today.nukz.net: Almanac November 28

William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". His visual artistry has led one contemporary art critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". Although he lived in London his entire life except for three years spent in Felpham he produced a diverse and symbolically rich corpus, which embraced the imagination as "the body of God", or "Human existence itself".

Considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, Blake is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. His paintings and poetry have been characterised as part of both the Romantic movement and "Pre-Romantic", for its large appearance in the 18th century. Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the Church of England – indeed, to all forms of organised religion – Blake was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American revolutions, as well as by such thinkers as Jakob Böhme and Emanuel Swedenborg. Despite these known influences, the singularity of Blake's work makes him difficult to classify. The 19th-century scholar William Rossetti characterised Blake as a "glorious luminary," and as "a man not forestalled by predecessors, nor to be classed with contemporaries, nor to be replaced by known or readily surmisable successors".

Events

1095 – On the last day of the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II appoints Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy and Count Raymond IV of Toulouse to lead the First Crusade to the Holy Land.
1443 – Skanderbeg and his forces liberate Kruja in Middle Albania and raise the Albanian flag.
1520 – After navigating through a strait at the southern end of South America, three ships under the command of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reach the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Europeans to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.
1582 – In Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway pay a £40 bond for their marriage license.
1627 – The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy has its greatest and last victory in the Battle of Oliva.
1660 – At Gresham College, 12 men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir Robert Moray decide to found what is later known as the Royal Society.
1666 – At least 3000 men of the Scottish Royal Army led by Tam Dalyell of the Binns defeat about 900 Covenanter rebels in the Battle of Rullion Green.
1785 – The Treaty of Hopewell is signed.
1811 – Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, premieres at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.
1814 – The Times in London is for the first time printed by automatic, steam powered presses built by the German inventors Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Friedrich Bauer, signaling the beginning of the availability of newspapers to a mass audience.
1821 – Panama Independence Day: Panama separates from Spain and joins Gran Colombia.
1843 – Ka La Hui: Hawaiian Independence Day – The Kingdom of Hawaii is officially recognized by the United Kingdom and France as an independent nation.
1862 – American Civil War: In the Battle of Cane Hill, Union troops under General James G. Blunt defeat General John Marmaduke's Confederates.
1885 – Bulgarian victory in the Serbo-Bulgarian War preserves the Unification of Bulgaria.
1893 – Women vote in a national election for the first time: the New Zealand general election.
1895 – The first American automobile race takes place over the 54 miles from Chicago's Jackson Park to Evanston, Illinois. Frank Duryea wins in approximately 10 hours.
1905 – Irish nationalist Arthur Griffith founds Sinn Féin as a political party with the main aim of establishing a dual monarchy in Ireland.
1907 – In Haverhill, Massachusetts, scrap-metal dealer Louis B. Mayer opens his first movie theater.
1909 – Sergei Rachmaninoff makes the debut performance of his Piano Concerto No. 3, considered to be one of the most technically challenging piano concertos in the standard classical repertoire.
1910 – Eleftherios Venizelos, leader of the Liberal Party, wins the Greek elections again.
1912 – Albania declares its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
1914 – World War I: Following a war-induced closure in July, the New York Stock Exchange re-opens for bond trading.
1917 – The Estonian Provincial Assembly declares itself the sovereign power of Estonia.
1918 – Bukovina votes for the union with the Kingdom of Romania.
1919 – Lady Astor is elected as a Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. She is the first woman to sit in the House of Commons. (Countess Markievicz, the first to be elected, refused to sit.)
1920 – Irish War of Independence: Kilmichael Ambush - The Irish Republican Army ambush a convoy of British Auxiliaries and kill seventeen.
1925 – The Grand Ole Opry begins broadcasting in Nashville, Tennessee as WSM Barn Dance.
1942 – In Boston, Massachusetts, a fire in the Cocoanut Grove nightclub kills 491 people.
1943 – World War II: Tehran Conference – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin meet in Tehran, Iran to discuss war strategy.
1958 – Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon become autonomous republics within the French Community.
1960 – Mauritania becomes independent of France.
1964 – Mariner program: NASA launches the Mariner 4 probe toward Mars.
1964 – Vietnam War: National Security Council members agree to recommend that U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson adopt a plan for a two-stage escalation of bombing in North Vietnam.
