Shimla, Dec. 27 Keekli Bureau
2015
American painter, sculptor, and printmaker Ellsworth Kelly—who was a leading exponent of the hard-edge style, in which abstract contours are sharply and precisely defined—died in Spencertown, New York.
2007
Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto, the first woman leader of a Muslim nation in modern history, was assassinated in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, while campaigning for upcoming parliamentary elections.
1978
Houari Boumedienne, president of Algeria, died at age 51.
1932
The internal passport system, previously denounced by Vladimir Lenin as one of the worst stigmas of tsarist backwardness and despotism, was reinstated in the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin.
1901
German American film actress Marlene Dietrich—whose beauty, voice, aura of sophistication, and languid sensuality made her one of the world’s most glamorous movie stars—was born.
1831
Charles Darwin set sail on the HMS Beagle, beginning the voyage on which he would formulate his theory of evolution.
1801
After conquering Italy, Napoleon established the Republic of Lucca.
1571
German astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered three major laws of planetary motion, was born.
1512
Ferdinand II issued the Laws of Burgos to “regulate the relations” between Spaniards and Indians in Spain’s American colonies.
