today.nukz.net: Almanac January 4

Louis Braille (4 January 1809 – 6 January 1852) was the inventor of braille, a system of reading and writing used by people who are blind or visually impaired. As a small child, Braille was blinded in an accident; as a boy he developed a mastery over that blindness; and as a young man – still a student at school – he created a revolutionary form of communication that transcended blindness and transformed the lives of millions. After two centuries, the braille system remains an invaluable tool of learning and communication for the blind, and it has been adapted for languages worldwide.

Events

46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
265 – Sima Yan, the successor to his father Sima Zhao as the Cao Wei regent, forces Cao Huan to abdicate the throne and establishes the Jin Dynasty.
871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex fights, and is defeated by, a Danish invasion army.
1490 – Anne of Brittany announces that all those who would ally with the King of France will be considered guilty of the crime of Lese-majesty.
1642 – King Charles I of England sends soldiers to arrest members of Parliament, commencing England's slide into civil war.
1649 – English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
1717 – The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance.
1762 – Great Britain declares war on Spain and Naples.
1847 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government.
1854 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
1863 – The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
1865 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York, New York.
1878 – Sofia is emancipated from Ottoman rule.
1884 – The Fabian Society is founded in London, England, United Kingdom.
1896 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
1903 – Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by Thomas Edison during the War of Currents campaign.
1912 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal charter.
1944 – World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
1948 – Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1951 – Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
1955 – The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
1958 – Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from orbit.
1959 – Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
1965 – United States President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union address.
1966 – A military coup takes place in Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso), dissolving the National Parliament and leading to a new national constitution.
1970 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes Tonghai County, China, killing at least 15,000 people.
1972 – Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, England.
1974 – United States President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
1976 – The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen shoot dead ten Protestant civilians nearby in retaliation.
1987 – The 1987 Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston, Massachusetts from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, killing 16 people.
1989 – Second Gulf of Sidra incident: a pair of Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
1990 – In Pakistan's deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
1998 – Wilaya of Relizane massacres in Algeria: over 170 are killed in three remote villages.
1998 – A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
1999 – Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota.
2000 – Two trains on the Røros Line collide in Åsta, Norway, resulting in an explosive fire and 19 deaths.
2004 – Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
2004 – Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
2006 – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke. His authority is transferred to acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
2007 – The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
2010 – Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, is officially opened.

