaloniki, in the middle of the Nazi occupation, a large demonstration of the residents against the prospect of expanding the Bulgarian occupation in the greater part of Central Macedonia takes place.

1962: Fierce attack by George Papandreou against King Paulus and the leadership of the armed forces in Argostoli, where he is touring. He repeats the accusation that the king “became the leader of a faction”, while he again calls for the abolition of emergency measures.

1963: The US imposes an embargo on Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

1969: The Athens Conservatory is founded.

1973: China becomes the second socialist country after Yugoslavia to allow foreigners to invest.

1982: An assassination attempt is made against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

1990: Germany wins its third FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina 1-0 in Rome. The winning goal is scored by Bremen with a penalty in the 85th minute.

1991: At least 5,000 people have disappeared in Peru since the war between the army and leftist rebels began, according to Amnesty International.

1993: The maritime region of Vladivostok, in eastern Russia, is declared a Republic. The decision is made by the local Parliament and is aimed at greater economic independence from Moscow.

1996: In Cyprus, even in the occupied territories, all political parties condemn the murder of the Turkish Cypriot journalist Koutlos Andali.

1997: The Greek Prime Minister, Kostas Simitis, and the Turkish President, Süleyman Demirel, sign a six-point agreement in Madrid, on the sidelines of the NATO summit, with the aim of reducing tension in the Aegean and removing the risk of conflict between the two countries. The “Madrid Agreement” provokes reactions from the Greek political parties, even within the party, who consider that this legitimizes the Turkish claims.

2002: Panagiotis Krambis is sentenced to two years of life and 25 years in prison by the Joint Assize Court for the case of the kidnapping and murder of the businessman Giorgos Nikolaidis and his girlfriend Soulas Kalathakis, in November 1997.

2004: It is announced that 181 forest fires broke out in Greece during the two days of July 7 and 8. The fire in Thrakomakedones leaves behind two dead, houses with significant material damage, charred animals and more than 150 acres of forest area and 50 acres of land, incinerated. Also, fires broke out in Kalamos, Anavyssos, Afidnes, Ikaria, Samos, Aegina, Nafpaktos, Kefalonia and Karystos.

2007: Boeing presents in an impressive ceremony its new model, 787.

2011: Space shuttle Atlantis launches for the final mission of the US space shuttle program.

2012: The Samara government receives a vote of confidence from the Parliament. 179 MPs vote “for” (ND, PASOK, DIMAR) and against 121 (SYRIZA, ANEL, KKE, Golden Dawn).

2014: Israel launches attack on Gaza after killing of young Israelis.

2020: American actress Naya Rivera has been reported missing at Piru Lake in the Los Patres National Forest in Ventura County, California, after she reportedly rented a boat and swam in the lake with her four-year-old son. Rivera’s son was found in the boat safe and sound, and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has launched a search and rescue operation for the actress.

2021: US President Joe Biden announces that the United States will end its military mission in Afghanistan by August 31. Also, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki states that the Biden administration will remove the Afghan interpreters from the country.

2021: The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games announces that the games will be held without spectators after a state of emergency was declared in the Tokyo area from July 12 following a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Japanese capital.

Births

1528 – Emmanuel Filibertos, Duke of Savoy

1545 – Charles, Prince of Asturias

1593 – Artemisia Gentileschi, Italian painter

1621 – Jean de La Fontaine, French writer

1831 – John Stith Pemberton, American chemist and inventor of Coca-Cola

1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German soldier

1839 – John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist

1851 – Arthur Evans, English archaeologist

1872 – Theodoros Natsinas, Greek educator

1876 ​​– Alexandros Papanastasiou, Greek politician

1885 – Ernst Bloch, German philosopher

1894 – Piotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist

1906 – Philip Johnson, American architect

1908 – Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician

1913 – Bill Thompson, American actor

1932 – Despina Stylianopoulou, Greek actress

1934 – Marty Feldman, English comedian

1943 – Ricardo Pavoni, Uruguayan soccer player

[1945–MichelineCalmy-ReySwisspolitician

1951 – Anjelica Huston, American actress

1952 – Ahmed Nazif, Egyptian politician

1958 – Tzipi Livni, Israeli politician

1958 – Kevin Bacon, American actor

1968 – Billy Crudup, American actor

1969 – George Fisher, American musician

1974 – Zhanna Friske, Russian actress and singer

1976 – Talal El Karkouri, Moroccan footballer

1980 – Robbie Keane, Irish footballer

1982 – Hakeem Warrick, American basketball player

1982 – Sophia Bush, American actress

1992 – Son Heung-min, South Korean soccer player

Deaths

810 – Pepin, King of Italy

885 – Pope Hadrian III

975 – Edgar I the Peaceful, King of England

1115 – Peter the Hermit, French priest and crusader

1253 – Theobald I, king of Navarre

1390 – Albert of Saxony, German philosopher

1422 – Michaela of Valois, Duchess of Burgundy

1538 – Diego de Almagro, Spanish explorer

1623 – Pope Gregory XI

1695 – Christian Huygens, Dutch astronomer

1822 – Percy Shelley, English poet

1859 – Oscar I, King of Sweden and Norway

1895 – Josef Loschmidt, Austrian chemist and physicist

1950 – Ioannis Papadopoulos, Greek businessman and politician

1956 – Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos, Greek athlete

1967 – Vivian Leigh, British actress

1979 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist

1987 – Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet

1994 – Kim Il-song, North Korean politician

1996 – Dimitris Koukis, Greek actor

2002 – Georgios Michaelidis – Nuaros, Greek lawyer

2004 – Ioannis Boutos, Greek politician

2006 – Pieter Arbnori, Albanian politician

2011 – Aristomenis Perrotis, Greek politician

2012 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor

2016 – Abdul Sattar Endhi, Pakistani philanthropist

2016 – William Hardy McNeil, Canadian historian

2016 – Geoffrey Nape, politician from Papua New Guinea

2020 – Naya Rivera, American actress, model and singer