1925 – Born in Leon, Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Somoza, was a Nicaraguan dictator and officially the President of Nicaragua from 1967 to 1972 and from 1974 to 1979. He was the last member of the Somoza family to be President, ending a dynasty that had been in power since from 1936. Anastasio Somoza, was eventually killed while in exile in Paraguay.
1945 – Flight 19, a group of military aircraft, the Avengers, disappears in the Bermuda Triangle, in one of the most famous aviation mysteries in history. They departed from the base of Fort Lauderdale. As a result, all 14 pilots were considered lost. Navy investigators could not determine the exact cause of Flight 19’s loss.
1952 – In Great Britain, the Giant Smog phenomenon occurs. A period of cold weather, combined with an anticyclonic and windless condition, collected air pollutants, mainly from coal burning, to form a thick layer of smog over the city. As a result of this smog, in the following days, more than 12 thousand people would lose their lives.
1977 – Egypt breaks off diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen. This measure was taken as a sign of revenge for the Declaration of Tripoli against Egypt. In this same year, official Cairo signed a cease-fire declaration with Israel, with the mediation of the United States of America. Diplomatic relations with these countries would be re-established a few years later.
1983 – In Argentina, the dictatorial regime of the Military Junta falls. Also known as the National Reorganization Process, this junta took power in 1976 through a coup d’état. Its leaders ruled the country with an iron fist, causing the arrest, torture, and execution of thousands of innocent people.
1991 – Leonid Kravchuk is elected the first president of Ukraine. Kravchuk, is a former Ukrainian politician and its first President, who served from December 5, 1991, until his resignation on July 19, 1994. He is also a former Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada and deputy of the People’s Assembly, serving in the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine.
2013 – Died at the age of 95 in Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela. Mandela was a revolutionary and political leader of anti-apartheid South Africa who served as its President from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black leader and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid.
