today.nukz.net: Almanac September 26

Thomas Stearns Eliot OM (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965) was a publisher, playwright, literary and social critic and "arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century." Although he was born an American, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 (at age 25) and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.

The poem that made his name, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock—started in 1910 and published in Chicago in 1915—is seen as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement, and was followed by some of the best-known poems in the English language, including Gerontion (1920), The Waste Land (1922), The Hollow Men (1925), Ash Wednesday (1930), and Four Quartets (1945). He is also known for his seven plays, particularly Murder in the Cathedral (1935). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.

Events

46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix in accordance with a vow he made at the battle of Pharsalus.
715 – Ragenfrid defeats Theudoald at the Battle of Compiègne.
1212 – Golden Bull of Sicily is certified as an hereditary royal title in Bohemia for the Premyslid dynasty.
1345 – Friso-Hollandic Wars: Frisians defeat Holland in the Battle of Warns.
1371 – Serbian–Turkish wars: The forces of the Ottoman sultan Murad I's lieutenant Lala Sâhin Pasa and the Serbian army under the command of Vukašin Mrnjavcevic and Jovan Uglješa clash at the Battle of Maritsa.
1580 – Sir Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth.
1687 – The Parthenon in Athens is partially destroyed by an explosion caused by the bombing from Venetian forces led by Morosini who are besieging the Ottoman Turks stationed in Athens.
1687 – The city council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange's invasion of England, which became the Glorious Revolution.
1777 – British troops occupy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Revolution.
1786 – Protestors shut down the court in Springfield, Massachusetts in a military standoff that begins Shays' Rebellion.
1789 – Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first United States Secretary of State, John Jay is appointed the first Chief Justice of the United States, Samuel Osgood is appointed the first United States Postmaster General, and Edmund Randolph is appointed the first United States Attorney General.
1792 – Marc-David Lasource begins accusing Maximilien Robespierre of wanting a dictatorship for France.
1810 – A new Act of Succession is adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates and Jean Baptiste Bernadotte becomes heir to the Swedish throne.
1872 – The first Shriners Temple (called Mecca) is established in New York City.
1907 – New Zealand and Newfoundland each become dominions within the British Empire.
1908 – Ed Reulbach becomes the first and only pitcher to throw two shutouts in one day against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1910 – Indian journalist Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai is arrested after publishing criticism of the government of Travancore and exiled.
1914 – The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is established by the Federal Trade Commission Act.
1917 – World War I: The Battle of Polygon Wood begins.
1918 – World War I: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the bloodiest single battle in American history, begins.
1923 – Gustav Stresemann resumes the Weimar Republic's payment of reparations.
1933 – As gangster Machine Gun Kelly surrenders to the FBI, he shouts out, "Don’t shoot, G-Men!", which becomes a nickname for FBI agents.
1934 – Steamship RMS Queen Mary is launched.
1942 – The Holocaust: August Frank, a higher official of the SS concentration camp administration department, issues a memorandum containing a great deal of operational detail in how Jews should be "evacuated".
1944 – World War II: Operation Market Garden fails.
1944 – World War II: On the central front of the Gothic Line Brazilian troops control the Serchio valley region after ten days of fighting.
1950 – United Nations troops recapture Seoul from North Korean forces.
1950 – Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations.
1954 – Japanese rail ferry Toya Maru sinks during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait, Japan killing 1,172.
1959 – Typhoon Vera, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in recorded history, makes landfall, killing 4,580 people and leaving nearly 1.6 million others homeless.
1960 – In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
1960 – Fidel Castro announces Cuba's support for the U.S.S.R.
1970 – The Laguna Fire starts in San Diego County, California, burning 175,425 acres (709.92 km²).
1971 – The Freetown Christiania was founded.
1973 – Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time.
1981 – Baseball: Nolan Ryan sets a Major League record by throwing his fifth no-hitter.
1983 – Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov averts a likely worldwide nuclear war by correctly identifying a report of an incoming nuclear missile as a computer error and not an American first strike.
