today.nukz.net: Almanac June 17 :: Igor Stravinsky, M.C. Escher


Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky; 17 June 1882 – 6 April 1971) was a Russian, and later French and American composer, pianist and conductor. He is acknowledged by many as one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century.	Maurits Cornelis Escher ; (17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972), usually referred to as M. C. Escher, was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. These feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations.

Events

1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia.
1497 – Battle of Deptford Bridge – forces under King Henry VII defeat troops led by Michael An Gof.
1565 – Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
1579 – Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England.
1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
1673 – French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.
1773 – Cúcuta, Colombia, is founded by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: Colonists inflict heavy casualties on British forces while losing the Battle of Bunker Hill.
1789 – In France, the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.
1839 – In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.
1861 – Battle of Vienna, Virginia in the American Civil War.
1863 – Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
1876 – Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud – 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook's forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory.
1877 – Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon – the Nez Perce defeat the U.S. Cavalry at White Bird Canyon in the Idaho Territory.
1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
1898 – The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
1901 – The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.
1910 – Aurel Vlaicu pilots a A. Vlaicu nr. 1 on its first flight.
1930 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law.
1932 – Bonus Army: around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.
1933 – Union Station Massacre: in Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash are gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash.
1939 – Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison
1940 – World War II: sinking of the RMS Lancastria by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France.
1940 – World War II: the British Army's 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.
1940 – The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.
1944 – Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.
1948 – A Douglas DC-6 carrying United Airlines Flight 624 crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board.
1953 – East Germany Workers Uprising: in East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion.
1958 – The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, in the process of being built to connect Vancouver and North Vancouver (Canada), collapses into the Burrard Inlet killing many of the ironworkers and injuring others.
1958 – The wooden roller coaster at Playland, which is in the Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada opens. It is still open today.
1960 – The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km²) of land undervalued at 4 cents/acre in the 1863 treaty.
1961 – The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded by the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress.
1963 – The United States Supreme Court rules 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against allowing the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
1963 – A day after South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem announced the Joint Communique to end the Buddhist crisis, a riot involving around 2,000 people breaks out. One person is killed.
1971 – President Richard Nixon declares the U.S. War on Drugs.
1972 – Watergate scandal: five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of the Republican party to illegally wiretap the opposition.
1981 – Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: In the Hyatt Regency Hotel the 2nd and 4th floor walkways collapse crushing 144 people to death, this was the worst structural failure in the United States.
1987 – With the death of the last individual of the species, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.
