1893 – In New Zealand, the government led by Prime Minister Richard Seddon, through the Electoral Act signed by Governor-General David Boyle, established the right of women to vote. New Zealand thus became de jure and de facto, the first country in the world to allow women and girls to exercise their right to vote in parliamentary elections. This was the successful completion of a long and difficult process in this country.
1922 – Famous Czech athlete Emil Zatopek is born in Koprivnice, Moravia. Zatopek would be proclaimed one of the most famous marathon runners in the world after being declared champion in the 5000 and 10,000 m long distances in London 1948 and Helsinki 1952. He would also win the big marathon race in Helsinki 1952. Again, he would be proclaimed champion at the world athletics Brussels 1950 and Bern 1954. In total during his career he would win 7 gold medals 1 silver and 1 bronze.
1946 – The Council of Europe is established. This important European institution has its origins in the famous speech of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. The Council of Europe would be finally established with headquarters in Strasbourg, France, and to date in its membership operate 47 European countries, including Albania. This institution leads in importance after the European Union.
1948 – Middle East peace envoy Folke Bernardotte is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel. Bernardotte’s assassination was carried out by the extremist Jewish terrorist organization Lehi. Folke Bernardotte, would be one of the big names around the world for conducting peace negotiations in this troubled region of the globe. After the death of Folke Bernardotte, his successor Ralph Bunche, successfully completed the work done by him through the mediation of the 1949 Armistice Agreement between Israel and Egypt.
1970 – Costas Georgadis, a 22-year-old Greek student, demonstratively burns himself in Matteoti Square in Genoa. Georgadis undertook this act as a result of the oppression of his people by the Junta of Colonels in Greece. He would be part of left-wing student forums in Italy, and his death would sensitize the entire European public to the brutal dictatorship that the Greek nation was going through, from military rule, in the 60s and 70s.
1976 – Two Iranian military aircraft, the Phantom F-4, report to their base the presence of several Unidentified Flying Objects in the skies of Tehran. During their routine patrol mission over Tehran, military aircraft encountered these mysterious objects, which they could not even open fire on. And this after the aircraft command and firing system at that moment had gone out of control in an inexplicable way.
1985 – Famous Italian novelist Italo Calvino dies at the age of 61 in Siena. Calvino would work as a realist writer and novelist. Some of his most notable works are the Our Ancestors trilogy, the Cosmicomics short story collection, and the Invisible Cities novels, and If on a Winter Night a Traveler. After his death, the novels he wrote reached record sales in Italy, the US, Britain, and Australia.
1991 – Otzi, also known as the snow mummy, is discovered in the area between the Italian and Austrian Alps by archaeologists. Otzi would be one of the few natural mummies discovered in the world, by the effect of freezing during the Copper Age in the 31st century BC. The embalmed body from Otzi’s freezer is housed in the Museum of South Tyrol in Bolzano, Italy.
