today.nukz.net: Almanac August 16

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone; August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and entrepreneur. She has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records. Considered to be one of the "25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century" by Time for being an influential figure in contemporary music, she is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Madonna is the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States, with 64 million certified albums. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked her at number two, behind only The Beatles, on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making her the most successful solo artist in the history of the chart. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year. In 2012, she was crowned the "Greatest Woman In Music" by VH1.

Events

1328 – The House of Gonzaga seizes power in the Duchy of Mantua, and will rule until 1708.
1513 – Battle of Guinegate (Battle of the Spurs) – King Henry VIII of England and his Imperial allies defeat French Forces who are then forced to retreat.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.
1780 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden – The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.
1792 – Maximilien Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.
1793 – French Revolution: a levée en masse is decreed by the National Convention.
1812 – War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.
1819 – Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.
1841 – U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.
1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.
1859 – The Tuscan National Assembly formally deposes the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
1863 – The Dominican Restoration War begins when Gregorio Luperón raises the Dominican flag in Santo Domingo after Spain had recolonized the country.
1869 – Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguayan battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the Paraguayan War.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-La-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.
1891 – The Basilica of San Sebastian in Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed.
1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.
1900 – the Battle of Elands River during the Second Boer War ends after a 13-day siege is lifted by the British. The battle had begun when a force of between 2,000 and 3,000 Boers had surrounded a force of 500 Australians, Rhodesians, Canadians and British soldiers at a supply dump at Brakfontein Drift.
1906 – An estimated 8.2 M_W earthquake hits Valparaíso, Chile, killing 3,886 people.
1913 – Tohoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tohoku University) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students.
1913 – Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary.
1914 – World War I: Battle of Cer begins.
1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. Chapman was the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909.
1920 – The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.
1927 – The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.
1929 – The 1929 Palestine riots break out in the British Mandate of Palestine between Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.
1930 – The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks.
1942 – World War II: The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappears without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifts without her crew and crash-lands in Daly City, California.
1944 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 287.
1945 – An assassination attempt is made on Japan's prime minister, Kantaro Suzuki.
1945 – Puyi, the last Chinese emperor and ruler of Manchukuo, is captured by Soviet troops.
1946 – Mass riots in Kolkata begin, in which more than 4,000 would be killed in 72 hours.
1960 – Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1960 – Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records that still stand today: High-altitude jump, free-fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.
1962 – Eight years after the remaining French India territories were handed to India, the ratifications of the treaty are exchanged to make the transfer official.
1964 – Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Duong Van Minh with General Nguyen Khanh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.
1966 – Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
1972 – In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.
1987 – Northwest Airlines Flight 255 a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 crashes after take off in Detroit, killing 154 of the 155 on board, plus 2 people on the ground.
1989 – A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.

