today.nukz.net: Almanac

Isaac Asimov 1920-1992

Events

366 – The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire
533 – Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy
1492 – Reconquista: the emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders
1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey
1788 – Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution
1791 – Big Bottom massacre in the Ohio Country, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War
1818 – The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded
1833 – Re-establishment of British rule on the Falklands.
1860 – The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the Académie des Sciences in Paris
1871 – Amadeus I becomes King of Spain
1900 – John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China
1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian garrison surrenders at Port Arthur, China
1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill
1920 – The second Palmer Raid takes place with another 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists arrested and held without trial. These raids take place in several U.S. cities.
1927 – Angered by the anti-clerical provisions of the Mexican Constitution of 1917, Catholic rebels in Mexico rebelled against the government.
1935 – Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh
1941 – World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales
1942 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) convicts 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history—the Duquesne Spy Ring
1942 – World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces
1945 – World War II: Nuremberg (in German, Nürnberg) is severely bombed by Allied forces
1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico
1955 – Panamanian president Jose Antonio Remon is assassinated
1959 – Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the U.S.S.R.
1971 – The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic football match
1974 – President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo
1999 – A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) in Chicago, where temperatures plunge to -13 °F (-25 °C); 68 deaths are reported
2001 – Sila Calderón becomes the first female Governor of Puerto Rico
2002 – Eduardo Duhalde is appointed interim President of Argentina by the Legislative Assembly.
2004 – Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.
2006 – An explosion in a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia traps and kills 12 miners, while leaving one miner in critical condition.

