today.nukz.net: Almanac June 24

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (born June 24, 1842; died sometime after December 26, 1913) was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. Today, he is probably best known for his short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and his satirical lexicon The Devil's Dictionary. His vehemence as a critic, his motto "Nothing matters" and the sardonic view of human nature that informed his work all earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce".

Despite his reputation as a searing critic, Bierce was known to encourage younger writers, including poet George Sterling and fiction writer W. C. Morrow. Bierce employed a distinctive style of writing, especially in his stories. His style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, impossible events and the theme of war.

In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, he disappeared without a trace.

Events

109 – Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north-west of Rome.
474 – Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
637 – The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dalriada. It is claimed to be largest battle in the history of Ireland.
972 – Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place.
1128 – Battle of São Mamede, near Guimarães: forces led by Alfonso I defeat forces led by his mother Teresa of León and her lover Fernando Pérez de Traba. After this battle, the future king calls himself "Prince of Portugal", the first step towards "official independence" that will be reached in 1139 after the Battle of Ourique.
1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: the Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce, though England did not recognize Scottish independence until 1328 with the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton.
1340 – Hundred Years' War: Battle of Sluys – The French fleet is almost destroyed by the English Fleet commanded in person by King Edward III.
1374 – A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.
1497 – John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.
1509 – Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England.
1535 – The Anabaptist state of Münster is conquered and disbanded.
1571 – Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines.
1597 – The first Dutch voyage to the East Indies reaches Bantam (on Java).
1604 – Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
1622 – Battle of Macau: The Dutch attempt but fail to capture Macau.
1717 – The Premier Grand Lodge of England, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England), is founded in London, England.
1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
1793 – The first Republican constitution in France is adopted.
1812 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman River beginning the invasion of Russia.
1813 – Battle of Beaver Dams: a British and Indian combined force defeats the United States Army.
1821 – The Battle of Carabobo takes place. It is the decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain.
1859 – Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.
1866 – Battle of Custoza: an Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War.
1880 – First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.
1894 – Marie Francois Sadi Carnot is assassinated by Sante Geronimo Caserio.
1902 – King Edward VII of the United Kingdom develops appendicitis, delaying his coronation.
1913 – Greece and Serbia annul their alliance with Bulgaria.
1916 – Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million dollar contract.
1916 – World War I: the Battle of the Somme begins with a week-long artillery bombardment on the German Line.
1918 – First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto.
1932 – A bloodless Revolution instigated by the People's Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).
1938 – Pieces of a meteor, estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded, land near Chicora, Pennsylvania.
1939 – Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Pibulsonggram, the country's third prime minister.
1947 – Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington.
1948 – Start of the Berlin Blockade: the Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.
1949 – The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, is aired on NBC starring William Boyd.
1957 – In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
1963 – The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.
1981 – The Humber Bridge is opened to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It would be the world's longest single-span suspension bridge for 17 years.
1982 – "The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 9 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.
1985 – STS-51-G Space Shuttle Discovery completes its mission, best remembered for having Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a Payload Specialist.
2002 – The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.
2004 – In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional.
2010 – John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon, in the longest match in professional tennis history.

