today.nukz.net: Almanac

Jack Kerouac 1922-1969

Events

538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius.
1550 – Several hundred Spanish and indigenous troops under the command of Pedro de Valdivia defeat an army of 60,000 Mapuche at the Battle of Penco during the Arauco War in present-day Chile.
1622 – Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Jesuits, are canonized as saints by the Catholic Church.
1664 – New Jersey becomes a colony of England.
1689 – The Williamite War in Ireland begins.
1811 – Peninsular War: A day after a successful rear guard action, French Marshal Michel Ney once again successfully delayed the pursuing Anglo-Portuguese force at the Battle of Redinha.
1868 – Henry O'Farrell attempts to assassinate Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.
1881 – Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain.
1912 – The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States.
1913 – Canberra Day: The future capital of Australia is officially named Canberra. (Melbourne remained temporary capital until 1927 while the new capital is still under construction.)
1918 – Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for 215 years.
1921 – Istiklal Marsi was adopted in TBMM(Turkish grand national assembly).
1922 – Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan formed The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic
1928 – In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kill over 600 people.
1930 – Mahatma Gandhi leads a 200-mile march, known as the Salt March, to the sea in defiance of British opposition, to protest the British monopoly on salt.
1933 – Great Depression: Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation for the first time as President of the United States. This is also the first of his "fireside chats".
1934 – Konstantin Päts and General Johan Laidoner stage a coup in Estonia, and ban all political parties.
1938 – Anschluss: German troops occupy Austria.
1940 – Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia. Finnish troops and the remaining population are immediately evacuated.
1947 – The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
1950 – The Llandow air disaster occurs near Sigingstone, Wales, in which 80 people die when their aircraft crashed, making it the world's deadliest air disaster at the time.
1964 – New Hampshire Lottery: New Hampshire becomes the first U.S. state to legally sell lottery tickets in the 20th century.
1967 – Suharto takes over from Sukarno to become Acting President of Indonesia.
1968 – Mauritius achieves independence.
1971 – The March 12 Memorandum is sent to the Demirel government of Turkey and the government resigns.
1992 – Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
1993 – Several bombs explode in Bombay (Mumbai), India, killing about 300 and injuring hundreds more.
1993 – North Korea nuclear weapons program: North Korea says that it plans to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and refuses to allow inspectors access to its nuclear sites.
1993 – The Blizzard of 1993 – Snow begins to fall across the eastern portion of the US with tornadoes, thunder snow storms, high winds and record low temperatures. The storm lasts for 30 hours.
1994 – The Church of England ordains its first female priests.
1999 – Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.
2003 – Zoran Ðindic, Prime Minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade.
2004 – The President of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, is impeached by its National Assembly: the first such impeachment in the nation's history.
2009 – Financier Bernard Madoff plead guilty in New York to scamming $18 billion, the largest in Wall Street history.
2011 – A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melts and explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after Japan's earthquake.

