today.nukz.net: Almanac June 19

Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician who was known for his sombre guitar-based songs. He failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime but his work has gradually achieved wider notice and recognition. Drake signed to Island Records when he was 20 years old and released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. By 1972, he had recorded two more albums—Bryter Layter and Pink Moon. Neither sold more than 5,000 copies on initial release. Drake's reluctance to perform live, or be interviewed, contributed to his lack of commercial success.

Drake suffered from depression and insomnia throughout his life and these topics were often reflected in his lyrics. On completion of his third album, 1972's Pink Moon, he withdrew from both live performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. There is no known footage of the adult Drake; he was only ever captured in still photographs and in home footage from his childhood. On 25 November 1974, Drake died from an overdose of amitriptyline, a prescribed antidepressant; he was 26 years old.

Events

1179 – The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle changes the tide of the civil wars.
1269 – King Louis IX of France orders all Jews found in public without an identifying yellow badge to be fined ten livres of silver.
1306 – The Earl of Pembroke's army defeats Bruce's Scottish army at the Battle of Methven.
1586 – English colonists leave Roanoke Island, after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in North America.
1770 – Emanuel Swedenborg reports the completion of the Second Coming of Christ in his work True Christian Religion.
1816 – Battle of Seven Oaks between North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1821 – Decisive defeat of the Philikí Etaireía by the Ottomans at Dragasani (in Wallachia).
1846 – The first officially recorded, organized baseball match is played under Alexander Cartwright's rules on Hoboken, New Jersey's Elysian Fields with the New York Base Ball Club defeating the Knickerbockers 23-1. Cartwright umpired.
1850 – Princess Louise of the Netherlands marries Crown Prince Karl of Sweden-Norway.
1862 – The U.S. Congress prohibits slavery in United States territories, nullifying Dred Scott v. Sandford.
1865 – Over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Galveston, Texas, United States, are finally informed of their freedom. The anniversary is still officially celebrated in Texas and 13 other contiguous states as Juneteenth.
1867 – Maximilian I of the Mexican Empire is executed by a firing squad in Querétaro, Querétaro.
1870 – After all of the Southern States are formally readmitted to the United States, the Confederate States of America ceases to exist.
1875 – The Herzegovinian rebellion against the Ottoman Empire begins.
1910 – The first Father's Day is celebrated in Spokane, Washington.
1913 – Natives' Land Act in South Africa implemented.
1934 – The Communications Act of 1934 establishes the United States' Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
1944 – World War II: First day of the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
1953 – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed at Sing Sing, in New York.
1961 – Kuwait declares independence from the United Kingdom.
1964 – The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is approved after surviving an 83-day filibuster in the United States Senate.
1966 – Shiv Sena a political party in India is founded in Mumbai.
1970 – The Patent Cooperation Treaty is signed.
1978 – Garfield, holder of the Guinness World Record for the world's most widely syndicated comic strip, makes its debut.
1982 – In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University in Beirut, is kidnapped.
1982 – The body of God's Banker, Roberto Calvi is found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London.
1985 – Members of the Revolutionary Party of Central American Workers, dressed as Salvadoran soldiers, attack the Zona Rosa area of San Salvador.
1987 – Basque separatist group ETA commits one of its most violent attacks, in which a bomb is set off in a supermarket, Hipercor, killing 21 and injuring 45.
1990 – The current international law defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, is ratified for the first time by Norway.
1991 – The Soviet occupation of Hungary ends.
1999 – Wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie Rhys-Jones.
2009 – Mass riots involving over 10,000 people and 10,000 police officers break out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circumstances surrounding the death of a local chef.
2009 – War in North-West Pakistan: The Pakistani Armed Forces open Operation Rah-e-Nijat against the Taliban and other Islamist rebels in the South Waziristan area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Births

