Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big-band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions.
In the opinion of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe "In the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington." A major figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. Several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His reputation increased after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowed on him a special posthumous honor in 1999.
Events
- 711 – Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).
- 1091 – Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexius I.
- 1429 – Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans.
- 1483 – Gran Canaria, the main island of the Canary Islands is conquered by the Kingdom of Castile.
- 1587 – Francis Drake leads a raid in the Bay of Cádiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish fleet.
- 1672 – Franco-Dutch War: Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
- 1770 – James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia.
- 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British and French ships clash in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique.
- 1832 – Évariste Galois is released from prison.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Maryland's House of Delegates votes not to secede from the Union.
- 1862 – American Civil War: New Orleans, Louisiana falls to Union forces under Admiral David Farragut.
- 1864 – Theta Xi fraternity is founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the only fraternity to be founded during the Civil War.
- 1882 – The "Elektromote" – forerunner of the trolleybus – is tested by Ernst Werner von Siemens in Berlin.
- 1903 – A 30 million cubic-metre landslide kills 70 in Frank, Alberta, Canada.
- 1910 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the People's Budget, the first budget in British history with the expressed intent of redistributing wealth among the British public.
- 1916 – World War I: The British 6th Indian Division surrenders to Ottoman Forces at the Siege of Kut in one of the largest surrenders of British forces up to that point.
- 1916 – Easter Rising: Martial law in Ireland is lifted and the rebellion is officially over with the surrender of Irish nationalists to British authorities in Dublin.
- 1945 – World War II: The German army in Italy unconditionally surrenders to the Allies.
- 1945 – World War II: Start of Operation Manna.
- 1945 – World War II: The Captain class frigate HMS Goodall K479 is torpedoed by U-286 outside the Kola Inlet becoming the last ship of the Royal Navy sunk in the European theatre of World War II.
- 1945 – World War II – Fuehrerbunker: Adolf Hitler marries his longtime partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and designates Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor. Both Hitler and Braun commit suicide the following day.
- 1945 – The Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops.
- 1945 – The Italian commune of Fornovo di Taro is liberated from German forces by Brazilian forces.
- 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convenes and indicts former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders for war crimes.
- 1946 – Father Divine, a controversial religious leader who claims to be God, marries the much-younger Edna Rose Ritchings, a celebrated anniversary in the International Peace Mission movement.
- 1951 – Tibetan delegates to the Central People's Government arrive in Beijing and draft a Seventeen Point Agreement for Chinese sovereignty and Tibetan autonomy.
- 1953 – The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV.
- 1965 – Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) successfully launches its seventh rocket in its Rehber series.
- 1967 – After refusing induction into the United States Army the day before (citing religious reasons), Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.
- 1968 – The controversial musical Hair opens on Broadway.
- 1970 – Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invade Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.
- 1974 – Watergate Scandal: President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings relating to the scandal.
- 1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The U.S. begins to evacuate U.S. citizens from Saigon prior to an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war comes to an end.
- 1986 – A fire at the Central library of the City of Los Angeles Public Library damages or destroys 400,000 books and other items.
- 1991 – A cyclone strikes the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 miles per hour (249 km/h), killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless.
- 1992 – Los Angeles riots: Riots in Los Angeles, California, following the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days 53 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.
- 1997 – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by its signatories.
- 1999 – The Avala TV Tower near Belgrade is destroyed in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
- 2004 – Dick Cheney and George W. Bush testify before the 9/11 Commission in a closed, unrecorded hearing in the Oval Office.
- 2004 – Oldsmobile builds its final car ending 107 years of production.
- 2005 – Syria completes withdrawal from Lebanon, ending 29 years of occupation.
- 2011 – Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Kate Middleton.
