today.nukz.net: Almanac September 24

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s. He finished four novels: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Tender Is the Night, and his most famous, The Great Gatsby. A fifth, unfinished novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon, was published posthumously. Fitzgerald also wrote many short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and age.

Events

622 – Prophet Muhammad completes his hijra from Mecca to Medina.
1180 – Manuel I Komnenos, last Emperor of the Komnenian restoration dies. The Byzantine Empire slips into terminal decline.
1645 – Battle of Rowton Heath, Parliamentarian victory over a Royalist army commanded in person by King Charles
1664 – The Dutch Republic surrenders New Amsterdam to England.
1674 – Second Tantrik Coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
1780 – Benedict Arnold flees to British Army lines when the arrest of British Major John André exposes Arnold's plot to surrender West Point.
1789 – The United States Congress passes the Judiciary Act which creates the office of the United States Attorney General and the federal judiciary system, and orders the composition of the Supreme Court of the United States.
1841 – The Sultan of Brunei cedes Sarawak to the United Kingdom.
1852 – The first airship powered by (a steam) engine, created by Henri Giffard, travels 17 miles (27 km) from Paris to Trappes.
1853 – Admiral Despointes formally takes possession of New Caledonia in the name of France.
1869 – "Black Friday": Gold prices plummet after Ulysses S. Grant orders the Treasury to sell large quantities of gold after Jay Gould and James Fisk plot to control the market.
1877 – Battle of Shiroyama, decisive victory of the Imperial Japanese Army over the Satsuma Rebellion
1890 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy.
1906 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation's first National Monument.
1914 – World War I: The Siege of Przemysl (present-day Poland) begins.
1932 – Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar agree to the Poona Pact, which reserved seats in the Indian provincial legislatures for the "Depressed Classes" (Untouchables).
1935 – Earl Bascom and Weldon Bascom produce the first rodeo ever held outdoors under electric lights at Columbia, Mississippi
1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Eighth Route Army gains a minor, but morale-boosting victory in the Battle of Pingxingguan.
1946 – Cathay Pacific Airways is founded in Hong Kong.
1946 – Clark Clifford and George Elsey, military advisers to U.S. President Harry S. Truman, present him with a top-secret report on the Soviet Union that first recommends the containment policy.
1948 – The Honda Motor Company is founded.
1950 – Forest fires black out the sun over portions of Canada and New England. A blue moon is seen as far away as Europe.
1957 – Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe, is opened in Barcelona.
1957 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends 101st Airborne Division troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation.
1960 – USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is launched.
1962 – United States court of appeals orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith.
1968 – 60 Minutes debuts on CBS.
1968 – Swaziland joins the United Nations.
1973 – Guinea-Bissau declares its independence from Portugal.
1979 – Compu-Serve launches the first consumer internet service, which features the first public electronic mail service.
1990 – Periodic Great White Spot is observed on Saturn.
1996 – Representatives of 71 nations sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty at the United Nations.
2005 – Hurricane Rita makes landfall in the United States, devastating Beaumont, Texas and portions of southwestern Louisiana.
2007 – Between 30,000 and 100,000 people take part in anti-government protests in Yangon, Burma, the largest in 20 years.
2009 – The G20 summit begins in Pittsburgh with 30 global leaders in attendance. It marks the first use of LRAD in U.S. history.