Births

1355 – Countess Philippa Plantagenet of Ulster (d. 1382)
1378 – Hongxi Emperor of China (d. 1425)
1401 – Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut, dauphine of France (d. 1436)
1557 – Agostino Carracci, Italian artist (d. 1602)
1573 – Queen Anna of Austria of Poland (d. 1598)
1596 – Frederick V, Elector Palatine (d. 1632)
1637 – Emilie Juliane of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, German countess and poet (d. 1706)
1645 – Jean de La Bruyère, French writer (d. 1696)
1650 – Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian cartographer and encyclopedist (d. 1718)
1682 – Louis, duc de Bourgogne, dauphin of France (d. 1712)
1761 – Yevstigney Fomin, Russian composer (d. 1800)
1815 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator (d. 1888)
1820 – Andrew Rainsford Wetmore, Canadian politician (d. 1892)
1831 – John Jones Ross, Quebec politician (d. 1901)
1832 – Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (d. 1920)
1842 – Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (d. 1922)
1845 – Gabriel Lippmann, French physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1921)
1856 – Aparicio Saravia, Uruguayan politician and military leader (d. 1904)
1858 – Arthur Achleitner, German writer (d. 1927)
1860 – Jules Laforgue, French poet (d. 1887)
1860 – Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke, England cricketer (d. 1938)
1862 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American coach (d. 1965)
1868 – Bernarr McFadden, American publisher (d. 1955)
1876 – Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator (d. 1942)
1876 – Julian Ashby Burruss, American academic (d. 1947)
1877 – Roque Ruaño, Spanish priest-civil engineer (d. 1935)
1878 – Léon Binoche, French rugby player (d. 1962)
1882 – Désiré Mérchez, French swimmer and water polo player (d. 1968)
1882 – Christian Mortensen, Danish-born American supercentenarian (d. 1998)
1884 – Hugo Gernsback, Luxembourg-born editor and publisher (d. 1967)
1888 – T. E. Lawrence, English writer and soldier (d. 1935)
1888 – Armand J. Piron, American musician (d. 1943)
1892 – Otto Messmer, American cartoonist (d. 1983)
1894 – George Meany, American labor union leader (d. 1980)
1895 – Albert Cohen, Swiss novelist (d. 1981)
1895 – Liane Haid, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
1902 – Georgette Heyer, English novelist (d. 1974)
1904 – Minoru Genda, Japanese military aviator and politician (d. 1989)
1904 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
1908 – William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., American novelist and editor (d. 2000)
1908 – Orlando Cole, American classical cellist and educator (d. 2010)
1909 – Paul Callaway, American organist and choral conductor (d. 1995)
1911 – E. F. Schumacher, German economist and statistician (d. 1977)
1912 – Ted Drake, English footballer (d. 1995)
1913 – Menachem Begin, Israeli statesman, Nobel laureate (d. 1992)
1915 – Al Hibbler, American singer (d. 2001)
1916 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver (d. 2003)
1917 – Matt Christopher, American children's author (d. 1997)
1917 – Roque Cordero, Panamanian composer (d. 2008)
1920 – Charles Bukowski, American poet (d. 1994)
1922 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist and arranger (d. 2001)
1923 – Millôr Fernandes, Brazilian playwright
1924 – Fess Parker, American actor (d. 2010)
1924 – Inez Voyce, American female baseball player
1925 – Willie Jones, American baseball player (d. 1983)
1928 – Ann Blyth, American actress
1928 – Eydie Gormé, American singer
1928 – Eddie Kirkland, American blues guitarist, harmonicist, singer, and songwriter (d. 2011)
1929 – Bill Evans, American jazz pianist (d. 1980)
1929 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer (d. 2003)
1929 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American civil rights activist
1929 – Fritz Von Erich, American professional wrestler (d. 1997)
1930 – Robert Culp, American actor (d. 2010)
1930 – Frank Gifford, American football player and announcer
1930 – Tony Trabert, American former tennis player
1933 – Julie Newmar, American actress
1933 – Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (d. 1994)
1934 – Diana Wynne Jones, British author (d. 2011)
1934 – Ketty Lester, American singer
1934 – Pierre Richard, French actor
1934 – Donnie Dunagan, American actor
1934 – John Standing, English actor
1935 – Andreas Stamatiadis, Greek footballer and coach
1935 – Cliff Fletcher, Canadian National Hockey League executive
1937 – David Anderson, Canadian politician
1937 – David Behrman, US composer and producer
1939 – Sir Trevor Mcdonald, Trinidadian-born British television newsreader
1939 – Seán Brady, Cardinal-Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
1940 – Bruce Beresford, Australian film director
1940 – John Craven, English journalist and television presenter
1941 – Théoneste Bagosora, Rwandan army officer and alleged war criminal
1942 – Barbara George, American singer and songwriter (d. 2006)
1943 – Sharon Baird, American actress and tap dancer
1943 – Woody Peoples, American football player (d. 2010)
1945 – Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter
1945 – Suzanne Farrell, American ballet dancer
