today.nukz.net: Almanac October 10

Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer considered one of the giants of American music. Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser" and "Well, You Needn't". Monk is the second-most recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington, which is particularly remarkable as Ellington composed over 1,000 songs while Monk wrote about 70.

Events

19 AD – Roman general Germanicus suddenly dies in Antioch under mysterious circumstances. Roman historian Tactius records that Germanicus was poisoned by Syrian Governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso under orders from Roman Emperor Tiberius.
680 – Battle of Karbala: Hussain bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Muslims as Aashurah.
732 – Battle of Tours: Near Poitiers, France, the leader of the Franks, Charles Martel and his men, defeat a large army of Moors, stopping the Muslims from spreading into Western Europe. The governor of Cordoba, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, is killed during the battle.
1471 – Battle of Brunkeberg in Stockholm: Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by Christian I, King of Denmark.
1575 – Battle of Dormans: Roman Catholic forces under Duke Henry of Guise defeat the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.
1580 – After a three-day siege, the English Army beheads over 600 Irish and Papal soldiers and civilians at Dún an Óir, Ireland.
1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1631 – A Saxon army takes over Prague.
1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000–30,000 in the Caribbean.
1845 – In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 midshipman students and seven professors.
1860 – The original cornerstone of the University of the South is laid in Sewanee, Tennessee.
1868 – Carlos Céspedes issues the Grito de Yara from his plantation, La Demajagua, proclaiming Cuba's independence
1871 – The Great Chicago Fire Chicago burns in flames after a barn accident. The fire lasts from October 8 to October 10.
1911 – The Wuchang Uprising leads to the demise of Qing Dynasty, the last Imperial court in China, and the founding of the Republic of China.
1913 – President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike thus ending construction on the Panama Canal.
1920 – The Carinthian Plebiscite determines that the larger part of Carinthia should remain part of Austria.
1928 – Chiang Kai-Shek becomes Chairman of the Republic of China.
1933 – United Airlines Chesterton Crash: A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation.
1935 – A coup d'état by the royalist leadership of the Greek Armed Forces takes place in Athens. It overthrows the government of Panagis Tsaldaris and establishes a regency under Georgios Kondylis, effectively ending the Second Hellenic Republic.
1938 – The Munich Agreement cedes the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany.
1942 – The Soviet Union establishes diplomatic relations with Australia.
1943 – Double Tenth Incident in Japanese-controlled Singapore
1944 – Holocaust: 800 Gypsy children are murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp.
1945 – The Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang signed a principle agreement in Chongqing about the future of post-war China. Later, the pact is commonly referred to as the Double-Ten Agreement.
1957 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant.
1957 – The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world's first major nuclear accident.
1963 – France cedes control of the Bizerte naval base to Tunisia.
1964 – The opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite.
1967 – The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force.
1970 – Fiji becomes independent.
1970 – In Montreal, Quebec, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
1971 – Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
1973 – Vice President of the United States Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with federal income tax evasion.
1975 – Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations.
1980 – A magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurs in the Algerian town of El Asnam. 3,500 die and 300,000 are left homeless.
1985 – United States Navy F-14 fighter jets intercept an Egyptian plane carrying the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijackers and force it to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily where they are arrested.
1986 – An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people.
1997 – An Austral Airlines DC-9-32 crashes and explodes near Nuevo Berlin, Uruguay, killing 74.
1998 – A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 is shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 41 people.
2006 – The Greek city of Volos floods in one of the prefecture's worst recorded floods.
2008 – The 10 October 2008 Orakzai bombing kills 110 and injures 200 more.
2009 – Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders.
2010 – The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved as a country.

