today.nukz.net: Almanac

Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) 1904-1991

Events

986 – Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
1127 – Assassination of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders.
1444 – Skanderbeg organizes a group of Albanian nobles to form the League of Lezhë.
1476 – Burgundian Wars: The Old Swiss Confederacy hands Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a major defeat in the Battle of Grandson in Canton of Neuchâtel.
1484 – The College of Arms was formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.
1717 – The Loves of Mars and Venus is the first ballet performed in England.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.
1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.
1808 – The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
1811 – Argentine War of Independence: A royalist fleet defeats a small flotilla of revolutionary ships in the Battle of San Nicolás on the River Plate.
1815 – Signing of the Kandyan Convention treaty by British invaders and the King of Sri Lanka.
1825 – Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
1836 – Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
1855 – Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
1861 – Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia: Tsar Alexander II signs the emancipation reform into law, abolishing Russian serfdom.
1865 – East Cape War: The Volkner Incident in New Zealand.
1867 – The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act.
1877 – U.S. presidential election, 1876: Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876.
1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick McLean in Windsor.
1901 – The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
1903 – In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
1917 – The enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
1919 – The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
1933 – The film King Kong opens at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
1939 – Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
1941 – World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joined the Axis Pact.
1943 – World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea – United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
1946 – Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
1949 – Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
1949 – The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut.
1953 – The Academy Awards are first broadcast on television by NBC.
1955 – King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicates the throne in favor of his father, King Norodom Suramarit.
1956 – Morocco gains its independence from France.
1962 – In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup d'état.
1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
1965 – The US and South Vietnamese Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
1969 – In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
1969 – Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River.
1970 – Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
1972 – The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
1978 – Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
1983 – Compact Disc players and discs are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had only been available in Japan before then.
1989 – Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
1990 – Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
1991 – Battle at Rumaila Oil Field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
1992 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.
1995 – Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
2004 – War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.

