* The 1st overall singing contest took place in Tartu (Estonia) 135 years ago, in 1869, which started traditional singing festivals in the Baltic States.
* Giuseppe GARIBALDI (1807-1882), hero of the national liberation movement in Italy, leader of the Risorgimento (resurrection) revolutionary wing, died 122 years ago.
* American swimmer, five-time Olympic Champion Johnny WEISSMULLER (1904-1984) was born 100 years ago. He set 67 world records and starred in Tarzan movies.
* The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) and the Turkish Republic established diplomatic relations 84 years ago, in 1920.
* US spacecraft Surveyor-1 landed in the Ocean of Storms on the Moon 38 years ago, in 1966.
* The Russian and Latvian governments signed an agreement "On the regulation of the migration process and protection of migrants' rights" 11 years ago, in 1993. The Latvian parliament approved this agreement on November 10, 1994.
IN RUSSIA:
* Painter Ivan AKIMOV (1754-1814), the first Russian art historiographer ("The Christening of Great Princess Olga", "Prince Svyatislav"), was born 250 years ago.
* Seaman and Alaska explorer Valery ZAGOSKIN (1808-1890) was born 196 years ago. He was the first European to explore the life and customs of indigenous people in the north-western part of North America. Zagoskin is the author of the book "The walking description of Russian estates in America made in 1842, 1843 and 1844".
* The first volume of Nikolai Gogol's epic poem "Dead Souls" was published in Russia 161 years ago, in 1842.
* Traveler and explorer of Central Asia Mikhail PEVTSOV (1843-1902) was born 161 years ago. A glacier in Altai was named after him. Pevtsov worked out a method to determine geographic latitude by stars.
* Scientist Alexei BOGOMOLOV was born 91 years ago, in 1913. He works in the sphere of space radio systems.
* Luna-22 automatic interplanetary station was put into lunar orbit and became an artificial satellite of the Moon 30 years ago, in 1974.
* Well-known Russian ophthalmologist Svyatoslav FYODOROV (1927-2000) was killed in a helicopter crash four years ago.
* Today the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Founding of Holy Relics of Metropolitan Alexis, an outstanding religious figure and statesman. He contributed into Moscow's development and unification of Russian lands in the 14th century.
