Almanac July 5 :: Robbie Robertson

Robbie Robertson, (born Jaime Robert Klegerman; July 5, 1943) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The Band has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. As a songwriter Robertson is responsible for such classics as "The Weight", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "Up On Cripple Creek", "Broken Arrow" and "Somewhere Down the Crazy River", and has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Events

• 1295 – Scotland and France form an alliance, the so-called "Auld Alliance", against England.
• 1316 – Battle of Manolada between the Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea
• 1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
• 1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
• 1770 – The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins.
• 1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
• 1803 – The Convention of Artlenburg leads to the French occupation of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
• 1809 – The Battle of Wagram, the largest of the Napoleonic Wars.
• 1811 – Venezuela declares independence from Spain.
• 1813 – War of 1812: three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York begin.
• 1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa – American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
• 1830 – France invades Algeria.
• 1833 – Admiral Charles Napier defeats the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
• 1865 – The Salvation Army is founded in the East End of London, England.
• 1878 – The coat of arms of the Baku governorate is established.
• 1884 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
• 1934 – "Bloody Thursday" – Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
• 1935 – The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
• 1940 – World War II: the United Kingdom and the Vichy France government break off diplomatic relations.
• 1941 – World War II: German troops reach the Dnieper River.
• 1943 – World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
• 1943 – World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk. Also know as Operation Citadel
• 1945 – World War II: Liberation of the Philippines declared.
• 1946 – Bikini goes on sale after debut during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris France
• 1947 – Larry Doby signs a contract with the Cleveland Indians baseball team, becoming the first black player in the American League. (Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League 11 weeks earlier.)
• 1948 – National Health Service Acts created the national public health systems in the United Kingdom
• 1950 – Korean War: Task Force Smith – First clash between American and North Korean forces in the Battle of Osan.
• 1950 – Zionism: the Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
• 1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
• 1954 – The Andhra Pradesh High Court is established.
• 1962 – Algeria becomes independent from France.
• 1962 – The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.
• 1970 – Air Canada Flight 621 crashes near Toronto International Airport killing 109 people.
• 1971 – Right to vote: the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
• 1973 – Catastrophic BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane is being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills 11 firefighters.
• 1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
• 1975 – Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
• 1977 – Military coup in Pakistan: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
• 1987 – First instance of the LTTE using suicide attacks on Sri Lankan Army. The Black Tigers are born, and in the following years continue to use the tactic to deadly effect.
• 1989 – Iran-Contra Affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions are later overturned.
• 1995 – Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after their independence from the Soviet Union.
• 1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
• 1999 – Wolverhampton, England is hit by storms which include a tornado. The area is hit again with severe storms on August 1.
• 1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
• 2004 – The first Indonesian presidential election is held.
• 2006 – North Korea launches at least two short-range Nodong-2 missiles, one SCUD missile and one long-range Taepodong-2 missile.
• 2009 – A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
• 2009 – Roger Federer wins a record 15th Grand Slam title in tennis, winning a five set match against Andy Roddick at Wimbledon.
• 2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England.