1301 – Prince Morikuni, Japanese shogun (d. 1333)
1566 – King James I of England and VI of Scotland (d. 1625)
1595 – Guru Hargobind, Indian religious figure (d. 1644)
1606 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Scottish statesman (d. 1649)
1623 – Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1662)
1633 – Philipp van Limborch, Dutch Protestant theologian (d. 1712)
1701 – François Rebel, French composer (d. 1775)
1708 – Johann Gottlieb Janitsch, German Baroque composer (d. 1763)
1717 – Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1757)
1764 – José Gervasio Artigas, Uruguayan distinguished hero (d. 1850)
1771 – Joseph Gergonne, French mathematician (d. 1859)
1792 – Gustav Schwab, German author (d. 1850)
1795 – James Braid, Scottish surgeon and pioneer of Hypnotherapy (d.1860)
1815 – Cornelius Krieghoff, Canadian painter (d. 1872)
1816 – William Henry Webb, American industrialist (d. 1899)
1834 – Charles Spurgeon, English preacher (d. 1892)
1846 – Antonio Abetti, Italian astronomer (d. 1928)
1850 – David Jayne Hill, American diplomat (d. 1932)
1851 – Billy Midwinter, Australian cricketer (d. 1890)
1854 – Alfredo Catalani, Italian musician (d. 1893)
1858 – Sam Walter Foss, American librarian and poet (d. 1911)
1861 – Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, British World War I military figure (d. 1928)
1861 – José Rizal, Filipino polymath and national hero (d. 1896)
1865 – Dame May Whitty, English entertainer (d. 1948)
1872 – Theodore Payne, English horticulturist (d. 1963)
1874 – Peder Oluf Pedersen, Danish engineer (d. 1941)
1877 – Charles Coburn, American actor (d. 1961)
1884 – Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, French Dadaist artist and writer (d. 1974)
1896 – Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor (d. 1986)
1897 – Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, English chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1967)
1897 – Moe Howard, American actor (d. 1975)
1898 – James Joseph Sweeney, American Catholic prelate (d. 1968)
1900 – Laura Z. Hobson, American novelist (d. 1986)
1902 – Guy Lombardo, Canadian bandleader (d. 1977)
1903 – Lou Gehrig, American baseball player (d. 1941)
1903 – Wally Hammond, English cricketer (d. 1965)
1903 – Hans Litten, German jurist (d. 1938)
1905 – Mildred Natwick, American actress (d. 1994)
1906 – Sir Ernst Boris Chain, German-born biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979)
1906 – Walter Rauff, German colonel (d. 1984)
1907 – Clarence Wiseman, 10th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1985)
1909 – Midori Naka, Japanese actress (d. 1945)
1910 – Paul Flory, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
1910 – Abe Fortas, American jurist (d. 1982)
1912 – Don Gutteridge, American baseball player (d. 2008)
1912 – Virginia MacWatters, American soprano (d. 2005)
1914 – Anthony of Sourozh, Swiss-born British religious figure (d. 2003)
1914 – Alan Cranston, American politician (d. 2000)
1914 – Lester Flatt, American musician (d. 1979)
1915 – Julius Schwartz, American editor and agent (d. 2004)
1915 – Pat Buttram, American actor (d. 1994)
1917 – Joshua Nkomo, Zimbabweian politician (d. 1999)
1919 – Pauline Kael, American movie critic (d. 2001)
1921 – Louis Jourdan, French actor
1922 – Aage Bohr, Danish physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2009)
1922 – Fritz Schollmeyer, German football manager
1923 – Bob Hank, Australian footballer (d. 2012)
1924 – Leo Nomellini, American football player (d. 2000)
1925 – Charlie Drake, British actor, writer and singer (d. 2006)
1928 – Nancy Marchand, American actress (d. 2000)
1928 – Barry Took, English comedy writer (d. 2002)
1929 – Thelma Barlow, English actress
1930 – Gena Rowlands, American actress
1930 – François Abadie, French politician (d. 2001)
1932 – Pier Angeli, Italian-born American actress (d. 1972)
1932 – José Sanchis Grau, Spanish comic writer (d. 2011)
1932 – Marisa Pavan, Italian-born actress
1933 – Viktor Patsayev, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1971)
1934 – Gérard Latortue, Prime Minister of Haiti
1936 – Tommy DeVito, American musician and singer
1936 – Shirley Goodman, American singer (d. 2005)
1936 – Marisa Galvany, American soprano
1938 – Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and wrestler (d. 2002)
1938 – Ian Smith, Australian actor
1939 – Bernd Hoss, German football manager
1939 – Al Wilson, American singer (d. 2008)
1940 – Shirley Muldowney, American drag racer
1941 – Václav Klaus, Czech politician and President
1941 – Conchita Carpio-Morales, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
1942 – Elaine McFarlane, American singer
