today.nukz.net: Almanac

Gene Pitney 1941-2006

Events

364 – Emperor Jovian dies after a reign of eight months. He is found dead in his tent at Tyana (Asia Minor) en route back to Constantinople in suspicious circumstances.
1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
1600 – The philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori in Rome for heresy.
1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth colony.
1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
1809 – Miami University is chartered by the State of Ohio.
1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormans.
1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades though Paris, France after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
1904 – Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
1924 – In Miami, Florida, Johnny Weissmuller sets a new world record in the 100 meters freestyle swimming competition with a time of 57.4 seconds.
1933 – Newsweek magazine is published for the first time.
1933 – The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk (Chuuk), Japan's main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
1964 – Gabonese president Leon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
1968 – In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
1972 – Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model-T.
1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30.
1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a cease-fire brokered by the UN.
1996 – In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
1996 – NASA's Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
1998 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops kill 70–90 Azerbaijani civilians in the village of Qaradagli.
2003 – The London Congestion Charge scheme begins.
2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
2008 – Kosovo declares independence.
2011 – Libyan protests begin. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly Pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.

Births

1490 – Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Constable of France (d. 1527)
1519 – Francis, Duke of Guise, French soldier and politician (d. 1563)
1524 – Charles of Guise, French cardinal (d. 1574)
1581 – Fausto Poli, Italian Catholic priest (d. 1653)
1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian composer (d. 1713)
1718 – Matthew Tilghman, American Continental Congressman (d. 1790)
1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer (d. 1762)
1740 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and founder of alpinism (d. 1799)
1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German writer (d. 1831)
1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French explorer (d. 1803)
1781 – René Laënnec, French physician (d. 1826)
1792 – Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist (d. 1876)
1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician (d. 1866)
1816 – Haller Nutt, Southern Plantation owner (d. 1864)
1820 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Catholic cardinal (d. 1898)
1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian composer (d. 1881)
1821 – Lola Montez, Irish dancer (d. 1861)
1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish poet (d. 1870)
1844 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American department store founder (d. 1913)
1848 – Albert Gustaf Dahlman, Swedish executioner, the last to carry out capital punishment in Sweden (d. 1920)
1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian suffragist and writer (d. 1920)
1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (d. 1902)
1861 – Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (d. 1922)
1862 – Mori Ogai, Japanese novelist and poet (d. 1922)
1863 – Fyodor Sologub, Russian symbolist novelist and poet (d. 1927)
1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak inventor (d. 1929)
1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian poet (d. 1941)
1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American computer manufacturer (d. 1956)
1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and writer (d. 1904)
1877 – André Maginot, French politician (d. 1932)
1877 – Isidora Sekulic, Serbian prose writer, novelist and essayist (d. 1958)
1885 – Steve Evans, American baseball player (d. 1943)
1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (d. 1947)
1888 – Otto Stern, German physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1969)
1890 – Sir Ronald Fisher, Statistician and Geneticist (d. 1962)
1891 – Abraham Fraenkel, German-born Israeli mathematician and recipient of the Israel Prize (d. 1965)
1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player (d. 1965)
1903 – Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian writer (d. 1951)
1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German political philosopher (d. 1980)
1908 – Red Barber, American baseball announcer (d. 1992)
1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese politician (d. 2005)
1910 – Arthur Hunnicutt, American actor (d. 1979)
1910 – Marc Lawrence, American actor (d. 2005)
1911 – Oskar Seidlin, Silesian-born American literary scholar (d. 1984)
1911 – Orrin Tucker, American bandleader and composer (d.2011)
1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
1913 – Jean Le Moyne, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1996)
1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor (d. 1959)
1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian actor (d. 2002)
1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian prince and Rugby Union footballer (d. 1940)
1917 – Abdur Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher (d. 2002)
1917 – Guillermo González Camarena, Mexican inventor (d. 1965)
1919 – J.M.S. Careless, Canadian historian (d. 2009)
1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress (d. 2001)
1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director (d. 2001)
1922 – Enrico Banducci, American nightclub owner (d. 2007)
1922 – Tommy Edwards, American singer (d. 1969)
1922 – Valentino Mazzia, American forensic anesthesiologist (d. 1999)
