today.nukz.net: Almanac April 9

Paul Leroy Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) American concert singer (bass), recording artist, actor, athlete, and scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the 20th century.
He gained international attention for his work in the arts and he merged his artistic career with political activism to speak out for the equality of minorities and the rights of workers throughout the world. His friendship with the Soviet Union USSR and the Soviet peoples plus criticism of the lack of progress in civil rights in the United States (US) at the outset of the Cold War and during the age of McCarthyism brought scrutiny, conflict and retribution from the American government. His public persona became diminished, his income plummeted and he faced isolation from the Civil Rights Movement in the second half of the 20th century. Robeson endured McCarthyism and briefly returned to the artistic spotlight, but the events in the 1950s combined with ongoing severe health breakdowns well into the 1960s virtually destroyed his health. Robeson lived out the last years of his life privately in Philadelphia.

Events

193 – Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans).
475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position.
1241 – Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeat the Polish and German armies.
1388 – Despite being outnumbered 16 to 1, forces of the Old Swiss Confederacy are victorious over the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Näfels.
1413 – Henry V is crowned King of England.
1440 – Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.
1454 – The Treaty of Lodi is signed, establishing a balance of power among northern Italian city-states for almost 50 years.
1511 – St John's College, Cambridge, England, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, receives its charter.
1585 – The expedition organised by Sir Walter Raleigh departs England for Roanoke Island (now in North Carolina) to establish the Roanoke Colony.
1609 – Eighty Years' War: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of Antwerp to initiate twelve years of truce.
1682 – Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.
1782 – American War of Independence: Battle of the Saintes begins.
1860 – On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the oldest known recording of an audible human voice.
1852 – At a general conference of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young explains the Adam–God doctrine, an important part of the theology of Mormon fundamentalism.
1865 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war.
1867 – Alaska purchase: Passing by a single vote, the United States Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska.
1909 – The U.S. Congress passes the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act.
1914 – Mexican Revolution: One of the world's first naval/air skirmishes takes place off the coast of western Mexico.
1916 – World War I: The Battle of Verdun – German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.
1917 – World War I: The Battle of Arras – the battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
1918 – World War I: The Battle of the Lys – the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps is crushed by the German forces during what is called the Spring Offensive on the Belgian region of Flanders.
1918 – The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.
1937 – The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London – it is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
1939 – Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial, after being denied the right to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall.
1940 – World War II: Operation Weserübung – Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of Bataan/Bataan Death March – United States forces surrender on the Bataan Peninsula. The Japanese Navy launches an air raid on Trincomalee in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and Royal Australian Navy Destroyer HMAS Vampire are sunk off the island's east coast.
1945 – World War II: The German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer is sunk.
1945 – World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.
1945 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.
1947 – The Glazier-Higgins-Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
1947 – The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court's 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.
1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia known as La violencia.
1948 – Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100.
1952 – Hugo Ballivian's government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalisation of tin mines
1957 – The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping.
1959 – Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven".
1961 – The Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles, once the largest electric railway in the world, ends operations.
1965 – Astrodome opens. First indoor baseball game is played.
1967 – The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.
1968 – Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.
1969 – The "Chicago Eight" plead not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
1969 – The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford.
1975 – The first game of the Philippine Basketball Association, the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
1975 – 8 people in South Korea, who are involved in People's Revolutionary Party Incident, are hanged.
1980 – The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture.
1981 – The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington (SSBN-598) accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it.
1989 – The April 9 tragedy in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR an anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strikes, demanding restoration of Georgian independence is dispersed by the Soviet army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
1992 – A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
1992 – John Major's Conservative Party wins an unprecedented fourth general election victory in the United Kingdom.
2003 – 2003 invasion of Iraq: Baghdad falls to American forces;Saddam Hussein statue topples as Iraqis turn on symbols of their former leader, pulling down the statue and tearing it to pieces.
2005 – Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall.
2009 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.
2011 – A gunman murdered five people, injured eleven, and committed suicide in a mall in the Netherlands.