Births

1077 – Emperor Zhezong of Song of Song Dynasty in China (d. 1100)
1334 – Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (d. 1383)
1341 – Wat Tyler leader of the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381 (d. 1381)
1581 – James Ussher, Irish Anglican archbishop (d. 1656)
1643 – Isaac Newton, English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1727)
1664 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician (d. 1742)
1672 – Hugh Boulter, Irish Archbishop of Armagh (d. 1742)
1710 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer (d. 1736)
1720 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German composer (d. 1774)
1735 – Claude Martin, French then British General (d. 1800)
1785 – Jacob Grimm, German philologist and folklorist (one of the Brothers Grimm) (d. 1863)
1809 – Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind and inventor of braille (d. 1852)
1813 – Isaac Pitman, English inventor (d. 1897)
1832 – George Tryon, British admiral (d. 1893)
1838 – Charles Sherwood Stratton, American circus performer (d. 1883)
1839 – Carl Humann, German engineer (d. 1896)
1842 – Frederic T. Greenhalge, American politician and 38th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
1848 – Katsura Taro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913)
1858 – Carter Glass, American politician (d. 1946)
1869 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player (d. 1960)
1870 – Percy Pitt, English organist and conductor (d. 1932)
1872 – Ottilie Sutro, American duo-pianist with her sister Rose Sutro (d. 1970)
1874 – Josef Suk, Czech composer (d. 1935)
1878 – A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (d. 1957)
1878 – Augustus John, Welsh painter (d. 1961)
1881 – Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919)
1882 – Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian artist (d. 1943)
1883 – Max Eastman, American writer (d. 1969)
1889 – M. Patanjali Sastri, second Chief Justice of India
1891 – Edward Brooker, Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)
1892 – María Díaz Cortés, Spanish supercentarian (d. 2009)
1893 – Yone Minagawa, Japanese supercentarian (d. 2007)
1894 – Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian physician (d. 1962)
1895 – Leroy Grumman, American industrialist (d. 1982)
1896 – Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
1896 – André Masson, French artist (d. 1987)
1900 – James Bond, American ornithologist (d. 1989)
1901 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian writer and journalist (d. 1989)
1902 – John McCone, American businessman, civil servant, and 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)
1905 – Sterling Holloway, American Character Actor (d. 1992)
1910 – Arthur Villeneuve, Quebec painter (d. 1990)
1913 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Sovereign Ruler of Samoa (d. 2007)
1914 – Herman Franks, American baseball player (d. 2009)
1915 – Meg Mundy, American actress
1916 – Slim Gaillard, American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, inventor of the conlang called "Vout" (d. 1991)
1916 – Lionel Newman, American film music composer (d. 1989)
1916 – Robert Parrish, American film editor and director (d. 1995)
1920 – William Colby, American intelligence officer and 10th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1996)
1922 – Rosalie Crutchley, English actress (d. 1997)
1923 – Don Butterfield, American jazz and classical tuba player (d. 2006)
1924 – Sebastian Kappen, Indian theologian (d. 1993)
1925 – Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish cross-country skier (d. 2003)
1927 – Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman
1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress
1930 – Sorrell Booke, American actor (d. 1994)
1930 – Don Shula, American football coach
1930 – Herbert O. Sparrow, Canadian politician (d. 2012)
1931 – Sir William Deane, Governor-General of Australia
1931 – Adi Lady Lala Mara, First Lady of Fiji (d. 2004)
1932 – Alfred C. Haynes, American pilot
1932 – Jorge Russek, Mexican actor (d. 1998)
1932 – Carlos Saura, Spanish director
1933 – Ilia II of Georgia, Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia
1933 – Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, American author
1934 – Rudolf Schuster, President of Slovakia
1935 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
1937 – Grace Bumbry, American singer
1937 – Dyan Cannon, American actress
1937 – Mick O'Connell, Gaelic footballer
1940 – Helmut Jahn, German architect
1940 – Brian David Josephson, Welsh physicist, Nobel laureate
1940 – Gao Xingjian, Chinese-born novelist and dramatist, Nobel laureate
1941 – John Bennett Perry, American actor
1941 – George P. Cosmatos, Greek film director (d. 2005)
1941 – Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (d. 1999)
1941 – Maureen Reagan, American political activist (d. 2001)
1941 – Joe Renzetti, American film composer
1942 – John McLaughlin, English jazz guitarist
1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American writer
1943 – Hwang Sok-yong, Korean writer
1944 – Charlie Manuel, American baseball player and manager
1945 – Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish entertainer
1945 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist, Nobel laureate
1946 – Arthur Conley, American singer (d. 2003)
1946 – S. Rajasekharan, Indian poet and critic
1947 – Chris Cutler, English musician and composer (Henry Cow, Art Bears)
1947 – Rick Stein, English chef and television presenter
1948 – Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, first female Malian prime minister
1948 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (d. 1992)
1948 – Wolfgang Mulack, German footballer
1948 – Eugeniusz Wycislo, Polish politician
1950 – John Louis Evans, American convicted murderer (d. 1983)
1951 – Bob Black, American author, anarchist
1951 – Barbara Cochran, American alpine skier
1951 – Ronald Corp, English composer, conductor and Church of England priest
1953 – Norberto Alonso, Argentine footballer
1953 – Dirk Heun, German footballer
1953 – Andreas Vgenopoulos, Greek businessman
1953 – James Warren, American journalist
1954 – Eugene Chadbourne, American composer and musician (Shockabilly)
1954 – Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, mother of Beyoncé Knowles
1955 – Mark Hollis, English musician and composer (Talk Talk)
1956 – Nels Cline, American guitarist and composer (Wilco)
1956 – Bernard Sumner, English musician (Joy Division, New Order, Electronic)
1957 – Patty Loveless, American singer
1957 – Gurdas Maan, Punjabi singer, actor, lyricist
1958 – Andy Borowitz, American comedian and satirist
1958 – Matt Frewer, American actor
1958 – Gary Jones, Welsh-born actor
1958 – Julian Sands, English actor
1958 – Jim Powers, American professional wrestler
1959 – Yoshitomo Nara, Japanese pop artist
1960 – Art Paul Schlosser, American comedian,singer and song writer
1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer (R.E.M. and Automatic Baby)
1960 – April Winchell, American actress
1961 – Lee Curreri, American actor
1961 – Sidney Green, American basketball player
1962 – Harlan Coben, American author
1962 – Laila Elwi, Egyptian actress
1962 – Robin Guthrie, Scottish guitarist (Cocteau Twins)
1962 – Joe Kleine, American basketball player
1962 – André Rouvoet, Dutch politician
1962 – Peter Steele, American musician (Type O Negative, