today.nukz.net: Almanac

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Events

303 – Diocletian, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Empire.
1303 – Battle of Roslin, of the First War of Scottish Independence.
1387 – King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda.
1525 – Spanish-Imperial army defeat French army at Battle of Pavia.
1538 – Treaty of Nagyvarad between Ferdinand I and John Zápolya.
1582 – Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
1607 – L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.
1711 – The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.
1803 – In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
1809 – London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute.
1822 – The 1st Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated.
1826 – The signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo marks the end of the First Burmese War.
1831 – The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West.
1848 – King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.
1863 – Arizona is organized as a United States territory.
1868 – Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.
1875 – The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high profile civil servants and dignitaries.
1881 – China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.
1895 – Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the second war for Cuban independence, that ends with the Spanish-American War in 1898.
1917 – World War I: The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States.
1918 – Estonian Declaration of Independence.
1920 – The Nazi Party is founded.
1942 – The Battle of Los Angeles, one of the largest documented UFO sightings in history; the event lasted into the early hours of February 26, 1942.
1944 – Merrill's Marauders: The Marauders begin their 1,000 mile journey through Japanese occupied Burma.
1945 – Egyptian Premier Ahmed Maher Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.
1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.
1971 – The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed 3 days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman.
1976 – Cuba: national Constitution is proclaimed.
1980 – The United States Olympic Hockey team completes their Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal.
1981 – An earthquake registering 6.7 on the Richter scale hits Athens, killing 16 people and destroying buildings in several towns west of the city.
1983 – A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.
1989 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a US$3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.
1989 – United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, Hawaii, rips open during flight, sucking 9 passengers out of the business-class section.
1996 – The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church.
1999 – The State of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national convicted of murder during a botched bank robbery, in spite of Germany's legal action to attempt to save him.
1999 – A China Southern Airlines Tupolev TU-154 airliner crashes on approach to Wenzhou airport in eastern the People's Republic of China, killing 61.
2006 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
2007 – Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
2008 – Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years.
2011 – Final Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103).

Births

1103 – Emperor Toba of Japan (d. 1156)
1304 – Ibn Battuta, Arabian explorer (d. c.1368)
1463 – Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian humanist (d. 1494)
1500 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1558)
1545 – Don John of Austria, Spanish military leader (d. 1578)
1557 – Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1619)
1595 – Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and Latin Poet (d. 1640)
1597 – Vincent Voiture, French poet (d. 1648)
1619 – Charles Le Brun, French artist (d. 1690)
1622 – Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philosopher (d. 1665)
1684 – Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (d. 1738)
1693 – James Quin, English actor (d. 1766)
1709 – Jacques de Vaucanson, French inventor (d. 1782)
1723 – John Burgoyne, British general (d. 1792)