1965 – Vietnam War: In response to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for "more flags" in Vietnam, Philippines President Elect Ferdinand Marcos announces he will send troops to help fight in South Vietnam.
1966 – Michel Micombero overthrows the monarchy of Burundi and makes himself the first president.
1971 – Fred Quilt, a leader of the Tsilhqot'in First Nation is severely beaten by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers; he dies two days later.
1971 – Wasfi al-Tal, Prime Minister of Jordan, is assassinated by the Black September unit of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
1972 – Last executions in Paris, of the Clairvaux Mutineers, Roger Bontems and Claude Buffet, guillotined at La Sante Prison. (Bontems had been found innocent of murder by the court, but as Buffet's accomplice is condemned to death anyway.) The chief executioner is Andre Obrecht.
1975 – East Timor declares its independence from Portugal.
1979 – Air New Zealand Flight 901, a DC-10 operated sightseeing flight over Antarctica, crashes into Mount Erebus, killing all 257 people on board.
1980 – Iran–Iraq War: Operation Morvarid – Over 70% of Iraqi Navy was destroyed by Iranian Navy in The Persian Gulf. The Iranian Navy's Day.
1981 – Our Lady of Kibeho: Schoolchildren in Kibeho, Rwanda, experience the first of a series of Marian apparitions.
1987 – South African Airways Flight 295 crashes into the Indian Ocean, killing all 159 people on board.
1989 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution – In the face of protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announces it will give up its monopoly on political power.
1991 – South Ossetia declares independence from Georgia.
2002 – Suicide bombers blow up an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa, Kenya; their colleagues fail in their attempt to bring down Arkia Israel Airlines Flight 582 with surface-to-air-missiles.

Births

1118 – Manuel I Komnenos, Greek Byzantine Emperor (d. 1180)
1489 – Margaret Tudor, wife of James IV of Scotland (d. 1541)
1570 – James Whitelocke, English judge (d. 1632)
1598 – Hans Nansen, Danish statesman (d. 1667)
1628 – John Bunyan, English cleric and author (d. 1688)
1632 – Jean-Baptiste Lully, Italian-born French composer (d. 1687)
1640 – Willem de Vlamingh, Flemish sea captain (d. c. 1698)
1661 – Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, British Governor of New York and New Jersey (d. 1723)
1681 – Jean Cavalier, French Protestant rebel leader (d. 1740)
1700 – Nathaniel Bliss, English astronomer (d. 1764)
1700 – Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1770)
1757 – William Blake, British poet (d. 1827)
1772 – Luke Howard, British meteorologist (d. 1864)
1785 – Victor de Broglie, Prime Minister of France (d. 1870)
1792 – Victor Cousin, French philosopher (d. 1867)
1793 – Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, Swedish romantic poet (d. 1866)
1805 – John Stephens, American archeologist (d. 1852)
1810 – William Froude, British naval architect (d. 1879)
1820 – Friedrich Engels, German philosopher (d. 1895)
1829 – Anton Rubinstein, Russian composer (d. 1894)
1837 – John Wesley Hyatt, American inventor (d. 1920)
1853 – Helen Magill White, first American woman to earn a PhD (d. 1944)
1857 – King Alfonso XII of Spain (d. 1885)
1864 – James Allen English writer (d. 1912)
1864 – Lindley M. Garrison, American Secretary of War (d. 1932)
1866 – Henry Bacon, American architect (d. 1924)
1876 – Bert Vogler, South African cricketer (d. 1946)
1878 – Hubert Lefèbvre, French rugby player (death date unknown)
1880 – Alexander Blok, Russian poet (d. 1921)
1881 – Stefan Zweig, Austrian writer (d. 1942)
1887 – Ernst Röhm, Nazi official (d. 1934)
1891 – Gregorio Perfecto, Filipino jurist & politician (d. 1949)
1894 – Henry Hazlitt, American Libertarian philosopher and economist (d. 1993)
1895 – José Iturbi, Spanish pianist (d. 1980)
1896 – Dawn Powell, American writer (d. 1965)
1896 – Lilia Skala, Austrian actress (d. 1994)
1904 – James Eastland, American politician (d. 1986)