Births

15 – Vitellius, Roman emperor (d. 69)
1301 – Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, English soldier (d. 1372)
1501 – Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician (d. 1576)
1513 – Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1535)
1534 – Guru Ram Das, Pakistani 4th Sikh Guru (d. 1581)
1564 – William Adams, English sailor and navigator (d. 1620)
1583 – Albrecht von Wallenstein, Austrian general (d. 1634)
1625 – Johan de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
1667 – Jean-Louis Lully, French musician and composer (d. 1688)
1705 – Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Austrian field marshal (d. 1766)
1714 – Alaungpaya, Burmese king (d. 1760)
1717 – Horace Walpole, English historian, author, and politician (d. 1797)
1755 – John Marshall, American jurist, 4th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1835)
1796 – Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (d. 1875)
1801 – Mikhail Vasilievich Ostrogradsky, Ukrainian scientist (d. 1862)
1802 – Adolphe d'Archiac, French paleontologist and geologist (d. 1868)
1817 – Ramón de Campoamor y Campoosorio, Spanish poet and philosopher (d. 1901)
1829 – Charles S. West, American jurist and politician (d. 1885)
1858 – Eugene Foss, American politician, 45th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1939)
1859 – Julius Klengel, German cellist and composer (d. 1933)
1870 – Georges Claude, French chemist and engineer, invented Neon lighting (d. 1960)
1871 – Lottie Dod, English tennis player (d. 1960)
1878 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss author (d. 1947)
1880 – Sarah Knauss, American super-centenarian (d. 1999)
1882 – Max Decugis, French tennis player (d. 1978)
1883 – Franklin Clarence Mars, American businessman, founded Mars, Incorporated (d. 1934)
1883 – Lawson Robertson, Scottish-American high jumper (d. 1951)
1884 – Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (d. 1963)
1884 – Hugo Schmeisser, German weapons designer (d. 1953)
1890 – Mike González, Cuban baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1977)
1890 – A. P. Herbert, English author and playwright (d. 1971)
1892 – Adélard Godbout, Canadian politician, 15th Premier of Québec (d. 1956)
1893 – Blind Lemon Jefferson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1929)
1894 – Tommy Armour, Scottish-American golfer (d. 1968)
1894 – Billy Bletcher, American actor and comedian (d. 1979)
1895 – André Frédéric Cournand, French physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
1896 – F. Scott Fitzgerald, American author (d. 1940)
1898 – Howard Florey, Australian pharmacologist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
1899 – William Dobell, Australian painter (d. 1970)
1900 – Ham Fisher, American cartoonist and writer (d. 1955)
1905 – Severo Ochoa, Spanish–American doctor and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
1906 – Leonard Marsh, Canadian scientist and educator (d. 1982)
1907 – Ben Oakland, American composer, songwriter, and pianist (d. 1979)
1909 – Gerard Antoni Ciolek, Polish architect (d. 1966)
1910 – Jean Servais, Belgian actor (d. 1976)
1911 – Konstantin Chernenko, Russian politician (d. 1985)
1912 – Don Porter, American actor (d. 1997)
1913 – Herb Jeffries, American singer and actor
1914 – John Kerr, Australian politician, 18th Governor-General of Australia (d. 1991)
1914 – Andrzej Panufnik, Polish composer, pianist, and conductor (d. 1991)
1917 – Arthur W. Lehman, American euphonium player (d. 2009)
1918 – Audra Lindley, American actress (d. 1997)
1919 – Dayton Allen, American actor and comedian (d. 2004)
1919 – Jack Costanzo, American drummer
1920 – Richard Bong, American pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1945)
1921 – Jim McKay, American sportscaster (d. 2008)