Births

1316 – King Robert II of Scotland (d. 1390)
1409 – John II of Alençon, Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche (d. 1476)
1459 – Pope Adrian VI (d. 1523)
1545 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (d. 1613)
1578 – George Sandys, English colonist and poet (d. 1644)
1705 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician (d. 1793)
1755 – Antoine-Frédéric Gresnick, Belgian classical composer (d. 1799)
1760 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (d. 1794)
1770 – Louis Gabriel Suchet, French Marshal (d. 1826)
1779 – Joel Roberts Poinsett, American statesman and botanist (d. 1851)
1793 – Sam Houston, American politician, 8th Governor of Tennessee and 7th Governor of Texas (d. 1863)
1800 – Evgeny Baratynsky, Russian poet (d. 1844)
1810 – Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903)
1816 – Alexander H. Bullock, American politician and 26th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1882)
1817 – János Arany, Hungarian journalist (d. 1882)
1820 – Multatuli, Dutch writer (d. 1887)
1824 – Bedrich Smetana, Czech composer (d. 1884)
1829 – Carl Schurz, German revolutionary and statesman (d. 1906)
1836 – Henry Billings Brown, American jurist (d. 1913)
1842 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer (d. 1914)
1843 – Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy (d. 1911)
1849 – Robert Means Thompson, American naval officer (d. 1930)
1859 – Sholom Aleichem, Russian novelist (d. 1916)
1860 – Susanna M. Salter, American politician (d. 1961)
1862 – Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (d. 1916)
1876 – Pope Pius XII (d. 1958)
1878 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1944)
1886 – Willis O'Brien, American animator (d. 1962)
1897 – Minor Hall, American jazz musician (d. 1959)
1900 – Kurt Weill, German composer (d. 1950)
1902 – Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy (d. 1972)
1904 – Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), American author (d. 1991)
1905 – Marc Blitzstein American composer (d. 1964)
1908 – Fyodor Matveyevich Okhlopkov, Yakut-born Soviet sniper (d. 1968)
1908 – Walter Bruch, German engineer (d. 1990)
1909 – Mel Ott, American baseball player (d. 1958)
1912 – Henry Katzman, American composer and pianist (d. 2001)
1912 – William Thayer Tutt, American ice hockey executive (d. 1989)
1913 – Godfried Bomans, Flemish author and television personality (d. 1971)
1913 – Mort Cooper, American baseball player (d. 1958)
1913 – Celedonio Romero, Spanish guitarist (d. 1996)
1914 – Martin Ritt, American director (d. 1990)
1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor and bandleader (d. 1986)
1917 – David Goodis, American writer (d. 1967)
1917 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player (d. 1976)
1918 – Peter O'Sullevan, Irish horse racing commentator
1919 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (d. 2009)
1919 – Tamara Toumanova, Russian ballerina and actress (d. 1996)
1920 – Heinz-Ludwig Schmidt, German football manager (d. 2008)
1922 – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, American jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 1986)
1922 – Bill Quackenbush, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1999)
1923 – Basil Hume, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, England (d. 1999)
1923 – Orrin Keepnews, American writer and critic
1923 – Robert H. Michel, American politician
1924 – Cal Abrams, American baseball player
1926 – Murray Rothbard, American economist (d. 1995)
1927 – Roger Walkowiak, French cyclist and economist
1928 – Father John Romanides, Greek priest and professor (d. 2001)
1930 – John Cullum, American actor and singer
1930 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (d. 2007)
1931 – Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Nobel laureate and statesman
1931 – Tom Wolfe, American author
1932 – Gun Hägglund, Swedish news presenter (d. 2011)
1934 – Dottie Rambo, American singer (d. 2008)
1935 – Al Waxman, Canadian actor (d. 2001)
1937 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria
1937 – Denny Crum, College basketball coach
1938 – Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile
1938 – Lawrence Payton, American singer and songwriter (The Four Tops) (d. 1997)
1939 – BarBara Luna, American actress
1940 – Tony Croatto, Italian-born composer (d. 2005)
1941 – Jon Finch, English actor
1941 – David Satcher, 16th United States Surgeon General
1942 – Jonathan Borofsky, American artist
1942 – Kwang Jo Choi, Korean Choi Kwang-Do champion
1942 – Peter Guber, American film producer
1942 – John Irving, American author
1942 – Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Last Prime Minister of Iran
1942 – Luc Plamondon, Canadian lyricist
1942 – Lou Reed, American singer and guitarist
1943 – Zygfryd Blaut, Polish footballer (d. 2005)
1943 – Claude Larose, Canadian ice hockey player
1943 – Tony Meehan, English drummer (The Shadows) (d. 2005)
1943 – Peter Straub, American author
1944 – Uschi Glas, German actress
1947 – Harry Redknapp, English football manager
1948 – Larry Carlton, American guitarist
1948 – Rory Gallagher, Irish guitarist (d. 1995)
1948 – Jeff Kennett, Australian former politician
1949 – Alain Chamfort, French singer
1949 – Gates McFadden, American actress
1949 – J. P. R. Williams, Welsh rugby union player
1950 – Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (The Carpenters) (d. 1983)
1950 – Jeffrey Chodorow, American restaurateur and financier
1952 – Mark Evanier, American writer
1952 – Laraine Newman, American actress
1953 – Russ Feingold, American politician
1954 – Hans-Jürgen Baake, German footballer
1954 – Eddie Johnstone, Canadian ice hockey player
1955 – Shoko Asahara, Japanese cult leader
1955 – Ken Salazar, American politician, United States Senator from Colorado, 50th United States Secretary of the Interior
1955 – Terrence Stone, Irish-American voice actor
1956 – John Cowsill, American musician (The Cowsills)
1956 – Mark Evans, Australian bassist (AC/DC)
1958 – Kevin Curren, South African tennis player
1958 – Ian Woosnam, Welsh golfer
1959 – GX Jupitter-Larsen, American artist and writer
1960 – Hector Calma, Filipino basketball player
1960 – Debra Marshall, American professional wrestler and manager
1961 – Simone Young, Australian conductor
1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American musician (Bon Jovi)
1962 – Al Del Greco, American football player
1962 – Morioka Hiroyuki, Japanese writer
1962 – Tom Nordlie, Norwegian football coach
1962 – Michael Salinger, American poet
1962 – Scott "La Rock" Sterling, American musician (Scott La Rock) (d. 1987)
1962 – Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
1963 – Tuff Hedeman, American bull rider
1963 – Tanyu Kiryakov, Bulgarian pistol shooter
1964 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1987)
1964 – Laird Hamilton, American big-wave surfer
1964 – Megan Leigh, American porn star (d. 1990)
1965 – Ron Gant, American baseball player
1965 – Lembit Öpik, British politician
1966 – Martin Sexton, American singer songwriter
1968 – Daniel Craig, English actor
1969 – Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
1969 – Alexander Armstrong, British comedian, actor and television presenter
1971 – Dave Gorman, English documentary comedian
1971 – Lisa Lackey, Australian actress
1971 – Amber Smith, American actress and model
1972 – Richard Ruccolo, American actor
1973 – Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player
1973 – Trevor Sinclair, English footballer
1974 – Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer
1974 – Monika Niederstätter, Italian athlete
1976 – Glenn Rubenstein, American writer and journalist
1976 – JJ Fernandez, Malaysian radio personality
1977 – Dominique Canty, American basketball player
1977 – Jay Gibbons, American baseball player
1977 – Chris Martin, English musician (Coldplay)
1977 – Heather McComb, American actress
1977 – Andrew Strauss, English cricket player
1978 – Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey player
1978 – Giannis Skopelitis, Greek footballer
1979 – Sergei Davydov, Belarusian figure skater
1979 – Damien Duff, Irish footballer
1979 – Nicky Weaver, English footballer
1980 – Lance Cade, American professional wrestler (d. 2010)
1980 – Karl Dominik, Polish-born actor
1980 – Sunny Lane, American pornographic actress
1980 – Édson Nobre, Angolan footballer
1980 – Vincent Walker, American musician (Suburban Legends)
1981 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
1982 – Jade Galbraith, Canadian ice hockey player
1982 – Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
1982 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
1982 – Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
1982 – Corey Webster, American football player
1983 – Kolawole Agodirin, Nigerian footballer
1983 – Jay McClement, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Glen Perkins, American baseball player
1983 – Ryan Shannon, American ice hockey player
1984 – Elizabeth Jagger, English model and actress
1985 – Reggie Bush, American football player
1985 – Robert Iler, American actor
1985 – Luke Pritchard, British singer (The Kooks)
1985 – Suso Santana, Spanish football player
1986 – Jon D'Aversa, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Nicola Geuer, German tennis player
1988 – Keith Jack, Scottish singer and actor
1988 – Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver
1988 – Nadine Samonte, Filipino actress
1989 – Toby Alderweireld, Belgian footballer
1989 – Alemão, Brazilian footballer
1989 – Shane Vereen, American college football player
1990 – Lee Hongki, Korean singer (F.T. Island)