1904 – Nancy Mitford, English writer (d. 1973)
1907 – Rose Bampton, American opera singer (d. 2007)
1907 – Alberto Moravia, Italian writer (d. 1990)
1908 – Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Nigerian politician (d. 1997)
1908 – Claude Lévi-Strauss, French anthropologist (d. 2009)
1911 – Václav Renc, Czech poet (d. 1973)
1912 – Morris Louis, American painter (d. 1962)
1915 – Evald Okas, Estonian painter (d. 2011)
1915 – Yves Thériault, Canadian author (d. 1983)
1916 – Mary Lilian Baels, Princess of Rethy, Belgium (d. 2002)
1923 – Gloria Grahame, American actress (d. 1981)
1923 – James Karen, American actor
1924 – Dennis Brutus, South African poet
1925 – József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (d. 1978)
1927 – Chuck Mitchell, American actor (d. 1992)
1928 – John Coleman, Australian rules footballer (d. 1973)
1928 – Arthur Melvin Okun, American economist (d. 1980)
1928 – Piet Steenbergen, Dutch footballer (d. 2010)
1929 – Berry Gordy Jr., American record company owner
1931 – Dervla Murphy, Irish cyclist and author
1931 – Tomi Ungerer, French graphic artist
1931 – Ed Young, children's author and illustrator
1932 – Gato Barbieri, Argentinian saxophonist
1932 – Terence Frisby, English novelist
1933 – Joe Knollenberg, American politician
1933 – Hope Lange, American actress (d. 2003)
1935 – Prince Hitachi, Japanese royalty
1935 – Randolph Stow, Australian author
1936 – Gary Hart, American politician
1936 – Celin Romero, Spanish guitarist
1940 – Bruce Channel, American singer
1941 – Laura Antonelli, Italian actress
1942 – Paul Warfield, American football player
1943 – Randy Newman, American composer
1944 – Rita Mae Brown, American writer
1944 – R.B. Greaves, Guyanan singer
1944 – Timothy Krajcir, American serial killer
1946 – Joe Dante, American film director and producer
1947 – Michel Berger, French songwriter (d. 1992)
1947 – Maria Farantouri, Greek singer
1947 – Panayotis Varotsos, Greek physicist
1948 – Beeb Birtles, Dutch-Australian musician (Little River Band)
1948 – Dick Morris, American political figure, author
1949 – Alexander Godunov, Russian ballet dancer (d. 1995)
1949 – Paul Shaffer, Canadian orchestra leader
1950 – Ed Harris, American actor
1950 – Russell Alan Hulse, American physicist, Nobel laureate
1951 – Barbara Morgan, American teacher and astronaut
1952 – S. Epatha Merkerson, American actress
1953 – Sixto Lezcano, Puerto Rican baseball player
1955 – Alessandro Altobelli, Italian footballer
1955 – Jeffrey Byron, American actor
1955 – Adem Jashari, Albanian freedom fighter
1956 – Richard Bean, English playwright
1957 – David Van Day, British singer (Dollar)
1958 – Dave Righetti, American baseball player
1958 – Kriss Akabusi, British athlete and television presenter
1959 – Judd Nelson, American actor
1959 – Stephen Roche, Irish cyclist
1960 – John Galliano, British fashion designer
1960 – Andy Ritchie, English footballer
1960 – Kenny Wharton, English football coach
1961 – Martin Clunes, British actor
1961 – Alfonso Cuarón, Mexican film director
1961 – John Fenty, English football coach
1961 – Jane Sibbett, American actress
1962 – Paul Dinello, American comedian and actor
1962 – Jon Stewart, American comedian
1962 – Matt Cameron, American drummer (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam)
1962 – Davey Boy Smith, English professional wrestler (d. 2002)
1963 – Walt Weiss, American baseball player
1963 – Armando Iannucci, Scottish comedian
1963 – Johnny Newman, American basketball player
1963 – Jesus Ledesma Aguilar, Mexican convicted killer (d. 2006)
1964 – Michael Bennet, American politician
1964 – John Burkett, American baseball player
1964 – Roy Tarpley, American basketball player
1965 – Erwin Mortier, Belgian author
1965 – Matt Williams, American baseball player
1966 – Sam Seder, American comedian
1966 – Helen Fospero, British television presenter and newsreader
1966 – Dominic Chappell, British Racing Driver
1967 – Anna Nicole Smith, American television personality (d. 2007)
1967 – Stephnie Weir, American comedian
1967 – José del Solar, Peruvian footballer
