today.nukz.net: Almanac July 14

Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his guitar. His best-known song is "This Land Is Your Land." Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress.

Such songwriters as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg, Jeff Tweedy and Tom Paxton have acknowledged Guthrie as a major influence.

Events

1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II of France.
1769 – An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà establishes a base in California and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California).
1771 – Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.
1789 – French Revolution: citizens of Paris storm the Bastille.
1789 – Alexander Mackenzie finally completes his journey to the mouth of the great river he hoped would take him to the Pacific, but which turns out to flow into the Arctic Ocean. Later named after him, the Mackenzie is the second-longest river system in North America.
1790 – French Revolution: citizens of Paris celebrate the constitutional monarchy and national reconciliation in the Fête de la Fédération.
1791 – The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.
1798 – The Sedition Act becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.
1853 – Opening of the first major US world's fair, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York City.
1865 – First ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die on the descent.
1877 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 begins in Martinsburg, West Virginia, US, when Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers have their wages cut for the second time in a year.
1881 – Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.
1900 – Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.
1902 – The Campanile in St. Mark's Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.
1911 – Harry Atwood, an exhibition pilot for the Wright Brothers lands his airplane at the South Lawn of the White House. He is later awarded a Gold medal from U.S. President William Howard Taft for this feat.
1916 – Start of the Battle of Delville Wood as an action within the Battle of the Somme, which was to last until 3 September 1916.
1933 – Gleichschaltung: in Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.
1933 – The Nazi eugenics begins with the proclamation of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring that calls for the compulsory sterilization of any citizen who suffers from alleged genetic disorders.
1943 – In Diamond, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
1948 – Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded near the Italian Parliament.
1950 – Korean War: North Korean troops initiate the Battle of Taejon.
1957 – Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.
1958 – Iraqi Revolution: in Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces led by Abdul Karim Kassem, who becomes the nation's new leader.
1960 – Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild.
1965 – The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.
1969 – Football War: after Honduras loses a soccer match against El Salvador, riots break out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.
1969 – The United States $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills are officially withdrawn from circulation.
1987 – Montreal, Canada, is hit by a series of thunderstorms causing the Montreal Flood of 1987.
1992 – 386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source Operating System Revolution. Linus Torvalds releases his Linux soon afterwards.
2000 – A powerful solar flare, later named the Bastille Day event, causes a geomagnetic storm on Earth.
2002 – French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.
2003 – In an effort to discredit U.S. Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, who had written an article critical of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Washington Post columnist Robert Novak reveals that Wilson's wife Valerie Plame is a CIA "operative".

