today.nukz.net: Almanac August 31

Van Morrison, OBE (born George Ivan Morrison; 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are described as transcendental, while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are critically acclaimed and appear at the top of many greatest album lists.

Morrison has received considerable acclaim, including six Grammy Awards, being inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and appearing on several "Greatest Artists" lists.

Events

1056 – After a sudden illness a few days previous, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies without children to succeed the throne, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty.
1218 – Al-Kamil becomes Sultan of Egypt, Syria and northern Mesopotamia on the death of his father Al-Adil.
1314 – King Håkon V Magnusson moves the capital of Norway from Bergen to Oslo.
1422 – King Henry V of England dies of dysentery while in France. His son, Henry VI becomes King of England at the age of 9 months.
1795 – War of the First Coalition: The British capture Trincomalee (present-day Sri Lanka) from the Dutch in order to keep it out of French hands.
1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: Irish rebels, with French assistance, establish the short-lived Republic of Connaught.
1803 – Lewis and Clark start their expedition to the west by leaving Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 11 in the morning.
1813 – At the final stage of the Peninsular War, British-Portuguese troops capture the town of Donostia (now San Sebastián), resulting in a rampage and eventual destruction of the town. Elsewhere, Spanish troops repel a French attack in the Battle of San Marcial.
1864 – During the American Civil War, Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta, Georgia.
1876 – Ottoman Sultan Murat V is deposed and succeeded by his brother Abd-ul-Hamid II.
1886 – An earthquake kills 100 in Charleston, South Carolina.
1888 – Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims.
1895 – German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his Navigable Balloon.
1897 – Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector.
1907 – Count Alexander Izvolsky and Sir Arthur Nicolson sign the St. Petersburg Convention, which results in the Triple Entente alliance.
1920 – Polish-Bolshevik War: a decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów.
1920 – The first radio news program is broadcast by 8MK in Detroit, Michigan.
1936 – Radio Prague, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic, goes on the air.
1939 – Nazi Germany mounts a staged attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day thus starting World War II in Europe.
1940 – Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia. The CAB investigation of the accident is the first investigation to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce act of 1938.
1941 – World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica.
1943 – The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.
1945 – The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies.
1949 – The retreat of the Democratic Army of Greece in Albania after its defeat on Gramos mountain marks the end of the Greek Civil War.
1957 – The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1958 – A parcel bomb sent by Ngo Dinh Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
1962 – Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.
1963 – Sarawak, North Borneo and Singapore achieve technical independence pending accession to the Federation of Malaysia
1965 – The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft makes its first flight.
1980 – After two weeks of nationwide strikes, the Polish government was forced to sign the Gdansk Agreement, allowing for the creation of the trade union Solidarity.
1980 – Flood in Ibadan after 12 hours of heavy downpour killed over 300 people and properties worth million destroyed.
1982 – Anti-government demonstrations are held in 66 Polish cities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Gdansk Agreement.
1986 – Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground.
1986 – The Soviet passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov sinks in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 423.
1987 – Thai Airways Flight 365 crashes into the ocean near Ko Phuket, Thailand, killing all 83 aboard.
1991 – Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
1992 – Pascal Lissouba is inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo.
1994 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire.
1996 – Saddam Hussein's troops seized Irbil after the Kurdish Masoud Barzani appealed for help to defeat his Kurdish rival PUK.
1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris.
1998 – North Korea reportedly launches Kwangmyongsong-1, its first satellite.
1999 – The first of a series of bombings in Moscow kills one person and wounds 40 others.
1999 – A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including two on the ground.
2005 – A stampede on Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad kills 1,199 people.
2006 – Stolen on August 22, 2004, Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.