Births

1498 – John, Cardinal of Lorraine (d. 1550)
1597 – John Davenport, English clergyman and co-founder of the colony of New Haven. (d. 1670)
1598 – Johann Crüger, German composer (d. 1662)
1627 – Johann Kaspar Kerll, German composer and organist (d. 1693)
1634 – Albertine Agnes of Nassau (d. 1696)
1648 – Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1720)
1649 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (d. 1685)
1680 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French dramatist (d. 1754)
1686 – James Craggs the Younger, British politician (d. 1721)
1691 – Johann Matthias Gesner, German scholar (d. 1761)
1717 – Georg Matthias Monn, Austrian composer and music teacher (d. 1750)
1757 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, British admiral (d. 1833)
1770 – Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist (d. 1831)
1773 – Étienne Aignan, French writer (d. 1824)
1794 – Theobald Boehm, German inventor and musician (d. 1881)
1802 – Elias Lönnrot, Finnish folklorist (d. 1884)
1806 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British engineer (d. 1859)
1821 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet (d. 1867)
1830 – Eadweard Muybridge, English photographer (d. 1904)
1835 – King Leopold II of Belgium (d. 1909)
1846 – Paolo Tosti, Italian composer (d. 1916)
1865 – Erich Ludendorff, German general (d. 1937)
1865 – Charles Proteus Steinmetz, German engineer (d. 1923)
1867 – Chris Watson, Australian politician, Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1941)
1872 – Léon Blum, French politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1950)
1882 – Frederick Francis IV (d. 1946)
1888 – Sol Hurok, Russian impresario (d. 1974)
1889 – Efrem Zimbalist, Russian violinist (d. 1985)
1893 – Victor Gollancz, English publisher (d. 1967)
1893 – Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan, Indian historian and writer (d. 1963)
1895 – Michel Simon, French actor (d. 1975)
1895 – Mance Lipscomb, American singer, guitarist and songwriter (d. 1976)
1897 – John B. Gambling, American radio talk show host (d. 1974)
1898 – Earl "Curly" Lambeau, American football coach and executive (d. 1965)
1898 – Paul Robeson, American singer, actor, and activist (d. 1976)
1900 – Allen Jenkins, American actor (d. 1974)
1901 – Jean Bruchési, French-Canadian historian, president of the Royal Society of Canada (d. 1979)
1901 – Paul Willis, American actor (d. 1960)
1902 – Théodore Monod, French naturalist, explorer and scholar (d. 2000)
1903 – Ward Bond, American actor (d. 1960)
1904 – Sharkey Bonano, American jazz trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist (d. 1972)
1905 – J. William Fulbright, American politician (d. 1995)
1906 – Rafaela Aparicio, Spanish actress (d. 1996)
1906 – Antal Dorati, Hungarian conductor (d. 1988)
1908 – Joseph Krumgold, American author and scriptwriter (d. 1980)
1908 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian painter (d. 1997)
1910 – Abraham Ribicoff, American politician (d. 1998)
1912 – Lev Kopelev, Russian author (d. 1997)
1913 – Smaro Stefanidou, Greek actress (d. 2010)
1915 – Daniel Johnson, Sr., Canadian politician (d. 1968)
1917 – Johannes Bobrowski, German lyricist and writer (d. 1965)
1917 – Brad Dexter, American actor (d. 2002)
1918 – Jørn Utzon, Danish architect (d. 2008)
1919 – J. Presper Eckert, American electrical engineer (d. 1995)
1921 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French auto racing executive (d. 2008)
1921 – Frankie Thomas, American actor (d. 2006)
1922 – Carl Amery, German writer (d. 2005)
1926 – Hugh Hefner, American publisher, founder of Playboy Enterprises
1928 – Paul Arizin, American basketball player (d. 2006)
1928 – Tom Lehrer, American composer, satirist, and mathematician
1929 – Paule Marshall, American author
1930 – Nathaniel Branden, Canadian psychotherapist
1930 – F. Albert Cotton, American chemist (d. 2007)
1930 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, founder of McCain Foods (d. 2001)
1931 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (d. 1991)
1932 – Jim Fowler, American zoologist
1932 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (d. 2006)
1932 – Carl Perkins, American singer and guitarist (d. 1998)
1933 – Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor
1933 – Fern Michaels, American author
1934 – Bill Birch, New Zealand politician
1935 – Avery Schreiber, American actor (d. 2002)
1936 – Valerie Solanas, American writer (d. 1988)
1937 – Marty Krofft, Canadian television producer
1937 – Valerie Singleton, British television and radio presenter
1938 – Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian politician (d. 2010)
1938 – Rockin' Sidney, American singer and musician (d. 1998)