1984 – The United Kingdom agrees to the handover of Hong Kong
1997 – A Garuda Indonesia Airbus A-300 crashes near Medan, Indonesia, airport, killing 234.
1997 – An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse.
2000 – Anti-globalization protests in Prague (some 20,000 protesters) turn violent during the IMF and World Bank summits.
2000 – The MS Express Samina sinks off Paros in the Agean sea killing 80 passengers.
2002 – The overcrowded Senegalese ferry MV Le Joola capsizes off the coast of The Gambia killing more than 1,000.
2008 – Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy becomes first person to fly a jet engine-powered wing across the English Channel.
2009 – Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, causing 700 fatalities.

Births

1329 – Queen Anna of Bavaria of the Romans (d. 1353)
1406 – Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English soldier and politician (d. 1430)
1711 – Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, English politician (d. 1779)
1750 – Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, British admiral (d. 1810)
1758 – Cosme Argerich, Argentine physician (d. 1820)
1767 – Wenzel Müller, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1835)
1774 – Johnny Appleseed, American environmentalist (d. 1845)
1791 – Théodore Géricault, French painter (d. 1824)
1792 – William Hobson, first Governor of New Zealand (d. 1842)
1820 – Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bengali scholar (d. 1891)
1840 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, French Canadian politician (d. 1923)
1843 – Joseph Furphy, Australian novelist (as "Tom Collins"; d. 1912)
1849 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1936)
1865 – Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, English pilot and ornithologist (d. 1937)
1867 – Winsor McCay, American animator (d. 1934)
1869 – Komitas, Armenian composer (d. 1935)
1870 – King Christian X of Denmark (d. 1947)
1872 – Max Ehrmann, American poet (Desiderata) (d. 1945)
1873 – Waclaw Berent, Polish novelist and translator (d. 1940)
1873 – Aleksey Shchusev, Russian architect (d. 1949)
1874 – Lewis Hine, American photographer and activist (d. 1940)
1875 – Edmund Gwenn, Welsh actor (d. 1959)
1876 – Edith Abbott, American social worker and author (d. 1957)
1876 – Philip Kassel, American gymnast (d. 1959)
1876 – Ghulam Bhik Nairang, Indian poet and Muslim nationalist (d. 1952)
1877 – Ugo Cerletti, Italian neurologist (d. 1963)
1877 – Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist (d. 1962)
1881 – Hiram Wesley Evans, American Ku Klux Klan figure (d. 1966)
1884 – J. P. Bickell, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (d. 1951)
1886 – Archibald Vivian Hill, English physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1977)
1887 – Edwin Keppel Bennett, English writer (d. 1958)
1887 – Antonio Moreno, Spanish actor (d. 1967)
1887 – Sir Barnes Wallis, English scientist and inventor (d. 1979)
1888 – J. Frank Dobie, American folklorist and newspaper columnist (d. 1964)
1888 – T. S. Eliot, American-born British writer and poet, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
1889 – Gordon Brewster, Irish cartoonist (d. 1946)
1889 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (d. 1976)
1891 – Charles Münch, French conductor and violinist (d. 1968)
1892 – Robert Staughton Lynd, American historian (d. 1970)
1893 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (d. 1929)
1895 – George Raft, American actor (d. 1980)
1895 – Jürgen Stroop, German Nazi SS officer (d. 1952)
1897 – Pope Paul VI (d. 1978)
1897 – Arthur Rhys Davids, English pilot (d. 1917)
1898 – George Gershwin, American composer (d. 1937)
1900 – Suzanne Belperron, French Jewelry designer (d. 1983)
1905 – Emilio Navarro, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2011)