Births
- 1636 – Esaias Reusner, German lutenist and composer (d. 1679)
- 1665 – James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, Irish statesman and soldier (d. 1745)
- 1667 – John Arbuthnot, English physician and satirist (d. 1735)
- 1686 – Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (d. 1742)
- 1727 – Jean-Georges Noverre, French dancer, founder of modern ballet (d. 1810)
- 1745 – Oliver Ellsworth, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1807)
- 1758 – Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish lieutenant general (d. 1820)
- 1762 – Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French marshal (d. 1833)
- 1769 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Anglo-Irish statesman (d. 1852)
- 1780 – Charles Nodier, French writer (d. 1844)
- 1784 – Samuel Turell Armstrong, American politician, Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1850)
- 1810 – Thomas Adolphus Trollope, English author and journalist (d. 1892)
- 1818 – Alexander II of Russia (d. 1881)
- 1837 – Georges Boulanger, French general and politician (d. 1891)
- 1842 – Karl Millöcker, Dutch composer (d. 1899)
- 1848 – Raja Ravi Varma,Indian painter (d.1906)
- 1854 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1912)
- 1863 – William Randolph Hearst, American publisher (d. 1951)
- 1863 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet (d. 1933)
- 1863 – Maria Theresa Ledochowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic nun (d. 1922)
- 1868 – Alice Keppel, English socialite and mistress of King Edward VII (d. 1947)
- 1872 – Harry Payne Whitney, American businessman, lawyer and horse-breeder (d. 1930)
- 1875 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian-English writer (d. 1950)
- 1876 – Zauditu of Ethiopia (d. 1930)
- 1879 – Thomas Beecham, English conductor (d. 1961)
- 1882 – Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch artist and printer (d. 1945)
- 1885 – Egon Erwin Kisch, Czech journalist and author (d. 1948)
- 1893 – Harold Urey, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- 1895 – Malcolm Sargent, English conductor (d. 1967)
- 1899 – Duke Ellington, American composer, pianist, and bandleader (d. 1974)
- 1901 – Hirohito, Japanese emperor (d. 1989)
- 1907 – Tino Rossi, French singer and actor (d. 1983)
- 1907 – Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-American director (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Jack Williamson, American writer (d. 2006)
- 1909 – Tom Ewell, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1912 – Richard Carlson, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1915 – Donald Mills, American singer (Mills Brothers) (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Maya Deren, Ukraine-American filmmaker, writer, and photographer (d. 1961)
- 1917 – Celeste Holm, American actress
- 1918 – George Allen, American football player and coach (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Gérard Oury, French actor and director (d. 2006)
- 1920 – Harold Shapero, American composer
- 1920 – Edward Blishen, English author (d. 1996)
- 1922 – Helmut Krackowizer, Austrian motorcyclist (d. 2001)
- 1922 – Toots Thielemans, Belgian jazz musician
- 1924 – Al Balding, Canadian golfer (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Zizi Jeanmaire, French dancer and actress
- 1925 – Ned Austin, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1925 – John Compton, Saint Lucian politician, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia (d. 2007)
- 1925 – Iwao Takamoto, American animator, producer and director (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Elmer Kelton, American novelist (d. 2009)
- 1928 – Carl Gardner, American singer (The Coasters) (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Ray Barretto, American jazz musician (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Walter Kempowski, German author (d. 2007)
- 1929 – Mickey McDermott, American baseball player (d. 2003)
- 1929 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer
- 1930 – Jean Rochefort, French actor
- 1931 – Frank Auerbach, German-English painter
- 1931 – Lonnie Donegan, English singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2002)
- 1932 – Joy Clements, American soprano (d. 2005)
- 1933 – Mark Eyskens, Belgian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Belgium
- 1933 – Rod McKuen, American poet and composer
- 1934 – Luis Aparicio, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1934 – Pedro Pires, Portuguese politician, 3rd President of Cape Verde
- 1934 – Otis Rush, American singer and guitarist
- 1936 – Zubin Mehta, Indian conductor
- 1936 – Adolfo Nicolás, Spanish priest
- 1936 – Lane Smith, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1936 – April Stevens, American singer (Nino Tempo & April Stevens)
- 1937 – Hasil Adkins, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2005)
- 1937 – Jill Paton Walsh, English writer
- 1938 – Fred Dibnah, English steeplejack (d. 2004)
- 1938 – Bernard Madoff, American businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier
- 1938 – Klaus Voormann, German artist, musician, and producer (Manfred Mann and Plastic Ono Band)
- 1942 – Galina Kulakova, Soviet cross country skier
