Historical Events1173 - Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury1782 - US Congress resolves establishment of a US mint1916 - Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties, and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)1988 - Televangelist Jimmy Swaggert confesses his sins to his congregation1997 - "Empire Strikes Back, special edition" premieresMore Historical Events Famous Birthdays1929 - Henry Kloss, American audio engineer (acoustic loudspeaker), born in Altoona, Pennsylvania (d. 2002)1939 - Richard Beymer, American stage actor and singer (West Side Story; Diary of Anne Frank), born in Avoca, Iowa1950 - Sahle-Work Zewde, Ethiopian diplomat, President of Ethiopia (2018-), born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia1961 - Christopher Atkins, American actor (Peter-Dallas, Blue Lagoon), born in Rye, New York1969 - Tony Meola, American footballer, born in Belleville, New JerseyMore Famous Birthdays Famous Deaths1790 - Johann Friedrich Klffler, German composer, dies at 641901 - George Francis FitzGerald, Irish mathematician (b. 1851)2011 - Bernard Nathanson, American abortionist turned pro-life activist (b. 1926)2015 - Aleksei Gubarev, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 17, 28), dies at 832023 - Amancio Amaro, Spanish soccer outside right (42 caps; Deportivo de La Corua, Real Madrid), dies at 83More Famous Deaths