1767 – Buddha Loetla Nabhalai, King of Siam (d. 1824)
1774 – Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge (d. 1850)
1786 – Martin W. Bates. U.S. Senator from Delaware (d. 1869)
1786 – Wilhelm Grimm, German philologist and folklorist (d. 1859)
1831 – Leo von Caprivi, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1899)
1836 – Winslow Homer, American artist (d. 1910)
1842 – Arrigo Boito, Italian composer (d. 1918)
1846 – Luigi Denza, Italian composer (d. 1922)
1848 – Andrew Inglis Clark, Tasmanian politician (d. 1907)
1852 – George A. Moore, Irish writer (d. 1933)
1866 – Pyotr Nikolaevich Lebedev, Russian physicist (d. 1912)
1866 – Hubert Van Innis, Belgian archer (d. 1961)
1874 – Honus Wagner, American baseball player (d. 1955)
1877 – Rudolph Ganz, Swiss pianist, conductor and composer (d. 1972)
1877 – Ettie Rout, New Zealand activist (d. 1936)
1885 – Chester Nimitz, U.S. admiral (d. 1966)
1885 – Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish writer and painter (d. 1939)
1890 – Marjorie Main, American actress (d. 1975)
1896 – Richard Thorpe, American film director (d. 1991)
1898 – Kurt Tank, German aeronautical engineer and test pilot (d. 1983)
1903 – Vladimir Bartol, Slovene writer (d. 1967)
1908 – Telford Taylor, American lawyer (Nuremberg Trials) (d. 1998)
1909 – August Derleth, American writer (d. 1971)
1909 – Riccardo Freda, Italian film director (d. 1999)
1912 – Jirí Trnka, Czech puppet maker, illustrator, motion-picture animator and film director (d. 1969)
1914 – Ralph Erskine, British architect (Byker Wall) (d. 2005)
1914 – Weldon Kees, American poet, musician, painter (d. 1955)
1914 – Zachary Scott, American actor (d. 1965)
1919 – Árpád Bogsch, Hungarian turned American international civil servant (d. 2004)
1919 – Betty Marsden, English comedy actress (d. 1998)
1920 – Ernst Reiss, Swiss mountaineer (d. 2010)
1921 – Gaston Reiff, Belgian athlete (d. 1992)
1921 – Abe Vigoda, American actor
1921 – Douglass Watson, American actor (d. 1989)
1922 – Richard Hamilton, English painter
1922 – Steven Hill, American actor
1923 – David Soyer, American cellist (d. 2010)
1924 – Erik Nielsen, Canadian politician (d. 2008)
1926 – Jean Alexander, English actress
1926 – John Gunther Dean, American diplomat
1926 – Balys Gajauskas, Lithuanian politician
1927 – Emmanuelle Riva, French actress
1928 – Barbara Lawrence, American actress
1931 – Dominic Chianese, American actor
1932 – Michel Legrand, French composer
1932 – John Vernon, Canadian actor (d. 2005)
1933 – Judah Folkman, American cancer researcher (d. 2008)
1934 – Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2000)
1934 – Linda Cristal, Argentina-born actress
1934 – Renata Scotto, Italian soprano
1938 – James Farentino, American actor (d. 2012)
1938 – Phil Knight, American sportswear manufacturer
1938 – Kathleen Margaret Richardson, Baroness Richardson of Calow, British Baroness and Methodist reverend
1940 – Pete Duel, American actor (d. 1971)
1940 – Denis Law, Scottish footballer
1941 – Joanie Sommers, American singer and actress
1942 – Colin Bond, Australian racing driver
1942 – Paul Jones, English singer (Manfred Mann)
1942 – Joe Lieberman, American politician
1943 – Kent Haruf, American novelist
1943 – Pablo Milanés, Cuban musician
1943 – Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer (d. 1984)
1943 – Terry Semel, American business executive
1944 – Nicky Hopkins, British musician (d. 1994)
1945 – Barry Bostwick, American actor
1946 – Grigory Margulis, Russian mathematician
1946 – John Stapleton, English television presenter
1947 – Mike Fratello, American basketball head coach
1947 – Rupert Holmes, English musician
1947 – Edward James Olmos, American actor
1948 – J. Jayalalithaa, Indian politician
1948 – François Lacombe, Canadian ice hockey player
1948 – Walter Smith, Scottish football manager
1948 – Tim Staffell, English singer
1948 – Dennis Waterman, British actor
1950 – George Thorogood, American singer and guitarist
1950 – Steve McCurry, American photojournalist
1951 – Tony Holiday, German singer (d. 1990)
1951 – Debra Jo Rupp, American actress
1951 – Helen Shaver, Canadian actress
1954 – Ann Bell, American Teacher, Entrepreneur and Children's Book Author
1954 – Plastic Bertrand, Belgian singer and songwriter
1955 – Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer (d. 2011)
1955 – Eddie L. Johnson, retired American professional basketball player and sex offender