- 1944 – Princess Benedikte of Denmark
- 1944 – Richard Kline, American actor and director
- 1944 – Francis Lee, English footballer
- 1945 – Tammi Terrell, American singer (d. 1970)
- 1947 – Serge Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1947 – Tommy James, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Tommy James and the Shondells)
- 1947 – Jim Ryun, American athlete and politician
- 1948 – Bruce Cutler, American attorney
- 1948 – Michael Karoli, German musician and composer (Can) (d. 2001)
- 1949 – Anita Dobson, English actress and singer
- 1950 – Phillip Noyce, Australian director
- 1950 – Debbie Stabenow, American politician
- 1951 – Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)
- 1952 – Nora Dunn, American actress
- 1952 – David Icke, English writer
- 1952 – Bob McClure, American baseball player
- 1952 – Rob Nicholson, Canadian politician
- 1952 – Ron Washington, American baseball manager
- 1954 – Jake Burton Carpenter, American snowboarder
- 1954 – Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
- 1955 – Richard Epcar, American voice actor
- 1955 – Wendee Lee, American voice actress
- 1955 – Kate Mulgrew, American actress
- 1955 – Leslie Jordan, American actor
- 1955 – Gino Quilico, Canadian baritone
- 1956 – Sofia Sakorafa, Greek javelin thrower and politician
- 1956 – Ketil Stokkan, Norwegian singer-songwriter (Zoo)
- 1957 – Daniel Day-Lewis, English-Irish actor
- 1957 – Mark Kendall, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Great White)
- 1957 – Timothy Treadwell, American ecologist (d. 2003)
- 1958 – Gary Cohen, American sportscaster
- 1958 – Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
- 1958 – Eve Plumb, American actress
- 1958 – Martin Whitmarsh, English businessman
- 1960 – Phil King, English musician (Lush and The Jesus and Mary Chain)
- 1960 – Robert J. Sawyer, Canadian writer
- 1960 – Caveh Zahedi, American director and actor
- 1961 – Fumihiko Tachiki, Japanese seiyu
- 1962 – Bruce Driver, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 – Mike Babcock, Canadian ice hockey coach
- 1964 – Melody Barnes, American director of the White House Domestic Policy Council
- 1964 – Federico Castelluccio, Italian-American actor
- 1964 – Mohammad Qatanani, American Imam
- 1966 – Marie Plourde, Canadian journalist, television host, and columnist
- 1966 – Phil Tufnell, English cricketer
- 1967 – Curtis Joseph, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 – Master P, American rapper, producer, and actor (TRU and 504 Boyz)
- 1968 – Carnie Wilson, American singer (Wilson Phillips)
- 1969 – Paul Adelstein, American actor
- 1969 – Izel Çeliköz, Turkish singer
- 1970 – Andre Agassi, American tennis player
- 1970 – China Forbes, American singer-songwriter (Pink Martini)
- 1970 – Uma Thurman, American actress
- 1971 – Tamara Johnson-George, American singer (SWV)
- 1971 – Sam Michael, Australian sporting director and engineer
- 1972 – Dustin McDaniel, American politician
- 1973 – David Belle, French educator
- 1973 – Johan Hegg, Swedish singer (Amon Amarth)
- 1973 – Martin Kesici, German singer-songwriter and musician
- 1974 – Anggun, Indonesian singer-songwriter
- 1974 – Pascal Cygan, French footballer
- 1974 – Julian Knowle, Austrian tennis player
- 1974 – Jasper Wood, Canadian violinist
- 1975 – Rafael Betancourt, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1975 – Eric Koston, Thai-American skateboarder
- 1975 – Artem Yashkin, Ukrainian footballer
- 1975 – Béres Zoo, Hungarian disk jokey
- 1976 – Jay Orpin, Swedish composer and producer
- 1977 – Rocío Carrasco, Spanish television presenter and businesswoman
- 1977 – Zuzana Hejdová, Czech tennis player
- 1977 – Claus Jensen, Danish footballer
- 1977 – Thaddeus Bullard, American wrestler and football player
- 1978 – Tony Armas, Jr., Venezuelan baseball player
- 1978 – Bob Bryan, American tennis player
- 1978 – Mike Bryan, American tennis player
- 1978 – Craig Gower, Australian rugby player
- 1979 – Jo O'Meara, English singer-songwriter and actress (S Club and 2-4 Family)
- 1979 – Nihan Anaz, Turkish basketball player
- 1979 – Lee Dong-Gook, Korean footballer
- 1979 – Ryan Sharp, English race car driver
- 1979 – Sam Jones III, American actor
- 1979 – Ashish Nehra, Indian Cricket Player
- 1979 – Matt Tong, English drummer (Bloc Party)
- 1980 – Mathieu Biron, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Kian Egan, Irish singer-songwriter and musician (Westlife)
- 1980 – Luciano Milo, Italian ice dancer
- 1980 – Kelly Shoppach, American baseball player
- 1980 – Magdalena Tul, Polish singer and composer
- 1981 – George McCartney, Irish footballer
- 1981 – Émilie Mondor, Canadian athlete (d. 2006)
- 1981 – Alex Vincent, American actor
- 1982 – Mersad Selimbegovic, Bosnian footballer
- 1982 – Kate Nauta, American model and actress
- 1982 – Travis Smith, American drummer (Trivium)
- 1982 – Živile Raudoniene, Lithuanian model, bodybuilder, and wrestler
- 1983 – Jay Cutler, American football player
- 1983 – Tommie Harris, American football player
- 1983 – David Lee, American basketball player
- 1983 – Semih Sentürk, Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Yuriko Shiratori, Japanese model, artist, and actress
- 1984 – Taylor Cole, American actress