1922 – Ettore Bastianini, Italian opera singer (d. 1967)
1922 – Bert I. Gordon, American director
1922 – Cornell MacNeil, American opera singer (d. 2011)
1922 – John Moffatt, English actor and playwright (d. 2012)
1923 – Louis Edmonds, American actor (d. 2001)
1923 – Fats Navarro, American trumpet player (d. 1950)
1924 – Nina Bocharova, Ukrainian gymnast
1924 – Theresa Merritt, American actress (d. 1998)
1924 – Sheila MacRae, English actress, singer, and author
1924 – Voula Zouboulaki, Egyptian-Greek actress
1925 – Autar Singh Paintal, Indian scientist (d. 2004)
1927 – Alfredo Kraus, Spanish tenor (d. 1999)
1929 – John Carter, American clarinet, saxophone, and flute player (d. 1991)
1929 – Edward M. Lawson, Canadian politician
1930 – Józef Krupinski, Polish poet (d. 1998)
1930 – Angelo Muscat, Maltese actor (d. 1977)
1930 – Benjamin Romualdez, Filipino politician (d. 2012)
1930 – John W. Young, American astronaut, pilot, and engineer
1931 – Anthony Newley, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
1931 – Mike Parkes, English race car driver (d. 1977)
1932 – Dominique Michel, Canadian comedian, actress, and singer
1933 – Raffaele Farina, Italian cardinal
1933 – Mel Taylor, American drummer (The Ventures) (d. 1996)
1934 – Tommy Anderson, Scottish footballer
1934 – John Brunner, English author (d. 1995)
1934 – Chick Willis, American singer
1934 – Manfred Wörner, German politician and diplomat (d. 1994)
1935 – Sean McCann, Canadian actor
1936 – Jim Henson, American puppeteer, director, and producer, founded The Jim Henson Company (d. 1990)
1937 – Takis Loukanidis, Greek footballer
1938 – Steve Douglas, American saxophonist and producer (The Wrecking Crew) (d. 1993)
1939 – Wayne Henderson, American trombonist and producer (The Crusaders)
1940 – Yves Navarre, French author (d. 1994)
1941 – John Mackey, American football player (d. 2011)
1941 – Linda McCartney, American singer, photographer, and activist (Wings) (d. 1998)
1942 – Ilkka Lipsanen, Finnish singer
1942 – Gerry Marsden, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Gerry & The Pacemakers)
1944 – Diana Körner, German actress
1945 – Lou Dobbs, American journalist
1945 – John Rutter, English composer and conductor
1946 – Jerry Donahue, American guitarist and producer, (Fotheringay, Fairport Convention, The Electric Revelators, and The Hellecasters)
1946 – Joe Greene, American football player
1946 – Lars Emil Johansen, Greenlandic politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Greenland
1946 – Uschi Obermaier, German model and actress
1946 – César Pedroso, Cuban pianist (Los Van Van)
1947 – Erik Hivju, Norwegian actor
1948 – Gordon Clapp, American actor
1948 – Phil Hartman, Canadian actor (d. 1998)
1948 – Garth Porter, Australian singer-songwriter and producer (Sherbet)
1949 – Bill Connors, American guitarist (Return to Forever)
1950 – Mohinder Amarnath, Indian cricketer
1950 – Alan Colmes, American comedian and talk show host
1950 – Kristina Wayborn, Swedish actress
1951 – Douglas Kmiec, American diplomat, scholar, and author
1952 – Dieter Hochheimer, German footballer
1952 – Mark Sandman, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Morphine and Treat Her Right) (d. 1999)
1952 – Nikos Sergianopoulos, Greek actor (d. 2008)
1954 – Lilian Mercedes Letona, Salvadoran activist (d. 1983)
1955 – Riccardo Illy, Italian politician
1956 – Hubie Brooks, American baseball player
1957 – Tod Howarth, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (707)
1957 – Wolfgang Wolf, German footballer and manager
1958 – Kevin Sorbo, American actor
1959 – Theo Paphitis, Cypriot-English businessman
1959 – Steve Whitmire, American puppeteer and voice actor
1960 – Amy Sky, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1961 – Allen Bestwick, American sportscaster
1961 – Jack Dee, English comedian and actor
1961 – John Logan, American screenwriter
