today.nukz.net: Almanac June 9

Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre. After a slow start, he began to achieve success in the 1920s, and by the 1930s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike most successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote both the lyrics and the music for his songs.

Events

411 BC – Coup in Athens succeeds, forming a short-lived oligarchy.
53 – Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia.
62 – Claudia Octavia is executed.
68 – Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, after quoting Homer's Iliad, thus ending the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and starting the civil year known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
721 – Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse.
1311 – Duccio's Maestà Altarpiece, a seminal artwork of the early Italian Renaissance, is unveiled and installed in the Siena Cathedral in Siena, Italy.
1534 – Jacques Cartier is the first European to discover the Saint Lawrence River.
1650 – The Harvard Corporation, the more powerful of the two administrative boards of Harvard, is established. It is the first legal corporation in the Americas.
1667 – The Raid on the Medway by the Dutch fleet begins. It lasts for five days and results in a decisive victory by the Dutch over the English in the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
1732 – James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of the future U.S. state of Georgia.
1762 – British forces begin the Siege of Havana and capture the city during the Seven Years' War.
1772 – The British schooner Gaspée is burned off the coast of Rhode Island.
1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: Battle of Arklow and Battle of Saintfield.
1815 – End of the Congress of Vienna: the new European political situation is set.
1856 – Five hundred Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa and head west for Salt Lake City carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts.
1862 – American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson concludes his successful Shenandoah Valley Campaign with a victory in the Battle of Port Republic; his tactics during the campaign are now studied by militaries around the world.
1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia.
1873 – Alexandra Palace in London burns down after being open for only 16 days.
1885 – A peace treaty is signed to end the Sino-French War, with China eventually giving up Tonkin and Annam - most of present-day Vietnam - to France.
1900 – Birsa Munda, an important figure in the Indian independence movement, dies in British prison under mysterious circumstances.
1915 – William Jennings Bryan resigns as Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State over a disagreement regarding the United States' handling of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.
1923 – Bulgaria's military takes over the government in a coup.
1924 – In the second attempt to climb Mount Everest, George Mallory and Andrew "Sandy" Irvine disappear, possibly having first made it to the top.
1928 – Charles Kingsford Smith completes the first trans-Pacific flight in a Fokker Trimotor monoplane, the Southern Cross.
1930 – Chicago Tribune reporter Jake Lingle is killed during rush hour at the Illinois Central train station by Leo Vincent Brothers, allegedly over a 100,000 USD gambling debt owed to Al Capone.
1934 – Donald Duck makes his debut in The Wise Little Hen.
1944 – World War II: 99 civilians are hung from lampposts and balconies by German troops in Tulle, France, in reprisal for maquisards attacks.
1944 – World War II: the Soviet Union invades East Karelia and the previously Finnish part of Karelia, occupied by Finland since 1941.
1946 – King Bhumibol Adulyadej ascends to the throne of Thailand. He is currently the world's longest reigning monarch.
1948 – Foundation of the International Council on Archives under the auspices of the UNESCO.
1953 – Flint-Worcester tornado outbreak sequence: a tornado spawned from the same storm system as the Flint tornado hits in Worcester, Massachusetts killing 94.
1954 – McCarthyism: Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether Communism has infiltrated the Army giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, "You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
1958 – Queen Elizabeth II officially opens London Gatwick Airport, (LGW) in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom.
1959 – The USS George Washington is launched. It is the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles.
1965 – Civilian Prime Minister of South Vietnam Phan Huy Quat resigned after being unable to work with a junta led by Nguyen Cao Ky.
1967 – Six-Day War: Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria
1968 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a national day of mourning following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
1972 – Severe rainfall causes a dam in the Black Hills of South Dakota to burst, creating a flood that kills 238 people and causes $160 million in damage.
1973 – Secretariat wins the Triple Crown.
1974 – Portugal and the Soviet Union establish diplomatic relations.
1978 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens its priesthood to "all worthy men", ending a 148-year-old policy excluding black men.
1979 – The Ghost Train Fire at Luna Park Sydney (New South Wales, Australia) kills seven.
1985 – Thomas Sutherland is kidnapped in Lebanon (he will not be released until 1991).
1999 – Kosovo War: the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO sign a peace treaty.
2008 – In the town of Lake Delton, Wisconsin, Lake Delton drains as a result of heavy flooding breaking the dam holding the lake back.

