today.nukz.net: Almanac May 28

Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the electric guitar. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him at #47 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Events

585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
1503 – James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor are married according to a Papal Bull by Pope Alexander VI. A Treaty of Everlasting Peace between Scotland and England signed on that occasion results in a peace that lasts ten years.
1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.
1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port).
1644 – Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of the Earl of Derby.
1754 – French and Indian War: in the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under 22-year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
1830 – President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which relocates Native Americans.
1892 – In San Francisco, California, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Togo Heihachiro and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
1918 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Democratic Republic of Armenia declare their independence.
1926 – 28th May 1926 coup d'état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.
1930 – The Chrysler Building in New York City officially opens.
1932 – In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer.
1934 – Near Callander, Ontario, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy.
1936 – Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.
1937 – The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., who pushes a button signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the span.
1940 – World War II: Belgium surrenders to Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.
1940 – World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War.
1942 – World War II: in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, Nazis in Czechoslovakia kill over 1,800 people.
1951 – British radio comedy programme The Goon Show was broadcast on BBC for the first time.
1952 – The women of Greece are given the right to vote.
1958 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro's 26 July movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
1961 – Peter Benenson's article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization is formed.
1974 – Northern Ireland's power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists.
1975 – Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
1977 – In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside.
1979 – Constantine Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community.
1982 – Falklands War: British forces defeat the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green.
1987 – 19-year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet Union air defenses and lands a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained and will not be released until August 3, 1988.
1991 – The capital city of Addis Ababa, falls to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War.
1993 – Eritrea and Monaco join the United Nations.
1995 – The Russian town of Neftegorsk is hit by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that kills at least 2,000 people, half of the total population.
1996 – U.S. President Bill Clinton's former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, James McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.
1998 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually.
1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.
2002 – NATO declares Russia a limited partner in the Western alliance.
2002 – The Mars Odyssey finds signs of large ice deposits on the planet Mars.
2003 – Peter Hollingworth becomes the first Governor-General of Australia to resign his office as a result of criticism of his conduct.
2004 – The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq's interim government.
2008 – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty.
2010 – In West Bengal, India, a train derailment and subsequent collision kills 141 passengers.

Births

1140 – Xin Qiji, Chinese poet, military leader, and statesman (d. 1207)
1371 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1419)
1524 – Selim II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1574)
1582 – William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, English statesman (d. 1662)
1588 – Pierre Séguier, French statesman, Chancellor of France (d. 1672)
1641 – Janez Vajkard Valvasor, Slovenian polymath (d. 1693)
1660 – George I of Great Britain (d. 1727)
1676 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (d. 1754)
1692 – Joseph Butler, English philosopher (d. 1752)
1692 – Geminiano Giacomelli, Italian composer (d. 1740)
1738 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician (d. 1814)