1991 – Apartheid: the South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
1992 – A "joint understanding" agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).
1994 – Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Births

1239 – King Edward I of England (Edward Longshanks) (d. 1307)
1268 – Lord Borchard de Herle, English diplomat (d. 1305)
1603 – Joseph of Cupertino, Italian saint (d. 1663)
1658 – Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real, Portuguese diplomat and statesman (d. 1736)
1682 – King Charles XII of Sweden (d. 1718)
1691 – Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Italian painter and architect (d. 1765)
1693 – Johann Georg Walch, German theologian (d. 1775)
1704 – John Kay, English inventor (d. 1780)
1714 – Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher (d. 1762)
1714 – César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer (d. 1784)
1718 – George Howard, British field marshal (d. 1796)
1742 – William Hooper, American signer of the United States Declaration of Independence (d. 1790)
1808 – Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian poet, playwright and linguist (d. 1845)
1810 – Ferdinand Freiligrath, German writer (d. 1876)
1811 – Jón Sigurðsson, Icelandic independence fighter (d. 1879)
1818 – Charles Gounod, French composer (d. 1893)
1818 – Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands (d. 1877)
1832 – Sir William Crookes, English physicist and chemist (d. 1919)
1839 – Arthur Tooth, English Anglican clergyman (d. 1931)
1858 – Ebenezer Sumner Draper, 44th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1914)
1861 – Pete Browning, American baseball player (d. 1905)
1861 – Omar Bundy, American Army general (d. 1940)
1863 – Duke Charles Michael of Mecklenburg, Russian-born head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1934)
1867 – Flora Finch, British-American silent-film comedienne (d. 1940)
1867 – John Robert Gregg, American inventor (d. 1948)
1867 – Henry Lawson, Australian poet (d. 1922)
1880 – Carl Van Vechten, American writer and photographer (d. 1964)
1881 – Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer (d. 1955)
1882 – Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1918)
1882 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (d. 1971)
1888 – Heinz Guderian, German general (d. 1954)
1898 – M. C. Escher, Dutch artist (d. 1972)
1898 – Carl Hermann, German physicist (d. 1961)
1898 – Harry Patch, British supercentenarian (d. 2009)
1900 – Martin Bormann, German Nazi official (d. 1945)
1902 – Sammy Fain, American popular music composer (d. 1989)
1902 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricketer (d. 1982)
1903 – Ruth Wakefield, American cook and hotelier (d. 1977)
1904 – Ralph Bellamy, American actor (d. 1991)
1907 – Maurice Cloche, French film director and screenwriter (d. 1990)
1907 – Charles Eames, American designer and architect (d. 1978)
1909 – Elmer Lee Andersen, Governor of Minnesota (d. 2004)
1909 – Ralph E. Winters, Canadian film editor (d. 2004)
1910 – Red Foley, American musician (d. 1968)
1910 – George Hees, Canadian politician (d. 1996)
1914 – John Hersey, American writer and journalist (d. 1993)
1915 – David "Stringbean" Akeman, American actor and country music banjo player (d. 1973)
1915 – Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist (d. 1996)
1916 – Terry Gilkyson, American singer, lyricist and composer (d. 1999)
1918 – Ajahn Chah, Thai meditation master (d. 1992)
1919 – Beryl Reid, British actress (d. 1996)
1920 – Jacob H. Gilbert, American politician (d. 1981)
1920 – Setsuko Hara, Japanese actress
1920 – François Jacob, French biologist, Nobel laureate
1923 – Elroy Hirsch, American football player (d. 2004)
1927 – Martin Böttcher, German conductor
1929 – Tigran Petrosian, Armenian chess player (d. 1984)
1930 – Brian Statham, English cricketer (d. 2000)
1931 – John Baldessari, American conceptual artist
1932 – Peter Lupus, American actor
1932 – John Murtha, American politician (d. 2010)
1933 – Harry Browne, American writer and investment analyst (d. 2006)
1933 – Christian Ferras, French violinist (d. 1982)
1933 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (d. 1970)
1936 – Ken Loach, British film director
1936 – Vern Harper, Canadian First Nations Cree Elder and veteran of the Korean War
1937 – Ted Nelson, American sociologist, philosopher, and pioneer of information technology
1940 – George Akerlof, American economist, Nobel laureate
1942 – Mohamed ElBaradei, Egyptian IAEA director, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
