today.nukz.net: Almanac August 11 :: U.S. Patent 2,292,387

1942 – Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi.

Events

3114 BC – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Mayans, begins.
2492 BC – Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation.
106 – The south-western part of Dacia (modern Romania) becomes a Roman province: Roman Dacia.
355 – Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor against Constantius II.
490 – Battle of Adda: The Goths under Theodoric the Great and his ally Alaric II defeat the forces of Odoacer on the Adda River, near Milan.
1332 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Dupplin Moor – Scots under Domhnall II, Earl of Mar are routed by Edward Balliol.
1675 – Franco-Dutch War: forces of the Holy Roman Empire defeat the French in the Battle of Konzer Brücke.
1786 – Captain Francis Light establishes the British colony of Penang in Malaysia.
1804 – Francis II assumes the title of first Emperor of Austria.
1812 – Peninsular War: French troops engage British-Portuguese forces in the Battle of Majadahonda.
1858 – The Eiger in the Bernese Alps is ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.
1898 – Spanish-American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
1918 – World War I: the Battle of Amiens ends.
1919 – The constitution of the Weimar Republic is adopted.
1920 – The Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty, which relinquished Russia's authority and pretenses to Latvia, is signed, ending the Latvian War of Independence.
1929 – Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
1934 – The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island.
1942 – Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi.
1947 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founding father of Pakistan, gives a speech to the Constituent Assembly, the contents and meaning of which remain contentious today.
1952 – Hussein bin Talal is proclaimed King of Jordan.
1959 – Sheremetyevo International Airport, the second-largest airport in Russia, opens.
1960 – Chad declares independence.
1961 – The former Portuguese territories in India of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are merged to create the Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
1965 – Race riots (the Watts riots) begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles, California.
1968 – The last steam hauled train runs on British railways
1972 – Vietnam War: the last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam.
1975 – East Timor: Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.
1982 – A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo to Honolulu, killing one teenager and injuring 15 passengers.
1984 – "We begin bombing in five minutes" - United States President Ronald Reagan, while running for re-election, jokes while preparing to make his weekly Saturday address on National Public Radio.
1999 – The Salt Lake City Tornado tears through the downtown district of the city, killing one.
2003 – NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
2003 – Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.
2012 – The Municipality of Ilagan becomes a component city in the province of Isabela in the Philippines.