- 1984 – Firass Dirani, Australian actor
- 1984 – Ph?m Van Quy?n, Vietnamese footballer
- 1984 – Vasilis Xanthopoulos, Greek basketball player
- 1985 – Jean-François Jacques, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Renee Alway, American model
- 1987 – Knut Børsheim, Norwegian golfer
- 1987 – Alicia Morton, American actress
- 1988 – Jovan Leacock, American footballer
- 1988 – Jonathan Toews, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Charlotte Francis, English actress
- 1991 – Oviya, Indian model and actress
- 1992 – Emilio Orozco, American soccer player
- 1994 – Madeleine Budd, French actress
Deaths
- 926 – Burchard II, Duke of Swabia
- 1380 – Catherine of Siena, Italian saint (b. 1347)
- 1594 – Thomas Cooper, English bishop, lexicographer, and writer
- 1630 – Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet (b. 1552)
- 1658 – John Cleveland, English poet (b. 1613)
- 1676 – Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (b. 1607)
- 1688 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1620)
- 1698 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord of the British Admiralty (b. 1655)
- 1707 – George Farquhar, Irish dramatist (b. 1678)
- 1743 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French writer (b. 1658)
- 1768 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (b. 1694)
- 1771 – Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, Italian-Russian architect (b. 1700)
- 1776 – Edward Wortley Montagu, English traveler and writer (b. 1713)
- 1782 – Richard Kempenfelt, English admiral (b. 1718)
- 1793 – Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi (b. 1713)
- 1793 – John Michell, English scientist (b. 1724)
- 1798 – Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, German entomologist (b. 1723)
- 1854 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, British general (b. 1768)
- 1903 – Paul du Chaillu, French explorer (b. 1835)
- 1905 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (b. 1847)
- 1916 – Jørgen Pedersen Gram, Danish mathematician (b. 1850)
- 1916 – The O'Rahilly, Irish Nationalist and member of the Easter Rising (b. 1875)
- 1920 – William Henry Seward, Jr., American Union Brigadier General in the American Civil War (b. 1839)
- 1933 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet (b. 1863)
- 1935 – Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1905)
- 1937 – William Gillette, American actor (b. 1853)
- 1944 – Bernardino Machado, Portuguese Politician, President of Portugal (b. 1851)
- 1945 – Matthias Kleinheisterkamp, German SS officer (b. 1893)
- 1947 – Irving Fisher, American economist (b. 1867)
- 1951 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian philosopher (b. 1889)
- 1956 – Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (b. 1876)
- 1961 – Cisco Houston, American singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1918)
- 1966 – William Eccles, English physicist and radio pioneer (b. 1875)
- 1967 – J. B. Lenoir, American singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1929)
- 1967 – Anthony Mann, American actor and director (b. 1906)
- 1979 – Hardie Gramatky, American author and animator (b. 1907)
- 1980 – Alfred Hitchcock, English director (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Raymond Bussières, French actor (b. 1907)
- 1988 – James McCracken, American tenor (b. 1926)
- 1992 – Mae Clarke, American actress (b. 1910)
- 1993 – Michael Gordon, American director (b. 1909)
- 1993 – Mick Ronson, English musician, songwriter, and producer (The Spiders from Mars and Mott the Hoople) (b. 1946)
- 1997 – Mike Royko, American columnist (b. 1932)
- 1998 – Hal Laycoe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1922)
- 2000 – Pham Van Dong, Vietnamese politician (b. 1906)
- 2002 – Bob Akin, American industrialist and race car driver (b. 1936)
- 2002 – Lor Tok, Thai comedian and actor (b. 1914)
- 2004 – Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Louis Leithold, American mathematician (b. 1924)
- 2005 – William J. Bell, American writer and producer (b. 1927)
- 2005 – Sara Henderson, Australian pastoralist and author (b. 1936)
- 2005 – Mariana Levy, Mexican actress, singer, and television host (b. 1966)
- 2006 – John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist (b. 1908)
- 2007 – Milt Bocek, American baseball player (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (b. 1978)
- 2007 – Dick Motz, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Arve Opsahl, Norwegian actor (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Ivica Racan, Croatian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Zhang Taofang, Chinese sniper (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist, first to synthesize LSD (b. 1906)
- 2010 – A.S. Douglas, English computer scientist, creator of the first graphical computer game (b. 1921)
- 2011 – Siamak Pourzand, Iranian dissident journalist (b. 1931)
Holidays and observances
- Christian Feast Day:
- International Dance Day (International)
- Queen's Night (the Netherlands)
- Showa Day, traditionally the start of the Golden Week holiday period. (Japan)
- The beginning of Arita Ceramic Fair (Arita, Saga, Japan)
- The ninth day of Ridván (Bahá'í Faith)
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