Births

1454 – Poliziano, Florentine humanist (d. 1494)
1602 – Jules Mazarin, French statesman and cardinal (d. 1661)
1608 – George Goring, Lord Goring, English royalist soldier (d. 1657)
1610 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1670)
1634 – Pasquier Quesnel, French Jansenist theologian (d. 1719)
1671 – Jacques D'Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1732)
1675 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French soldier (d. 1747)
1676 – Caspar Abel, German theologian, historian and poet (d. 1763)
1696 – William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (d. 1761)
1721 – John Douglas, Scottish Anglican bishop and man of letters (d. 1807)
1743 – Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, Russian poet (d. 1816)
1755 – Michel de Beaupuy, French general of the Revolution (d. 1796)
1785 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American writer and journalist (d. 1851)
1801 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist (d. 1858)
1816 – Arthur de Gobineau, French philosopher (d. 1882)
1829 – Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1896)
1834 – James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American painter (d. 1903)
1858 – Emmeline Pankhurst, English suffragette (d. 1928)
1859 – Willy Hess, German violinist (d. 1928)
1860 – Owen Wister, American novelist (d. 1938)
1862 – Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and graphic artist (d. 1918)
1865 – Arthur Capper, American newspaper publisher and politician (d. 1951)
1868 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator (d. 1926)
1872 – Albert Marque, French sculptor and doll maker (d. 1939)
1874 – Khedive Abbas II of Egypt and Sudan (d. 1944)
1885 – King Sisavang Vong of Laos (d. 1959)
1888 – Scipio Slataper, Italian writer and essayist (d. 1915)
1889 – Ante Pavelic, Croatian fascist leader (d. 1959)
1891 – Alexander M. Volkov, Russian novelist and mathematician (d. 1977)
1893 – Garimella Satyanarayana, Indian poet and Freedom fighter (d.1952)
1893 – Clarence J. Brown, Newspaper publisher and politician (d. 1965)
1893 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, film director and film producer (d. 1979)
1896 – Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish anarchist (d. 1936)
1898 – Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, American politician and baseball commissioner (d. 1991)
1901 – Gerald Finzi, British composer (d. 1956)
1903 – Irving Stone, American writer (d. 1989)
1906 – Tom Carvel, Greek-born American businessman and inventor (d. 1990)
1906 – William H. Tunner, American general (d. 1983)
1910 – William Hanna, American animator (d. 2001)
1911 – Pavel Prudnikau, Belarusian poet and writer (d. 2000)
1911 – Terry-Thomas, British actor (d. 1990)
1912 – Northrop Frye, Canadian literary critic (d. 1991)
1912 – Woody Guthrie, American folk musician (d. 1967)
1913 – Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States (d. 2006)
1918 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish film and theatre director (d. 2007)
1918 – Arthur Laurents, American playwright, novelist, and director (d. 2011)
1919 – Lino Ventura, Italian-born French actor (d. 1987)
1920 – Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (d. 2004)
1921 – Leon Garfield, English children's author (d. 1996)
1921 – Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996)
1922 – Robin Olds, American World War II and Vietnam War ace fighter pilot (d. 2007)
1922 – Elfriede Rinkel, German Nazi concentration camp guard
1923 – Dale Robertson, American actor
1923 – Willie Steele, American long jumper (d. 1989)
1926 – Harry Dean Stanton, American actor
1927 – John Chancellor, American television commentator (d. 1996)
1927 – Peggy Parish, American author (d. 1988)
1928 – Nancy Olson, American actress
1930 – Polly Bergen, American actress
1931 – Jacqueline de Ribes, French fashion designer
1932 – Roosevelt Grier, American football player and actor
1933 – Robert Bourassa, Quebec politician (d. 1996)
1933 – Franz, Duke of Bavaria, Heir to the House of Stuart
1936 – Pema Chödrön, American-born Buddhist nun and author
1936 – Robert F. Overmyer, American test pilot and astronaut (d. 1996)
1937 – Yoshiro Mori, Japanese politician
1938 – Jerry Rubin, American social activist and businessman (d. 1994)
1938 – Richard Rust, American actor (d. 1994)
1938 – Tommy Vig, Hungarian composer, arranger, vibraphonist
1939 – Karel Gott, Czech Schlager singer
1939 – Sid Haig, American actor