Births

1642 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1693)
1647 – Nathaniel Bacon, English-born American colonist (d. 1676)
1699 – Osman III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1757)
1713 – Marie Dumesnil, French actress (d. 1803)
1719 – Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat, French shipbuilder (d. 1797)
1727 – James Wolfe, British general (d. 1759)
1777 – Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor (d. 1857)
1822 – Rudolf Clausius, German physicist (d. 1888)
1827 – Peter Semenov of Tian Shan, Russian explorer (d. 1914)
1833 – Frederick A. Johnson, American politician (d. 1893)
1836 – Queen Emma of Hawaii, Consort of King Kamehameha IV (d. 1885)
1836 – Mendele Moykher Sforim, Jewish writer (d. 1917)
1837 – Mily Balakirev, Russian composer (d. 1910)
1857 – Martha Carey Thomas, American educator, suffragist, and second President of Bryn Mawr College (d. 1935)
1860 – William Corless Mills, American museum curator (d. 1928)
1860 – Dugald Campbell Patterson, American pioneer (d. 1931)
1866 – Prof. Gilbert Murray, Australian classical scholar (d. 1957)
1870 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor (d. 1938)
1873 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French Roman Catholic nun (d. 1897)
1877 – Slava Raškaj, Croatian painter (d. 1906)
1884 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-born Israeli educator, historian and politician (d. 1973)
1885 – Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English Antarctic explorer (d. 1959)
1886 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (d. 1938)
1889 – Sir Bertram Stevens, Premier of New South Wales 1932-39 (d. 1973)
1892 – Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (d. 1962)
1893 – Lillian Leitzel, German acrobat and strongwoman (d. 1931)
1895 – Count Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (d. 1948)
1896 – Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (d. 1954)
1896 – Sir Lawrence Wackett, Australian aircraft engineer (d. 1982)
1897 – Jim Londos, Greek wrestler (d. 1975)
1901 – Bob Marshall, American conservationist (d. 1939)
1902 – Dan Keating, Irish republican (d. 2007)
1905 – Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician (d. 1938)
1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer (d. 1998)
1905 – Luigi Zampa, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer (d. 2009)
1909 – Barry M. Goldwater, American politician (d. 1998)
1913 – Anna Lee, English actress (d. 2004)
1914 – Violet Vivian Finlay Stuart Mann, British writer (d. 1986)
1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish-born American Yiddish theatre actress and producer (d. 2002)
1917 – Vera Zorina, German dancer (d. 2003)
1918 – Willi Graf, German anti-Nazi activist (d. 1943)
1920 – Isaac Asimov, American author and biochemistry professor (d. 1992)
1921 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
1924 – Evgenios Spatharis, Greek shadow theatre artist (d. 2009)
1925 – William J. Crowe, American admiral and ambassador (d. 2007)
1925 – Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (d. 2008)
1927 – Grigoris Varfis, Greek politician
1928 – Avie Bennett, Canadian philanthropist
1928 – Robert Goralski, American journalist (d. 1988)
1928 – Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese writer
1930 – Julius La Rosa, American singer
1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese politician
1932 – Peter Redgrove, British poet (d. 2003)
1933 – Ed Casey, Australian politician (d. 2006)
1933 – Seiichi Morimura, Japanese novelist
1933 – Richard Riley, American politician
1936 – Roger Miller, American singer (d. 1992)
1938 – Ian Brady, British serial killer
1938 – Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author
1938 – Goh Kun, South Korean politician
1940 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist
1940 – S. R. S. Varadhan, Indian-American mathematician
1942 – Dennis Hastert, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
1942 – Ray Moore, Radio 2 DJ (d. 1989)
1942 – Hugh Shelton, 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
1943 – Baris Manço, Turkish singer and television producer (d. 1999)
1944 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor
1944 – Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian politician
1946 – Richard Cole, American tour manager
1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist
1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player
1947 – David Shapiro, American poet, literary critic, and art historian
1947 – Valery Shary, Byelorussian Olympic champion weightlifter
1948 – Judith Miller, American journalist
1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright
1950 – Débora Duarte, Brazilian actress
1950 – David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist
1951 – Jim Essian, American baseball player
1951 – Alexander Pogrebinsky, Russian painter
1952 – Jimmy Santiago Baca, American poet and writer
1952 – Robbie Ftorek, American ice hockey player
1952 – Christine Lavin, American singer-songwriter
1952 – Graeme Strachan, Australian rock singer (Skyhooks) (d. 2001)
1953 – Vincent Racaniello American virologist
1953 – Manfred Wittke, German footballer
1954 – Henry Bonilla, American politician
1954 – Dawn Silva, American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk)
1955 – Tex Brashear, American voice actor
1955 – Vivien Savage, French singer
1956 – Lynda Barry, American cartoonist
1958 – Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian pianist
1959 – Kim Coates, Canadian actor
1960 – Naoki Urasawa, Japanese manga author
1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
1961 – Todd Haynes, American film director
1961 – Craig James, American football player
1961 – Robert Wexler, American politician
1963 – David Cone, American baseball player
1963 – Edgar Martínez, American baseball player
1964 – Luis d'Antin, Spanish motorcycle racer
1964 – Pernell Whitaker, American boxer
1965 – Greg Swindell, American baseball player
1966 – Kate Hodge, American actress
1967 – Tia Carrere, American actress
1967 – Jón Gnarr, Icelandic comedian and the mayor of Iceland's capital city Reykjavik, actor
1967 – Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor
1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion
1968 – Evan Parke, Jamaican actor
1968 – Goichi Suda, Japanese video game developer
1969 – Robby Gordon, American racing driver
1969 – Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austrian politician
1969 – Patrick Huard, Quebec actor and comedian
1969 – Glen Johnson, Jamaican boxer
1969 – Tommy Morrison, American boxer
1969 – Róbert Švehla, Slovak ice hockey player
1969 – Christy Turlington, American model
1970 – Royce Clayton, American baseball player
1970 – Sanda Ladosi, Romanian singer
1970 – Eric Whitacre, American composer
1971 – Taye Diggs, American actor
1971 – Renee Elise Goldsberry, American actress and singer
1971 – Lisa Harrison, American basketball player
1971 – Markus Hoffmann, German actor (d. 1997)
1971 – Yutaka Takenouchi, Japanese actor
1972 – Adam Elliot, Australian animator
1972 – Christopher Lennertz, American composer
1972 – Rodney MacDonald, Canadian politician and musician
1972 – Hristos Meletoglou, Greek triple jumper
1972 – Mattias Norström, Swedish professional ice hockey player
1973 – Lucy Davis, British actress
1973 – Will Kirby, American actor
1974 – Luis Moro, Cuban-American actor and filmmaker
1974 – Jason de Vos, Canadian footballer
1975 – Chris Cheney, Australian musician (The Living End)
1975 – Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)
1975 – Dax Shepard, American actor
1975 – Jeff Suppan, American baseball player
1975 – Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby union player
1976 – Hrysopiyi Devetzi, Greek triple jumper
1976 – Danilo Di Luca, Italian cyclist
1976 – Cletidus Hunt, American football player
1976 – Mahée Paiement, Canadian actress
1976 – Paz Vega, Spanish actress
1977 – Brian Boucher, American professional ice hockey player
1977 – Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player
1977 – Ales Pisa, Czech ice hockey player
1977 – Scott Proctor, American baseball player
1977 – Nikos Soultanidis, Greek footballer
1978 – Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American professional ballroom dancer
1978 – Megumi Toyoguchi, Japanese voice actress
1979 – Jonathan Greening, British footballer
1980 – Annie Bellemare, Canadian Figure Skater
1980 – Mac Danzig, American Mixed martial arts combatant
1980 – Jérôme Pineau, French cyclist
1981 – Hanno Balitsch, German footballer
1981 – Ryan Garko, American baseball player
1981 – Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player
1981 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
1982 – Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress
1983 – Andrew Ebbett, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 – Otacilio, Brazilian footballer, Aviation Professional
1985 – Luis Beza, American musician
1985 – Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player
1986 – Troy Andrews, American musician
1987 – Shelley Hennig, American actress
1987 – Syesha Mercado, American singer and actress
1988 – Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer
1988 – Damien Tussac, French-born German rugby player
1989 – Maksims Bogdanovs, Latvian motorcycle racer
1990 – Karel Abraham, Czech motorcycle racer
1991 – Davide Santon, Italian footballer
1991 – Steele Sidebottom, Australian Rules Footballer
2001 – Christopher Barrios Jr., American murder victim (d. 2007)