Births

12 – Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor (d. 41)
161 – Commodus, Roman Emperor (d. 192)
1569 – Emperor Jahangir of India (d. 1627)
1602 – Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, wife of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1675)
1652 – Ferdinand Charles, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (d. 1708)
1663 – Guillaume Amontons, French physicist and instrument maker (d. 1705)
1721 – George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol, British statesman (d. 1775)
1741 – Jean Paul Egide Martini, French composer (d. 1816)
1748 – Jean-Étienne Despréaux, French ballet dancer, choreographer, composer, singer and playwright (d. 1820)
1767 – Henry Joy McCracken, Irish political activist, founder of the Society of United Irishmen (d. 1798)
1802 – Husein Gradašcevic, Bosnian general (d. 1834)
1821 – Hermann von Helmholtz, German scientist (d. 1894)
1822 – Galusha A. Grow, American politician (d. 1907)
1834 – Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (d. 1886)
1842 – Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, American publisher, journalist, suffragist and civil rights leader (d. 1924)
1843 – Georg von Hertling, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1919)
1860 – Alfred Grütter, Swiss sports shooter (d. 1937)
1866 – Gilbert Bougnol, French fencer (d. 1947)
1870 – George Eyser, German-American gymnast (death date unknown)
1870 – Maria Montessori, Italian educator (d. 1952)
1871 – James E. Ferguson, American politician, 26th Governor of Texas (d. 1944)
1878 – Frank Jarvis, American sprinter (d. 1933)
1879 – Alma Mahler, Austrian socialite, wife of composer Gustav Mahler (d. 1964)
1879 – Emperor Taisho of Japan (d. 1926)
1880 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (d. 1962)
1883 – Leo O'Connell, American soccer player (d. 1934)
1885 – DuBose Heyward, American playwright (d. 1940)
1893 – Lily Laskine, French harpist (d. 1988)
1894 – Albert Facey, Australian writer (d. 1982)
1896 – Félix-Antoine Savard, Canadian priest and novelist (d. 1982)
1897 – Fredric March, American actor (d. 1975)
1900 – Gino Lucetti, Italian anarchist (d. 1943)
1902 – Géza Révész, Hungarian military officer and politician (d. 1977)
1903 – Arthur Godfrey, American radio and television host (d. 1983)
1903 – Vladimir Jankélévitch, French philosopher (d. 1985)
1905 – Sanford Meisner, American actor and teacher (d. 1997)
1907 – Augustus F. Hawkins, American politician (d. 2007)
1907 – Ramon Magsaysay, 7th President of the Philippines (d. 1957)
1907 – William Shawn, American editor (d. 1992)
1907 – Altiero Spinelli, Italian advocate of European federalism (d. 1986)
1908 – William Saroyan, American novelist (d. 1981)
1909 – Ferenc Fejto, Hungarian-born journalist and political scientist (d. 2008)
1911 – Edward Brongersma, Dutch politician, writer and political activist (d. 1998)
1913 – Bernard Lovell, English astronomer (d. 2012)
1913 – Helen Levitt, American photographer (d. 2009)
1914 – Richard Basehart, American actor (d. 1984)
1916 – Danny Litwhiler, American baseball player and coach
1916 – Daniel Schorr, American journalist (d. 2010)
1916 – John S. Wold, American politician
1918 – Alan Jay Lerner, American lyricist (d. 1986)
1919 – Amrita Preetam, Indian poet and author (d. 2005)
1920 – Gustavo Adolfo Palma, Guatemalan singer (d. 2010)
1920 – G. D. Spradlin, American actor (d. 2011)
1921 – Raymond Williams, Welsh academic (d. 1988)
1924 – John Davidson, American politician (d. 2012)
1924 – Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (d. 2003)
1928 – James Coburn, American actor (d. 2002)
1928 – Jaime Sin, Philippine cardinal and patriot (d. 2005)
1931 – Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player
1931 – Noble Willingham, American actor (d. 2004)
1934 – Nikos Xanthopoulos, Greek actor
1935 – Eldridge Cleaver, American political activist (d. 1998)
1935 – Frank Robinson, American baseball player and manager
1937 – Warren Berlinger, American actor
1937 – Bobby Parker, American blues-rock guitarist
1938 – Martin Bell, British journalist
1938 – Murray Gleeson, Chief Justice of Australia
1939 – Jerry Allison, American drummer (The Crickets)
1940 – Wilton Felder, American musician
1940 – Roger Newman, British-born American television actor and writer (d. 2010)
1940 – Jack Thompson, Australian actor
1941 – William DeWitt, Jr., American businessman
1943 – Leonid Ivashov, Russian general
1944 – Roger Dean, English artist
1944 – Clive Lloyd, Guyanese West Indies cricketer
1944 – Jos LeDuc, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1999)
1945 – Van Morrison, Northern Irish singer-songwriter
1945 – Itzhak Perlman, Israeli violinist
1945 – Bob Welch, American musician (d. 2012)
1946 – Jerome Corsi, American writer
1946 – Tom Coughlin, American football coach
1947 – Mona Marshall, American voice actress
1947 – Luca di Montezemolo, Italian businessman
1947 – Yumiko Oshima, Japanese manga artist