1942 – Jos Brink, Dutch actor (d. 2007)
1942 – Jeff Moss, American composer, lyricist, playwright and television writer (d. 1998)
1942 – Merata Mita, New Zealander filmmaker (d. 2010)
1944 – Chico Buarque, Brazilian musician
1945 – Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese politician, Nobel laureate
1945 – Radovan Karadžic, Serbian-Bosnian politician
1946 – Jimmy Greenhoff, English footballer
1947 – Paula Koivuniemi, Finnish singer
1947 – Salman Rushdie, Indian author
1947 – John Ralston Saul, Canadian author
1948 – Phylicia Rashad, American actress
1948 – Nick Drake, English musician (d. 1974)
1950 – Ann Wilson, American musician
1951 – Ayman al-Zawahiri, Egyptian terrorist
1951 – Francesco Moser, Italian cyclist
1951 – Patty Larkin, Boston-based singer-songwriter and guitarist
1952 – Robert Ainsworth, British politician
1953 – Larry Dunn, American musician
1953 – Hilary Jones, English TV doctor
1954 – Kathleen Turner, American actress
1956 – Doug Stone, American singer
1957 – Anna Lindh, Swedish politician (d. 2003)
1958 – Sergei Makarov, Russian hockey player
1959 – Mark DeBarge, American singer, songwriter and trumpeter
1959 – Christian Wulff, former President of Germany
1960 – Luke Morley, British guitarist
1961 – Frank Mischke, German footballer
1962 – Paula Abdul, American singer and choreographer
1962 – Jeremy Bates, English tennis player
1963 – Rory Underwood, English rugby union footballer
1964 – Bill Barretta, American actor and puppeteer
1964 – Brent Goulet, American soccer player
1964 – Laura Ingraham, American radio host and political commentator
1964 – Boris Johnson, British politician
1964 – Brian Vander Ark, American musician
1965 – Sadie Frost, English actress
1965 – Luc Donckerwolke, Belgian car designer
1966 – Joichi Ito, Japanese entrepreneur
1966 – Michalis Romanidis, Greek basketball player
1967 – Bjørn Dæhlie, Norwegian skier
1967 – Mia Sara, American actress
1968 – Alastair Lynch, Australian rules footballer
1969 – Lara Spencer, American TV personality
1969 – Thomas Breitling, American entrepreneur
1970 – Quincy Watts, American athlete
1970 – Rahul Gandhi, Indian politician
1970 – Brian Welch, American guitarist (Korn)
1970 – Antonis Remos, Greek singer
1972 – Jean Dujardin, French actor
1972 – Brian McBride, American soccer player
1972 – Dennis Lyxzén, Swedish musician
1972 – Eric Sheffer Stevens, American actor
1972 – Robin Tunney, American actress
1973 – Jahine Arnold, American football player
1973 – Yuko Nakazawa, Japanese singer
1973 – Yasuhiko Yabuta, Japanese baseball player
1974 – Doug Mientkiewicz, American baseball player
1974 – Bumper Robinson, American actor and voice artist
1975 – Poppy Montgomery, Australian actress
1975 – Anthony Parker, American basketball player
1975 – Hugh Dancy, English actor
1975 – Geoff Ramsey, voice of Grif from Red vs Blue
1975 – Colin Osborne, English darts player
1976 – Bryan Hughes, English footballer
1976 – Ryan Hurst, American actor
1976 – Patrick Surtain, American football player
1976 – Abdoul Thiam, German footballer
1977 – Peter Warrick, American football player
1977 – Veronika Vareková, Czech supermodel
1977 – Rebecca Loos, Dutch model
1978 – Tyson Dux, Canadian wrestler
1978 – Dirk Nowitzki, German basketball player
1978 – Zoe Saldana, American actress
1978 – Claudio Vargas, Dominican baseball player
1978 – Mía Maestro, Argentine actress
1979 – Moonika Aava, Estonian javelin thrower
1979 – John Duddy, Northern Irish boxer
1979 – Quentin Jammer, American football player
1979 – José Kléberson, Brazilian football player
1979 – U Gambira, Burmese monk and democracy activist
1980 – Adel Abdulaziz, Emirati football player
1980 – Milka Loff Fernandes, German actress
1980 – Lauren Lee Smith, Canadian actress
1980 – Robbie Neilson, Scottish footballer
1980 – Dan Ellis, Canadian hockey player
1980 – Nuno Santos, Portuguese footballer
1981 – Moss Burmester, New Zealand swimmer
1981 – Quintin Geldenhuys, South African-born Italian rugby player
1982 – Chris Vermeulen, Australian motorcycle racer
1982 – David Pollack, American football player
1982 – May Andersen, Danish supermodel
1982 – Joe Cheng, Taiwanese actor
1982 – Michael Yarmush, American actor
1982 – Alexander Frolov, Russian hockey player
1982 – Trevor Hamilton, Northern Irish murderer
1983 – Mark Selby, British snooker player
1984 – Paul Dano, American actor
1985 – José Ernesto Sosa, Argentine footballer
1985 – Jason Capizzi, American football player
1986 – Marvin Williams, American basketball player
1986 – Diego Hypólito, Brazilian gymnast
1986 – Dimitris Sialmas, Greek footballer
1987 – Rashard Mendenhall, American football player
1998 – Atticus Shaffer, American actor