Births

1467 – Mary of York, English princess (d. 1482)
1648 – Jeremiah Shepard, American minister (d. 1720)
1667 – Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Italian princess (d. 1743)
1673 – Richard Mead, English physician (d. 1754)
1718 – Sir Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-born English colonial governor (d. 1791)
1722 – Richard Brocklesby, English physician (d. 1797)
1748 – Joseph Schuster, German composer (d. 1812)
1778 – Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, Prussian nationalist (d. 1852)
1794 – James Barton Longacre, American engraver (d. 1869)
1807 – David Rice Atchison, American politician (d. 1886)
1808 – William W. Chapman, American politician (d. 1892)
1825 – István Türr, Hungarian soldier and engineer (d. 1908)
1833 – Robert G. Ingersoll, American politician and soldier (d. 1899)
1833 – Kido Takayoshi, Japanese politician (d. 1877)
1836 – Warren Brown, American politician (d. 1919)
1837 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French statesman (d. 1894)
1855 – John Hodges, Australian cricketer (d. 1933)
1858 – Christiaan Eijkman, Dutch physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1930)
1860 – Ottó Bláthy, Hungarian electrical engineer (d. 1939)
1870 – Tom Richardson, English cricketer (d. 1912)
1872 – Kijuro Shidehara, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1951)
1875 – Daniel Soubeyran, French rower (d. 1959)
1877 – Adolph M. Christianson, American judge (d. 1954)
1878 – Oliver W F Lodge, English poet and writer (d. 1955)
1891 – Stancho Belkovski, Bulgarian architect and lecturer (d. 1962)
1892 – Eiji Yoshikawa, Japanese novelist (d. 1962)
1892 – Hugh MacDiarmid, Scottish poet (d. 1978)
1892 – Archie Wiles, West Indian cricketer (d. 1957)
1897 – Louise Bogan, American poet (d. 1970)
1897 – Enid Blyton, English author (d. 1968)
1900 – Philip Phillips, American archaeologist (d. 1994)
1902 – Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (d. 1986)
1902 – Lloyd Nolan, American actor (d. 1985)
1905 – Erwin Chargaff, Austrian biochemist (d. 2002)
1907 – Ted a'Beckett, Australian cricketer (d. 1989)
1908 – Torgny Torgnysson Segerstedt, Swedish philosopher (d. 1999)
1909 – Yuji Koseki, Japanese composer (d. 1989)
1912 – Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs, German astronomer (d. 1954)
1912 – Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister of Thailand (d. 2004)
1913 – Angus Wilson, English novelist (d. 1991)
1913 – Paul Dupuis, French Canadian actor (d. 1976)
1913 – Bob Scheffing, American baseball player and manager (d. 1985)
1914 – José Silva, American parapsychologist (d. 1999)
1916 – Johnny Claes, Belgian race car driver (d. 1956)
1919 – Ginette Neveu, French violinist (d. 1949)
1919 – Luis Olmo, Puerto Rican baseball player
1920 – Chuck Rayner, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2002)
1921 – Alex Haley, American historian (d. 1992)
1923 – Stan Chambers, American TV reporter
1925 – Mike Douglas, American entertainer (d. 2006)
1925 – Floyd Curry, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2006)
1926 – Aaron Klug, Lithuanian-born English chemist, Nobel Laureate
1926 – Claus von Bülow, Danish-born English socialite
1927 – Raymond Leppard, English conductor
1927 – Stuart Rosenberg, American director (d. 2007)
1928 – Arlene Dahl, American actress
1930 – Paul Soles, Canadian actor
1932 – Fernando Arrabal, Spanish writer
1932 – Peter Eisenman, American architect
1932 – Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper, Canadian attorney (d. 2003)
1932 – John Gorrie, English director
1933 – Jerry Falwell, American televangelist (d. 2007)
1933 – Jerzy Grotowski, Polish theatre director (d. 1999)
1936 – Andre Dubus, American writer (d. 1999)
1938 – Branko Stanovnik, Slovenian chemist
1939 – Ronnie Dawson, American musician (d. 2003)
1940 – Lennie Pond, American race car driver
1942 – Mike Hugg, English musician and vocalist (Manfred Mann)
1943 – Abigail Folger, American heiress (d. 1969)
1943 – Stefania Toczyska, Polish singer
1943 – Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani politician
1944 – Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
1944 – Frederick W. Smith, American entrepreneur
1946 – Marilyn vos Savant, American newspaper columnist
1946 – John Conlee, American singer
1947 – Theo de Jong, Dutch footballer and football manager
1947 – Georgios Karatzaferis, Greek politician
1948 – Jan Palach, Czechoslovakian activist (d. 1969)