1939 – George E. Slusser, American scholar and writer
1940 – Susan Howatch, English novelist
1941 – Maulana Karenga, American writer and political activist, the creator of Kwanzaa
1941 – Andreas Khol, Austrian politician
1942 – Javier Solana, Spanish politician, Secretary General of NATO and European Union High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
1943 – Christopher Priest, English novelist
1944 – Billy McCool, American baseball player
1946 – Vincent Pastore, American actor
1946 – John Wood, Australian actor
1947 – Claudia Kennedy, U.S. Army officer
1947 – Navin Ramgoolam, Mauritius politician, 3rd and 6th Prime Minister of Mauritius
1948 – Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, Zulu king
1949 – Tommy Mottola, American music executive
1951 – Erich Hallhuber, German actor (d. 2003)
1952 – Franklin Graham, American evangelist
1952 – Eric Laneuville, American director, actor and producer
1952 – Joel Silver, American film producer
1952 – Bob Casale ("Bob 2"), American guitarist (Devo)
1953 – Martha Coakley, American politician
1953 – Bebe Buell, American model
1955 – L. Brent Bozell III, American writer and pundit
1956 – Julio Chavez, Argentinian actor
1956 – Vladimir Kulich, Czech actor
1958 – Robert Jensen, American journalist and activist
1958 – Joe Keenan, American screenwriter, television producer and novelist
1960 – Jane Lynch, American actress, comedian and singer
1960 – Anna Bligh, Australian politician
1960 – Kyle Gass, American guitarist, singer and actor (Tenacious D)
1960 – Angélique Kidjo, Beninese singer
1961 – Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
1962 – Jeff Olson, American percussionist (Trouble)
1962 – Antonio Díaz Sánchez, Cuban dissident
1963 – Phil Rosenthal, American newspaper columnist
1966 – Juliet Cesario, American actress
1966 – Owen Coyle, Scottish-born Irish football player and manager
1966 – Tanya Donelly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Throwing Muses, Belly)
1966 – Matthew Fox, American actor
1966 – Ellen Reid, Canadian pianist and vocalist (Crash Test Dummies)
1966 – Brian Selznick, American author and illustrator
1967 – Marios Constantinou, Greek-Cypriot footballer
1967 – Jeff Jarrett, American professional wrestler
1967 – Patrick J. Kennedy, American politician
1967 – Robin Ventura, American baseball player
1969 – José Hernández, Puerto Rican baseball player
1969 – Kazushi Sakuraba, Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler
1970 – Nina Siemaszko, American actress
1971 – Mark LoMonaco (Bubba Ray Dudley), American professional wrestler
1971 – Nick McCabe, British guitarist (The Verve)
1971 – Madhu Sapre, Former Indian Model and Miss Universe Contestant
1971 – Joey Styles, American wrestling commentator
1971 – Marie-Chantal Toupin, Canadian singer
1971 – Howard Webb, English football referee
1972 – Deborah Mailman, Australian actress
1973 – Tani Fuga, Samoan rugby player
1973 – Paul Methric, American rapper
1973 – Halil Mutlu, Turkish weightlifter
1973 – Candela Peña, Spanish actress
1973 – Adam Quinn, American bagpipes player
1974 – Erick Dampier, American basketball player
1974 – David Mitchell, English comedian and actor
1975 – Tim Hudson, American baseball player
1975 – Jamey Johnson, American country music artist
1975 – Taboo, American rapper
1976 – Ranj Dhaliwal, Canadian novelist
1976 – Geraint Jones, England cricketer
1976 – Kirsten Sheridan, Irish film director and screenwriter
1977 – Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
1978 – Mattias Ekström, Swedish racing driver
1979 – Bernie Castro, Dominican baseball player
1979 – Scott Porter, American actor
1979 – Axel Teichmann, German cross-country skier
1980 – Chad Faust, Canadian actor
1980 – George Smith, Australian rugby union player
1980 – Jed Madela, Filipino singer
1981 – Lee Mead, English actor
1982 – Dmitry Chaplin, Russian-born American dancer, So You Think You Can Dance finalist
1983 – Wesley Dening, Australian TV personality
1984 – Renaldo Balkman, American basketball player
1984 – Erica Blasberg, American golfer (d. 2010)
1984 – Lenka Dlhopolcová, Slovak tennis player
1984 – Mounir El Hamdaoui, Moroccan footballer
1984 – Nilmar, Brazilian footballer
1984 – Samir Handanovic, Slovenian footballer
1985 – Billy Celeski, Australian association footballer
1985 – Darrelle Revis, American football player
1986 – Alexander Gerndt, Swedish footballer
1987 – Adam Johnson, English footballer
1988 – James Vaughan, English footballer
1989 – Sean Flynn, American actor