Births

• 465 – Ahkal Mo' Naab' I, Maya ruler of Palenque (d. 524)
• 1029 – Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah, Egyptian Caliph (d. 1094)
• 1321 – Joan of The Tower, Queen consort of King David II of Scotland (d. 1362)
• 1547 – Garzia de' Medici, Prince of Tuscany (d. 1562)
• 1549 – Francesco Maria Del Monte, Italian diplomat (d. 1627)
• 1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, queen consort of Charles IX of France (d. 1592)
• 1586 – Thomas Hooker, English Connecticut colonist (d. 1647)
• 1653 – Thomas Pitt, British Governor of Madras (d. 1726)
• 1670 – Countess Palatine Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, German-born Duchess of Parma (d. 1748)
• 1675 – Mary Walcott, American accuser at the Salem witch trials (d. after 1719)
• 1717 – Peter III of Portugal, consort of Queen Maria I of Portugal (d. 1786)
• 1718 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English Viceroy of Ireland (d. 1794)
• 1745 – Carl Arnold Kortum, German physician (d. 1824)
• 1755 – Sarah Siddons, British actress (d. 1831)
• 1780 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician (d. 1838)
• 1793 – Pavel Pestel, Russian revolutionary (d. 1826)
• 1794 – Sylvester Graham, American nutritionist (d. 1851)
• 1801 – David Farragut, American naval commander (d. 1870)
• 1802 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (d. 1855)
• 1805 – Robert FitzRoy, British naval officer and meteorologist (d. 1865)
• 1805 – Jérôme Napoleon Bonaparte, French prince (d. 1870)
• 1810 – P.T. Barnum, American circus owner (d. 1891)
• 1820 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish engineer and physicist (d. 1872)
• 1829 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican writer and diplomat (d. 1910)
• 1832 – Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter (d. 1919)
• 1841 – William C. Whitney, American financier (d. 1904)
• 1849 – William Thomas Stead, English journalist (d. 1912)
• 1853 – Cecil Rhodes, British founder of Rhodesia (d. 1902)
• 1857 – Clara Zetkin, German socialist (d. 1933)
• 1860 – Robert Bacon, American politician (d. 1919)
• 1872 – Édouard Herriot, French politician (d. 1957)
• 1874 – Eugen Fischer, German physician (d. 1967)
• 1879 – Wanda Landowska, Polish harpsichordist (d. 1959)
• 1879 – Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician (d. 1945)
• 1880 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist (d. 1940)
• 1882 – Inayat Khan, Indian Sufi (d. 1927)
• 1885 – Blas Infante, Spanish politician (d. 1936)
• 1885 – André Lhote, French painter (d. 1962)
• 1886 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and centenarian (d. 1988)
• 1888 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1963)
• 1889 – Jean Cocteau, French writer (d. 1963)
• 1890 – Frederick Lewis Allen, American social historian (d. 1954)
• 1891 – John Howard Northrop, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1987)
• 1891 – Tin Ujevic, Croatian poet (d. 1955)
• 1895 – Gordon Jacob, English composer (d. 1984)
• 1898 – Georgios Grivas, Cyprus-born Greek army officer and guerrilla figure (d. 1974)
• 1899 – Marcel Achard, French playwright, screenwriter and author (d. 1974)
• 1900 – Yoshimaro Yamashina, Japanese ornithologist (d. 1989)
• 1901 – Sergey Obraztsov, Soviet puppet master (d. 1992)
• 1902 – Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., American diplomat (d. 1985)
• 1904 – Harold Acton, American writer and dilettante (d. 1994)
• 1904 – Ernst Mayr, American biologist (d. 2005)
• 1904 – Milburn Stone, American actor (d. 1980)
• 1905 – Myles Horton, American educator and Civil Rights Movement figure (d. 1990)
• 1910 – Georges Vedel, French public law professor (d. 2002)
• 1910 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (d. 2003)
• 1911 – Georges Pompidou, French politician (d. 1974)
• 1912 – Mack David, American lyricist (d. 1993)
• 1913 – George Costakis, Greek art collector (d. 1990)
• 1913 – Smiley Lewis, American rhythm and blues vocalist and guitarist (d. 1966)
• 1914 – Gerda Gilboe, Danish actress (d. 2009)
• 1915 – John Woodruff, American distance runner (d. 2007)
• 1918 – K. Karunakaran, senior politician from Kerala, India (d. 2010)
• 1918 – George Rochberg, American composer (d. 2005)
• 1918 – René Lecavalier, French-Canadian radio host and sportscaster (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Mary Louise Hancock, American politician and activist
• 1922 – Bob Duffy, American basketball player
• 1924 – Niels Jannasch, Canadian historian and museum curator (d. 2001)
• 1924 – János Starker, Hungarian cellist
• 1925 – Fernando De Szyszlo, Peruvian abstract artist.
• 1928 – Warren Oates, American actor (d. 1982)
• 1928 – Pierre Mauroy, French politician
• 1928 – Katherine Helmond, American actress
• 1931 – Ismail Mahomed, South African and Namibian Chief Justice (d. 2000)
• 1931 – Bill Skiles, American comic (d. 2011)
• 1932 – Billy Laughlin, American actor (d. 1948)
• 1932 – Gyula Horn, Hungarian politician
• 1935 – John Gilmore, American true crime author
• 1936 – Shirley Knight, American actress
• 1936 – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist, Nobel laureate
• 1938 – Ronnie Self, American rock singer and songwriter (d. 1981)
