Date of the day

Andrei Sakharov

, a Soviet dissident and human rights defender,

died of a heart attack on December 14, 1989 .

One of the creators of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb, which was tested in 1953. Andrei Sakharov headed the fund to help children of political prisoners and defended human rights, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.

Also on this day

1586

- in Hrodna, for the first time in Eastern Europe, a pathologic-anatomical autopsy was performed on the body of the late king of the Republic of Poland ,

Stephan Batory

, who died two days before.

Trying to determine the cause of his death, doctors could not come to an agreement for a long time.

That's why they decided to do a pathological examination.

After the death of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Stefan Batory, his body was used for the first autopsy in Eastern Europe.

1782

-

the Mangalfier brothers

launched the first hot air balloon.



1825

- a group of revolutionary-minded Russian officers organized an uprising against tsarism in St. Petersburg.



1862

- the northern lights were visible in Minsk.

Uladzimer Karatkevich

called this phenomenon "a harbinger of the future battle", referring to

Kalinowski

's uprising , which began a year later.

1939

— The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for attacking Finland.

1949

- Jerusalem is declared the capital of Israel.

1957

- in the newspaper "Literature and Art" appeared an article by

Barys Sachanka

, a student of the Faculty of Journalism of BSU , "Respect the native language".

It was the first public speech against Russification in almost 30 years.

Boris Sachanka

2004

— The Belarusian Association of Journalists received the A. Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

They were born on this day

1503

-

Nostradamus

, French doctor, astrologer and fortune teller.



1546

-

Tycho Brahe

, a Danish nobleman, is best known today as one of the first astronomers in Europe.



1738

Jan Mikolai Hadkevich

, statesman and military figure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

1905

Nikolai Dorozhkin

, Belarusian mycologist and phytopathologist, academician of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR.



1912

Vladimir Karol

, Belarusian architect, co-author of the projects of Independence Avenue, the Victory Monument and the building of the General Post Office in Minsk.

In memory

1799 -

George Washington

, the first president of the United States,

died .



1941 -

Eduard Voltaire

, ethnographer, author of the book "Materials for Ethnography of the Latvian Tribe of Vitebsk Province

" died .