1907 – Anthony Blunt, English art historian and Soviet spy (d. 1983)
1907 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (d. 1992)
1909 – Bill France, Sr., American car racing executive (d. 1992)
1909 – A. P. Hamann, American politician (d. 1977)
1911 – Al Helfer, American radio sportscaster (d. 1975)
1913 – Frank Brimsek, American ice hockey player (d. 1998)
1914 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness and nutritional expert (d. 2011)
1914 – Achille Compagnoni, Italian mountaineer (d. 2009)
1917 – Réal Caouette, French Canadian politician (d. 1976)
1917 – Tran Duc Thao, Vietnamese philosopher (d. 1993)
1918 – John Zacherle, American television host
1919 – Barbara Britton, American actress (d. 1980)
1919 – Matilde Camus, Spanish poet and researcher
1922 – Takis Miliadis, Greek actor (d. 1985)
1922 – Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia, French-born pretender to the Russian throne
1923 – Dev Anand, Indian actor and film producer (d. 2012)
1925 – Norm Dussault, American ice hockey player
1925 – Marty Robbins, American singer (d. 1982)
1926 – Julie London, American singer and actress (d. 2000)
1926 – Manfred Mayrhofer, Austrian philologist
1927 – Robert Blackburn, Irish educationist (d. 1990)
1927 – Robert Cade, American physician and beverage inventor (d. 2007)
1927 – Patrick O'Neal, American actor (d. 1994)
1927 – Enzo Bearzot, Italian football player and manager (d. 2010)
1928 – Bob Van der Veken, Belgian actor
1930 – Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor (d. 1966)
1930 – Joe Brown, English mountaineer
1931 – Kenneth Parnell, American convicted sex offender (d. 2008)
1932 – Richard Herd, American actor
1932 – Dr. Manmohan Singh, Indian politician
1932 – Vladimir Voinovich, Russian writer and dissident
1933 – Donna Douglas, American actress
1935 – Joe Sherlock, Irish politician (d. 2007)
1936 – Winnie Mandela, South African anti-apartheid activist
1937 – Valentin Pavlov, Soviet politician (d. 2003)
1937 – Jerry Weintraub, American film producer
1938 – Lars Jacob Krogh, Norwegian journalist (d. 2010)
1939 – Ricky Tomlinson, English actor
1941 – Salvatore Accardo, Italian violinist and conductor
1941 – Martine Beswick, English actress and model
1942 – Kent McCord, American actor
1943 – Ian Chappell, Australian cricketer and broadcaster
1943 – Tim Schenken, Australian racing driver
1944 – Anne Robinson, English television host
1945 – Louise Beaudoin, French-Canadian politician
1945 – Gal Costa, Brazilian singer
1945 – Bryan Ferry, English singer (Roxy Music)
1946 – Andrea Dworkin, American feminist (d. 2005)
1946 – Togo Igawa, Japanese actor
1946 – Christine Todd Whitman, American politician
1946 – Radha Krishna Mainali, Nepalese politician
1946 – Louise Simonson, American comic book writer and editor
1947 – Lynn Anderson, American country music singer
1947 – Philippe Lavil, French singer
1948 – Olivia Newton-John, English-born Australian singer and actress
1949 – Clodoaldo, Brazilian football player
1949 – Jane Smiley, American novelist
1949 – Marie Tifo, Canadian actress
1949 – Minette Walters, English novelist
1951 – Ronald DeFeo, Jr., American murderer
1951 – Stuart Tosh, Scottish musician
1952 – Predrag Miletic, Serbian actor
1953 – Joe Benigno, American radio personality
1953 – Dolores Keane, Irish folk singer
1954 – Kevin Kennedy, American baseball manager
1954 – Craig Chaquico, American guitarist
1955 – Carlene Carter, American singer
1956 – Steve Butler, American racing driver
1956 – Linda Hamilton, American actress
1958 – Richard B. Weldon, Jr., American politician
1958 – Robert Kagan, American historian
1958 – Darby Crash, American singer (The Germs) (d. 1980)
1959 – Rich Gedman, American baseball player
1961 – Charlotte Fich, Danish actress