1947 – Somchai Wongsawat, 26th Prime Minister of Thailand
1948 – Harald Ertl, Austrian racing driver (d. 1982)
1948 – Lowell Ganz, American screenwriter
1948 – Ken McMullen, English film director
1948 – Holger Osieck, German footballer and coach
1948 – Rudolf Schenker, German guitarist (Scorpions)
1949 – Richard Gere, American actor
1949 – H. David Politzer, American physicist, Nobel laureate
1952 – Herbert Reul, German politician
1953 – Miguel Ángel Guerra, Argentine racing driver
1953 – György Károly, Hungarian author
1953 – Pavel Vinogradov, Russian cosmonaut
1954 – Julie Brown, American actress, singer-songwriter and screenwriter
1955 – Olek Krupa, Polish actor
1955 – Edwin Moses, American hurdler
1955 – Anthony Thistlethwaite, musician, member of The Waterboys and The Saw Doctors
1955 – Gary Webb, American journalist (d. 2004)
1956 – Maria Balazova, Slovak painter
1956 – Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer
1957 – Colm O'Rourke, Irish footballer and commentator
1957 – Gina Schock, American drummer (The Go-Go's)
1957 – Glenn Tilbrook, English singer and guitarist (Squeeze)
1958 – Serge Blanco, French rugby union footballer
1958 – Julie Brown, American actress
1959 – Ralph Krueger, Canadian ice hockey coach
1960 – Vali Ionescu, Romanian long jumper
1960 – Chris Whitley, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
1962 – Dee Bradley Baker, American voice actor
1963 – Reb Beach, American guitarist (Winger, Whitesnake)
1963 – Todd Carty, Irish actor
1963 – Sonny Silooy, Dutch footballer
1964 – Raymond P. Hammond, American poet and editor
1965 – Céline Bonnier, French-Canadian actress
1965 – Zsolt Borkai, Hungarian gymnast
1965 – Willie Watson, New Zealand cricketer
1966 – Jan Einar Thorsen, Norwegian alpine skier
1967 – Nigel Avery, New Zealand weightlifter
1967 – Jonathan Cake, British actor
1967 – Gene Hoglan, American drummer (Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad, Testament, Fear Factory)
1967 – Anita Moen, Norwegian cross-country skier
1968 – Valdon Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician and Australian football player
1968 – Hideo Nomo, Japanese baseball player
1969 – Nathalie Bouvier, French alpine skier
1969 – Andrew Cunanan, American spree killer (d. 1997)
1969 – Jonathan LaPaglia, Australian actor
1969 – Javagal Srinath, Indian cricketer
1970 – Deborah Gibson, American singer
1970 – Nikola Gruevski, 6th Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia
1970 – Arie van Lent, Dutch-born German footballer
1970 – Queen Rania of Jordan
1970 – Amy Stein, American photographer
1970 – Zack Ward, Canadian actor
1971 – Pádraig Harrington, Irish golfer
1971 – Chris Tucker, American actor and comedian
1973 – Scott Niedermayer, Canadian ice hockey player
1974 – Andriy Medvedev, Ukrainian tennis player
1975 – Craig Cumming, New Zealand cricketer
1975 – John Grahame, American ice hockey player
1975 – Daniel Harding, British conductor
1975 – Sara Ramirez, American actress
1975 – Takahiro Suwa, Japanese professional wrestler
1976 – Vincent Delerm, French singer-songwriter, pianist and composer
1976 – Roque Júnior, Brazilian footballer
1976 – Radek Martínek, Czech ice hockey player
1977 – Jeff Hardy, American wrestler
1977 – Ian Harte, Irish footballer
1977 – Craig Nicholls, Australian singer and guitarist (The Vines)
1978 – Philippe Christanval, French footballer
1979 – Clay Hensley, American baseball player
1979 – Mickie James, American professional wrestler
1979 – Mark Johnston, Canadian swimmer
1979 – Simon Neil, Scottish singer and guitarist (Biffy Clyro)
1979 – Yuvan Shankar Raja, Indian film music composer
1979 – Ramón Santiago, Dominican baseball player
1980 – Joe Budden, American rapper
1981 – Dwayne Peel, Welsh rugby union footballer
1981 – Mawnia Al-Kuwaitia, Kuwaiti singer
1981 – Steve Saviano, American ice hockey player
1982 – Ian Crocker, American swimmer
1982 – Chris Duhon, American basketball player
1982 – Lien Huyghebaert, Belgian sprinter
1982 – Christopher Katongo, Zambian footballer
1982 – Josh Kroeger, American baseball player
1982 – Alexei Mikhnov, Ukrainian-born Russian ice hockey player
1982 – Pepe Reina, Spanish footballer
1982 – Michele Rugolo, Italian racing driver
1983 – Deniz Aydogdu, Turkish footballer
1983 – Larry Fitzgerald, American football player
1983 – Milan Biševac, Serbian footballer
1984 – Matti Breschel, Danish road bicycle racer
1984 – Ryan Kesler, American ice hockey player
1984 – Ted Ligety, American alpine skier
1984 – Charl Schwartzel, South African golfer
1985 – Andrew Foster, Australian rules footballer
1985 – Rolando, Portuguese footballer
1986 – Feng Tianwei, Singaporean table tennis player
1986 – Ryan Kelley, American actor
1987 – Petros Kravaritis, Greek footballer
1987 – Ondrej Pavelec, Czech ice hockey player
1987 – Xavi Annunziata, Spanish footballer
1989 – Dezmon Briscoe, American football player
1995 – Ceallach Spellman, Actor and presenter