• 1939 – Booker Edgerson, American football player
• 1940 – Chuck Close, American painter and photographer
• 1942 – Johannes Löhr, German football player and coach
• 1943 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player (d. 2001)
• 1943 – Robbie Robertson, Canadian guitarist (The Band)
• 1945 – Humberto Benítez Treviño, Mexican politician and Attorney General of México
• 1946 – Pierre-Marc Johnson, Québécois lawyer, physician and politician
• 1946 – Paul Smith, British fashion designer
• 1946 – Gerardus 't Hooft, Dutch physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1948 – William Hootkins, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1950 – Huey Lewis, American singer (Huey Lewis and the News)
• 1950 – Michael Monarch, American guitarist (Steppenwolf)
• 1951 – Keiko Fuji, Japanese enka singer
• 1951 – Goose Gossage, American baseball player
• 1951 – Roger Wicker, American politician
• 1952 – David Pinkney, British racing driver
• 1954 – Leni Björklund, Swedish politician
• 1954 – Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist (Aerosmith)
• 1954 – Wayne Hale, American NASA engineer
• 1954 – John Wright, New Zealand cricketer
• 1955 – Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player
• 1956 – Patsy Pease, American actress
• 1956 – James Lofton, American football player and coach
• 1957 – David Hanson, British politician
• 1957 – Doug Wilson, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1958 – Paul Daniel, British opera and symphony conductor
• 1958 – Bill Watterson, American cartoonist
• 1959 – Marc Cohn, American singer and songwriter
• 1960 – Pruitt Taylor Vince, American actor
• 1960 – James M. Kelly, American politician
• 1960 – Brad Loree, Canadian actor and stunt performer
• 1961 – Isabelle Poulenard, French soprano
• 1961 – Patrizia Scianca, Italian voice actress
• 1962 – Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Indonesian terrorist, 2002 Bali Bombings (d. 2008)
• 1963 – Edie Falco, American actress
• 1963 – Russ Lorenson, American singer and actor
• 1963 – Mark Stockwell, Australian swimmer
• 1963 – Dorien Wilson, American actor
• 1964 – Jimmy Demers, American singer and writer
• 1965 – Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Israeli jazz pianist
• 1966 – Kathryn Erbe, American actress
• 1966 – Susannah Doyle, British actress
• 1966 – Gianfranco Zola, Italian football player and coach
• 1966 – Claudia Wells, American actress
• 1967 – Silvia Ziche, Italian comics artist
• 1968 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese manga artist
• 1968 – Kenji Ito, Japanese composer
• 1968 – John Ruskin, Canadian celebrity interviewer and musician (The Evaporators)
• 1968 – Hedi Slimane, French fashion designer
• 1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss cyclist
• 1969 – Ansgar Brinkmann, German footballer
• 1969 – Jenji Kohan, American television writer and producer
• 1969 – John LeClair, American hockey player
• 1969 – RZA, American rapper (Wu-Tang Clan)
• 1969 – Jeremy Spake, English television personality
• 1970 – Andre Hicks, American rapper (d. 2004)
• 1971 – Derek McInnes, Scottish footballer
• 1972 – Robert Esmie, Canadian athlete
• 1973 – Marcus Allbäck, Swedish footballer
• 1973 – Bengt Lagerberg, Swedish drummer (The Cardigans)
• 1973 – Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter (Moloko)
• 1973 – René Spies, German bobsledder
• 1974 – Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer
• 1975 – Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer
• 1975 – Gunnar Thomsen, Faroese bassist (Týr)
• 1975 – Kip Gamblin, Australian dancer and actor
• 1975 – Ai Sugiyama, Japanese tennis player
• 1975 – Thomas Pentz, American DJ, producer and songwriter
• 1976 – Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
• 1976 – Bizarre, American rapper (D12)
• 1977 – Royce da 5'9", American rapper
• 1977 – Nicolas Kiefer, German tennis player
• 1979 – Tim Coly, German rugby player
• 1979 – Shane Filan, Irish singer (Westlife)
• 1979 – Amélie Mauresmo, French tennis player
• 1979 – Stiliyan Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
• 1980 – Eva Green, French actress
• 1980 – Jason Wade, American singer and guitarist (Lifehouse)
• 1980 – David Rozehnal, Czech footballer
• 1980 – Mads Tolling, Danish-American violinist, violist, and composer
• 1981 – Jesse Crain, Canadian baseball player
• 1981 – Ryan Hansen, American actor
• 1981 – Gianne Albertoni, Brazilian model
• 1982 – Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
• 1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist
• 1983 – Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
• 1984 – Marion Trott, German skeleton racer
• 1984 – Danay Garcia, Cuban actress
• 1984 – Yu Yamada, Japanese model, actress and singer
• 1985 – Stephanie McIntosh, Australian singer and actress
• 1985 – Nick O'Malley, English bassist (Arctic Monkeys)
• 1985 – Megan Rapinoe, American footballer
• 1986 – Adam Young, American musician (Owl City)
• 1988 – Adriano Buzaid, Brazilian racing driver
• 1989 – Georgios Efrem, Greek-Cypriot footballer
• 1989 – Joseph King, American singer and guitarist (Canvas, Deadbeat Darling)
• 1989 – Sean O'Pry, American model
• 1989 – Dejan Lovren, Croatian footballer
• 1991 – Jason Dolley, American actor