Deaths

1512 – Svante, Regent of Sweden (b. 1460)
1514 – William Smyth, English bishop and statesman (b. c1460)
1557 – Pontormo, Italian painter (b. 1494)
1685 – Harbottle Grimston, English politician (b. 1603)
1694 – Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician (b. 1651)
1726 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian composer (b. 1688)
1861 – King Frederick William IV of Prussia (b. 1795)
1892 – George Airy, British Astronomer Royal (b. 1801)
1893 – John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist (b. 1805)
1904 – James Longstreet, American Confederate general (b. 1821)
1913 – Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (b. 1855)
1915 – Carl Goldmark, Hungarian composer (b. 1830)
1917 – Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (b. 1832)
1920 – Paul Adam, French novelist (b. 1862)
1924 – Sabine Baring-Gould, English composer and novelist (b. 1834)
1936 – Sir Francis Newdegate, Governor of Tasmania (b. 1862)
1939 – Roman Dmowski, Polish politician (b. 1864)
1941 – Mischa Levitzki, Russian-born pianist (b. 1898)
1945 – Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, British naval commander (b. 1883)
1946 – Joe Darling, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
1948 – Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet (b. 1893)
1950 – James Dooley, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)
1950 – Theophrastos Sakellaridis, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1883)
1951 – Sir William Campion, Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)
1959 – Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-born writer and novelist (b. 1880)
1960 – Fausto Coppi, Italian cyclist (b. 1919)
1960 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian politician (b. 1907)
1963 – Jack Carson, American actor (b. 1910)
1963 – Dick Powell, American actor (b. 1904)
1971 – E. V. Knox, English poet and satirist (b. 1881)
1971 – Willard Maas, American poet and filmmaker (b. 1906)
1974 – Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)
1977 – Erroll Garner, American musician (b. 1921)
1983 – Dick Emery, English comedian (b. 1915)
1986 – Dick James, English music publisher (Northern Songs) (b. 1920)
1986 – Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)
1986 – Bill Veeck, American baseball executive (b. 1914)
1990 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek politician and author (b. 1910)
1990 – Alan Hale Jr., American actor (b. 1921)
1994 – Dixy Lee Ray, American politician, 17th Governor of Washington (b. 1914)
1994 – Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (b. 1915)
1995 – Siad Barre, President of Somalia (b. 1919)
1995 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921)
1996 – Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist (b. 1915)
1997 – Randy California, American guitarist & songwriter (Spirit) (b. 1951)
1998 – Frank Muir, English writer, raconteur (b. 1920)
1999 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)
1999 – Rolf Liebermann, Swiss composer (b. 1910)
2000 – Nat Adderley, American musician and composer (b. 1931)
2000 – Patrick O'Brian, British novelist (b. 1914)
2000 – Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., American admiral (b. 1920)
2001 – Teri Diver, American actress (b. 1971)
2001 – William P. Rogers, American politician (b. 1913)
2002 – Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (b. 1958)
2003 – Eric Jupp, British-born pianist, composer, arranger (b. 1922)
2004 – Lynn Cartwright, American actress (b. 1927)
2004 – Jess Collins, American artist (b. 1923)
2005 – Cyril Fletcher, British comedian (b. 1913)
2005 – Frank Kelly Freas, American artist (b. 1922)
2005 – Ronald 'Bo' Ginn, American politician (b. 1934)
2005 – Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist (b. 1911)
2005 – Edo Murtic, Croatian painter (b. 1921)
2006 – Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, first female Philippine Supreme Court Justice (b. 1913)
2007 – Garry Betty, American CEO of Earthlink (b. 1957)
2007 – Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian (b. 1941)
2007 – Mauno Jokipii, Finnish professor and researcher (b. 1924)
2007 – Teddy Kollek, Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
2007 – Don Massengale, American PGA Tour golf player (b. 1937)
2007 – Paek Nam-sun, North Korean Foreign Affairs minister (b. 1929)
2007 – Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor (b. 1951)
2007 – David Perkins, American geneticist (b. 1919)
2007 – Dan Shaver, American racecar driver (b. 1950)
2007 – Robert C. Solomon, American scholar of continental philosophy (b. 1942)
2008 – Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician (b. 1926)
2008 – George MacDonald Fraser, British author (b. 1925)
2008 – Gerry Staley, American baseball player (b. 1920)
2008 – Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Thailand (b. 1923)
2009 – Inger Christensen, Danish poet (b. 1935)
2009 – Maria de Jesus, Portuguese supercentenarian (b. 1893)
2010 – David R. Ross, Scottish author and historian (b. 1958)
2011 – Anne Francis, American actress (b. 1930)
2011 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (b. 1946)
2011 – Szeto Wah, Hong Kong politician and educationalist (b. 1931)
2011 – Richard D. Winters, American Army officer (b.1918)