55 people. 1943 – World War II: The German 17th Army begins its evacuation of the Kuban bridgehead (Taman Peninsula) in southern Russia and moves across the Strait of Kerch to the Crimea. 1945 – World War II: Japanese forces on Wake Island, which they had held since December 1941, surrender to U.S. Marines. 1945 – The Berlin Victory Parade of 1945 is held. 1953 – Nikita Khrushchev is elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. 1963 – The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members. 1965 – During an Indo-Pakistani War, China announces that it will reinforce its troops on the Indian border. 1965 – Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlite, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula. 1970 – Fighting begins between Arab guerrillas and government forces in Jordan. 1970 – Vietnam Television was established. 1977 – The Torrijos–Carter Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The United States agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century. 1977 – The 300-metre-tall CKVR-DT transmission tower in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, is hit by a light aircraft in a fog, causing it to collapse. All aboard the aircraft are killed. 1978 – While walking across Waterloo Bridge in London, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is assassinated by Bulgarian secret police agent Francesco Gullino by means of a ricin pellet fired from a specially-designed umbrella. 1979 – The Chrysler Corporation asks the United States government for US$1.5 billion to avoid bankruptcy. 1984 – An explosion on board a Maltese patrol boat disposing of illegal fireworks at sea off Gozo kills seven soldiers and policemen. 1986 – Desmond Tutu becomes the first black man to lead the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town. 1986 – Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet survives an assassination attempt by the FPMR; 5 of Pinochet's bodyguards are killed. 1997 – Maiden flight of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. 1999 – The 6.0 Athens earthquake affected the area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 143, injuring 800–1,600, and leaving 50,000 homeless. 2005 – Egypt holds its first-ever multi-party presidential election. 2008 – The United States government takes control of the two largest mortgage financing companies in the US, Fannie Mae and Freddie