1844 – Born in Vlora, Ismail Qemal bej Vlora clerk and deputy of the Ottoman Empire, activist of the national cause and founder of the Albanian state. Ismail Qemali was the first signatory of the Declaration of Independence and the chairman of the council of ministers of the Provisional Government of Albania. According to Zosimea records, Ismail Qemali passed his final year exams on July 15, 1859. After the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 and the promulgation of the Constitution on July 21, Qemali returned from exile. On December 17 of the same year, the parliament was opened and Ismail Qemali was elected as a deputy of Berat, despite the fact that the young Turks had fought not to be elected. With 26 Albanian deputies, it ranks with the opposition party “Hyrrjet ve ltilaf” (“Freedom Agreement”) for the decentralization of the empire and the freedom to teach national languages. In August 1910 he traveled through Europe and demanded “administrative autonomy” for the Albanians in the conditions of the brutality of the Young Turks. After an assembly in Gërçe, he signed a memorandum with his encouragement, which contained 12 points with national demands, expressing once again the commitment to ties with the empire. On November 17 he returned to Vienna, some of the plans changed and it was no longer possible for him to go to Rome. Together with Gurakuqi he took the express train to Trieste on the morning of 19 November. By two o’clock about 15 Albanians boarded the steamer Brünn of the Lloyd line and at sea passed on another line steamer, Graf Wurmbrand somewhere near Cape Rodon. The Wurmbrand steamer arrived in Durrës on the morning of 21 November. After his second cousin, the mytesarif of Vlora Xhemil bey and his son as the captain of the local militia, Et’hem bey, had prepared the ground and the organization of the assembly by notifying the delegates. All the delegates he had with him were placed in the safe of the palaces of Vlora, where the Assembly was held that declared independence on November 28, which was opened by Ismail Qemali with a speech and then signed with the logo Ismaïl Kemal in the drafted resolution by the secretaries of the meeting, Albanian by Gurakuqi and Ottoman by Shefqet Dajiu. Ismaili was elected chairman of the current government, while Kaçorri was elected deputy chairman. The members of the government were left to be elected on December 4 after the delegates from other areas arrived, and the mayor proclaimed his independence by waving the flag in one of the central windows of the Vlora selamll just before sunset.
1909 – Ernest Shackleton’s Expedition Finds the Magnetic South Pole. The 1907-09 Nimrod Expedition, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three Antarctic expeditions led by Ernest Shackleton. Its main aim, among a range of geographical and scientific objectives, was to be the first in the South Pole.
1962 – dies at the age of 78, Ivan Mestrovic. Mestrovic, was a prominent 20th century Croatian sculptor, architect and writer. He was the foremost sculptor of Croatian modern art and a leading figure in Zagreb’s artistic life. Mestrovic studied at Pavle Bilinic’s Stone Workshop in Split and at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, where he was formed under the influence of the Division.
1969 – Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by burning himself in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in protest against the Soviet occupation of his country several months ago. Palach, was a Czech student of history and political economy at Charles University in Prague. The Warsaw Pact troops would withdraw from Czechoslovakia a few years later.
1974 – Born in Croydon, Kate Moss. Moss, is an English model and businesswoman. She was recruited as a model in 1988 at the age of 14 by Sarah Doukas, founder of Storm Model Management. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to the status of fashion icon. Moss received an award at the 2013 British Fashion Awards for acknowledging her contribution to fashion over 25 years.
1979 – The last Iranian Shah, Reza Pahlavi, leaves Iran together with his family and relocates to Egypt. Facing a possible execution if he were to return to Iran, Pavlavi died in exile in Egypt, whose president, Anwar Sadat, had granted asylum to the entire royal family. Shah Reza Pahlavi was ousted by demonstrations led by cleric Ayatollah Khomeini.
1991 – Coalition forces wage war on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, officially launching the Persian Gulf War. This war was a conflict waged by coalition forces of the 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to the invasion of Iraq and the annexation of Kuwait stemming from oil prices and production disputes.
1992 – El Salvador rebel officials and leaders sign Chapultepec Peace Agreement in Mexico City. The signing of the agreement ended the 12-year civil war in Salvador that claimed at least 75,000 lives. The treaty was negotiated by representatives of the Salvadoran government, the FMLN rebel movement, and political parties, with the mediation of the Catholic Church and the UN.
