Historical Events:
• 1902: Rotary engine inventor Felix Wankel born,
• 1998: President Clinton led the U.S. in mourning twelve Americans killed in a pair of U.S. embassy bombings in Africa. Standing before black hearses carrying ten of the bodies, the president pledged to seek justice “for these evil acts.”
• 1999: The SA regional airline, Sun Air, discontinues its service and thousands of disappointed passengers have to acquire seats on other flights.
• 2004: More than 150 Congolese Tutsis are massacred in Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.
Arts, Music, TV:
• 1963: Edward Roworth, SA landscape painter, dies in Somerset West.
• 1931: Novelist and screenwriter William Goldman is born,
• 1990: Soul singer/songwriter Curtis Mayfield ("Superfly", "Freddie’s Dead") was paralyzed from the neck down after a lighting tower fell on him at a concert in Brooklyn, New York. Mayfield died Dec 26, 1999.
• 1942: John Meyer, SA portrait painter, is born.
• 1999: Actor Deon Coetzee, of Egoli, and his wife, Gwen Johnson, are divorced in Johannesburg after a marriage of 3 years.
Sports:
• 1921: The SA rugby team loses the first test 5-13 against New Zealand.
• 1960: The third rugby test of the series between SA and New Zealand ends in a tie with 11 points each.
• 1949: The SA rugby team beats New Zealand 12-6 in Johannesburg.
• 2004: Athlete Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (800m) leads the SA team at the spectacular opening of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Source: historyorb.com & sahistory.org.com
Compiled by: Thandi Xaba