Births

1580 – Daniel Heinsius, Flemish scholar (d. 1655)
1588 – Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer (d. 1666)
1595 – King Wladislaus IV of Poland (d. 1648)
1640 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1705)
1661 – Tsar Feodor III of Russia (d. 1682)
1672 – Tsar Peter I of Russia (d. 1725)
1686 – Andrei Osterman, Russian statesman (d. 1747)
1768 – Samuel Slater, American industrialist (d. 1835)
1781 – George Stephenson, English mechanical engineer (d. 1848)
1810 – Otto Nicolai, German composer (d. 1849)
1812 – Johann Gottfried Galle, German astronomer (d. 1910)
1843 – Bertha von Suttner, Austrian novelist, Nobel laureate (d. 1914)
1845 – Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto (d. 1914)
1849 – Michael Peter Ancher, Danish painter (d. 1927)
1851 – Charles Joseph Bonaparte, American politician (d. 1921)
1861 – Pierre Duhem, French physicist (d. 1916)
1865 – Albéric Magnard, French composer (d. 1914)
1865 – Carl Nielsen, Danish composer (d. 1931)
1875 – Henry Hallett Dale, English pharmacologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1968)
1882 – Robert Kerr, Canadian sprinter (d. 1963)
1890 – Leslie Banks, British actor (d. 1952)
1891 – Cole Porter, American composer and lyricist (d. 1964)
1893 – Irish Meusel, American baseball player (d. 1963)
1898 – Luigi Fagioli, Italian racing driver (d. 1952)
1900 – Fred Waring, American bandleader (d. 1984)
1902 – Skip James, American Delta blues musician (d. 1969)
1906 – Robert Klark Graham, American eugenicist and entrepreneur (d. 1997)
1908 – Luis Kutner, American human rights activist (d. 1993)
1910 – Robert Cummings, American actor (d. 1990)
1911 – George Webb, British actor (d. 1998)
1912 – Ingolf Dahl, American composer (d. 1970)
1912 – Philip Simmons, American ornamental ironworker (d. 2009)
1915 – Les Paul, American guitarist and inventor (d. 2009)
1916 – Robert McNamara, U.S. Defense Secretary and President of the World Bank (d. 2009)
1916 – Jurij Brezan, Sorbian writer (d. 2006)
1918 – John Hospers, American philosopher and Libertarian politician (d. 2011)
1921 – Arthur Hertzberg, American scholar (d. 2006)
1922 – George Axelrod, American producer, playwright and director (d. 2003)
1922 – John Gillespie Magee, Jr., American poet and aviator (d. 1941)
1922 – Fernand Seguin, Canadian biochemist (d. 1988)
1924 – Ed Farhat ("The Sheik"), American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
1925 – Keith Laumer, American author (d. 1993)
1929 – Johnny Ace, American rhythm and blues singer (d. 1954)
1930 – Monique Andrée Serf, French singer (d. 1997)
1931 – Joe Santos, American actor
1931 – Bill Virdon, American baseball player and manager
1934 – Jackie Wilson, American singer (d. 1984)
1936 – Mick O'Dwyer, Irish footballer and manager
1936 – Jackie Mason, American comedian
1937 – Harald Rosenthal, German biologist
1938 – Charles Wuorinen, American composer
1939 – Ileana Cotrubas, Romanian soprano
1939 – David Hobbs, English racecar driver and commentator
1939 – Dick Vitale, American sportscaster
1939 – Charles Webb, American novelist
1941 – Jon Lord, English pianist and organist (Deep Purple)
1942 – Anton Burghardt, German footballer
1943 – John Fitzpatrick, British racing driver
1943 – Joe Haldeman, American science fiction author
1943 – Charles Saatchi, British-Iraqi businessman
1945 – Luis Ocaña, Spanish cyclist (d. 1994)
1945 – Nike Wagner, German art festival director
1946 – Deyda Hydara, Gambian journalist (d. 2004)
1949 – Kiran Bedi, Indian social activist and police officer
1947 – John Gurda, American historian
1948 – Gudrun Schyman, Swedish politician
1950 – Giorgos Kastrinakis, Greek-American basketball player
1951 – James Newton Howard, American film composer
1951 – Dave Parker, American baseball player
1951 – Reinhard Schmitz, German footballer
1952 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer (d. 2004)
1954 – Paul Chapman, Welsh guitarist (UFO, Lone Star)
1954 – Gregory Maguire, American novelist