Births

1244 – Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (d. 1308)
1343 – Joan of Valois, Queen of Navarre (d. 1373)
1386 – John of Capistrano, Italian saint (d. 1456)
1485 – Johannes Bugenhagen, German reformer (d. 1558)
1519 – Theodore Beza, French theologian (d. 1605)
1533 – Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (d. 1588)
1535 – Joan of Spain, Spanish-born Queen consort of Portugal (d. 1573)
1542 – John of the Cross, Spanish mystic and poet (d. 1591)
1546 – Robert Parsons, English priest (d. 1610)
1587 – William Arnold, English colonial settler (d. 1675)
1663 – Jean Baptiste Massillon, French churchman (d. 1742)
1687 – Johann Albrecht Bengel, German scholar (d. 1757)
1694 – Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, Swiss political theorist (d. 1748)
1704 – Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, French writer (d. 1771)
1774 – François Nicolas Benoît, Baron Haxo, French general (d. 1838)
1774 – Antonio González de Balcarce, Argentine military commander (d. 1819)
1777 – John Ross, English naval officer and explorer (d. 1856)
1782 – Juan Larrea, Argentine politician and merchant (d. 1847)
1795 – Ernst Heinrich Weber, German anatomist and physiologist (d. 1878)
1803 – George James Webb, English-born composer (d. 1887)
1804 – Willard Richards, American religious leader (d. 1854)
1811 – John Archibald Campbell, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1889)
1813 – Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman and reformer (d. 1887)
1813 – Francis Boott, American composer (d. 1904)
1821 – Dr. Guillermo Rawson, Argentine politician (d. 1890)
1825 – Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1844)
1826 – George Goyder, English-born Australian surveyor (d. 1898)
1842 – Ambrose Bierce, American author (ca. 1914)
1846 – Samuel Johnson, Nigerian historian and priest (d. 1901)
1850 – Horatio Kitchener, English field marshal (d. 1916)
1860 – Mercedes of Orleans, Queen of Spain (d. 1878)
1869 – Prince George of Greece and Denmark (d. 1957)
1882 – Athanase David, Canadian politician and businessman (d. 1953)
1882 – Carl Diem, German Olympic official (d. 1962)
1883 – Victor Franz Hess, Austrian-born physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1964)
1886 – George Shiels, Northern Irish dramatist (d. 1949)
1888 – Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect (d. 1964)
1893 – Roy O. Disney, American businessman (d. 1971)
1895 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer (d. 1983)
1897 – Daniel K. Ludwig, American shipping magnate (d. 1992)
1900 – Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician (d. 1945)
1901 – Harry Partch, American composer (d. 1974)
1901 – Chuck Taylor, American basketball player and salesman (d. 1969)
1901 – Marcel Mule, French saxophonist (d. 2001)
1904 – Phil Harris, American singer, songwriter and comedian (d. 1995)
1906 – Pierre Fournier, French cellist (d. 1986)
1906 – Willard Maas, American educator and filmmaker (d. 1971)
1907 – Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet (d. 1989)
1908 – Hugo Distler, German composer (d. 1942)
1908 – Guru Gopinath, Indian dancer (d. 1987)
1908 – Alfons Rebane, Estonian military officer (d. 1976)
1911 – Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentine race car driver (d. 1995)
1911 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentine writer (d. 2011)
1912 – Brian Johnston, English cricket commentator (d. 1994)
1913 – Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist (d. 2002)
1914 – Pearl Witherington French-born secret agent (d. 2008)
1915 – Sir Fred Hoyle, English astronomer (d. 2001)
1916 – William B. Saxbe, American politician (d. 2010)
1919 – Al Molinaro, American actor
1922 – Tata Giacobetti, Italian singer (Quartetto Cetra) (d. 1988)
1923 – Margaret Olley, Australian artist (d. 2011)
1924 – Brian Bevan, Australian rugby league footballer (d. 1991)
1924 – Kurt Furgler, Swiss Federal Council member (d. 2008)
1924 – Archie Roy, Scottish astronomer and academic
1927 – Martin Lewis Perl, American physicist, Nobel laureate
1930 – Claude Chabrol, French film director (d. 2010)
1930 – William Bernard Ziff, Jr., American publisher (d. 2006)
1931 – Billy Casper, American golfer
1933 – Sam Jones, American basketball player
1934 – Ferdinand Biwersi, German football referee
1934 – Jean-Pierre Ferland, Canadian singer
1935 – Terry Riley, American composer
1938 – Lawrence Block, American writer
1939 – Michael Gothard, English actor (d. 1992)
1939 – HA Schult, German artist
1940 – Vittorio Storaro, Italian cinematographer
1941 – Julia Kristeva, Bulgarian-French psychoanalyst and novelist
1941 – Erkin Koray, Turkish rock musician
1942 – Michele Lee, American actress
1942 – Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, President of Chile
1944 – Jeff Beck, English guitarist (The Yardbirds)
1944 – Arthur Brown, English singer