Deaths

• 1316 – Infante Ferdinand of Majorca (b. 1278)
• 1375 – Charles III of Alençon, French archbishop (b. 1337)
• 1507 – Crinitus, Florentine humanist (b. 1475)
• 1539 – Anthony Maria Zaccaria, Italian saint (b. 1502)
• 1666 – Albert VI of Bavaria (b. 1584)
• 1676 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish soldier (b. 1613)
• 1715 – Charles Ancillon, French Huguenot pastor (b. 1659)
• 1719 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-born British soldier (b. 1641)
• 1773 – Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian and philologist (b. 1719)
• 1819 – William Cornwallis, Royal Navy admiral (b.1744)
• 1826 – Sir Stamford Raffles, British statesman (b. 1782)
• 1833 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor (b. 1765)
• 1859 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist (b. 1777)
• 1862 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist (b. 1800)
• 1863 – Lewis Addison Armistead, American Confederate General (b. 1817)
• 1884 – Victor Massé, French composer (b. 1822)
• 1908 – Jonas Lie, Norwegian novelist (b. 1833)
• 1920 – Max Klinger, German painter, sculptor and printmaker (b. 1857)
• 1927 – Albrecht Kossel, German physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1853)
• 1929 – Henry Lincoln Johnson, American member of 369th regiment (aka Harlem Hell Fighters), the first American to receive the Croix de guerre (b. 1897)
• 1932 – Sasha Cherny, Russian poet (b. 1880)
• 1937 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (b. 1884)
• 1945 – John Curtin, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
• 1948 – Georges Bernanos, French writer (b. 1888)
• 1948 – Carole Landis, American actress (b. 1919)
• 1957 – Charles Sherwood Noble, American-born inventor (b. 1873)
• 1965 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican diplomat and international playboy (b. 1909)
• 1966 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
• 1969 – Walter Gropius, German architect (b. 1883)
• 1969 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (b. 1884)
• 1969 – Leo McCarey, American film director (b. 1898)
• 1969 – Tom Mboya, Kenyan politician (b. 1930)
• 1975 – Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano (b. 1892)
• 1983 – Harry James, American trumpeter (b. 1916)
• 1989 – Maria Vassiliou, Greek-Cypriot actress (b. 1950)
• 1991 – Howard Nemerov, American poet (b. 1920)
• 1996 – Erik Wickberg, Swedish-born 9th General of the Salvation Army (b. 1904)
• 1997 – Mrs. Elva Miller, American singer (b. 1907)
• 1998 – Sid Luckman, American football player (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Ernie K-Doe, American singer (b. 1936)
• 2002 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b. 1924)
• 2002 – Ted Williams, American baseball player (b. 1918)
• 2003 – Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1979)
• 2004 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican politician, the 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1923)
• 2004 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver (b. 1921)
• 2005 – James Stockdale, U.S. Navy vice admiral (b. 1923)
• 2005 – Shirley Goodman, American singer (b. 1936)
• 2006 – Gert Fredriksson, Swedish canoer (b. 1919)
• 2006 – Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)
• 2007 – Régine Crespin, French operatic soprano (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Kerwin Mathews, American actor (b. 1926)
• 2007 – George Melly, British jazz & blues musician (b. 1926)
• 2008 – Hasan Dogan, the 37th president of the Turkish Football Federation (b. 1956)
• 2010 – Bob Probert, Canadian professional ice hockey forward. (b. 1965)
• 2011 – Cy Twombly, American artist (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

• Bloody Thursday (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Anthony Maria Zaccaria, priest (d. 1539)
  • Zoe of Rome (Roman Catholic Church)
  • July 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• X-Day (Church of the SubGenius)

• Constitution Day (Armenia)
• Independence Day, celebrate the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
• Independence Day, celebrate the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
• Independence Day, celebrate the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811.
• Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
• Tynwald Day, if July 5 is on a weekend, the holiday is the following Monday. (Isle of Man)
• Emancipation Day, celebrate the emancipation of enslaved Africans in New York City in 1827.
• Poplifugia (Ancient Rome)