1961 – Luc Picard, Canadian actor and comedian
1962 – Rosamund Kwan, Hong Kong actress
1962 – Ally McCoist, Scottish footballer
1962 – Mike Phelan, English footballer
1962 – Nia Vardalos, Canadian actress
1964 – Rafael Palmeiro, Cuban-American baseball player
1965 – Robert Irvine, English chef
1965 – Sean McNabb, American singer, bass player, and actor (Quiet Riot, Great White, Rough Cutt, House of Lords, and Dokken)
1965 – Janet Weiss, American drummer (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, The Go-Betweens, and Wild Flag)
1966 – Stacy Galina, American actress
1966 – Bernard Gilkey, American baseball player
1966 – Stefan Molyneux, Canadian philosopher
1966 – Michael J. Varhola, American author
1967 – William So, Hong Kong Singer and actor
1969 – Shawn Crahan, American musician, songwriter, and producer (Slipknot, To My Surprise, and Dirty Little Rabbits)
1969 – Lisa Matthews, American model and actress
1969 – Shamim Sarif, English author and director
1969 – Paul Ray Smith, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2003)
1969 – DeVante Swing, American singer-songwriter and producer (Jodeci)
1969 – Goya Toledo, Spanish actress and model
1969 – Megan Ward, American actress
1971 – Michael S. Engel, American paleontologist and entomologist
1971 – Mike Michalowicz, American businessman and author
1971 – Kevin Millar, American baseball player
1971 – Peter Salisbury, English drummer (The Verve and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club)
1973 – Eddie George, American football player
1973 – Rodrick Rhodes, American basketball player
1974 – John McDonald, American baseball player
1975 – Mike Gallay, Canadian comedian, director, and producer, co-founded Gallay/Hartt Productions
1975 – Kyle Turley, American football player
1976 – Carlos Almeida, Angolan basketball player
1976 – Georgios Georgiou, Greek footballer
1976 – Stephanie McMahon, American wrestler
1977 – Frank Fahrenhorst, German footballer
1978 – Wietse van Alten, Dutch archer
1979 – Fábio Aurélio, Brazilian footballer
1979 – Justin Bruening, American actor
1979 – Katja Kassin, German porn actress
1979 – Kim Jong-min, South Korean singer (Koyote)
1979 – Casey Johnson, American model, actress, and author (d. 2010)
1979 – Ross Mathews, American comedian
1979 – Jenny Platt, English actress
1980 – Daniele Bennati, Italian cyclist
1980 – Dean Canto, Australian race car driver
1980 – Sabrine Maui, Filipino porn actress
1980 – Petri Pasanen, Finnish footballer
1980 – Victoria Pendleton, English cyclist
1980 – John Arne Riise, Norwegian footballer
1981 – Ryan Briscoe, Australian race car driver
1981 – Drew Gooden, American basketball player
1981 – Fernanda Urrejola, Chilean actress
1982 – Morgan Hamm, American gymnast
1982 – Paul Hamm, American gymnast
1982 – Jeff Karstens, American baseball player
1983 – Liam Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
1983 – Randy Foye, American basketball player
1984 – Taylor Eigsti, American pianist and composer
1984 – Tyrone Maria, Curaçao footballer
1984 – Mickaël Poté, Beninese footballer
1985 – Eric Adjetey Anang, Ghanaian sculptor
1985 – Jessica Lucas, Canadian actress
1986 – Leah Dizon, American-Japanese singer and model
1987 – Spencer Treat Clark, American actor
1987 – Matthew Connolly, English footballer
1988 – Karl Alzner, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Birgit Õigemeel, Estonian singer
1988 – Kyle Sullivan, American actor
1991 – Maximiliano Uggè, Italian footballer

Deaths

366 – Pope Liberius (b. 352)
768 – Pippin the Short, Frankish king (b. 714)
1054 – Hermann of Reichenau, German scholar, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1013)
1120 – Welf II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1072)
1143 – Agnes of Germany (b. 1072)
1143 – Pope Innocent II