1939 – Michael Learned, American actress
1940 – Jim Roberts, Canadian hockey player
1941 – Kay Adams, American singer
1941 – Chu Song-woong, Korean actor (d. 1985)
1941 – Hannah Gordon, British actress
1942 – Brandon De Wilde, American actor (d. 1972)
1943 – Terry Knight, American singer-songwriter, producer, and promoter (Terry Knight and the Pack) (d. 2004)
1944 – Joe Brinkman, American baseball umpire
1945 – Steve Gadd, American drummer (Stuff)
1945 – Peter Gammons, American journalist
1946 – Nate Colbert, American baseball player
1946 – David Webb, English footballer and coach
1948 – Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress
1948 – Michel Parizeau, Canadian hockey player
1953 – John Howard, English singer-songwriter
1953 – Hal Ketchum, American singer-songwriter
1953 – Jessie Paul, Indian marketing expert and author
1954 – Dennis Quaid, American actor
1954 – Iain Duncan Smith, British politician
1955 – Joolz Denby, English poet and novelist
1955 – Kate Heyhoe, American writer
1956 – Miguel Ángel Russo, Argentine footballer
1957 – Brian Alexander, British broadcaster
1957 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (d. 2011)
1957 – Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer
1961 – Mark Kelly, British keyboard player (Marillion and DeeExpus)
1961 – Kirk McCaskill, Canadian baseball and hockey player
1962 – Ihor Podolchak, Ukrainian director
1962 – Imran Sherwani, British field hockey player
1963 – Marc Jacobs, American fashion designer
1963 – Joe Scarborough, American television host, lawyer, author, and politician
1964 – Rob Awalt, American football player
1964 – Margaret Peterson Haddix, American author
1964 – Soyo Oka, Japanese musician, composer, and author
1964 – Peter Penashue, Canadian politician
1964 – Rick Tocchet, Canadian hockey player
1965 – Jay Wesley Neill, American murderer (d. 2002)
1965 – Mark Pellegrino, American actor
1965 – Paulina Porizkova, Czechoslovakian actress and model
1965 – Jeff Zucker, American television executive
1966 – Cynthia Nixon, American actress
1967 – Alex Kahn, American artist
1970 – Mike Barz, American meteorologist and news anchor
1970 – Tricia Penrose, British actress and singer
1971 – Peter Canavan, Gaelic footballer
1971 – Earl Cole, American entrepreneur, producer, philanthropist, and advertising executive, winner of Survivor: Fiji
1971 – Austin Peck, American actor
1971 – Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver
1971 – Leo Fortune-West, English footballer
1972 – Bernard Ackah, Ivorian martial artist and comedian
1973 – Spenny Rice, Canadian writer, director, producer, and comedian
1974 – Jenna Jameson, American porn actress and model
1974 – Alexander Pichushkin, Russian serial killer
1975 – Robbie Fowler, English footballer
1975 – David Gordon Green, American filmmaker
1977 – Gerard Way, American singer and writer (My Chemical Romance)
1978 – Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
1978 – Vesna Pisarovic, Croatian singer
1978 – Rachel Stevens, English singer, dancer, and actress (S Club)
1978 – Veronica Taylor, American actress
1979 – Albert Hammond, Jr., American guitarist (The Strokes)
1979 – Katsuni, French porn actress
1979 – Keith Nobbs, American actor
1979 – Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress
1979 – Jeff Reed, American football player
1980 – Clueso, German singer-songwriter and producer
1980 – Yoanna House, American model
1980 – Jerko Leko, Croatian footballer
1980 – Lee Yo-Won, South Korean actress
1981 – Milan Bartovic, Slovak hockey player
1981 – Ireneusz Jelen, Polish footballer
1981 – Dennis Sarfate, American baseball player
1981 – Arlen Escarpeta, Belizean actor
1982 – Jay Baruchel, Canadian actor
1982 – Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer
1984 – Linda Chung, Canadian-Chinese actress and singer
1984 – Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player
1985 – Tomohisa Yamashita, Japanese actor and singer (NEWS)
1985 – Antonio Nocerino, Italian footballer
1985 – David Robertson, American baseball player
1986 – Brian Larsen, American singer, musician, and record producer
1986 – Leighton Meester, American actress and singer
1987 – Craig Mabbitt, American singer (Escape the Fate, Blessthefall, and The Word Alive)
1987 – Jesse McCartney, American actor and singer (Dream Street)
1987 – Jarrod Mullen, Australian rugby league footballer
1987 – Jazmine Sullivan, American singer
1988 – Dino Imperial, Filipino actor
1988 – Michel Alves Baroni, Brazilian footballer
1988 – Uee, South Korean actress and singer (After School)
1989 – Danielle Kahle, American figure skater
1990 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
1998 – Elle Fanning, American actress
2000 – Jackie Evancho, American singer