1955 – Alain Prost, French race car driver
1956 – Judith Butler, American philosopher
1956 – Eddie Murray, American baseball player
1956 – Peter Pagel, German footballer (d. 2010)
1956 – Paula Zahn, American journalist
1958 – Plastic Bertrand, Belgian singer
1958 – Sammy Kershaw, American musician
1958 – Mark Moses, American actor
1959 – Beth Broderick, American actress
1959 – Owen Gleiberman, American film critic
1960 – Nick Esasky, American baseball player
1962 – Outi Mäenpää, Finnish actress
1962 – Michelle Shocked, American musician
1962 – Teri Weigel, American pornographic actress
1963 – Line Beauchamp, Canadian politician
1963 – Dirk Greiser, German footballer
1963 – Mike Vernon, Canadian ice hockey player
1964 – Andy Crane, British children's television presenter
1964 – Todd Field, American actor and film director
1964 – Russell Ingall, Australian racing driver
1965 – Kristin Davis, American actress
1965 – Lloyd McGrath, former English footballer
1965 – Jane Swift, American politician
1966 – René Arocha, Cuban baseball player
1966 – Ben Miller, English comedian, director and actor
1966 – Billy Zane, American actor
1968 – Mitch Hedberg, American comedian (d. 2005)
1970 – Jeff Garcia, American football player
1970 – Kienast quintuplets, American quintuplets
1970 – Jonathan Ward, American television and movie actor
1971 – Josh Bernstein, American explorer and television host
1971 – Thomas Franck, German footballer
1971 – Pedro de la Rosa, Spanish Formula One driver
1971 – Brian Savage, Canadian ice hockey player
1972 – Manon Rhéaume, Canadian ice hockey player
1973 – Richard Clapp, Canadian baseball player
1973 – Chris Fehn, American percussionist (Slipknot)
1973 – Yordan Yovchev, Bulgarian gymnast
1973 – Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player
1973 – Christína Papadáki, Greek tennis player
1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer
1974 – Chad Hugo, American musician (N*E*R*D) and producer (The Neptunes)
1974 – Mike Lowell, Puerto Rican baseball player
1974 – Bonnie Somerville, American actress and singer
1975 – Maurizio Giuliano, writer and traveller
1975 – Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian fiddler
1976 – Marco Campos, Brazilian racing driver (d. 1995)
1976 – Crista Flanagan, American comedian
1976 – Eric Griffin, American rock guitarist
1976 – Zach Johnson, American golfer
1976 – Bradley McGee, Australian cyclist
1976 – Matt Skiba, American musician (Alkaline Trio, Heavens)
1977 – Jason Akermanis, Australian footballer
1977 – Bronson Arroyo, American baseball player
1977 – Jay Kenneth Johnson, American actor
1977 – Floyd Mayweather Jr, American boxer
1978 – John Nolan, American musician (Straylight Run)
1978 – Shinya, Japanese musician (Dir en grey)
1979 – Jesse Billauer, American quadriplegic surfer
1979 – Claire Cooper, English actress
1980 – Anton Maiden, Swedish rock music fan (d. 2003)
1980 – Shinsuke Nakamura, Japanese professional wrestler
1980 – Roman Sloudnov, Russian swimmer
1981 – Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
1981 – Mauro Rosales, Argentinian footballer
1981 – Mohammad Sami, Pakistani cricketer
1982 – Nick Blackburn, American baseball player
1982 – Fala Chen, Chinese-American actress and beauty pageant titleholder
1982 – Kevin O'Neill, New Zealand rugby player
1982 – Emanuel Villa, Argentine footballer
1982 – Klára Zakopalová, Czech tennis player
1983 – Matt McGinley, American musician (Gym Class Heroes)
1984 – Sterling James Keenan, American professional wrestler
1984 – Clivio Piccione, Monegasque racing driver
1985 – Britney Stevens, American pornographic actress
1986 – Wojtek Wolski, Polish/Canadian ice hockey player
1987 – Mayuko Iwasa, Japanese entertainer and model
1987 – Kim Kyu Jong, Korean singer (SS501)
1987 – Chieko Kawabe, Japanese singer, model and actress
1989 – Trace Cyrus, American musician
1989 – Kosta Koufos, American basketball player
1991 – Madison Hubbell, American ice dancer
1994 – Earl Sweatshirt, American rapper part of the collective (OFWGKTA)

Deaths

616 – King Ethelbert of Kent
1525 – Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet, French soldier
1563 – Francis, Duke of Guise, French soldier and politician (b. 1519)
1588 – Johann Weyer, Dutch physician and occultist
1666 – Nicholas Lanier, English composer (b. 1588)