1968 – Dawn Robinson, American singer (En Vogue)
1969 – Robb Nen, American baseball player
1969 – Lexington Steele, American adult film actor
1970 – Álex López Morón, Spanish tennis player
1971 – Rob Conway, American professional wrestler
1971 – Fenriz, Norwegian musician (Darkthrone)
1972 – Paulo Figueiredo, Angolan footballer
1972 – Anastasia Kelesidou, Greek discus thrower
1972 – Jesper Strömblad, Swedish guitarist (In Flames)
1973 – Jade Puget, American musician (AFI)
1974 – András Tölcséres, Hungarian footballer
1974 – Styles P, American rapper
1974 – Kristian Schmid, Australian actor
1974 – apl.de.ap, Filipino-American rapper
1975 – Eka Kurniawan, Indonesian writer
1975 – Sunny Mabrey, American actress
1975 – Park Sung-Bae, South Korean football player
1975 – Takashi Shimoda, Japanese footballer
1975 – Sigurd Wongraven, Norwegian musician (Satyricon)
1976 – Ryan Kwanten, Australian actor
1977 – Marlon Broomes, English footballer
1977 – Fabio Grosso, Italian footballer
1977 – Gavin Rae, Scottish footballer
1977 – Greg Somerville, New Zealand rugby union footballer
1977 – DeMya Walker, American basketball player
1978 – Brent Albright, American professional wrestler
1978 – Aimee Garcia, American actress
1978 – Freddie Mitchell, American football player
1978 – Mehdi Nafti, Tunisian footballer
1978 – Michael Simpkins, English football player
1978 – Haytham Tambal, Sudanese footballer
1979 – Olcay Çetinkaya, Turkish footballer
1979 – Chamillionaire, American rapper
1979 – Daniel Henney, Korean-American model-actor
1979 – Joel Maximo, American professional wrestler
1979 – Katarzyna Straczy, Polish tennis player
1980 – Lisa Middelhauve, German singer (Xandria)
1980 – Stuart Taylor, English footballer
1981 – Jacqui Ainsley, British model
1981 – Sharon Needles, American drag queen performer
1981 – Brian Tevreden, Dutch footballer
1982 – Leandro Barbosa, Brazilian basketball player
1982 – Chris Harris, British speedway rider
1983 – Nelson Haedo Valdez, Paraguayan footballer
1984 – Andrew Bogut, Australian basketball player
1984 – Marc-Andre Fleury, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 – Joross Gamboa, Filipino actor
1984 – Trey Songz, American recording artist
1984 – Mary Elizabeth Winstead, American actress
1985 – Caitlin McClatchey, Scottish swimmer
1985 – Álvaro Pereira, Uruguayan footballer
1986 – Mouhamadou Dabo, French footballer
1987 – Karen Gillan, Scottish actress
1987 – Craig Kieswetter, English cricketer
1988 – Scarlett Pomers, American actress and singer
1988 – Esha Gupta, Indian actress
1988 – Christopher Stringini, American singer
1989 – Laura Alleway, Australian footballer
1990 – Dedryck Boyata, Belgian footballer
1991 – Jessica Robinson, English singer and actress
1992 – Adam Hicks, American actor
1994 – Lola Sanchez, Australian actress
1997 – Thor Salden, Belgian singer

Deaths

741 – St. Gregory III
1170 – Owain Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd (b. c. 1100)
1262 – Shinran, Japanese religious leader (b. 1173)
1290 – Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I of England (b. 1241)
1574 – Georg Major, German Protestant theologian (b. 1502)
1585 – Hernando Franco, Spanish composer (b. 1532)
1667 – Jean de Thévenot, French traveller and scientist (b. 1633)
1675 – Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh, English Civil War soldier (b. c. 1608)
1675 – Leonard Hoar, American President of Harvard University (b. 1630)
1680 – Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian baroque sculptor (b. 1598)
1680 – Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi, Italian architect and painter (b. 1606)
1694 – Matsuo Basho, Japanese poet (b. 1644)
1695 – Giovanni Paolo Colonna, Italian composer (b. c. 1637)
1695 – Anthony Wood, English antiquarian (b. 1632)
1698 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France (b. 1622)
1763 – Naungdawgyi, King of Burma (b. 1734)
1785 – William Whipple, Signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1730)
1794 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian army officer (b. 1730)