Births

1270 – Charles of Valois, son of Philip III of France (d. 1325)
1478 – Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1516)
1607 – Paul Gerhardt, German hymnist (d. 1676)
1613 – André Le Nôtre, French landscape architect (d. 1700)
1620 – Johann Heinrich Hottinger, Swiss philologist and theologian (d. 1667)
1626 – John Aubrey, English antiquary and writer (d. 1697)
1637 – Anne Hyde, wife of James II of England (d. 1671)
1647 – Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie, French general (d. 1727)
1672 – Richard Steele, Irish writer and politician (d. 1729)
1685 – George Berkeley, Irish theologian (d. 1753)
1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer (d. 1778)
1713 – Johann Adolph Hass, German clavichord and harpsichord maker (d. 1771)
1718 – Joseph Damer, English politician (d. 1798)
1781 – Frederica of Baden, Queen of Sweden (d. 1826)
1806 – Jane Pierce, First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
1821 – Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, Canadian statesman (d. 1893)
1824 – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (d. 1887)
1831 – Clement Studebaker, American automobile executive (d. 1901)
1832 – Charles Boycott, British land agent (d. 1897)
1835 – Simon Newcomb, Canadian-born American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1909)
1837 – Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (d. 1911)
1838 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist (d. 1907)
1859 – Abraham H. Cannon, American religious figure (d. 1896)
1863 – Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer (d. 1938)
1863 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (d. 1945)
1864 – William Halse Rivers Rivers, British psychiatrist (d. 1922)
1864 – Alice Tegnér, Swedish composer and organist (d. 1943)
1874 – Charles Weeghman, American restaurateur and owner of Chicago Cubs (d. 1938)
1878 – Gemma Galgani, Catholic saint and mystic (d. 1903)
1880 – Henry Drysdale Dakin, British-born American biochemist (d. 1952)
1880 – Nikolaos Georgantas, Greek discus thrower (d. 1958)
1881 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, first President of Turkey (d. 1938)
1881 – Gunnar Nordström, Finnish physicist (d. 1923)
1883 – Zoltán Meskó, Hungarian Nazi official (d. 1959)
1889 – Þórbergur Þórðarson, Icelandic author (d. 1974)
1889 – King Idris I of Libya (d. 1983)
1890 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish ballet dancer (d. 1950)
1890 – William Dudley Pelley, American spiritualist and politician (d. 1965)
1890 – Evert Taube, Swedish author and composer (d. 1976)
1891 – George W. Mason, American industrialist (d. 1954)
1895 – William C. Lee, American Army general (d. 1948)
1907 – Arthur Hewlett, British actor (d. 1997)
1907 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer (d. 2007)
1908 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)
1908 – David Saul Marshall Singaporean statesman (d. 1995)
1910 – Masayoshi Ohira, Japanese statesman (d. 1980)
1911 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican statesman (d. 1979)
1912 – Irving Layton, Canadian poet (d. 2006)
1912 – Paul Weston, American pianist, arranger and conductor (d. 1996)
1913 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician (d. 1984)
1913 – Agathe von Trapp, member of the Trapp family signers (d. 2010)
1914 – Julia Lennon, mother of John Lennon (d. 1958)
1915 – Willibald C. Bianchi, American Army officer and Medal of Honor winner (d. 1945)
1917 – Millard Kaufman, American screenwriter (d. 2009)
1917 – Googie Withers, British actress
1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American artist (d. 1989)
1919 – Mike Stepovich, American attorney and last territorial governor of Alaska
1921 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive (d. 2003)
1921 – Ülo Jõgi, Estonian historian and anti-Soviet activist (d. 2007)
1921 – Gordon MacRae, American singer and actor (d. 1986)
1922 – Jack Kerouac, American writer (d. 1969)
1922 – Lane Kirkland, American labor leader (d. 1999)
1923 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater
1923 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d. 2005)
1923 – Clara Fraser, American feminist and activist (d. 1998)
1923 – Hanne Hiob, German actress (d. 2009)
1923 – Wally Schirra, American astronaut (d. 2007)
1923 – Mae Young, American professional wrestler
1924 – Claude-Gilles Gosselin, Canadian politician
1924 – Henri Rochon, Canadian tennis player (d. 2005)
1925 – Louison Bobet, French cyclist (d. 1983)
1925 – Georges Delerue, French film composer (d. 1992)
1925 – Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist, Nobel laureate
1925 – Harry Harrison, American author
1926 – George Ariyoshi, American politician
1926 – DeLois Barrett Campbell, American gospel singer (d. 2011)
1927 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentine politician (d. 2009)
1928 – Edward Albee, American dramatist
1928 – Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, Canadian politician and senator
1928 – Aldemaro Romero, Venezuelan musician (d. 2007)
1929 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist
1930 – Bronco Horvath, Canadian ice hockey player
1930 – Vernon Law, American baseball player
1931 – Herbert Kelleher, American airline executive
1931 – Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, American actor (d. 1980)
1932 – Andrew Young, American civil rights activist and politician
1933 – Barbara Feldon, American actress and model
1935 – John Doherty, English footballer (d. 2007)
