today.nukz.net: Almanac

Richie Havens b.1941

Events

1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz's mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
1643 – Abel Tasman becomes the first European to reach Tonga.
1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
1749 – The Verona Philharmonic Theatre is destroyed by fire. It is rebuilt in 1754.
1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, is printed in Boston, Massachusetts.
1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
1840 – Jules Dumont d'Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica.
1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
1864 – The Tauranga Campaign begins during the Maori Wars.
1887 – 465 millimetres (18.3 in) of rain falls in Brisbane, a record for any Australian capital city.
1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.
1899 – Opel manufactures its first automobile.
1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.
1915 – Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit, Michigan.
1919 – Meeting of the First Dáil Éireann in the Mansion House Dublin. Sinn Féin adopts Ireland's first constitution. The first engagement of Irish War of Independence, Sologhead Beg, County Tipperary.
1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Quebec Flag Day.
1950 – Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
1958 – The last Fokker C.X in military service, the Finnish Air Force FK-111 target tower, crashes, killing the pilot and winch-operator.
1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board.
1960 – Avianca Flight 671 crashes and burns upon landing at Montego Bay, Jamaica, killing 37. It is the worst air disaster in Jamaica's history and the first for Avianca.
1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh – One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
1977 – President Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders, some of whom had emigrated to Canada.
1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.
1985 – The inauguration of President Ronald Reagan to a second term, already postponed a day because January 20 fell on a Sunday, becomes the second inauguration in history moved indoors because of freezing temperatures and high winds. The parade is cancelled altogether.
1997 – Newt Gingrich becomes the first leader of the United States House of Representatives to be internally disciplined for ethical misconduct.
1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board.
2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutierrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
2004 – NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
2008 – Black Monday in worldwide stock markets. FTSE 100 had its biggest ever one-day points fall, European stocks closed with their worst result since 11 September 2001, and Asian stocks drop as much as 14%.