1946 – Massoud Barzani, Iraqi Kurdish politician
1946 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress
1946 – Dick Murdoch, American professional wrestler (d. 1996)
1947 – Carol Moseley Braun, American politician and lawyer
1947 – Katharine Hamnett, English fashion designer
1947 – Marc Messier, Canadian actor
1948 – Mike Jorgensen, American baseball player
1948 – Pierre Reid, Canadian politician and teacher
1948 – Barry Hay, Indian-born Dutch singer (Golden Earring)
1949 – Scott Asheton, American musician (The Stooges)
1949 – Barbara Goodson, American voice actress
1949 – Bill Spooner, musician, guitarist, and songwriter
1950 – Hasely Crawford, Trinidadian athlete
1950 – Marshall Manesh, Iranian-born American actor
1950 – Stockwell Day, Canadian politician
1950 – Jeff Thomson, Australian cricketer
1951 – Richard Hunt, American puppeteer (d. 1992)
1951 – Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigerian politician (d. 2010)
1952 – Reginald VelJohnson, American actor
1952 – Gianna Rolandi, American soprano, opera director and instructor
1952 – Mahes Goonatilleke, Sri Lankan cricketer
1953 – Kathie Lee Gifford, American singer and actress
1953 – James "J.T." Taylor, American singer (Kool & The Gang)
1954 – George Galloway, British politician
1954 – James Cameron, Canadian film director
1956 – Vahan Hovhannisyan, Armenian politician
1956 – Daniel Willems, Belgian cyclist
1957 – Tim Farriss, Australian musician (INXS)
1957 – Randhir Singh, Indian cricketer
1958 – Angela Bassett, American actress
1958 – José Luis Clerc, Argentine tennis player
1958 – Oscar Collodo, Swiss-born Italian rugby player and coach
1958 – Michael Harkin, American anthropologist
1958 – Madonna, American singer and actress
1959 – Laura Innes, American actress
1959 – Marc Sergeant, Belgian cyclist
1960 – Timothy Hutton, American actor
1961 – Christian Okoye, American football player
1961 – Michaela Dornonville de la Cour, Swedish singer (Army of Lovers)
1962 – Steve Carell, American actor and comedian
1962 – Manfred Hellmann, German footballer
1963 – Christine Cavanaugh, American voice actress
1964 – Jimmy Arias, American tennis player
1964 – Matt Lukin, American bassist (Mudhoney)
1966 – Barry Lather, American choreographer, musician and actor
1967 – Ulrika Jonsson, Swedish television personality
1967 – Pamela Smart, American convicted murderess
1968 – Mateja Svet, Slovenian alpine skier
1969 – Andy Milder, American voice actor
1970 – Bonnie Bernstein, American sportscaster
1970 – Fabio Casartelli, Italian cyclist (d. 1995)
1970 – Killah Priest, American rapper
1970 – Manisha Koirala, Nepalese Bollywood actress
1970 – Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor
1971 – Rulon Gardner, American Greco-Roman wrestler
1971 – Stefan Klos, German footballer
1972 – Stan Lazaridis, Australian footballer
1972 – Emily Robison, American country singer (Dixie Chicks)
1972 – Frankie Boyle, Scottish comedian
1972 – George Stroumboulopoulos, Canadian television and radio personality
1973 – Damian Jackson, American baseball player
1974 – Roger Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
1974 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Guyanese cricketer
1974 – Krisztina Egerszegi, Hungarian swimmer
1974 – Iván Hurtado, Ecuadorian footballer
1975 – Didier Agathe, French footballer
1975 – Pantelis Konstantinidis, Greek footballer
1975 – George Stults, American actor
1976 – Jonatan Johansson, Finnish footballer
1976 – Tiina Kankaanpää, Finnish discus thrower
1976 – Dave Ockun, American concert producer
1977 – Tamer Hosny, Egyptian singer/actor
1978 – Fu Mingxia, Chinese female diver
1978 – Thalia Pellegrini, British children's TV presenter
1978 – Eddie Gill, American basketball player
1979 – Monder Rizki, Belgian athlete
1979 – Paul Gallacher, Scottish football player
1980 – Vanessa Carlton, American singer/songwriter
1980 – Emerson, Brazilian footballer
1980 – Robert Hardy, English musician (Franz Ferdinand)
1980 – Raniere, Brazilian footballer
1980 – Piet Rooijakkers, Dutch professional bicyclist
1980 – Hwangbo, Korean singer/rapper
1981 – Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguayan footballer
1981 – Denis Gremelmayr, German male tennis player
1981 – Taylor Rain, American pornographic actress
1982 – Cam Gigandet, American actor
1982 – Joleon Lescott, English footballer
1982 – Tomohiro Ito, Japanese sprinter
1983 – Colt Brennan, American football player
1983 – Colin Griffiths, English TV presenter and DJ
1983 – Nikos Zisis, Greek basketball player
1984 – Candice Dupree, American basketball player
1984 – Matteo Anesi, Italian speed skater
1985 – Agnes Bruckner, American actress
1986 – Yu Darvish, Japanese baseball player
1986 – Shawn Pyfrom, American actor
1986 – Kim Oh-Sung, South Korean footballer
1987 – Carey Price, Canadian hockey player
1987 – Evan Berger, Australian footballer
1987 – Kyal Marsh, Australian actor
1988 – Kevin Schmidt, American actor
1988 – Rumer Willis, American actress
1989 – Charlotte Gurr, English footballer
1989 – Wang Hao, Chinese athlete
1991 – G.E.M., Hong Kong singer
1991 – Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, Canadian actress
1991 – Evanna Lynch, Irish actress
1992 – Islam Dzhabrailov, Russian footballer
1997 – Greyson Chance, American singer