1923 – John Marco Allegro, English scholar (d. 1988)
1924 – Margaret Truman, American novelist (d. 2008)
1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor
1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress & singer
1929 – Paul Meger, Canadian ice hockey player
1929 – Chaim Potok, American author (d. 2002)
1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress
1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player and manager
1930 – Ruth Rendell, English writer
1933 – Bobby Lewis, American singer
1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American politician (d. 2007)
1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
1934 – Barry Humphries, Australian actor and comedian
1935 – Christina Pickles, UK-born American actress
1936 – Jim Brown, American football player
1938 – Buck Trent, American banjo player
1938 – Martha Henry, American/Canadian actress
1938 – Yvonne Romain, British film and television actress
1939 – John Leyton, British singer
1939 – Mary Ann Mobley, American actress and beauty queen
1939 – Clément Richard, Canadian businessman and politician
1940 – Gene Pitney, American singer (d. 2006)
1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress and theatre director
1942 – Huey P. Newton, American political activist (d. 1989)
1943 – Costas Azariadis, Greek macroeconomist
1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh composer
1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress (d. 2012)
1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
1946 – Dodie Stevens, American singer
1948 – José José, Mexican singer and actor
1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball coach
1948 – Don Scardino, American television director and actor
1949 – Fred Frith, English musician and composer
1951 – Rashid Minhas, Pilot officer in Pakistan Air Force during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (d. 1971)
1952 – Karin Janz, East German gymnast
1953 – Norman Pace, British actor and comic
1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese novelist
1956 – Richard Karn, American actor
1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian musician
1958 – Alan Wiggins, American baseball player d. 1991
1959 – Aryeh Deri, Israeli rabbi and politician
1959 – Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer
1959 – Neil Lomax, American football player
1962 – Samuel Bayer, American music video director
1962 – David McComb, Australian musician (The Triffids) (d. 1999)
1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor
1963 – Alison Hargreaves, British mountaineer (d. 1995)
1963 – Jen-Hsun Huang, American entrepreneur and businessman
1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and actor
1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player
1963 – Rene Syler, American journalist
1964 – Buster Olney, American sports columnist
1965 – Michael Bay, American film director
1966 – Michael Lepond, American musician (Symphony X)
1966 – Quorthon, Swedish musician (Bathory) (d. 2004)
1966 – Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player
1967 – Chanté Moore, American singer
1968 – Bryan Cox, American football player
1969 – David Douillet, French judoka
1969 – Tuesday Knight, American actress
1969 – Willi Kronhardt, German footballer
1970 – Tommy Moe, American skier
1970 – Dominic Purcell, English/Australian actor
1971 – Martyn Bennett, Canadian composer (d. 2005)
1971 – Jeremy Edwards, British actor
1971 – SaRenna Lee, American pornographic actress
1971 – Denise Richards, American actress
1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American musician (Green Day)
1972 – Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
1972 – Taylor Hawkins, American musician (Foo Fighters)
1972 – Yuki Isoya, Japanese singer (Judy and Mary)
1972 – Ralphie May, American comedian
1972 – Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model
1972 – LG Petrov, Swedish singer (Entombed)
1973 – Drew Barry, American basketball player
1973 – Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby player
1974 – Kaoru, Japanese musician
1974 – Jerry O'Connell, American actor
1974 – Bryan White, American singer
1975 – Harisu, South Korean singer, model and actress
1975 – Todd Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Vaclav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
1976 – Kelly Carlson, American actress
1976 – William Roussel, French musician (Mütiilation)
1976 – Scott Williamson, American baseball player
1977 – Wong Choong Hann, Malaysian badminton player
1978 – Jacob Wetterling, American kidnapping victim
1979 – Dee, Puerto Rican pornographic actress
1979 – Sarah Lee Guthrie, American musician
1979 – Josh Willingham, American baseball player
1980 – Al Harrington, American basketball player
1980 – Jason Ritter, American actor
1980 – Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
1981 – Paris Hilton, American actress and heiress
1982 – Adriano, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player
1982 – Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer
1983 – Gérald Cid, French footballer
1983 – Marios Kaperonis, Greek boxer
1983 – Kevin Rudolf, American singer-songwriter
1983 – Nguyen Tien Minh, Vietnamese badminton player
1984 – Jimmy Jacobs, American professional wrestler
1984 – Kenta Kamakari, Japanese actor and voice actor
1984 – Drew Miller, American ice hockey player
1984 – Sadha, Indian film actress
1984 – AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
1985 – Anne Curtis, Filipino actress and model
1985 – Anders Jacobsen, Norwegian ski jumper
1986 – Joey O'Brien, Irish footballer
1986 – Ricardo Rodriguez, American wrestler and ring announcer
1988 – Natascha Kampusch, Austrian kidnapping victim
1989 – Rebecca Adlington, English swimmer
1989 – Stacey McClean, British singer
1989 – Chord Overstreet, American actor
1990 – Marianne St-Gelais, Canadian short track speed skater
1991 – Ed Sheeran, English signer
1991 – Bonnie Wright, English actress
1992 – Meaghan Jette Martin, American actress and singer
1993 – AJ Perez, Filipino actor and model (d. 2011)
1993 – Philip Wiegratz, German actor
1996 – Sasha Pieterse, South African/American actress