1759 – William Pitt the Younger, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1806)
1763 – Manuel Alberti, Argentine priest (d. 1811)
1779 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet (d. 1852)
1807 – Louis Agassiz, Swiss zoologist and geologist (d. 1873)
1818 – P.G.T. Beauregard, American Confederate general (d. 1893)
1836 – Alexander Mitscherlich, German chemist (d. 1918)
1836 – Friedrich Baumfelder, German composer, conductor, and pianist (d. 1916)
1837 – George Ashlin, Irish architect (d. 1921)
1837 – Tony Pastor, American impresario and theater owner (d. 1908)
1841 – Sakaigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 14th Yokozuna (d. 1887)
1853 – Carl Larsson, Swedish painter (d. 1919)
1858 – Carl Richard Nyberg, Swedish inventor and industrialist, developed the blow torch (d. 1939)
1872 – Marian Smoluchowski, Polish physicist (d. 1917)
1878 – Paul Pelliot, French sinologist and explorer (d. 1945)
1879 – Milutin Milankovic, Serbian geophysicist (d. 1958)
1883 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian politician (d. 1966)
1883 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed the Portmeirion Village (d. 1978)
1884 – Edvard Beneš, Czech politician (d. 1948)
1886 – Santo Trafficante, Sr., Sicilian-American mobster (d. 1954)
1888 – Jim Thorpe, American athlete (d. 1953)
1888 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
1888 – Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot, English governess and writer (d. 1947)
1889 – Richard Réti, Austrian-Czech chess player (d. 1929)
1892 – Josef Dietrich, German SS general (d. 1966)
1900 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpeter and writer (d. 1939)
1908 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian politician (d. 2005)
1908 – Ian Fleming, English author (d. 1964)
1909 – Red Horner, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
1910 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician (d. 1987)
1910 – Rachel Kempson, English actress (d. 2003)
1910 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer (d. 1975)
1911 – Thora Hird, English actress (d. 2003)
1911 – Fritz Hochwälder, Austrian playwright (d. 1986)
1912 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (d. 1981)
1912 – Patrick White, Australian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
1912 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist and politician (d. 1992)
1914 – W. G. G. Duncan Smith, English pilot (d. 1996)
1915 – Joseph Greenberg, American linguist (d. 2001)
1916 – Walker Percy, American author (d. 1990)
1917 – Papa John Creach, American violinist (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, and The Dinosaurs) (d. 1994)
1918 – Johnny Wayne, Canadian comedian and writer (d. 1990)
1921 – Heinz G. Konsalik, German novelist (d. 1999)
1922 – Lou Duva, American boxing trainer
1922 – Roger Fisher, American educator and author
1923 – György Ligeti, Hungarian composer (d. 2006)
1923 – Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, Indian actor and politician (d. 1996)
1924 – Paul Hébert, French-Canadian actor
1925 – Bülent Ecevit, Turkish politician, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2006)
1925 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German baritone and conductor (d. 2012)
1931 – Carroll Baker, American actress
1933 – John Karlen, American actor
1934 – Annette Dionne, Canadian quintuplet
1934 – Cecile Dionne, Canadian quintuplet
1934 – Emilie Dionne, Canadian quintuplet (d. 1954)
1934 – Marie Dionne, Canadian quintuplet (d. 1970)
1934 – Yvonne Dionne, Canadian quintuplet (d. 2001)
1936 – Betty Shabazz, American educator and activist, wife of Malcolm X (d. 1997)
1936 – Claude Forget, French-Canadian politician
1938 – Jerry West, American basketball player
1938 – Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
1940 – Shlomo Riskin, American rabbi, founder of the Lincoln Square Synagogue
1940 – Maeve Binchy, Irish novelist
1941 – Beth Howland, American actress
1942 – Stanley B. Prusiner, American neurologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1943 – Terry Crisp, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1943 – Elena Souliotis, Greek soprano (d. 2004)
1944 – Rudy Giuliani, American politician, 107th Mayor of New York City
1944 – Gladys Knight, American singer-songwriter and actress (Gladys Knight & the Pips)
1944 – Jean-Pierre Léaud, French actor
1944 – Patricia Quinn, Irish actress
1944 – Gary Stewart, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2003)
1944 – Billy Vera, American singer-songwriter and actor
1944 – Faith Brown, English actress
1945 – Patch Adams, American physician, activist, diplomat, and author, founded the Gesundheit! Institute
1945 – John Fogerty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Golliwogs)
1945 – John N. Bambacus, American politician
1946 – Satchidanandan, Indian poet
1946 – Skip Jutze, American baseball player
1947 – Sondra Locke, American actress