Deaths

1027 – Giorgi I, King of Georgia (b. 998)
1297 – John II of Trebizond (b. 1262)
1327 – Roch, French saint (b. 1295)
1358 – Duke Albert II of Austria (b. 1298)
1419 – Wenceslaus, King of the Romans, King of Bohemia (b. 1361)
1443 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1434)
1445 – Margaret of Scotland, consort of Louis XI (b. 1424)
1518 – Loyset Compère, French composer (b. circa 1445)
1532 – John, Elector of Saxony (b. 1468)
1661 – Thomas Fuller, English churchman and historian (b. 1608)
1678 – Andrew Marvell, English poet (b. 1621)
1705 – Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and scientist (b. 1654)
1733 – Matthew Tindal, English deist (b. 1657)
1791 – Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier and diplomat (b. 1719)
1836 – Marc-Antoine Parseval, French mathematician (b. 1755)
1855 – Henry Colburn, British publisher (b. ?)
1886 – Sri Ramakrishna, Bengali saint, guru of Swami Vivekananda (b. 1836)
1888 – John Pemberton, American druggist and inventor of Coca-Cola (b. 1831)
1893 – Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist (b. 1825)
1899 – Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, German chemist (b. 1811)
1900 – José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, Portuguese writer (b. 1845)
1904 – Prentiss Ingraham, American writer (b. 1843)
1907 – James Hector, Scottish geologist (b. 1834)
1911 – Patrick Francis Moran, Irish-Australian cardinal (b. 1830)
1914 – Carl Theodor Schulz, Norwegian gardener (b. 1835)
1921 – King Peter I of Serbia (b. 1844)
1938 – Robert Johnson, American blues singer and guitarist (b. 1911)
1938 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and priest (b. 1864)
1948 – Babe Ruth, American baseball player (b. 1895)
1949 – Margaret Mitchell, American novelist (b. 1900)
1951 – Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (b. 1887)
1952 – Lydia Field Emmet, American painter (b. 1866)
1956 – Bela Lugosi, Hungarian actor (b. 1882)
1957 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1881)
1959 – William Halsey Jr., American Navy Admiral (b. 1882)
1959 – Wanda Landowska, Polish harpsichordist (b. 1879)
1961 – Maulvi Abdul Haq, Indian educator and linguist, Father of Modern Urdu (b. 1870)
1964 – Paul Weinstein, German athlete (b. 1878)
1971 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-born American movie executive, chairman of the Twentieth Century Fox (b. 1893)
1972 – Pierre Brasseur, French actor (b. 1905)
1973 – Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-born American biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1888)
1975 – Vladimir Kuts, Ukrainian-born Soviet distance runner (b. 1927)
1977 – Elvis Presley, American singer, actor, and guitarist (b.1935)
1978 – Alidius Stachouwer, Dutch lawyer and politician (b. 1888)
1978 – Jean Acker, American silent film actress (b. 1893)
1979 – John Diefenbaker, Canadian politician and 13th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1895)
1983 – Earl Averill, American baseball player (b. 1902)
1986 – Jaime Saenz, Bolivian poet and novelist, and short story writer (b. 1921)
1989 – Amanda Blake, American actress (b. 1929)
1990 – Pat O'Connor, New Zealand professional wrestler (b. 1925)
1991 – Luigi Zampa, Italian film director (b. 1905)
1992 – Mark Heard, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
1993 – Stewart Granger, British film actor (b. 1913)
1995 – J.P. McCarthy, American radio personality (b. 1933)
1997 – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani musician & singer (b. 1948)
1997 – Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright and actor (b. 1915)
2002 – Jeff Corey, American actor (b. 1914)
2002 – Abu Nidal, Palestinian political leader (b. 1937)
2002 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (b. 1933)
2003 – Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator (b. 1928)
2004 – Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey coach (b. 1950)
2004 – Carl Mydans, American photographer (b. 1907)
2004 – Robert Quiroga, American boxer (b. 1969)
2005 – Joe Ranft, American animator (b. 1960)
2005 – Frère Roger, Swiss monk and mystic (b. 1915)
2005 – Vassar Clements, American musician (b. 1928)
2005 – William Corlett, English children's author (b. 1938)
2005 – Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (b. 1943)
2005 – Tonino Delli Colli, Italian cinematographer (b. 1922)
2006 – Alex Buzo, Australian playwright and author (b. 1944)
2006 – Herschel Green, American pilot (b. 1920)
2006 – Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan politician and President of Paraguay (b. 1912)
2007 – Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer, and composer (b. 1924)
2007 – Bahaedin Adab, Iranian politician (b. 1945)
2007 – Dewey Robertson, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1939)
2008 – Ronnie Drew, Irish singer (The Dubliners) (b. 1934)
2008 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer and songwriter (b. 1914)
2008 – Elena Leusteanu, Romanian gymnast and Olympic medalist (b. 1935)
2008 – Masanobu Fukuoka, Japanese sustainable farmer and author (b. 1913)
2010 – Dimitrios Ioannidis, Greek military officer and dictator (b. 1923)
2010 – Bobby Thomson, American baseball player (b. 1923)