1801 – Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu, French geologist (b. 1750)
1815 – Johann Peter Salomon, German violinist, impresario, and composer (b. 1745)
1843 – József Ficzkó, Burgenland Croatian writer (b. 1772)
1852 – Ludger Duvernay, French printer and newspaper publisher (b. 1799)
1852 – Emmanuil Xanthos, figure of the Greek War of Independence, co-founder of Filiki Eteria (b. 1772)
1859 – Washington Irving, American writer (b. 1783)
1870 – Frédéric Bazille, French painter (b. 1841)
1872 – Mary Fairfax Somerville, British scientific writer (b. 1780)
1878 – Orson Hyde, American religious leader (b. 1805)
1880 – Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos, (Portuguese) Archbishop of Goa (b. 1837)
1890 – Jyotirao Phule, Indian social reformer
1904 – Hermann de Pourtalès, Swiss sailor (b. 1847)
1907 – Stanislaw Wyspianski, Polish dramatist, poet, painter, and architect (b. 1869)
1912 – Walter Benona Sharp, American oil tycoon (b. 1870)
1915 – Mubarak Al-Sabah "The Great", Emir of Kuwait (b. 1896)
1917 – Mikelis Avlichos, Greek poet (b. 1844)
1921 – `Abdu'l-Bahá, Persian leader of the Bahá'í Faith (b. 1844)
1930 – Greek Orthodox Patriarch Constantine VI of Constantinople (b. 1859)
1935 – Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist (b. 1877)
1939 – James Naismith, Canadian creator of basketball (b. 1861)
1945 – Dwight F. Davis, U.S. Secretary of War and donor of the Davis cup (b. 1879)
1947 – Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, French general (b. 1902)
1953 – Frank Olson, American biologist (b. 1910)
1954 – Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1901)
1960 – Max Pruss, Prussian commander of the Hindenburg (b. 1891)
1960 – Richard Wright, American author (b. 1908)
1960 – Tsunenohana Kan'ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 31st Yokozuna (b. 1896)
1962 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (b. 1880)
1963 – Karyn Kupcinet, American actress (b. 1941)
1967 – Leon M'ba, Gabonese politician (b. 1902)
1968 – Enid Blyton, British children's author (b. 1897)
1971 – Wasfi Tel, Jordanian Prime Minister (b. 1920)
1972 – Havergal Brian, British composer (b. 1875)
1973 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (b. 1886)
1976 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (b. 1907)
1977 – Trevor Bardette, American actor (b. 1902)
1977 – Bob Meusel, American baseball player (b. 1896)
1978 – Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Argentine football executive (b. 1902)
1983 – Christopher George, American actor (b. 1929)
1986 – Herb Vigran, American actor (b. 1910)
1987 – Choh Hao Li, Chinese biochemist (b. 1913)
1992 – Sidney Nolan, Australian painter (b. 1917)
1993 – Jerry Edmonton, Canadian drummer (Steppenwolf) (b. 1946)
1993 – Garry Moore, American entertainer (b. 1915)
1994 – Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer (b. 1960)
1994 – Buster Edwards, English train robber (b. 1932)
1994 – Jerry Rubin, American activist (b. 1938)
1997 – Georges Marchal, French actor (b. 1920)
1998 – Kerry Wendell Thornley, co-founder of Discordianism (b. 1938)
2000 – Liane Haid, Austrian actress (b. 1895)
2001 – Kal Mann, American lyricist (b. 1917)
2001 – William Reid, British aviator awarded the Victoria Cross (b. 1921)
2002 – Dave "Snaker" Ray, American blues musician (b. 1943)
2003 – Ted Bates, English footballer (b. 1918)
2003 – Antonia Forest, British children's author (b. 1915)
2005 – Marc Lawrence, American actor (b. 1910)
2006 – Lyubov Polishchuk, Russian actress (b. 1949)
2006 – Robert Volpe, Artist,Art Theft Detective (b. 1942)
2007 – Gudrun Wagner, co-director of the Bayreuth Festival (b. 1944)
2008 – Victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks:
- Havaldar Gajender Singh, Indian NSG commando (birth date unknown)
- Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Indian army Major (b. 1977)
2009 – Gilles Carle, Canadian screenwriter and film director (b. 1928)
2009 – Takeo Kajiwara, Japanese Go player (b. 1923)
2010 – Giorgos Fountas, Greek actor (b. 1922)
2010 – Leslie Nielsen, Canadian-born American actor (b. 1926)