1947 – Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archaeologist
1947 – Lynn Johnston, Canadian cartoonist
1947 – Leland Sklar, American singer-songwriter, bassist, and composer (The Section and Era)
1948 – Pierre Rapsat, Belgian singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
1949 – Wendy O. Williams, American singer (Plasmatics) (d. 1998)
1950 – Ian Bradley, English writer and academic
1950 – Kamala, American wrestler
1952 – Roger Briggs, American composer, conductor, pianist, and educator
1952 – Russell J. Wintner, American businessman
1953 – Pierre Gauthier, Canadian ice hockey manager
1953 – Arto Lindsay, American singer, guitarist, producer, and composer (DNA, The Golden Palominos, The Lounge Lizards, and Ambitious Lovers)
1954 – John Tory, Canadian politician
1954 – Townsend Coleman, American voice actor
1954 – Andy Hamilton, English comedian, director, and screenwriter
1954 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist (d. 1988)
1955 – John McGeoch, Scottish guitarist (Magazine, Visage, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Public Image Ltd., and The Armoury Show) (d. 2004)
1955 – Mark Howe, American ice hockey player
1956 – Julie Peasgood, English actress
1956 – Jerry Douglas, American musician and producer (The Country Gentlemen and Strength in Numbers)
1956 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1980)
1957 – Kirk Gibson, American baseball player
1957 – Ben Howland, American basketball coach
1957 – Colin Barnes, English footballer
1959 – John Morgan, English etiquette expert and author (d. 2000)
1960 – Mark Sanford, American politician, 115th Governor of South Carolina
1961 – Michelle Collins, English actress
1962 – Roland Gift, English singer and actor (Fine Young Cannibals and Akrylykz)
1962 – Brandon Cruz, American actor
1962 – James Michael Tyler, American actor
1963 – Houman Younessi, Iranian scientist
1963 – Gavin Harrison, English musician (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, and OSI)
1964 – Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer
1964 – Armen Gilliam, American basketball player
1964 – Christa Miller, American actress
1964 – David Baddiel, American-English comedian, actor, and author
1964 – Phil Vassar, American singer-songwriter and pianist
1964 – Zsa Zsa Padilla, Filipino singer and actress (Hotdog)
1965 – Chris Ballew, American singer and bassist (The Presidents of the United States of America and Caspar Babypants)
1966 – Ashley Laurence, American actress
1967 – Glen Rice, American basketball player
1967 – Emma Kennedy, English actress
1968 – Kylie Minogue, Australian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1969 – Mike DiFelice, American baseball player
1969 – Justin Kirk, American actor
1969 – Rob Ford, Canadian politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto
1970 – Morgan Fox, Canadian model and actress
1970 – Jimi Goodwin, English singer-songwriter and musician (Doves and Sub Sub)
1970 – Ian Cashmore, English paranormal investigator and actor
1970 – Glenn Quinn, Irish actor (d. 2002)
1970 – Bobby Bognar, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Piper Downs)
1970 – Paul Sinha, English comedian and broadcaster
1971 – Isabelle Carré, French actress
1971 – Marco Rubio, American politician
1971 – Ekaterina Gordeeva, Russian figure skater
1972 – Michael Boogerd, Dutch cyclist
1972 – Kate Ashfield, English actress
1972 – Doriva, Brazilian footballer
1973 – Marco Paulo, Portuguese footballer
1974 – Alicia Minshew, American actress
1974 – Hans-Jörg Butt, German footballer
1974 – Romain Duris, French actor
1975 – Charmaine Sheh, Hong Kong actress
1975 – Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer
1976 – Roberto Goretti, Italian footballer
1976 – Glenn Morrison, Australian rugby player
1976 – Alexei Nemov, Russian gymnast
1976 – Liam O'Brien, American voice actor
1977 – Jeremy Borash, American wrestling announcer
1977 – Elisabeth Hasselbeck, American talk show host and author
1978 – Rufa Mae Quinto, Filipino actress and comedian
1979 – Jesse Bradford, American actor
1979 – Ronald Curry, American football player
1979 – Joeri Jansen, Belgian athlete
1979 – Monica Keena, American actress
1980 – Mark Feehily, Irish singer-songwriter and pianist (Westlife)
1980 – Miguel Pérez, Spanish footballer
1980 – Jørgen Strickert, Norwegian comedian, writer, and radio host
1981 – Daniel Cabrera, Dominican baseball player
1981 – Eric Ghiaciuc, American football player
1981 – Adam Green, American singer-songwriter, musician, and filmmaker (The Moldy Peaches)
1981 – Aaron Schock, American politician
1981 – Victoria Legrand, American singer-songwriter and keyboardist (Beach House)
1982 – Alexa Davalos, American actress
1982 – Jhonny Peralta, Dominican baseball player
1982 – Desiree del Valle, Filipino actress
1983 – Steve Cronin, American soccer player
1983 – Toby Hemingway, English actor
1983 – Humberto Sanchez, Dominican baseball player
1984 – Beth Allen, New Zealand actress