1954 – George Pérez, American comic book artist
1954 – Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada
1955 – Stephen Pewsey, English historian
1955 – Wolfgang Schilling, German footballer
1956 – Patricia Cornwell, American novelist
1960 – Steve Paikin, Canadian journalist
1961 – Michael J. Fox, Canadian-born actor
1961 – Aaron Sorkin, American screenwriter and playwright
1962 – Yuval Banai, Israeli musician and singer (Mashina)
1963 – Gilad Atzmon, Israeli-born British jazz saxophonist and political activist
1963 – Johnny Depp, American actor
1963 – David Koepp, American screenwriter and director
1964 – Gloria Reuben, Canadian actress
1964 – Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and smooth jazz bassist (d. 2009)
1964 – Hiroko Yakushimaru, Japanese actress and singer
1966 – Tamela Mann, American gospel singer and actress
1967 – Richard Cooey, American murderer (d. 2008)
1967 – Jian Ghomeshi, Canadian broadcaster
1967 – Rubén Maza, Venezuelan long-distance runner
1968 – Niki Bakoyianni, Greek high jumper
1969 – Nick Kiriazis, American actor
1969 – Eric Wynalda, American footballer
1969 – James Dean Bradfield, British musician, guitar & vocals for Manic Street Preachers
1970 – Erika Miklósa, Hungarian coloratura soprano
1970 – Robert W. Brown II, American lawyer and entrepreneur
1971 – Gilles De Bilde, Belgian footballer
1971 – Jackie McKeown, Scottish vocalist and guitarist (The Yummy Fur, 1990s)
1972 – Tomoe Hanba, Japanese voice actress
1972 – Matt Horsley, Australian football player
1973 – Tedy Bruschi, American football player
1973 – Frederic Choffat, Swiss film director
1973 – Iain Lee, British television/radio personality
1973 – Grant Marshall, Canadian ice hockey player
1973 – Laura Ponte, Spanish model and member (by marriage) of the Spanish Royal Family
1974 – Samoth, Norwegian guitarist and drummer (Emperor, Zyklon)
1975 – Otto Addo, German-born Ghanaian footballer
1975 – Andrew Symonds, Australian cricketer
1977 – Roopa Mishra, Indian civil servant
1977 – Amisha Patel, Indian actress
1977 – Peja Stojakovic, Serbian basketball player
1978 – Matthew Bellamy, English vocalist, guitarist, pianist and songwriter (Muse)
1978 – Michaela Conlin, American actress
1978 – Shandi Finnessey, American beauty queen
1978 – Miroslav Klose, German football player
1980 – Navíd Akhavan, Iranian-German actor
1980 – Mike Fontenot, American baseball player
1980 – Udonis Haslem, American basketball player
1980 – Lehlohonolo Seema, South African football player
1980 – D'banj, Nigerian singer, songwriter and harmonica player
1981 – Natalie Portman, Israeli-born actress
1981 – Anoushka Shankar, English-born sitarist, daughter of Ravi Shankar
1981 – Vic Zhou, Taiwanese actor, singer and model
1982 – Christina Stürmer, Austrian singer
1982 – Andrew Walker, Canadian actor
1983 – Alektra Blue, American pornographic actress
1983 – Alex Templeton-Ward, musician, writer
1983 – Firas Al Khatib, Syrian football player
1983 – Danny Richar, Dominican baseball player
1983 – Jim Tang, Hong Kong actor
1984 – Yulieski Gourriel, Cuban baseball player
1984 – Aruni Kashyap, Indian poet
1984 – Kaleth Morales, Colombian vallenato singer and songwriter (d. 2005)
1984 – Masoud Shojaei, Iranian footballer
1984 – Jake Newton, Guyanese footballer
1984 – Wesley Sneijder, Dutch footballer
1985 – Anthimos Ananiadis, Greek actor
1985 – Richard Kahui, New Zealand All Black rugby player
1985 – Sonam Kapoor, Indian actress
1985 – Sebastian Telfair, American basketball player
1986 – Kary Ng, Hong Kong singer and actress
1986 – Adamo Ruggiero, Canadian actor
1986 – Karan Wahi, Indian actor
1988 – Sara Isakovic, Slovenian swimmer
1988 – Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Greek football player
1988 – Mae Whitman, American actress and voice actress
1989 – Chloë Agnew, Irish singer (Celtic Woman)
1989 – Dídac Vilà, Spanish footballer
1990 – Lauren Socha, English actress
1993 – Danielle Chuchran, American actress