1936 – Patrick Procktor, English artist (d. 2003)
1936 – Eddie Sutton, American college basketball coach
1938 – Lew DeWitt, American country singer and songwriter (The Statler Brothers) (d. 1990)
1938 – Johnny Rutherford, American automobile racer
1938 – Dimitri Terzakis, Greek composer
1940 – Al Jarreau, American singer
1940 – M.A. Numminen, Finnish singer and writer
1940 – Joe Unger, American actor
1943 – Ratko Mladic, Serbian military commander
1942 – Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player
1945 – Sammy Gravano, American organized crime figure
1946 – Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
1946 – Frank Welker, American voice actor
1946 – Serge Turgeon, Canadian actor and union leader (d. 2004)
1946 – Peter Whalley, British television writer and author
1947 – Peter Harry Carstensen, German politician
1947 – Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (d. 1987)
1947 – Mitt Romney, American politician, 70th governor of Massachusetts
1948 – Virginia Bottomley, British politician
1948 – Kent Conrad, American politician
1948 – James Taylor, American musician
1949 – Rob Cohen, American film director, producer and writer
1949 – Moctesuma Esparza, Mexican producer and filmmaker
1949 – Natalia Kuchinskaya, Soviet gymnast
1949 – David Mellor, British QC, politician and broadcaster
1950 – Javier Clemente, Spanish football manager
1950 – Jon Provost, American actor
1950 – Wheeler Winston Dixon, American filmmaker, critic and author
1952 – Pierre Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
1952 – Naomi Shihab Nye, American poet, songwriter, and novelist
1952 – Randy Stonehill, American singer-songwriter, CCM
1953 – Carl Hiaasen, American journalist and author
1953 – Ron Jeremy, American pornographic actor
1956 – Steve Harris, English musician (Iron Maiden)
1956 – Dale Murphy, American baseball player
1957 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer
1957 – Marlon Jackson, American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)
1958 – Matt Millen, American football player
1960 – Kipp Lennon, American singer
1960 – Minoru Niihara, Japanese singer
1960 – Maki Nomiya, Japanese singer (Pizzicato Five)
1960 – Courtney B. Vance, American actor
1961 – Joseph Facal, Canadian politician
1962 – Julia Campbell, American actress
1962 – Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player
1963 – Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner
1963 – Ian Holloway, English football manager
1963 – Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi of Iran
1965 – Steve Finley, American baseball player
1965 – Shawn Gilbert, American baseball player
1965 – Steve Levy, American sports journalist
1965 – Coleen Nolan, British singer
1965 – Liza Umarova, Chechen torch singer
1966 – Grant Long, American basketball player
1966 – John Thompson III, American basketball coach
1967 – Julio Dely Valdes, Panamanian footballer
1968 – Tammy Duckworth, American politician, military aviator
1968 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor
1969 – Graham Coxon, English musician (Blur)
1969 – Jake Tapper, American journalist
1970 – Dave Eggers, American writer, editor, and publisher
1970 – Roy Khan, Norwegian singer (Kamelot)
1970 – John Nemechek, American NASCAR driver (d. 1997)
1970 – Ray Prewitt, American actor
1970 – Rex Walters, American basketball player
1971 – Tony Eveready, American adult film actor
1971 – Isaiah Rider, American basketball player
1972 – Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian actor
1972 – James Maritato, American wrestler
1974 – Chris Parr, American basketball player
1974 – Steve Price, Australia rugby league player
1975 – Kelle Bryan, English singer
1975 – Annabel Port, English radio presenter
1975 – Todd Rock, American state legislator
1976 – Panagiotis Bahramis, Greek footballer (d. 2010)
1976 – Zhao Wei, Chinese actress
1977 – Ramiro Corrales, American footballer
1978 – Christianne Klein, American journalist and television personality
1978 – Masuimi Max, American model
1978 – Casey Mears, American auto racer
1978 – Claudio Sanchez, American musician (Coheed and Cambria)
1978 – Arina Tanemura, Japanese manga artist
1979 – Rhys Coiro, American actor
1979 – Pete Doherty, English musician
1979 – Nidia Guenard, American wrestler
1979 – Enrico Kern, German footballer
1979 – Shaun Rogers, American football player
1979 – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian footballer
1979 – Jamie Dwyer, Australian hockey player
1980 – John-Paul Lavoisier, American actor
1980 – Douglas Murray, Swedish ice hockey player
1981 – Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese wrestler
1981 – Maurizio Lauro, Italian footballer
1982 – Samm Levine, American actor
1982 – Zach Miner, American baseball player
1982 – Tobias Schweinsteiger, German footballer
1983 – Atif Aslam, Pakistani singer
1983 – Mikko Koivu, Finnish ice hockey player
1984 – Jaimie Alexander, American actress
1984 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer
1985 – Stromae, Belgian singer and songwriter
1985 – Bradley Wright-Phillips, English footballer
1986 – Danny Jones, English singer (McFly)
1986 – Ben Offereins, Australian athlete
1987 – Chris Seitz, American footballer
1987 – Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
1988 – Konstantinos Mitroglou, Greek footballer
1989 – Tyler Clary, American swimmer
1994 – Christina Grimmie, American singer, songwriter, pianist
1994 – Tyler Patrick Jones, American actor
1995 – Kanon Fukuda, Japanese singer