Births

1344 – Mary Plantagenet, English princess (d. 1362)
1567 – Infanta Caterina Micaela of Spain (d. 1597)
1599 – Étienne Moulinié, French Baroque composer (d. 1676)
1669 – Johann Nicolaus Bach, German composer (d. 1753)
1678 – John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish soldier (d. 1743)
1684 – Antoine Watteau, French painter (d. 1721)
1700 – Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor (d. 1759)
1731 – Henry Cavendish, British scientist (d. 1810)
1780 – John Abercrombie, Scottish physician (d. 1844)
1794 – William Whiting Boardman, American politician (d. 1871)
1813 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (d. 1901)
1819 – Heinrich Joseph Dominicus Denzinger, German theologian (d. 1883)
1825 – Paul Kruger, President of the Transvaal Republic (d. 1904)
1828 – Samuel J. Randall, 33rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1890)
1830 – Queen Isabella II of Spain (d. 1904)
1834 – Aleksis Kivi, Finnish author (d. 1872)
1837 – Robert Gould Shaw, American Army officer (d. 1863)
1861 – Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian explorer, Nobel laureate (d. 1930)
1863 – Louis Cyr, French Canadian strongman (d. 1912)
1863 – Helen Dunbar, American actress (d. 1933)
1864 – T. Frank Appleby, United States Congressman from New Jersey (d. 1924)
1870 – Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin, Russian writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1953)
1870 – Louise Mack, Australian writer (d. 1935)
1884 – Ida Wüst, German actress (d. 1958)
1885 – Walter Anderson, German folklorist (d. 1962)
1889 – Han van Meegeren, Dutch painter, portraitist and art forger (d. 1947)
1895 – Fridolf Rhudin Swedish actor and comedian (d. 1935)
1895 – Wolfram von Richthofen, German field marshal (d. 1945)
1898 – Lilly Daché, French-born milliner (d. 1989)
1900 – Helen Hayes, American actress (d. 1993)
1901 – Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor (d. 1966)
1903 – Vernon Duke, American composer and songwriter (d. 1969)
1903 – Prince Charles of Belgium, Prince Regent of Belgium (d. 1983)
1903 – Bei Shizhang, Chinese biologist and educator (d. 2009)
1906 – Paul Creston, American composer (d. 1985)
1906 – R.K. Narayan, Indian novelist (d. 2001)
1908 – Johnny Green, American songwriter, arranger and conductor (d. 1989)
1908 – Mercè Rodoreda, Catalan novelist (d. 1983)
1909 – Robert F. Boyle, American production designer and art director (d. 2010)
1910 – Julius Shulman, American architectural photographer (d. 2009)
1911 – Clare Hollingworth, British journalist
1912 – Ram Vilas Sharma ,Indian Hindi Writer (d.2000)
1913 – Claude Simon, French writer, Nobel laureate (d. 2005)
1914 – Tommy Fine, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1914 – Ivory Joe Hunter, American R&B singer (d. 1974)
1915 – Sweets Edison, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1999)
1917 – Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist (d. 1982)
1919 – Willard Estey, Canadian justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (d. 2002)
1923 – Nicholas Parsons, English actor
1923 – Murray Walker, British motorsport commentator
1923 – Louis Gottlieb, bassist and lofty comic spokesman for The Limeliters (d. 1996)
1924 – James Clavell, Australian author (d. 1994)
1924 – Ludmilla Tchérina, French ballet dancer and actress (d. 2004)
1924 – Edward D. Wood, Jr., American filmmaker (d. 1978)
1925 – The Great Antonio, Croatian-Canadian strongman (d. 2001)
1926 – Richard Jaeckel, American actor (d. 1997)
1926 – Oscar Brown Jr, American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, civil rights activist, and actor (d. 2005)
1927 – Dana Elcar, American actor (d. 2005)
1927 – Thomas Wilson (composer), Scottish composer of classical music (d. 2001)
1928 – Sheila F. Walsh, English novelist (d. 2009)
1929 – Herb Levinson, American actor
1930 – Eugenio Castellotti, Italian race car driver (d. 1957)
1930 – Yves Chauvin, French chemist, Nobel laureate
1930 – Harold Pinter, English playwright, Nobel laureate (d. 2008)
1930 – Al Ulbrickson, American rower (d. 2012)
1930 – Mustafa Zaidi, Pakistani poet (d. 1970)
1932 – Harry Smith, English footballer
1933 – Jay Sebring, American hair stylist and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
1935 – André Bureau, French Canadian communications executive
1935 – Abu Jihad, Founder of the Palestinian group Fatah (d. 1988)
1936 – Gerhard Ertl, German surface chemist, Nobel laureate, 2007.