1943 – Newt Gingrich, American politician
1943 – Barry Manilow, American musician
1943 – Burt Rutan, American aerospace engineer
1944 – Randy Johnson, American football player (d. 2009)
1944 – Bill Rafferty, American comedian and impressionist
1944 – Chris Spedding, British guitarist
1945 – Frank Ashmore, American actor
1945 – Art Bell, American radio broadcaster and author
1945 – Tommy Franks, American General
1945 – Ken Livingstone, English politician
1945 – Eddy Merckx, Belgian cyclist
1946 – Peter Rosei, Austrian writer
1947 – Christopher Allport, American actor (d. 2008)
1947 – George S. Clinton, American composer and musician
1947 – Paul Young, English singer and percussionist (Sad Café, Mike + The Mechanics) (d. 2000)
1947 – Linda Chavez, American author
1948 – Dave Concepción, Venezuelan baseball player
1948 – Aurelio López, Mexican baseball player (d. 1992)
1949 – Snakefinger, British-born guitarist, violinist, singer and songwriter (The Residents) (d. 1987)
1950 – Lee Tamahori, New Zealand film director
1951 – Joe Piscopo, American actor
1951 – Starhawk, American author and activist
1952 – Mike Milbury, American ice hockey player, coach and executive
1954 – Len Davies, British pro wrestling promoter
1955 – Gail Jones, Australian author
1956 – Chi-chi Nwanoku, English double bassist
1956 – Iain Milne, Scottish rugby union footballer
1957 – Phil Chevron, Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter (The Pogues, The Radiators From Space)
1957 – Martin Dillon, American opera singer (d. 2005)
1957 – Jon Gries, American actor
1957 – Jack Wouterse, Dutch actor
1958 – Jello Biafra, American singer (Dead Kennedys) and activist
1958 – Bobby Farrelly, American film director
1958 – Sam Hamad, Syrian-born Canadian politician
1958 – Jon Leibowitz, American government official
1958 – Daniel McVicar, American actor
1958 – Derek Lee Ragin, American countertenor
1959 – Nikos Stavropoulos, Greek basketball player
1960 – Adrián Campos, Spanish racing driver
1960 – Thomas Haden Church, American actor
1961 – Koichi Yamadera, Japanese seiyu, actor and tarento
1962 – Michael Monroe, Finnish singer (Hanoi Rocks)
1963 – Greg Kinnear, American actor
1964 – Rinaldo Capello, Italian racing driver
1964 – Michael Groß, German swimmer
1964 – Erin Murphy, American actress
1965 – Dermontti Dawson, American football player
1965 – Dan Jansen, American speed skater
1965 – Dara O'Kearney, Irish ultra runner and professional poker player
1966 – Jason Patric, American actor
1966 – Christy Canyon, American pornographic actress
1967 – Eric Stefani, American keyboardist, songwriter (No Doubt) and cartoon animator
1967 – Dorothea Röschmann, German operatic soprano
1968 – Julie Miller, Hawaiian triathlete
1968 – Minoru Suzuki, Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist
1969 – Paul Tergat, Kenyan long distance runner
1970 – Stéphane Fiset, Canadian ice hockey player
1970 – Will Forte, American writer, actor and comedian
1970 – Jason Hanson, American football player
1970 – Popeye Jones, American basketball player
1970 – Michael Showalter, American comedian
1970 – Sasha Sokol, Mexican singer and actress
1971 – Mildred Fox, Irish politician
1971 – Paulina Rubio, Mexican singer
1972 – Sebastian White, English drummer (Oasis)
1973 – Krayzie Bone, American rapper (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
1973 – Louis Leterrier, French film director
1973 – Leander Paes, Indian tennis player
1973 – Christian Claudio, Puerto Rican business consultant
1974 – Evangelia Psarra, Greek archer
1975 – Jennifer Irwin, Canadian actress
1975 – Chloe Jones, American pornographic actress (d. 2005)
1975 – Joshua Leonard, American actor
1976 – Sven Nys, Belgian cyclo-cross rider
1976 – Scott Adkins, English actor
1977 – Mark Tauscher, American football player
1977 – Branko Tomovic, Serbian actor
1978 – Kumiko Aso, Japanese actress
1978 – Isabelle Delobel, French ice dancer
1978 – James Corden, English actor and comedian
1979 – Nick Rimando, American footballer
1979 – Young Maylay, American Rapper
1980 – Kimeru, Japanese singer
1980 – Venus Williams, American tennis player
1980 – Jeph Jacques, American webcomic writer
1981 – Kyle Boller, American football player
1981 – Shane Watson, Australian cricketer
1982 – Arthur Darvill, English actor
1982 – Stanislava Hrozenská, Slovak tennis player
1982 – Marek Svatoš, Slovak ice hockey player
1982 – Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, Brazilian footballer
