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In 1941, during World War Two, the husband of Mariya Oktyabrskaya was killed while serving in the Soviet army. In response, she sold all her possessions to donate a T-34 medium tank to the war effort, but on what condition?

Answer: That she be allowed to drive it. She named her tank “Fighting Girlfriend” and was commended for her bravery. She was killed in battle in 1944 and posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Source: Heroines of the Soviet Union by Henry Sakaida

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69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but rules for only three months before committing suicide.

1822 – In the Greek War of Independence, Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.

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‘With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your later days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.’

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