1674 – Matthias Weckmann, German composer (b. 1616)
1685 – Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English politician and military leader (b. 1629)
1704 – Marc-Antoine Charpentier, French composer (b. 1643)
1714 – Edmund Andros, English governor in North America (b. 1637)
1721 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English statesman and poet (b. 1648)
1732 – Colonel Francis Charteris, known as "The Rape-Master General". (b. 1675)
1777 – King Joseph I of Portugal (b. 1714)
1779 – Paul Daniel Longolius, German encyclopedist (b. 1704)
1781 – Edward Capell, English critic (b. 1713)
1799 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist (b. 1742)
1810 – Henry Cavendish, English scientist (b. 1731)
1812 – Etienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1775)
1815 – Robert Fulton, American inventor (b. 1765)
1824 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, Royal Navy admiral (b. 1755)
1825 – Thomas Bowdler, English physician and editor (b. 1754)
1856 – Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1792)
1876 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts, first President of Liberia (b. 1809)
1879 – Shiranui Koemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 11th Yokozuna (b. 1825)
1914 – Joshua Chamberlain, Civil War hero for the Union on Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg (b. 1828)
1925 – Hjalmar Branting, Prime Minister of Sweden, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1860)
1927 – Sir Edward Marshall Hall, English barrister (b. 1858)
1929 – André Messager, French composer and conductor (b. 1853)
1953 – Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (b. 1875)
1970 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (b. 1897)
1975 – Nikolai Bulganin, Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1895)
1982 – Virginia Bruce, American actress and singer (b. 1910)
1984 – Helmut Schelsky, German sociologist (b. 1912)
1986 – Tommy Douglas, Canadian politician (b. 1904)
1987 – Jim Connors, American radio personality (b. 1940)
1989 – Sparky Adams, American baseball player (b. 1894)
1990 – Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player (b. 1945)
1990 – Malcolm Forbes, American publisher (b. 1917)
1990 – Sandro Pertini, Italian politician (b. 1896)
1990 – Johnnie Ray, American singer (b. 1927)
1991 – John Daly, South African game show host (b. 1914)
1991 – George Gobel, American comedian (b. 1919)
1991 – Webb Pierce, American music singer (b. 1921)
1993 – Danny Gallivan, Canadian radio and television sportscaster (b. 1917)
1993 – Bobby Moore, English footballer (b. 1941)
1994 – Jean Sablon, French singer (b. 1906)
1994 – Dinah Shore, American actress and singer (b. 1916)
1998 – Clara Fraser, American feminist and activist (b. 1923)
1998 – Antonio Prohías, Cuban-born cartoonist (b. 1921)
1998 – Henny Youngman, English-born comedian (b. 1906)
1999 – Andre Dubus, American writer (b. 1936)
1999 – David Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles, British politician and peer (b. 1904)
1999 – Frank Leslie Walcott, Barbadian labour leader (b. 1916)
2001 – Theodore Marier, KCSG, American composer, founder of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (b. 1912)
2001 – Claude E. Shannon, American information theorist (b. 1916)
2002 – Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (b. 1932)
2002 – Leo Ornstein, Russian-born composer and pianist (b. 1912)
2003 – John Edward Christopher Hill, English historian (b. 1912)
2003 – Bernard Loiseau, French chef (b. 1951)
2004 – John Randolph, American actor (b. 1915)
2005 – Dan McIvor, Canadian aviation pioneer (b. 1911)
2006 – Octavia Butler, American author and MacArthur Foundation Fellow (b. 1947)
2006 – Don Knotts, American actor (b. 1924)
2006 – John Martin, Canadian broadcaster (b. 1947)
2006 – Denis Twitchett, Cambridge scholar, and Chinese historian (b. 1925)
2006 – Dennis Weaver, American actor (b. 1924)
2007 – Bruce Bennett, American actor (b. 1906)
2007 – Leroy Jenkins, American composer and violinist (b. 1932)
2007 – Lamar Lundy, American football player (b. 1935)
2007 – Damien Nash, American football player (b. 1982)
2008 – Larry Norman, American musician, singer, songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
2009 – C. R. Johnson, American freestyle skier (b. 1983)
2011 – Anant Pai, Indian educationalist and creator of comics (b. 1929)