1961 – Cindy Herron, American singer (En Vogue)
1961 – Will Self, English author
1962 – Mark Haddon, English author
1962 – Melissa Sue Anderson, American actress
1962 – Peter Foster, Australian con artist
1962 – Lawrence Leritz, Broadway dancer, choreographer, producer
1962 – Al Pitrelli, American guitarist (Megadeth)
1963 – Lysette Anthony, English actress
1963 – Joe Nemechek, American NASCAR driver
1964 – Nicki French, English singer
1964 – Dave Martinez, American baseball player
1964 – John Tempesta, American drummer (White Zombie, Helmet, Testament)
1965 – Alexandra Lencastre, Portuguese actress
1966 – Jillian Barberie, Canadian actress and television hostess
1966 – Christos Dantis, Greek composer and singer
1966 – Craig Heyward, American football player (d. 2006)
1967 – Bruno Akrapovic, Bosnian footballer
1967 – Shannon Hoon, American singer (Blind Melon) (d. 1995)
1967 – Kara Saun, American designer
1968 – James Caviezel, American actor
1968 – Ben Shenkman, American actor
1969 – Anthony Kavanagh, French-Canadian comedian, actor and singer
1969 – Andy Petterson, Australian footballer
1969 – Holger Stanislawski, German footballer
1969 – Paul Warhurst, English footballer
1970 – Sheri Moon Zombie, American actress
1972 – Ras Kass, American rapper
1972 – Melanie Paxson, American actress
1972 – Shawn Stockman, American singer (Boyz II Men)
1973 – Marty Casey, American singer (Lovehammers)
1973 – Chris Small, Scottish snooker player
1973 – Olga Vasdeki, Greek triple jumper
1974 – Boris Cepeda, German-Ecuadorian pianist and diplomat
1974 – Gary Hall, Jr., American swimmer
1974 – Martin Müürsepp, Estonian basketball player
1975 – Emma Härdelin, Swedish singer (Garmarna, Triakel)
1975 – Jake Paltrow, American film director
1976 – Michael Ballack, German footballer
1976 – Tyler Denk, American model and reality show contestant
1976 – Sami Vanska, Finnish bassist (Nightwish)
1977 – André Hunger, German artist and designer
1977 – Kaylynn, American pornographic actress
1978 – Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Kenyan long-distance runner
1979 – Jon Harley, English footballer
1979 – Simon Kirch, German sprinter
1979 – Naomichi Marufuji, Japanese professional wrestler
1979 – Fuifui Moimoi, New Zealand rugby league footballer
1979 – Jaycie Phelps, American gymnast
1979 – Jacob Tierney, Canadian actor
1980 – Jane Darling, Czech porn model/actress
1980 – Patrick Friesacher, Austrian race car driver
1980 – Brooks Orpik, American ice hockey player
1980 – Daniel Sedin, Swedish ice hockey player
1980 – Henrik Sedin, Swedish ice hockey player
1981 – Aras Baskauskas, American reality show contestant
1981 – Christina Milian, American actress and singer
1981 – Collien Ulmen-Fernandes, German TV host and actress
1981 – Serena Williams, American tennis player
1982 – Rob Burrow, English rugby player
1982 – Simon Picone, Italian rugby player
1982 – Miguel Alfredo Portillo, Argentine footballer
1982 – Jon Richardson, British comedian
1983 – Samantha Hammel, American record producer and actress
1983 – D'Qwell Jackson, American football player
1983 – Archimede Morleo, Italian footballer
1983 – Ricardo Quaresma, Portuguese footballer
1984 – Thore Schölermann, German actor
1985 – Lenna Kuurmaa, Estonian singer (Vanilla Ninja)
1985 – Talulah Riley, English actress
1986 – Rebecca Lim, Singaporean actress
1986 – Ashley Leggat, Canadian actress
1987 – Rosie Munter, Swedish singer (Play)
1988 – Kiira Korpi, Finnish figure skater
1988 – Marina Kuroki, Japanese actress
1988 – Mark Simpson, English clarinetist and composer
1989 – Nesma Mahgoub, Egyptian singer
1989 – Emma Rigby, English actress
2000 – Princess Salma bint Al Abdullah II of Jordan

Deaths

1417 – Francesco Zabarella, Italian jurist (b. 1360)
1468 – Juan de Torquemada, Spanish Catholic cardinal (b. 1388)