Deaths

664 – Deusdedit of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury (birth year unknown)
937 – Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria (birth year unknown)
1223 – King Philip II of France (b. 1165)
1575 – Richard Taverner, English translator of the Bible (b. c. 1505)
1614 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian saint (b. 1550)
1671 – Méric Casaubon, English classical scholar (b. 1599)
1704 – Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia, regent of Russia (b. 1657)
1723 – Claude Fleury, French historian (b. 1640)
1742 – Richard Bentley, English classical scholar (b. 1662)
1766 – František Maxmilián Kanka, Czech architect (b. 1674)
1774 – James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley and Kilmaine, British field marshal (b. 1682)
1780 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher (b. 1713)
1789 – Jacques de Flesselles, French provost (b. 1721)
1789 – Bernard-René de Launay, French Governor of the Bastille (b. 1740)
1790 – Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (b. 1717)
1809 – Nicodemus the Hagiorite, Greek Orthodox saint (b. 1749)
1816 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan revolutionary (b. 1750)
1817 – Madame de Staël, Swiss writer (b. 1766)
1827 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist (b. 1788)
1834 – Edmond Charles Genêt, French ambassador to the United States during the French Revolution (b. 1763)
1850 – August Neander, German theologian (b. 1789)
1876 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English Methodist chapel builder (b. 1816)
1881 – Billy the Kid, American outlaw (b. 1859)
1904 – Paul Kruger, South African Boer resistance leader, 5th President of the South African Republic (b. 1824)
1907 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist and inventor (b. 1838)
1910 – Marius Petipa, French dancer and choreographer (b. 1818)
1917 – Octave Lapize, French cyclist (b. 1887)
1918 – Quentin Roosevelt, American aviator, son of Theodore Roosevelt (b. 1897)
1924 – Isabella Ford, English socialist, feminist, trade unionist and writer (b. 1855)
1925 – Pancho Villa, Filipino boxer (b. 1901)
1939 – Alphonse Mucha, Czech painter and decorative artist (b. 1860)
1954 – Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
1954 – Jackie Saunders, American silent screen actress (b. 1892)
1965 – Adlai Stevenson, United States politician and Presidential candidate (b. 1900)
1966 – Julie Manet, French painter (b. 1878)
1967 – Tudor Arghezi, Romanian writer (b. 1880)
1968 – Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky, Russian writer (b. 1892)
1968 – Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek politician, 164th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1907)
1970 – Preston Foster, American stage and film actor (b. 1900)
1974 – Carl Spaatz, American Air Force general (b. 1891)
1975 – Madan Mohan, Indian film music director (b. 1924)
1984 – Ernest Tidyman, American writer (b. 1928)
1989 – Frank Bell, British educator (b. 1916)
1990 – Walter Sedlmayr, German actor (b. 1926)
1993 – Léo Ferré, French singer and songwriter (b. 1916)
1994 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1940)
1996 – Jeff Krosnoff, American racing driver (b. 1964)
1998 – Richard McDonald, American fast food pioneer (b. 1909)
2000 – William Roscoe Estep, American Baptist historian (b. 1920)
2000 – René Ríos Boettiger, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1911)
2000 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (b. 1944)
2001 – Guy de Lussigny, French painter (b. 1929)
2002 – Joaquín Balaguer, Dominican politician, 41st, 45th and 49th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906)
2003 – Éva Janikovszky, Hungarian novelist (b. 1926)
2003 – François-Albert Angers, French-Canadian economist (b. 1909)
2005 – Joe Harnell, American musician, composer and arranger (b. 1924)
2005 – Cicely Saunders, English nurse, physician and writer (b. 1918)
2005 – Jacques Roche, Haitian journalist
2007 – John Ferguson, Sr., Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
2008 – Henki Kolstad, Norwegian actor (b. 1915)
2009 – Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Polish actor (b. 1934)
2010 – Madalina Manole, Romanian pop recording artist (b. 1967)
2010 – Gene Ludwig, American jazz organist (b. 1937)
2010 – Charles Mackerras, Australian conductor (b. 1925)