1944 – John "Charlie" Whitney, English guitarist (Family)
1944 – Chris Wood, English saxophonist (Traffic) (d. 1983)
1945 – Colin Blunstone, English singer and songwriter (The Zombies)
1945 – Wayne Cashman, Canadian ice hockey player
1945 – George Pataki, American politician
1945 – Nora Valsami, Greek actress
1946 – David Collenette, Canadian politician
1946 – Ellison Onizuka, American astronaut (d. 1986)
1946 – Robert Reich, American politician and political commentator
1947 – Peter Weller, American actor
1947 – Mick Fleetwood, English drummer (Fleetwood Mac)
1948 – Patrick Moraz, Swiss keyboard player (Yes)
1949 – John Illsley, English bassist (Dire Straits)
1950 – Nancy Allen, American actress
1950 – Mercedes Lackey, American writer
1951 – David Rodigan, Germany-born English DJ and actor
1951 – Leslie Cochran, American peace activist (d. 2012)
1952 – Stephen Pusey, Englishish artist
1953 – Ivo Lill, Estonian artist
1955 – Edmund Malura, German footballer
1955 – Betsy Randle, American actress
1956 – Joe Penny, English actor
1957 – Mark Parkinson, American politician
1958 – Kenneth Biros, American murderer (d. 2009)
1958 – Jean Charest, Canadian politician
1958 – Tom Lister, Jr., American actor and professional wrestler
1958 – John Tortorella, American ice hockey coach
1958 – Kathy Troccoli, American singer
1960 – Siedah Garrett, American singer
1960 – Karin Pilsäter, Swedish politician
1960 – Erik Poppe, Norwegian film director
1961 – Dennis Danell, American guitarist (Social Distortion) (d. 2000)
1961 – Iain Glen, Scottish actor
1961 – Bernie Nicholls, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 – Ralph Reed, American political figure and religious leader
1961 – Curt Smith, English musician and songwriter (Tears for Fears)
1963 – Preki (Predrag Radosavljevic), Serbian-born American soccer player
1963 – Mike Wieringo, American comic book artist (d. 2007)
1964 – Gary Suter, American ice hockey player
1965 – Uwe Krupp, German ice hockey player
1966 – Hope Sandoval, American singer and songwriter
1966 – Adrienne Shelly, American actress and director (d. 2006)
1967 – Bill Huard, Canadian ice hockey player
1967 – Richard Z. Kruspe, German guitarist (Rammstein)
1967 – Janez Lapajne, Slovenian film director
1967 – John Limniatis, Greek-Canadian footballer
1967 – Scott Oden, American writer
1967 – Sherry Stringfield, American actress
1968 – Alaa Abdelnaby, Egyptian-American basketball player
1969 – Sissel Kyrkjebø, Norwegian soprano
1970 – Glenn Medeiros, American singer and songwriter
1970 – Bernardo Sassetti, Portuguese musician
1971 – Ji Jin Hee, South Korean actor
1971 – Christopher Showerman, American actor
1972 – Robbie McEwen, Australian cyclist
1972 – Denis Žvegelj, Slovenian rower
1973 – Alexander Beyer, German actor
1974 – Chris Guccione American baseball umpire
1975 – Carla Gallo, American actress
1975 – Marek Malik, Czech ice hockey player
1975 – Federico Pucciariello, Argentine-born Italian rugby player
1976 – Louisa Leaman, English writer and behavioural expert
1976 – Brock Olivo, American football player
1977 – Dimosthenis Dikoudis, Greek basketball player
1977 – Jeff Farmer, Australian footballer
1977 – Cas Jansen, Dutch actor
1978 – Luis García, Spanish footballer
1978 – Pantelis Kafes, Greek footballer
1978 – Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese footballer
1978 – Ariel Pink, American musician
1978 – Juan Román Riquelme, Argentine footballer
1978 – Emppu Vuorinen, Finnish guitarist (Nightwish)
1979 – Mindy Kaling, American actress and TV producer
1979 – Petra Nemcová, Czech model
1979 – Craig Shergold, English internet folklore subject
1980 – Liane Balaban, Canadian actress
1980 – Cicinho, Brazilian footballer
1980 – Nina Dübbers, German tennis player
1980 – Andrew Jones, Australian racing driver
1980 – Minka Kelly, American actress
1982 – Clint Bajada, Maltese TV and radio presenter
1982 – Kevin Nolan, English footballer
1982 – Mark Penney, Canadian film director
1982 – Jarret Stoll, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Rebecca Cooke, British swimmer
1983 – John Lloyd Cruz, Filipino actor
1984 – Andrea Raggi, Italian footballer
1984 – J. J. Redick, American basketball player
1985 – Diego Alves Carreira, Brazilian footballer
1985 – Kyle Searles, American actor
1985 – Yukina Shirakawa, Japanese idol
1986 – Stuart Broad, English cricketer
1986 – Phil Hughes, American baseball player
1986 – Solange Knowles, American singer
1987 – Serdar Günes, Turkish footballer
1987 – Craig Henderson, New Zealand footballer
1987 – Arturo Lupoli, Italian footballer
1987 – Lionel Messi, Argentine footballer
1988 – Nichkhun Horvejkul, Thai-American singer (2PM)
1988 – Micah Richards, English footballer
1990 – Michael Del Zotto, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Richard Sukuta-Pasu, German footballer
1991 – Rie Kitahara, Japanese actress and singer (AKB48)
1998 – Coy Stewart, American actor