Births

1338 – King Charles V of France (d. 1380)
1610 – Elizabeth Fones, English-born colonial American pioneer (d. 1673)
1721 – James Murray, British military officer, governor of Quebec (d. 1794)
1804 – Eliza Roxcy Snow, American poet (d. 1887)
1813 – John C. Frémont, American army officer, explorer and presidential candidate (d. 1890)
1815 – John Bingham, American politician and lawyer (d. 1900)
1824 – Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, American, Confederate army general (d. 1863)
1825 – Imre Madách, Hungarian writer (d. 1864)
1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician (d. 1900)
1829 – King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway (d. 1907)
1848 – Henri Duparc, French composer (d. 1933)
1860 – Karl Staaff, Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)
1864 – Paul Troje, German politician (d. 1942)
1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German writer (d. 1921)
1867 – Maxime Weygand, French general (d. 1965)
1881 – Arch McCarthy, American baseball player (d. unknown)
1882 – Pavel Florensky (O.S. January 9), Russian Orthodox theologian and mathematician (d. 1937)
1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet (d. 1929)
1883 – Amang Rodriguez, Filipino politician (d. 1964)
1884 – Roger Baldwin, American social activist (d. 1981)
1885 – Umberto Nobile, Italian aeronautical engineer (d. 1978)
1887 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1926)
1887 – Maude Farris-Luse, American supercentenarian who was the oldest living person at the age of 115. (d. 2002)
1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish couturier (d. 1972)
1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (d. 1954)
1899 – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian born American composer (d. 1977)
1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer (d. 1978)
1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer (d. 1957)
1905 – Karl Wallenda, German acrobat (d. 1978)
1906 – Igor Moiseyev, Russian choreographer (d. 2007)
1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer (d. 2004)
1910 – Albert Rosellini, American politician and 15th Governor of Washington (d. 2011)
1910 – Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai composer and bandleader (d. 1981)
1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-born biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000)
1918 – Chichay, Filipino actress (d. 1993)
1918 – Richard D. Winters, American war hero (d. 2011)
1919 – Eric "Winkle" Brown, Scottish test pilot
1921 – Howard Unruh, American mass murderer (d. 2009)
1922 – Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
1922 – Paul Scofield, English actor (d. 2008)
1923 – Lola Flores, Spanish singer (d. 1995)
1924 – Benny Hill, English actor, comedian, and singer (d. 1992)
1926 – Brian Brockless, English organist (d. 1995)
1926 – Steve Reeves, American actor (d. 2000)
1927 – Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league footballer (d. 1985)
1928 – Gene Sharp, American political theorist and pacifist
1932 – John Chaney, American basketball coach
1933 – Joseph W. Eschbach, American doctor (d. 2007)
1934 – Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
1935 – Ann Wedgeworth, American actress
1936 – Koji Hashimoto, Japanese film director (d. 2005)
1937 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria
1938 – Wolfman Jack, American disk jockey and actor (d. 1995)
1938 – John Savident, British actor
1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer
1941 – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor
1941 – Stathis Giallelis, Greek actor
1941 – Richie Havens, American musician
1941 – Mike Medavoy, American film producer
1941 – Ivan Putski, Polish-born American professional wrestler
1942 – Mac Davis, American musician
1942 – Edwin Starr, American singer (d. 2003)
1943 – Dimitris Poulikakos, Greek actor, songwriter and singer
1945 – Martin Shaw, British actor
1946 – Johnny Oates, American baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
1947 – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
1947 – Pye Hastings, English singer and musician (Caravan)
1947 – Michel Jonasz, French singer and composer
1950 – Gary Locke, American politician, 21st Governor of Washington, and 36th United States Secretary of Commerce
1950 – Billy Ocean, West Indian musician
1951 – Eric Holder, American jurist, and 82nd United States Attorney General
1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss environmental activist
1952 – Cyril and Libbye Hellier, identical-twin sopranos
1952 – Louis Menand, American writer and critic
1953 – Paul Allen, American entrepreneur, co-founder of Microsoft
1953 – Glenn Kaiser, Blues-rock, Heavy metal, Rock, R&B (Early Days)
1954 – Phil Thompson, English footballer and coach
1954 – Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkinabé filmmaker
1955 – Jeff Koons, American artist
1956 – Robby Benson, American actor
1956 – Geena Davis, American actress
1957 – Greg Ryan, American soccer coach
1958 – Frank Ticheli, American composer
1958 – Michael Wincott, Canadian actor
1959 – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist
1962 – Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-born American basketball player
1963 – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player
1965 – Jam Master Jay, American disc jockey (d. 2002)
1966 – Robert Del Naja, English musician
1966 – Candi Milo, American voice actress
1967 – Artashes Minasian, Armenian chess Grandmaster
1968 – Ulrica Messing, Swedish politician
1968 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
1969 – Eduard Hämäläinen, Finnish-Belarusian decathlete
1969 – M. K. Hobson, American speculative fiction and fantasy writer
1969 – Karina Lombard, American actress
1969 – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese manga artist
1970 – Ken Leung, American actor
1970 – Mark Trojanowski, American musician (Sister Hazel)
1971 – Alan McManus, Scottish snooker player
1971 – Tweet, American singer
1971 – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player
1972 – Alan Benes, American baseball player
1972 – Rick Falkvinge, Swedish politician
1972 – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer
1972 – Cat Power (Chan Marshall), American musician
1973 – Duane Lee Chapman, II, American bounty hunter
1974 – Rove McManus, Australian television host and comedian
1974 – Alex Sperafico, Brazilian racing driver
1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer
1975 – Thomas Castaignede, French rugby player
1975 – Yuji Ide, Japanese racing driver
1975 – Ito, Spanish footballer
1976 – Emma Bunton, English singer (Spice Girls)
1977 – Al Baxter, Australian rugby union footballer
1977 – Phil Neville, English footballer
1977 – Matt Perry, English rugby player
1977 – Jerry Trainor, American comedic actor (iCarly)
1978 – Bryan Gilmore, National Football League player
1978 – Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin, American singer
1978 – Phil Stacey, American Idol finalist
1978 – Faris al-Sultan, German-Iraqi triathlete
1978 – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
1979 – Byung-Hyun Kim, Korean baseball player
1979 – Spider Loc, American rapper, member of G-Unit
1979 – Brian O'Driscoll, Irish rugby union footballer
1980 – Dave Kitson, English footballer
1980 – Nana Mizuki, Japanese voice actress and singer
1980 – Mari Possa, Salvadorian-American pornographic actress
1981 – Gillian Chung, Hong Kong singer (Twins) and actress
1981 – Jamie Dalrymple, English cricketer
1981 – Ivan Ergic, Serbian footballer
1981 – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Andy Lee, Korean singer (Shinhwa)
1981 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress and model
1982 – Nicolas Mahut, French tennis player
1982 – Simon Rolfes, German footballer
1982 – Go Shiozaki, Japanese professional wrestler
1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
1983 – Alex Acker, American basketball player
1983 – Maryse Ouellet, Canadian model and professional wrestler
1983 – Peter Philipakos, American/Greek soccer player
1983 – Moritz Volz, German footballer
1984 – Raymond Gutierrez, Filipino actor and television host
1984 – Richard Gutierrez, Filipino actor and television host
1984 – Robert Ray, American baseball player
1985 – Salvatore Giunta, Medal of Honor recipient
1985 – Adrian Lewis, English darts player
1985 – Alex Pérez, Spanish footballer
1985 – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model
1985 – Matt Unicomb, Australian basketball player
1986 – Peyton Hillis, American football player
1986 – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor
1987 – Joe Ledley, Welsh footballer
1988 – Vanessa Hessler, Italian model
1988 – William C. Woxlin, Swedish composer
1990 – Jacob Smith, American actor
1994 – Laura Robson, British tennis player
1994 – BooBoo Stewart, American actor and singer
2001 – Jackson Brundage, American actor
2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