1180 – Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1118)
1213 – Gertrude of Merania (b. 1185)
1218 – Robert of Knaresborough, English hermit (b. 1160)
1228 – Stefan the First-Crowned, Serbian king (b. 1165)
1275 – Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford, English statesman (b. 1208)
1435 – Isabeau of Bavaria (b. 1370)
1494 – Poliziano, Italian scholar and poet (b. 1454)
1541 – Paracelsus, German-Swiss physician, botanist, and chemist (b. 1493)
1545 – Albert of Mainz, German archbishop (b. 1490)
1605 – Manuel Mendes, Portuguese composer (b. 1547)
1621 – Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Polish military commander (b. 1560)
1646 – Duarte Lobo, Portuguese composer (b. 1565)
1707 – Vincenzo da Filicaja, Italian poet (b. 1642)
1732 – Emperor Reigen of Japan (b. 1654)
1742 – Johann Matthias Hase, German mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer (b. 1684)
1802 – Alexander Radishchev, Russian author and critic (b. 1749)
1834 – Pedro I of Brazil (b. 1798)
1889 – Charles Leroux, American balloonist and parachutist (b. 1856)
1892 – Patrick Gilmore, Irish-American composer (b. 1829)
1896 – Louis Gerhard De Geer, Swedish politician, 1st Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1818)
1904 – Niels Ryberg Finsen, Danish physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1860)
1929 – Mahidol Adulyadej, Thai prince (b. 1892)
1930 – William A. MacCorkle, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1857)
1932 – Stuart Stickney, American golfer (b. 1877)
1933 – Mike Donlin, American baseball player (b. 1878)
1933 – Alice Muriel Williamson, English author (b. 1869)
1936 – József Klekl, Slovene priest and journalist (b. 1879)
1938 – Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician (b. 1900)
1939 – Carl Laemmle, German-American film producer, founded Universal Studios (b. 1867)
1939 – Charles Tatham, American fencer (b. 1854)
1945 – Hans Geiger, German physicist, co-invented the Geiger counter (b. 1882)
1948 – Warren William, American actor (b. 1894)
1950 – Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (b. 1863)
1954 – Edward Pilgrim, English suicide victim (b. 1904)
1962 – Charles Reisner, American actor and director (b. 1887)
1973 – Josué de Castro, Brazilian physician, geographer, and activist (b. 1908)
1976 – Philip Gbeho, Ghanaian composer (b. 1904)
1975 – Earle Cabell, American politician (b. 1906)
1978 – James Bassett, American author (b. 1912)
1978 – Hasso von Manteuffel, German general and politician (b. 1897)
1981 – Patsy Kelly, American actress (b. 1910)
1982 – Sarah Churchill, English actress (b. 1914)
1984 – Neil Hamilton, American actor (b. 1899)
1991 – Peter Bellamy, English singer-songwriter (The Young Tradition) (b. 1944)
1991 – Dr. Seuss, American author, poet, and illustrator (b. 1904)
1993 – Ian Stuart Donaldson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Skrewdriver) (b. 1957)
1993 – Bruno Pontecorvo, Italian physicist (b. 1913)
1994 – Barry Bishop, American mountaineer (b. 1932)
1996 – Zeki Müren, Turkish singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1931)
1998 – Jeff Moss, American composer and scriptwriter (b. 1942)
2002 – Youssouf Togoïmi, Chadian politician (b. 1953)
2002 – Mike Webster, American football player (b. 1952)
2003 – Rosalie Allen, American singer and disc jockey (b. 1924)
2003 – Lyle Bettger, American actor (b. 1915)
2004 – Françoise Sagan, French author and scriptwriter (b. 1935)
2005 – Tommy Bond, American actor (b. 1926)
2006 – Michael Ferguson, Irish politician (b. 1953)
2006 – Phil Latulippe, Canadian soldier and runner (b. 1909)
2008 – Mickey Vernon, American baseball player (b. 1918)
2009 – Nelly Arcan, Canadian novelist (b. 1975)
2009 – Susan Atkins, American murderer (b. 1948)
2010 – Gennady Yanayev, Soviet politician, President of the Soviet Union (b. 1937)