Deaths

1027 – Romuald, Italian saint (b. 951)
1205 – Roman the Great, Rus' prince (b. 1151)
1282 – Eleanor de Montfort, wife of Llywelyn the Last (b. 1252)
1312 – Piers Gaveston, British nobleman (b. c. 1284)
1542 – Leo Jud, Swiss reformer (b. 1482)
1545 – Abraomas Kulvietis, Lithuanian reformer (b. 1509)
1584 – François, Duke of Anjou (b. 1555)
1608 – Alberico Gentili, Italian jurist (b. 1551)
1650 – Matthäus Merian, Swiss engraver (b. 1593)
1747 – Alessandro Marcello, Italian composer (b. 1669)
1762 – Johann Ernst Eberlin, German composer (b. 1702)
1768 – Benjamin Tasker, Sr., American colonial governor (b. 1690)
1786 – Nathanael Greene, American military commander (b. 1742)
1787 – Princess Sophie Hélène Béatrice of France, daughter of Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette (b. 1786)
1805 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French painter (b. 1724)
1820 – Joseph Banks, English naturalist and botanist (b. 1743)
1844 – Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French naturalist (b. 1772)
1867 – Maximilian I of Mexico (b. 1832)
1902 – Albert, King of Saxony (b. 1828)
1903 – Herbert Vaughan, Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1832)
1921 – Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet (b. 1888)
1922 – Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 19th Yokozuna (b. 1874)
1932 – Sol Plaatje, South African intellectual, writer and activist (b. 1876)
1937 – J. M. Barrie, Scottish author (b. 1860)
1939 – Grace Abbott, American social worker and activist (b. 1878)
1949 – Syed Zafarul Hasan, Prominent Muslim philosopher (b. 1885)
1951 – Angelos Sikelianos, Greek poet (b. 1884)
1952 – Heinrich Schlusnus, German baritone (b. 1888)
1953 – Julius Rosenberg, American convicted spy (b. 1918)
1953 – Ethel Rosenberg, American convicted spy (b. 1915)
1956 – Thomas J. Watson, American businessman (b. 1874)
1966 – Ed Wynn, American actor (b. 1886)
1968 – James Joseph Sweeney, American Catholic prelate (b. 1898)
1975 – Sam Giancana, American gangster (b. 1908)
1977 – Ali Shariati, Iranian sociologist (b. 1933)
1977 – Lady Olave Baden-Powell, English founder of the Girl Guide (b. 1889)
1979 – Paul Popenoe, American founder of marriage counseling and scholar of eugenics (b. 1888)
1984 – Lee Krasner, American painter (b. 1908)
1986 – Coluche, French comedian (b. 1944)
1986 – Len Bias, American basketball player (b. 1963)
1987 – Teresa Cormack, New Zealand murder victim (b. 1981)
1988 – Fernand Seguin, Canadian biologist (b. 1922)
1988 – Gladys Spellman, American politician (b. 1918)
1991 – Jean Arthur, American actress (b. 1900)
1993 – Sir William Golding, English writer; Nobel laureate (b. 1911)
1995 – Peter Townsend, British military officer (b. 1914)
1996 – G. David Schine, American businessman (b. 1927)
1997 – Olga Georges-Picot, French actress (b. 1944)
1997 – Bobby Helms, American singer (b. 1933)
2001 – John Heyer, Australian documentarian (b. 1916)
2001 – Steve Broadie, American voice actor
2003 – Laura Sadler, English actress (b. 1980)
2007 – El Fary, Spanish singer (b. 1937)
2007 – Terry Hoeppner, American football coach (b. 1947)
2007 – Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer and actor (b. 1919)
2007 – Ze'ev Schiff, Israeli journalist (b. 1932)
2008 – Barun Sengupta, Bengali journalist (b. 1934)
2008 – Bennie Swain, American basketball player (b. 1930)
2009 – Tomoji Tanabe, Japanese supercentenarian (b. 1895)
2010 – Manute Bol, Sudanese basketball player (b. 1962)
2010 – Anthony Quinton, British philosopher (b. 1925)
2011 – Don Diamond, American actor (b. 1921)