1938 – Gloria Coates, American composer
1938 – Moriyama Daido, Japanese photographer
1939 – Joseph Pitts, American politician
1939 – Goli Taraqqi, Iranian author
1940 – Winston Spencer-Churchill, British politician (d. 2010)
1940 – Pouri Banai, Iranian actress
1941 – Peter Coyote, American actor
1942 – Radu Vasile, Romanian Prime Minister
1943 – Frederick Barthelme, American author
1946 – Charles Dance, English actor
1946 – Mildred Grieveson (aka: Anne Mather, Caroline Fleming, Cardine Fleming), English writer
1946 – Naoto Kan, Japanese politician
1946 – Peter Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player
1946 – John Prine, American singer
1946 – Martin Ruane, English wrestler (d. 1998)
1946 – Chris Tarrant, English TV presenter
1946 – Ben Vereen, American actor
1947 – Gary Beach, American actor
1948 – Séverine, French singer
1948 – Ed Volker, American musician
1949 – Ioannis Glavakis, Greek politician
1949 – Wang Wanxing, Chinese dissident
1950 – Nora Roberts, American novelist
1951 – Epeli Ganilau, Fijian statesman
1953 – Midge Ure, Scottish musician
1953 – Gus Williams, American basketball player
1954 – Mohamed Mounir, Egyptian musician
1954 – Rekha, Indian actress
1954 – David Lee Roth, American singer (Van Halen)
1954 – Patric Zimmerman, American voice actor
1956 – Amanda Burton, Northern Irish actress
1956 – Mark Gordon, American film producer
1957 – Rumiko Takahashi, Japanese artist
1958 – J. Eddie Peck, American actor
1958 – Tanya Tucker, American singer
1959 – Kirsty MacColl, English singer (d. 2000)
1959 – Julia Sweeney, American actress, comedian, and author
1959 – Bradley Whitford, American actor
1960 – Ron Flockhart, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 – Eric Martin, American singer (Mr. Big)
1960 – Simon Townshend, British rock guitarist
1961 – Jodi Benson, American voice actress
1961 – Henrik Jørgensen, Danish marathon runner
1961 – Martin Kemp, British musician (Spandau Ballet) and actor
1963 – Anita Mui, Hong Kong singer (d. 2003)
1963 – Jolanda de Rover, Dutch swimmer
1963 – Vegard Ulvang, Norwegian cross-country skier.
1964 – Quinton Flynn, American voice actor
1964 – Sarah Lancashire, English actress
1964 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist (d. 2002)
1964 – Crystal Waters, U.S. singer
1965 – Chris Penn, American actor (d. 2006)
1965 – Rebecca Pidgeon, American actress
1965 – Toshi, Japanese singer (X Japan)
1966 – Tony Adams, English footballer
1966 – Mohamed Elmoutaoikil, Sahrawi human rights activist
1966 – Bai Ling, Chinese American actress
1966 – Derrick McKey, American basketball player
1967 – Jonathan Littell, French-American writer
1967 – Mike Malinin, American drummer (Goo Goo Dolls)
1967 – Gavin Newsom, American politician
1968 – Bart Brentjens, Dutch mountain biker
1968 – Marinos Ouzounidis, Greek footballer and football manager
1968 – DJ Skribble, American DJ, producer, remixer, radio personality and actor
1969 – Francis Escudero, Filipino senator
1969 – Brett Favre, American football player
1969 – Shawn "Thunderbird" Jamison, American basketball coach and former Harlem Globetrotter
1969 – Wendi McLendon-Covey, American actress
1969 – Dilsa Demirbag Sten, Swedish author and journalist
1970 – Dean Kiely, Irish footballer
1970 – Silke Kraushaar-Pielach, German luger
1970 – Corinna May, German singer
1970 – Mohammed Mourhit, Belgian athlete
1970 – Matthew Pinsent, English rower
1971 – Ian Bennett, English footballer
1971 – Evgeny Kissin, Russian pianist
1972 – Russell Hantz, American Survivor Contestant
1972 – Jun Lana, Filipino playwright and screenwriter
1972 – Dean Roland, American guitarist (Collective Soul)
1972 – Alexei Zhitnik, Russian ice hockey player
1973 – Mario López, American actor
1973 – Scott Morriss, English bass player (The Bluetones)
1973 – Semmy Schilt, Dutch kickboxer