Deaths

238 – Maximinus Thrax, Roman Emperor (b. 173)
803 – Higbald, Bishop of Lindisfarne (birth year unknown)
1398 – Hongwu Emperor, founder of the Ming Dynasty of China (b. 1328)
1439 – Duke Frederick IV of Austria (b. 1382)
1519 – Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara (b. 1480)
1520 – Hosokawa Sumimoto, Japanese samurai commander (b. 1489)
1604 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, Lord Great Chamberlain of England (b. 1550)
1637 – Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, French astronomer (b. 1580)
1643 – John Hampden, English politician (b. 1595)
1766 – Adrien-Maurice, 3rd duc de Noailles, French soldier (b. 1678)
1778 – Pieter Burmann the Younger, Dutch philologist (b. 1714)
1803 – Matthew Thornton, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1714)
1817 – Thomas McKean, American lawyer and politician (b. 1734)
1835 – Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (b. 1769)
1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French statesman (b. 1837)
1908 – Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States (b. 1837)
1909 – Sarah Orne Jewett, American writer (b. 1849)
1922 – Walther Rathenau, German Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1867)
1931 – Xiang Zhongfa, Head of the Chinese Communist Party (b. 1880)
1931 – Otto Mears, Russian-born American railroad executive (b. 1840)
1935 – Carlos Gardel, Argentine tango singer (b. 1890)
1946 – Louise Whitfield Carnegie, American philanthropist (b. 1857)
1947 – Emil Seidel, Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (b. 1864)
1968 – Tony Hancock, British comedian (b. 1924)
1976 – Imogen Cunningham, American photographer (b. 1883)
1977 – André-Gilles Fortin, Canadian politician (b. 1943)
1978 – Robert Charroux, French writer (b. 1909)
1984 – Clarence Campbell, Canadian president of the National Hockey League (b. 1905)
1987 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and musician (b. 1916)
1989 – Hibari Misora, Japanese singer and actress (b. 1937)
1991 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-born American novelist (b. 1917)
1991 – Rufino Tamayo, Mexican painter (b. 1899)
1997 – Don Hutson, American football player (b. 1913)
1997 – Brian Keith, American actor (b. 1921)
2000 – Vera Atkins, Romanian-born intelligence officer (b. 1908)
2000 – David Tomlinson, English actor (b. 1917)
2000 – Rodrigo Bueno, Argentine singer {b. 1973}
2002 – Pierre Werner, Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1913)
2003 – Vladimir Garin, Russian actor (b. 1987)
2004 – Ifigeneia Giannopoulou, Greek songwriter (b. 1957)
2005 – Yedidia Shofet, former chief rabbi of Iran (b. 1908)
2005 – Paul Winchell, American voice actor and ventriloquist (b. 1922)
2006 – Patsy Ramsey, mother of JonBenét Ramsey (b. 1956)
2007 – Byron Baer, American politician (b. 1929)
2007 – Chris Benoit, Canadian wrestler (b. 1967)
2007 – Derek Dougan, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1938)
2007 – Natasja Saad, Danish reggae and dance hall artist (b. 1974)
2008 – Gerhard Ringel, Austrian mathematician (b. 1919)
2008 – Ira Tucker, American gospel singer (The Dixie Hummingbirds) (b. 1925)
2009 – Roméo LeBlanc, 25th Governor General of Canada (b. 1927)
2009 – Ed Thomas, American High School football coach (b. 1951)
2010 – Tomislav Gotovac, Croatian movie director, actor, performer, multimedia and conceptual artist (b. 1937)
2011 – Tomislav Ivic, Croatian football manager (b. 1933)