1949 – Eric Carmen, American singer and guitarist (Raspberries)
1949 – Tim Hutchinson, American politician
1950 – Erik Brann, American guitarist (Iron Butterfly) (d. 2003)
1950 – Gennidy Nikonov, Russian engineer (d. 2003)
1950 – Steve Wozniak, American computer engineer
1950 – Elya Baskin, a Latvian born American actor
1951 – Vincent Bilodeau, Canadian actor and comedian
1952 – Reid Blackburn, American photographer (d. 1980)
1952 – Manfred Krüger, German footballer
1952 – Bob Mothersbaugh AKA Bob 1, American guitarist (Devo)
1953 – Hulk Hogan, American professional wrestler
1953 – Wijda Mazereeuw, Dutch swimmer
1954 – Joe Jackson, English singer
1954 – Juan Maria Solare, Argentine composer
1954 – Yashpal Sharma, Indian cricketer
1954 – Mottu Vara Narasimha Rao, Indian cricketer
1955 – Sylvia Hermon, English politician
1955 – Marc Bureau, Canadian politician
1956 – Pierre-Louis Lions, French mathematician
1957 – Ian Stuart Donaldson, English singer (Skrewdriver) (d. 1993)
1958 – Jah Wobble, English bassist
1959 – Gustavo Cerati, Argentinian musician (Soda Stereo)
1959 – Yoshiaki Murakami, Japanese investor
1959 – László Szlávics, Jr., Hungarian sculptor and medalist
1961 – David Brooks, American journalist and author
1961 – Craig Ehlo, American basketball player
1961 – Jukka Tapanimäki, Finnish game programmer (d. 2000)
1962 – Uvais Karnain, Sri Lankan cricketer
1962 – Ennis Whatley, American basketball player
1963 – Hiromi Makihara, Japanese baseball player
1964 – Jim Lee, Korean comic book artist
1964 – Nikki Randall, American pornographic actress
1964 – Miguel A. Núñez, Jr., American actor
1965 – Marc Bergevin, Canadian ice hockey player
1965 – Shinji Mikami, Japanese video game designer
1965 – Viola Davis, American actress
1965 – Embeth Davidtz, American actress
1965 – Duane Martin, American actor
1966 – Nigel Martyn, English footballer
1967 – Enrique Bunbury, Spanish singer
1967 – Eric Maleson, Brazilian bobsledder
1967 – Collin Chou, Taiwanese actor
1967 – Joe Rogan, American TV host and comedian
1968 – Noordin Mohammad Top, Malaysian terrorist (d. 2009)
1968 – Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, the wife of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau
1969 – Ashley Jensen, English actress
1970 – Dirk Hannemann, German footballer
1970 – Teresa Pavlinek, Canadian actress
1970 – Ali Shaheed Muhammad, American Musician (A Tribe Called Quest, Lucy Pearl)
1971 – Tommy Mooney, English football player
1971 – Alejandra Barros, Mexican actress
1971 – Julie Clarke, American model
1972 – Jonathon Prandi, American model
1973 – Nigel Harman, English actor
1973 – Carolyn Murphy, American model
1974 – Audrey Mestre, French diver (d. 2002)
1974 – Hadiqa Kiyani, Pakistani singer
1974 – Marie-France Dubreuil, Canadian figure skater
1974 – Kira Kener, American pornographic actress
1974 – Anju Jain, Indian cricketer
1975 – Davey von Bohlen, American musician (The Promise Ring, Maritime)
1976 – Iván Córdoba, Colombian footballer
1976 – Bubba Crosby, American baseball player
1976 – Will Friedle, American actor
1976 – Ben Gibbard, American musician (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service)
1976 – Erick Lindgren, American poker player
1976 – Lubomír Višnovský, Slovak ice hockey player
1977 – Dênio, Brazilian footballer
1977 – Gemma Hayes, Irish singer
1978 – Spyros Gogolos, Greek footballer
1978 – Amber Mariano, American reality TV personality
1978 – Jermain Taylor, American boxer
1979 – Aggeliki Daliani, Greek actress
1980 – Daniel Lloyd, English cyclist
1980 – Lee Suggs, American football player
1981 – Fiona Sit, Hong Kong singer and actress
1981 – Sandi Thom, Scottish singer
1982 – Alan Halsall, English actor
1982 – Wilko Risser, Namibian footballer
1983 – Chris Hemsworth, Australian actor
1984 – Melky Cabrera, Dominican baseball player
1984 – Lucas di Grassi, Brazilian racing driver
1984 – Katie Rees, American beauty pageant contestant
1985 – J-Boog, American singer (B2K)
1985 – Asher Roth, American rapper
1986 – Kaori Fukuhara, Japanese voice actress
1986 – Richard Keogh, Irish footballer
1986 – Pablo Sandoval, Venezuelan baseball player
1987 – Dany N'Guessan, French footballer
1987 – Drew Storen, American baseball player
1989 – Sebastian Huke, German footballer
1989 – Gui Gui, Taiwanese actress
1990 – Lenka Juríková, Slovak tennis player
1993 – Alyson Stoner, American actress and model
1994 – Rand Al-Mashhadani, Iraqi archer