1973 – Zach Thornton, American soccer player
1974 – Assi Cohen, Israeli comedian and actor
1974 – Julio Ricardo Cruz, Argentinian footballer
1974 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr., American race car driver
1974 – Chris Pronger, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Azlan McLennan, Australian artist
1975 – Ramón Morales, Mexican footballer
1975 – Plácido Polanco, Dominican baseball player
1975 – Ihsahn, Norwegian Musician (Emperor band)
1976 – Bob Burnquist, Brazilian-born skateboarder
1976 – Pat Burrell, American baseball player
1976 – Shane Doan, Canadian ice hockey player
1978 – Scott Dobie, Scottish footballer
1978 – Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, American actress
1979 – Mýa Harrison, American singer
1979 – Nicolás Massú, Chilean tennis player
1979 – Joel Przybilla, American basketball player
1979 – Wu Chun, Taiwanese actor and singer
1979 – Ahn Chil-Hyun (Kangta), lead singer of the former South Korean group H.O.T.
1980 – Blaž Emeršic, Slovenian ice hockey player
1980 – Casey FitzSimmons, American football player
1980 – Elvis Hammond, Ghanaian footballer
1980 – Tim Maurer, American singer (Suburban Legends)
1980 – Sherine, Egyptian singer
1981 – Una Healy, Irish singer (The Saturdays)
1981 – Michael Oliver, American actor
1981 – Francisco Javier Rodríguez, Mexican footballer
1982 – Yasser Al-Qahtani, Saudi footballer
1982 – Amon Buchanan, Australian rules footballer
1982 – Hideki Mutoh, Japanese racing driver
1983 – Vusimuzi Sibanda, Zimbabwean cricketer
1983 – Nikos Spyropoulos, Greek footballer
1983 – Sherab Zam, Bhutanese archer
1983 – Tolga Zengin, Turkish football player
1984 – Stephanie Cheng, Hong Kong singer
1984 – Chiaki Kuriyama, Japanese actress
1984 – Paul Posluszny, American football player
1984 – Troy Tulowitzki, American baseball player
1985 – Yoenis Céspedes, Cuban baseball player
1985 – Dominique Cornu, Belgian professional cyclist
1985 – Marina Diamandis, Welsh singer-songwriter
1986 – Ezequiel Garay, Argentine footballer
1986 – Nathan Jawai, Australian basketball player
1987 – Ryan Mathews, American football player
1987 – Colin Slade, New Zealand rugby union footballer
1988 – Ideye Aide Brown, Nigerian footballer
1989 – Aimee Teegarden, American actress
1991 – Gabriella Cilmi, Australian singer
1991 – Mariana Espósito, Argentine actress, singer and model
1991 – Manuel Giandonato, Italian footballer
1991 – Xherdan Shaqiri, Swiss footballer
1993 – Jayden Stockley, English footballer
1994 – Bae Suzy, South Korean idol singer, actress, model and MC

Deaths

19 – Germanicus, Roman general (b. 15 BC)
680 – Husayn ibn Ali, Shi'a Imam, Muhammad's grandson (b. 626)
732 – Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Moorish Governor of Andalusia
1359 – King Hugh IV of Cyprus (b. 1295)
1459 – Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini, Italian humanist and classicist (b. 1380)
1659 – Abel Tasman, Dutch explorer (b. 1603)
1674 – Thomas Traherne, English poet
1691 – Isaac de Benserade, French poet (b. 1613)
1708 – David Gregory, Scottish mathematician (b. 1659)
1714 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (b. 1646)
1720 – Antoine Coysevox, French sculptor (b. 1640)
1723 – William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1665)
1725 – Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil, Governor-General of New France (b. 1643)
1747 – John Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1674)
1759 – Granville Elliott, British military officer (b. 1713)
1765 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1688)
1795 – Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian theologian and historian (b. 1714)
1806 – Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, German prince (b. 1772)
1827 – Ugo Foscolo, Italian writer (b. 1778)