Deaths

62 – Claudia Octavia, wife of Roman Emperor Nero (b. 40)
68 – Nero, Roman Emperor (b. 37)
373 – Ephrem the Syrian, Syriac Christian hymnodist (b. 306)
439 – Spearthrower Owl, Maya ruler of Teotihuacan (Mexico)
597 – Saint Columba, Irish Christian missionary (b. 521)
630 – Shahrbaraz, King of Persia
1361 – Philippe de Vitry, French composer (b. 1291)
1563 – William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, English statesman (b. 1506)
1572 – Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre (b. 1528)
1583 – Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. c.1525)
1656 – Thomas Tomkins, Welsh composer (b. 1572)
1716 – Banda Bahadur, Sikh military commander (b. 1670)
1717 – Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (b. 1648)
1799 – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, African-French swordsman, soldier of fortune and composer, known as the "black Mozart" (b. 1745)
1834 – William Carey, English minister and missionary (b. 1761)
1870 – Charles Dickens, English author (b. 1812)
1875 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist (b. 1795)
1892 – Yoshitoshi, Japanese Ukiyo-e artist (b. 1839)
1892 – William Grant Stairs, Canadian explorer (b. 1863)

1923 – Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria (b. 1846)
1946 – Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII], King of Thailand (b. 1925)
1952 – Adolf Busch, German composer (b. 1891)
1958 – Robert Donat, English actor (b. 1905)
1959 – Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1876)
1961 – Camille Guérin, French scientist (b. 1872)
1964 – Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Canadian-born tycoon and politician (b. 1879)
1968 – Bernard Cronin, Australian author and journalist (b. 1884)
1973 – John Creasey, English crime and science fiction novelist (b. 1908)
1973 – Erich von Manstein, German military commander (b. 1887)
1974 – Miguel Ángel Asturias, Guatemalan writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1899)
1979 – Cyclone Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1884)
1981 – Allen Ludden, American game show host (b. 1917)
1989 – Rashid Behbudov, Azerbaijani singer and actor (b. 1915)
1989 – George Wells Beadle, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
1991 – Claudio Arrau, Chilean-born pianist (b. 1903)
1993 – Thomas Ammann, Swiss art dealer and collector (b. 1950)
1993 – Alexis Smith, Canadian actress (b. 1921)
1994 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
1997 – Stanley Knowles, Canadian politician (b. 1908)
2000 – John Abramovic, American basketball player (b. 1919)
2000 – Jacob Lawrence, American painter (b. 1917)
2003 – Georges Pichard, French comics artist (b. 1920)
2004 – Rosey Brown, American football player (b. 1932)
2004 – Brian Williamson, Jamaican activist (b. 1945)
2006 – Drafi Deutscher, German Schlager singer (b. 1946)
2007 – Frankie Abernathy, American reality TV personality (b. 1981)
2008 – Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian (b. 1919)
2008 – Algis Budrys, American writer (b. 1931)
2009 – Dick May, Former NASCAR racecar driver (b. 1930)
2011 – M. F. Husain, Indian artist, painter (b. 1915)