Deaths

585 BC– Emperor Jimmu, Japanese Emperor
93 – Yuan An, Chinese statesman
436 – Tan Daoji, Chinese statesman
491 – Zeno, Byzantine Emperor
715 – Pope Constantine
1024 – Pope Benedict VIII
1137 – William X, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1099)
1305 – Lord Borchard de Herle, English diplomat (b. 1268)
1483 – King Edward IV of England (b. 1442)
1484 – Edward of Middleham (b. 1473)
1492 – Lorenzo de' Medici, Italian statesmen (b. 1449)
1553 – François Rabelais, French writer
1557 – Mikael Agricola, Finnish scholar (b. c. 1510)
1626 – Sir Francis Bacon, English statesman (b. 1561)
1654 – Matei Basarab, Wallachian Voivode Prince (b. 1588)
1693 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French writer (b. 1618)
1747 – Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, Scottish peer
1754 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher (b. 1679)
1761 – William Law, British minister (b. 1686)
1804 – Jacques Necker, French statesman (b. 1732)
1806 – William V of Orange (b. 1748)
1872 – Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (b. 1794)
1876 – Charles Goodyear, American politician (b. 1804)
1889 – Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist (b. 1786)
1909 – Helena Modjeska, Polish-American actress (b. 1840)
1917 – James Hope Moulton, British scholar (b. 1863)
1922 – Hans Fruhstorfer, German lepidoterist (b. 1866)
1926 – Zip the Pinhead, American freak show performer (b. c. 1857)
1936 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist (b. 1855)
1940 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, British actress (b. 1865)
1944 – Yevgeniya Rudneva, Russian pilot (b. 1920)
1945 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian, German resistance figure (b. 1906)
1945 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral, German resistance figure (b. 1887)
1945 – Hans von Dohnanyi, German jurist, German resistance figure (b. 1902)
1945 – Georg Elser, German carpenter, German resistance figure (b. 1903)
1945 – Hans Oster, German German Army general and deputy, German resistance figure (b. 1887)
1945 – Karl Sack, German German jurist, German resistance figure (b. 1896)
1948 – George Carpenter, Australian Salvation Army general (b. 1872)
1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (b. 1903)
1951 – Vilhelm Bjerknes, Norwegian physicist (b. 1862)
1953 – Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (b. 1877)
1953 – C.E.M. Joad, English philosopher and broadcaster (b. 1891)
1959 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect (b. 1867)
1961 – King Zog I of Albania (b. 1895)
1963 – Eddie Edwards, American jazz musician (Original Dixieland Jass Band) (b. 1891)
1970 – Gustaf Tenggren, Swedish illustrator (b. 1896)
1976 – Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer, pianist (b. 1903)
1976 – Phil Ochs, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
1978 – Clough Williams-Ellis, Welsh architect (b. 1883)
1980 – Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Iraqi Shia cleric and philosopher (b. 1935)
1982 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian conductor (b. 1896)
1988 – Brook Benton, American singer and songwriter (b. 1931)
1988 – Hans Berndt, German footballer (b. 1913)
1988 – David Prater, American singer (Sam & Dave) (b. 1937)
1991 – Martin Hannett, English record producer (b. 1948)
1993 – Joseph B. Soloveitchik, American rabbi (b. 1903)
1996 – Richard Condon, American novelist (b. 1915)
1996 – James W. Rouse, American real estate developer (b. 1914)
1997 – Helene Hanff, American writer (b. 1916)
1997 – Mae Boren Axton, American singer and songwriter (b. 1914)
1998 – Tom Cora, American cellist and composer (Skeleton Crew, Curlew, and Third Person (b. 1953)
1999 – Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Niger politician and general (b. 1949)
2001 – Willie Stargell, American baseball player (b. 1940)
2002 – Leopold Vietoris, Austrian mathematician (b. 1891)
2002 – Pat Flaherty, American race car driver (b. 1926)
2003 – Earl Bramblett, American murderer (b. 1942)
2005 – Andrea Dworkin, American activist and writer (b. 1946)
2006 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player and coach (b. 1916)
2006 – Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish writer and director (b. 1924)
2007 – Egon Bondy, Czech philosopher and writer (b. 1930)
2009 – Nick Adenhart, American baseball player (b. 1986)
2010 – Zoltán Varga, Hungarian footballer (b. 1945)
2010 – Aladár Kovácsi, Hungarian athlete (b. 1932)
2011 – Sidney Lumet, American director (b. 1924)