Deaths

304 – Saint Agnes (martyred) (b. 291)
917 – Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (b. c. 880)
1118 – Pope Paschal II
1519 – Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Spanish explorer (b. 1475)
1527 – Juan de Grijalva, Spanish conquistador (b. c. 1489)
1546 – Azai Sukemasa, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1491)
1609 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French Protestant scholar (b. 1540)
1638 – Ignazio Donati, Italian composer (b. c. 1570)
1683 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, British politician (b. 1621)
1699 – Obadiah Walker, English writer (b. 1616)
1706 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)
1710 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic (b. 1638)
1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English supporter of William III of England (b. 1661)
1731 – Thomas Woolston, English theologian (b. 1669)
1731 – Ignjat Ðurdevic, baroque poet and translator from the Republic of Ragusa (b. 1675)
1766 – James Quin, English actor (b. 1693)
1773 – Alexis Piron, French writer (b. 1689)
1774 – Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1717)
1775 – Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel
1793 – King Louis XVI of France (executed) (b. 1754)
1795 – Samuel Wallis, English navigator (b. 1728)
1809 – Josiah Hornblower, American statesman (b. 1729)
1814 – Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French writer and botanist (b. 1737)
1823 – Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentine cleric, journalist and poet (b. 1761)
1831 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet (b. 1781)
1851 – Albert Lortzing, German composer (b. 1801)
1862 – Božena Nemcová, Czech writer (b. 1820)
1870 – Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (b. 1812)
1872 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (b. 1791)
1881 – Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1802)
1891 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian composer (b. 1842)
1901 – Elisha Gray, American inventor (b. 1835)
1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian artist (b. 1857)
1919 – Gojong of Joseon, Emperor of Korea (b. 1852)
1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary (b. 1870)
1926 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1843)
1928 – George Goethals, American army engineer (b. 1858)
1931 – Felix Blumenfeld, Russian composer (b. 1863)
1932 – Giles Lytton Strachey, British writer (b. 1880)
1933 – George A. Moore, Irish novelist (b. 1852)
1937 – Marie Prevost, Canadian actress (b. 1898)
1938 – Georges Méliès, French filmmaker and innovator (b. 1861)
1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (b. 1876)
1950 – George Orwell, British writer (b. 1903)
1955 – Archie Hahn, American athlete (b. 1880)
1956 – Sam Langford, Canadian boxer (b. 1883)
1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director (b. 1881)
1959 – Carl Switzer, American actor (b. 1927)
1961 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss writer (b. 1887)
1967 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)
1968 – Will Lang Jr., American magazine executive (b. 1914)
1977 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet (b. 1906)
1978 – Freda Utley, British scholar and author. (b. 1898)
1984 – Giannis Skaribas, Greek writer, dramatist, and poet (b. 1893)
1984 – Jackie Wilson, American musician (b. 1934)
1985 – James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)
1985 – Eddie Graham, American professional wrestler and promoter (b. 1930)
1987 – Charles Goodell, American politician (b. 1926)
1989 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (b. 1922)
1989 – Billy Tipton, American musician (b. 1914)
1993 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player (b. 1903)
1994 – Bassel al-Assad, son of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad (b. 1962)
1996 – René Marc Jalbert, sergeant-at-Arms at the National Assembly of Quebec (b. 1921)
1997 – Colonel Tom Parker, American manager of Elvis Presley (b. 1909)
1998 – Jack Lord, American actor (b. 1920)
1999 – Charles Brown, American blues singer and pianist (b. 1920)
1999 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
2001 – Byron De La Beckwith, American white supremacist (b. 1921)
2002 – Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
2003 – Paul Haines, American-born Canadian poet (b. 1933)
2004 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer (b. 1929)
2005 – Theun de Vries, Dutch writer (b. 1907)
2005 – John L. Hess, American journalist (b. 1917)
2006 – Ibrahim Rugova, President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
2006 – Bedanand Jha, Nepalese politician
2007 – Maria Cioncan, Romanian athlete (b. 1977)
2007 – U;Nee, Korean pop artist (b. 1981)
2008 – Pam Barrett, Canadian politician (b. 1953)
2008 – Marie Smith Jones, last native speaker of the Eyak language (b. 1918)
2008 – Kenneth Parnell, American convicted sex offender (b. 1931)
2009 – Veatrice Rice, American television personality (b. 1949)
2010 – Paul Quarrington, Canadian novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, musician and educator (b. 1953)
2011 – Dennis Oppenheim, American conceptual artist (b. 1938)
2011 – E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Indian film director and producer (b. 1958)