Deaths

651 – Aidan of Lindisfarne, Irish bishop and missionary (birth date unknown)
683 – Pacal II, ruler of the Maya polity of Palenque (b. 603)
1218 – Al-Adil I, Sultan of Egypt, Syria and northern Mesopotamia (b. 1145)
1234 – Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (b. 1212)
1372 – Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, English soldier (b. 1301)
1422 – King Henry V of England (b. 1387)
1645 – Francesco Bracciolini, Italian poet (b. 1566)
1654 – Ole Worm, Danish physician (b. 1588)
1688 – John Bunyan, English writer (b. 1628)
1730 – Gottfried Finger, Czech composer
1741 – Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, German jurist (b. 1681)
1772 – William Borlase, English naturalist (b. 1695)
1795 – François-André Danican Philidor, French chess player (b. 1726)
1799 – Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect (b. 1720)
1811 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (b. 1729)
1814 – Arthur Phillip, British admiral (b. 1738)
1817 – John Thomas Duckworth, Royal Navy admiral (b. 1747)
1867 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet (b. 1821)
1869 – Mary Ward, Irish scientist (b. 1827)
1888 – Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols, British victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1845)
1912 – Jean, duc Decazes, French aristocrat and sportsman (b. 1864)
1920 – Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese vexillographer (b. 1896)
1920 – Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (b. 1832)
1924 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1881)
1927 – William Carver, American sharpshooter & show hoster (b. 1851)
1927 – Andranik Ozanian, Armenian military commander, national hero (b. 1865)
1940 – Georges Gauthier, French-Canadian religious figure (b. 1871)
1941 – Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (b. 1892)
1948 – Billy Laughlin, American actor (b. 1932)
1952 – Henri Bourassa, French-Canadian politician (b. 1868)
1954 – Elsa Barker, American writer (b. 1869)
1963 – Georges Braque, French painter (b. 1882)
1967 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer (b. 1891)
1969 – Rocky Marciano, American boxer (b. 1923)
1973 – John Ford, American film director (b. 1894)
1974 – William Pershing Benedict, American pilot (b. 1928)
1974 – Norman Kirk, New Zealand prime minister (b. 1923)
1978 – John Wrathall, Rhodesian politician (b. 1913)
1979 – Sally Rand, American dancer and actress (b. 1904)
1979 – Tiger Smith, England cricketer (b. 1886)
1984 – Audrey Wagner, American baseball player [AAGPBL] (b. 1927)
1985 – Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1899)
1986 – Urho Kekkonen, Finnish politician (b. 1900)
1986 – Henry Moore, English sculptor (b. 1898)
1990 – Nathaniel Clifton, American multi-sport athlete (b. 1922)
1995 – Barry Lee Fairchild, American convicted murderer (b. 1954)
1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales (b. 1961)
1997 – Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian film producer (b. 1955)
1997 – Henri Paul, Deputy Head of Security at Hôtel Ritz Paris (b. 1956)
2000 – Lucille Fletcher, American screenwriter (b. 1912)
2000 – Patricia Owens, Canadian actress (b. 1925)
2000 – Dolores Moore, American baseball player (b. 1932)
2002 – Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player (b. 1908)
2002 – Farhad Mehrad, Persian singer, guitarist and pianist (b. 1944)
2002 – George Porter, English chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1920)
2004 – Carl Wayne, English singer (b. 1943)
2005 – Józef Rotblat, Polish-born British physicist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1908)
2005 – Michael Sheard, British actor (b. 1940)
2006 – Mohamed Abdelwahab, Egyptian footballer (b. 1983)
2006 – Tom Delaney, British racing driver (b. 1911)
2006 – Derrick Wayne Frazier, American convicted murderer (b. 1977)
2007 – Gay Brewer, American golfer (b. 1932)
2007 – Karloff Lagarde, Mexican professional wrestler (b. 1928)
2008 – Ike Pappas, American news correspondent (b. 1933)
2007 – Jean Jacques Paradis Canadian general (b.1928)
2008 – Victor Yates, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1939)
2009 – Eraño Manalo, Filipino religious figure (b. 1925)
2010 – Laurent Fignon, French bicycle racer (b. 1960)
2011 – Ali Jawad al-Sheikh, Bahraini protester killed by security forces (b. 1997)
2011 – Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1976)