1501 – Džore Držic, Croatian writer (b. 1461)
1620 – Taichang Emperor of China (b. 1582)
1626 – Wakisaka Yasuharu, Japanese warrior (b. 1554)
1716 – Antoine Parent, French mathematician (b. 1666)
1763 – John Byron, English poet (b. 1692)
1764 – Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, Spanish scholar (b. 1767)
1800 – William Billings, American choral composer (b. 1746)
1802 – Baron Jurij Vega, Slovenian mathematician and military officer (b. 1754)
1820 – Daniel Boone, American frontiersman (b. 1734)
1868 – August Ferdinand Möbius, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1790)
1877 – Hermann Grassmann, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1809)
1902 – Levi Strauss, American clothing manufacturer (b. 1829)
1904 – Lafcadio Hearn, Greek writer (b. 1850)
1904 – John F. Stairs, Canadian businessman and statesman (b. 1848)
1908 – Samuel Duvall, American archer (b. 1836)
1935 – Iván Persa, Hungarian Slovene writer and catholic priest (b. 1861)
1937 – Bessie Smith, American singer (b. 1894)
1945 – Béla Bartók, Hungarian composer (b. 1881)
1946 – William Strunk Jr., American professor and author (b. 1869)
1947 – Hugh Lofting, English writer (b. 1886)
1951 – Hans Cloos, German geologist (b. 1885)
1952 – George Ducker, Canadian football player (b. 1871)
1952 – George Santayana, Spanish philosopher (b. 1863)
1953 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter (b. 1895)
1954 – Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (b. 1868)
1957 – Arthur Powell Davies, American religious minister (b. 1902)
1959 – Sir Leslie Morshead, Australian soldier (b. 1889)
1963 – Otto Christman, Canadian football player (b. 1880)
1965 – James Fitzmaurice, Irish aviation pioneer (b. 1898)
1968 – Lipman Heilprin, Israeli physician and Israel Prize recipient (b. 1902)
1968 – Daniel Johnson, Sr., French-Canadian politician (b. 1915)
1968 – Wladyslaw Kedra, Polish pianist (b. 1918)
1972 – Charles Correll, American radio actor (b. 1890)
1973 – Ralph Earnhardt, American race car driver (b. 1923)
1973 – Anna Magnani, Italian actress (b. 1908)
1976 – Lavoslav Ružicka, Croatian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1887)
1978 – Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1886)
1979 – Arthur Hunnicutt, American actor (b. 1910)
1982 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricketer (b. 1902)
1983 – Tino Rossi, French singer and actor (b. 1907)
1984 – John Facenda, American sports announcer (b. 1913)
1984 – Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1948)
1987 – Herbert Tichy, Austrian mountaineer, made the first ascent of Cho Oyu in 1954 (b. 1912)
1987 – Ramang, Indonesian former footballer (b. 1928)
1989 – Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Indian singer and composer (b. 1920)
1990 – Alberto Moravia, Italian author (b. 1907)
1991 – Billy Vaughn, American bandleader (b. 1919)
1996 – Nicu Ceau?escu, Romanian politician (b. 1951)
1998 – Betty Carter, American singer (b. 1930)
1999 – Oseola McCarty, American philanthropist (b. 1908)
1999 – Bernadette O'Farrell, Irish actress (b. 1924)
2000 – Richard Mulligan, American actor (b. 1932)
2000 – Baden Powell de Aquino, Brazilian guitarist (b. 1937)
2003 – Shawn Lane, American guitarist (b. 1963)
2003 – Robert Palmer, English singer (b. 1949)
2004 – Marianna Komlos, professional wrestling valet (b. 1969)
2005 – Helen Cresswell, British author (b. 1934)
2006 – Byron Nelson, American golfer (b. 1912)
2006 – Iva Toguri D'Aquino, alleged Tokyo Rose (b. 1916)
2007 – Bill Wirtz, American sports team owner (b. 1929)
2008 – Marc Moulin, Belgian musician and journalist (b. 1942)
2008 – Paul Newman, American actor (b. 1925)
2010 – Gloria Stuart, American actress (b. 1910)
2011 – Bob Cassilly, American Artist and Founder of the St. Louis City Museum (b. 1949)