Deaths

855 – Lothair, King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor (b. 795)
1316 – Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I of Scotland (b. 1296)
1572 – Mem de Sá, Portuguese Governor-General of Brazil
1589 – Alessandro Farnese, Italian cardinal (b. 1520)
1619 – Anne of Denmark, queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of James VI and I (b. 1574)
1625 – James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton, Scottish nobleman and politician (b. 1589)
1729 – Francesco Bianchini, Italian philosopher and scientist (b. 1662)
1755 – Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (b. 1675)
1758 – Pierre Guérin de Tencin, French cardinal (b. 1679)
1791 – John Wesley, English founder of Methodism (b. 1703)
1793 – Carl Gustaf Pilo, Swedish-born artist
1797 – Horace Walpole, English politician and writer (b. 1717)
1829 – Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, conspirator and supporter of the Mexican War of Independence (b. 1768)
1830 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmering, German physician (b. 1755)
1835 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1768)
1840 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers, German astronomer (b. 1758)
1855 – Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Emperor of Russia (b. 1796)
1864 – Ulric Dahlgren, American Unionist colonel (b. 1842)
1865 – Carl Sylvius Völkner, German missionary to New Zealand (b. 1819)
1880 – John MacNeill, Irish civil engineer (b. 1790)
1895 – Berthe Morisot, French painter (b. 1841)
1895 – Isma'il Pasha, Governor of Egypt (b. 1830)
1919 – Melchora Aquino, Filipino revolutionary hero (b. 1812)
1921 – Champ Clark, American politician (b. 1850)
1921 – Nicholas I of Montenegro (b. 1841)
1930 – D. H. Lawrence, English writer (b. 1885)
1938 – Ben Harney, American composer and pianist (b. 1871)
1939 – Howard Carter, British archaeologist (b. 1874)
1942 – Charlie Christian, American swing and jazz guitarist (b. 1916)
1945 – Emily Carr, Canadian artist (b. 1871)
1946 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian National socialist (b. 1895)
1946 – George E. Stewart, American Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1872)
1950 – Rosli Dhobi, famous Malay Sarawakian (b. 1932)
1953 – James Lightbody, American middle distance runner (b. 1882)
1958 – Fred Merkle, American baseball figure (b. 1888)
1959 – Eric Blore, English actor (b. 1887)
1960 – Stanislaw Taczak, Polish general, commander-in-chief of the Greater Poland Uprising (b. 1874)
1962 – Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician (b. 1866)
1967 – José Martínez Ruiz, Spanish poet and writer (b. 1873)
1970 – Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Canadian painter (b. 1888)
1973 – Cleo A. Noel, Jr., US Chief of Mission to Sudan (b. 1918)
1974 – Salvador Puig Antich, Spanish anarchist (b. 1948)
1975 – Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, Kenyan politician (b. 1929)
1979 – Christy Ring Irish hurler (b. 1920)
1982 – Philip K. Dick, American author (b. 1928)
1987 – Randolph Scott, American actor and director (b. 1898)
1991 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (b. 1928)
1992 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (b. 1937)
1994 – Maurice Bambier, French politician (b. 1925)
1994 – Anita Morris, American actress (b. 1943)
1999 – David Ackles, American singer and songwriter (b. 1937)
1999 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (b. 1939)
2000 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler (b. 1963)
2001 – François Abadie, French politician (b. 1930)
2001 – John Diamond, British journalist (b. 1953)
2003 – Hank Ballard, American musician (b. 1927)
2003 – Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer (b. 1931)
2004 – Cormac McAnallen, Northern Irish Gaelic footballer (b. 1980)
2004 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (b. 1916)
2004 – Marge Schott, American baseball team owner (b. 1928)
2005 – Martin Denny, American musician (b. 1911)
2005 – Rick Mahler, American baseball player (b. 1953)
2006 – Milton Katims, American violist and conductor (b. 1909)
2007 – Thomas S. Kleppe, U.S. politician (b. 1919)
2007 – Clem Labine, American baseball player (b. 1926)
2007 – Ivan Safronov, Russian journalist (b. 1956)
2007 – Henri Troyat, French writer, dean of the Académie française (b. 1911)
2008 – Jeff Healey, Canadian musician (b. 1966)
2009 – João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1939)
2009 – Chris Finnegan, British boxer (b. 1944)
2010 – Winston Spencer-Churchill, British politician (b. 1940)