Deaths

353 – Magnentius, Roman usurper (b. 303)
449 – Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople
897 – Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona
1204 – King Guttorm of Norway (b. 1199)
1259 – Möngke Khan, Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (b. c. 1208)
1456 – János Hunyadi, Regent of Hungary (b. 1387)
1464 – Nicholas of Cusa, German philosopher and mathematician (b. 1401)
1494 – Hans Memling, Flemish painter (b. c. 1430)
1519 – Johann Tetzel, German opponent of the Reformation (b. 1465)
1563 – Bartolomé de Escobedo, Spanish composer (b. c. 1500)
1578 – Pedro Nunes, Portuguese mathematician (b. 1502)
1596 – Hamnet Shakespeare, English son of William Shakespeare (b. 1585)
1614 – Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter (b. 1552)
1656 – Ottavio Piccolomini, Austrian-Italian field marshal (b. 1599)
1774 – Tiphaigne de la Roche, French writer (b. 1722)
1813 – Henry James Pye, English poet (b. 1745)
1851 – Lorenz Oken, German naturalist (b. 1779)
1854 – Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist (b. 1798)
1868 – Halfdan Kjerulf, Norwegian composer (b. 1815)
1886 – Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet (b. 1843)
1890 – John Henry Newman, English cardinal (b. 1801)
1892 – Enrico Betti, Italian mathematician (b. 1813)
1903 – Eugenio Maria de Hostos, Puerto Rican educator and nationalist (b. 1839)
1908 – Khudiram Bose, Indian freedom fighter (b. 1889)
1919 – Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1835)
1936 – Blas Infante, Spanish writer and politician (b. 1885)
1937 – Edith Wharton, American novelist and designer (b. 1862)
1939 – Jean Bugatti, Italian automobile designer (b. 1909)
1939 – Siegfried Flesch, Austrian sabre fencer (b. 1872)
1953 – Tazio Nuvolari, Italian race car driver (b. 1892)
1954 – Santo Trafficante, Sr., Sicilian-born American mobster (b. 1886)
1956 – Jackson Pollock, American artist (b. 1912)
1961 – Antanas Škema, Lithuanian writer, actor and director (b. 1910)
1963 – Otto Wahle, Austrian swimmer (b. 1879)
1965 – Bill Woodfull, Australian cricketer (b. 1897)
1969 – Miriam Licette, English operatic soprano (b. 1885)
1972 – Max Theiler, South African virologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1899)
1974 – Vicente Emilio Sojo, Venezuelan musicologist and composer (b. 1887)
1974 – Jan Tschichold, German typographer (b. 1902)
1975 – Rachel Katznelson-Shazar, President of Israel (b. 1885)
1980 – Paul Robert, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1910)
1982 – Tom Drake, American actor (b. 1918)
1984 – Alfred A. Knopf, Sr., American publisher (b. 1892)
1984 – Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–born German chess player (b. 1916)
1986 – János Drapál, Hungarian motorcycle road racer (b. 1948)
1988 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (b. 1929)
1991 – J. D. McDuffie, American race car driver (b. 1938)
1994 – Peter Cushing, English actor (b. 1913)
1995 – Phil Harris, American singer and comedian (b. 1904)
1996 – Tassos Isaac, Greek Cypriot activist (b. 1972)
1996 – Rafael Kubelík, Czech conductor and composer (b. 1914)
1996 – Mel Taylor, American drummer (The Ventures) (b. 1933)
1996 – Baba Vanga, Macedonian-born Bulgarian mystic (b. 1911)
2000 – Jean Papineau-Couture, Canadian composer (b. 1916)
2001 – Percy Stallard, English cyclist (b. 1909)
2002 – Galen Rowell, American photographer and mountain climber (b. 1940)
2003 – Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (b. 1923)
2003 – Herb Brooks, American ice hockey coach (b. 1937)
2005 – James Booth, English actor (b. 1927)
2006 – Mike Douglas, American singer and talk show host (b. 1925)
2009 – Eunice Kennedy Shriver, American Kennedy Family member (b. 1921)
2010 – Markus Liebherr, German-born Swiss football club owner (b. 1948)
2010 – Bruno Schleinstein, German film actor, artist, and musician (b. 1932)
2011 – Jani Lane, American musician and songwriter (b. 1964)