1837 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher (b. 1772)
1857 – George Washington Parke Custis, American orator and playwright (b. 1781)
1872 – William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State (b. 1801)
1875 – Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Russian novelist, poet and dramatist (b. 1817)
1876 – Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, French geologist (b. 1814)
1893 – Lip Pike, American baseball player (b. 1845)
1901 – Lorenzo Snow, fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1814)
1911 – Jack Daniel, American Distiller and the founder of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distillery (b. 1846 or 1850)
1913 – Katsura Taro, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1848)
1913 – Adolphus Busch, American brewer (Anheuser-Busch) (b. 1839)
1914 – King Carol I of Romania (b. 1839)
1922 – Andreas Karkavitsas, Greek writer (b. 1866)
1927 – Gustave Whitehead, German-born inventor (b. 1874)
1930 – Adolf Engler, German botanist (b. 1844)
1940 – Berton Churchill, Canadian actor (b. 1876)
1948 – Ted Horn, American race car driver (b. 1910)
1953 – Erima Harvey Northcroft, New Zealand judge (b. 1884)
1957 – Karl Genzken, Nazi physician (b. 1885)
1962 – Stancho Belkovski, Bulgarian architect and lecturer (b. 1891)
1963 – Roy Cazaly, Australian rules footballer (b. 1893)
1964 – Eddie Cantor, American singer and vaudeville performer (b. 1892)
1964 – Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet pianist (b. 1888)
1966 – Charlotte Cooper, English tennis player (b. 1870)
1970 – Édouard Daladier, French politician (b. 1884)
1971 – John Cawte Beaglehole, New Zealand historian (b. 1901)
1973 – Ludwig von Mises, Austrian economist (b.1881)
1976 – Silvana Armenulic, Bosnian folk singer (b. 1939)
1976 – Mirsada Bajraktarevic, Bosnian folk singer (b. 1951)
1977 – Angelo Muscat, Maltese actor (b. 1930)
1978 – Ralph Marterie, American big band leader (b. 1914)
1978 – Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete (b. 1910)
1979 – Christopher Evans, British psychologist and computer scientist (b. 1931)
1979 – Paul Paray, French conductor (b. 1886)
1982 – Jean Effel, French painter and journalist (b. 1908)
1983 – Ralph Richardson, English actor (b. 1902)
1985 – Yul Brynner, Russian-born actor (b. 1920)
1985 – Orson Welles, American director and actor (b. 1915)
1986 – Gleb Wataghin, Ukrainian-Italian physicist (b. 1899)
1990 – Tom Murton, American penologist (b. 1928)
1990 – Nikolaos Pavlopoulos, Greek sculptor and writer (b. 1909)
1991 – Mickey Hirschl, Austrian wrestler (b. 1906)
1998 – Clark Clifford, United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1906)
1998 – Tommy Quaid, Irish hurler (b. 1957)
2000 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (b. 1916)
2001 – Eddie Futch, American boxing trainer (b. 1911)
2001 – Vasily Mishin, Soviet rocket designer (b. 1917)
2002 – Teresa Graves, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
2003 – Eugene Istomin, American pianist (b. 1925)
2004 – Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (b. 1963)
2004 – Christopher Reeve, American actor (b. 1952)
2004 – Arthur H. Robinson, American cartographer (b. 1915)
2004 – Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand writer (b. 1932)
2005 – Wayne Booth, American literary critic (b. 1921)
2005 – Milton Obote, President of Uganda (b. 1925)
2006 – Michael John Rogers, English ornithologist (b. 1932)
2006 – Ian Scott, Canadian politician (b. 1934)
2007 – Mehmed Uzun, contemporary Kurdish writer and novelist (b. 1953)
2008 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (b. 1947)
2009 – Stephen Gately, Irish singer (Boyzone) (b. 1976)
2010 – Solomon Burke, American singer (b. 1940)
2010 – Joan Sutherland, Australian operatic soprano (b. 1926)
2011 – Jagjit Singh, Indian musician (b. 1941)