1983 – Connie Fisher, English stage actress
1983 – Vlasis Kazakis, Greek footballer
1983 – Kazunari Ninomiya, Japanese singer and actor (Arashi)
1983 – Lee Ryan, British singer (Blue)
1984 – John Gallagher, Jr., American actor
1985 – Marcos Baghdatis, Cypriot tennis player
1985 – Rafael Sóbis, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Apoula Edel, Armenian footballer
1987 – Kendrick Lamar, Rapper
1988 – Andrew Ogilvy, Australian basketball player
1988 – Stephanie Rice, Australian swimmer
1989 – Giorgos Tofas, Cypriot footballer
1990 – Jordan Henderson, English footballer
1990 – Laura Wright, English singer
1991 – Jang Min Chul, South Korean electronic sports player

Deaths

900 – Fulk the Venerable, Archbishop of Rheims (birth year unknown)
1025 – King Boleslaw I the Brave of Poland (b. 967)
1091 – Dirk V, Count of Holland (b. 1052)
1463 – Princess Catherine of Portugal (b. 1436)
1565 – Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese shogun (b. 1536)
1694 – Philip Howard, English Catholic Cardinal (b. 1629)
1696 – King John III Sobieski of Poland (b. 1629)
1719 – Joseph Addison, English politician and writer (b. 1672)
1734 – Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars, Marshal of France (b. 1653)
1740 – Sir William Wyndham, English politician (b. 1687)
1762 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French writer (b. 1674)
1771 – Daskalogiannis, Cretan rebel (birth year unknown)
1775 – John Pitcairn, British military officier (b. 1722)
1797 – Shah Agha Muhammad Khan of Persia (b. 1742)
1813 – Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, English sailor and politician (b. 1726)
1821 – Martín Miguel de Güemes, Argentine military leader (b. 1785)
1839 – Lord William Bentinck, British soldier, Governor-General of India (b. 1774)
1858 – Queen Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi (b. 1828)
1898 – Edward Burne-Jones, English artist (b. 1833)
1904 – Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrikov, Russian politician (b. 1839)
1939 – Allen Sothoron, American baseball player (b. 1893)
1940 – Arthur Harden, English chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1865)
1941 – Johan Wagenaar, Dutch composer and organist (b. 1862)
1942 – Charles Fitzpatrick, Canadian politician (b. 1853)
1952 – Jack Parsons, American rocket propulsion researcher (b. 1914)
1956 – Paul Rostock, German doctor (b. 1892)
1956 – Bob Sweikert, American racing driver (b. 1926)
1957 – Dorothy Richardson, English writer (b. 1873)
1961 – Jeff Chandler, American actor (b. 1918)
1963 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician and nationalist (b. 1882)
1968 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1901)
1969 – Rita Abatzi, Greek rebetiko singer (b. 1914)
1974 – Pamela Britton, American actress (b. 1923)
1979 – Duffy Lewis, American baseball player (b. 1888)
1981 – Richard O'Connor, British general (b. 1889)
1981 – Zerna Sharp, American writer and educator (b. 1889)
1982 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (b. 1920)
1983 – Peter Mennin, American composer and teacher (b. 1923)
1984 – John Murray, American playwright (b. 1906)
1984 – Milbourne Christopher, American illusionist (b. 1914)
1985 – John Boulting, English filmmaker (b. 1913)
1986 – Kate Smith, American singer (b. 1907)
1987 – Dick Howser, American baseball player and manager (b. 1936)
1996 – Thomas Kuhn, American philosopher of science (b. 1922)
1999 – Basil Hume, English Roman Catholic Cardinal, Archbishop of Westminster (b. 1923)
2000 – Ismail Mahomed, South African jurist (b. 1931)
2001 – Donald J. Cram, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1919)
2001 – Thomas Joseph Winning, Scottish Roman Catholic Cardinal, Archbishop of Glasgow (b. 1925)
2002 – Willie Davenport, American athlete (b. 1943)
2002 – Fritz Walter, German footballer (b. 1920)
2004 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
2005 – Karl Mueller, American bassist (Soul Asylum) (b. 1962)
2005 – Sam Loeb, American comic book writer (b. 1988)
2006 – Bussunda, Brazilian comedian (b. 1962)
2006 – Arthur Franz, American actor (b. 1920)
2007 – Gianfranco Ferrè, Italian fashion designer (b. 1944)
2007 – Serena Wilson, American belly dancer (b. 1933)
2008 – Tsutomu Miyazaki, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)
2008 – Cyd Charisse, American dancer and actress (b. 1922)
2009 – Darrell Powers, American World War II figure (b. 1923)
2009 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-born sociologist and politician (b. 1929)