1985 – Colbie Caillat, American singer-songwriter and musician
1985 – Pablo Andrés González, Argentine footballer
1985 – Kostas Mendrinos, Greek footballer
1985 – Carey Mulligan, English actress
1986 – Berrick Barnes, Australian rugby player
1986 – Joseph Cross, American actor
1986 – Jaslene Gonzalez, Puerto Rican model
1986 – Charles N'Zogbia, French footballer
1986 – Michael Oher, American football player
1988 – Percy Harvin, American football player
1988 – Meisa Kuroki, Japanese actress, model, and singer
1988 – David Perron, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Kyle Walker, English footballer
1993 – Mason Shefa, American director, writer, and producer
1995 – Jacob Kogan, American actor
1998 – Riho Sayashi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
1999 – Cameron Boyce, American actor and dancer

Deaths

576 – Germain of Paris, French bishop (b. 496)
1023 – Wulfstan, English archbishop and writer
1357 – Afonso IV of Portugal (b. 1291)
1509 – Caterina Sforza, Italian noblewoman (b. 1463)
1556 – Saito Dosan, Japanese daimyo (b. 1494)
1672 – John Trevor, English politician (b. 1626)
1747 – Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French writer (b. 1715)
1750 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1720)
1787 – Leopold Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1719)
1805 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian composer (b. 1743)
1808 – Richard Hurd, English Bishop of Worcester and writer (b. 1720)
1811 – Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1742)
1816 – Wolde Selassie, Ethiopian warlord (b. 1745)
1828 – Daikokuya Kodayu, Japanese castaway (b. 1751)
1831 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, English admiral (b. 1756)
1843 – Noah Webster, American writer and lexicographer (b. 1758)
1849 – Anne Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1820)
1864 – Simion Barnutiu, Romanian philosopher and politician (b. 1808)
1878 – John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1792)
1916 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian writer (b. 1856)
1927 – Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter (b. 1878)
1937 – Alfred Adler, Austrian psychologist (b. 1870)
1940 – Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (b. 1868)
1946 – Carter Glass, American politician (b. 1858)
1947 – August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal (b. 1907)
1948 – Unity Mitford, English fascist sympathizer (b. 1914)
1952 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (b. 1882)
1953 – Hori Tatsuo, Japanese writer (b. 1904)
1968 – Fyodor Okhlopkov, Soviet sniper (b. 1908)
1971 – Audie Murphy, American actor and soldier (b. 1924)
1971 – Jean Vilar, French actor (b. 1912)
1972 – Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
1975 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (b. 1921)
1976 – Steffan Danielsen, Faroese painter (b. 1922)
1978 – Arthur Brough, English actor (b. 1905)
1980 – Rolf Nevanlinna, Finnish mathematician (b. 1895)
1981 – Stefan Wyszynski, Polish prelate, Primate of Poland (b. 1901)
1981 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist, composer, and arranger (b. 1910)
1982 – H. Jones, English army officer, recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1940)
1983 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American politician, 72nd Mayor of Albany, New York (b. 1909)
1984 – Eric Morecambe, English comedian and actor (b. 1926)
1988 – Sy Oliver, American trumpeter, composer, and bandleader (b. 1910)
1994 – Julius Boros, American golfer (b. 1920)
1994 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer (b. 1916)
1998 – Phil Hartman, Canadian actor and comedian (b. 1948)
2000 – George Irving Bell, American physicist, biologist, and mountaineer (b. 1926)
2001 – Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist and philosopher (b. 1946)
2001 – Joe Moakley, American politician (b. 1927)
2001 – Francis Bebey, Cameroonian-French guitarist and novelist (b. 1929)
2002 – Jean Berger, German pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1909)
2003 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Soviet astronaut (b. 1933)
2003 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
2003 – Martha Scott, American actress (b. 1912)
2004 – Umberto Agnelli, Italian businessman and politician (b. 1934)
2004 – Francis Brunn, German juggler (b. 1922)
2004 – Michael Buonauro, American artist and writer
2006 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian author and ski jumper (b. 1920)
2007 – Marquise Hill, American football player (b. 1982)
2007 – David Lane, American white nationalist, founding member of The Order (b. 1938)
2007 – Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician (b. 1945)
2008 – Beryl Cook, English painter (b. 1926)
2008 – Robert H. Justman, American director and producer (b. 1926)
2010 – Gary Coleman, American actor (b. 1968)
2011 – Alys Robi, French-Canadian singer (b. 1923)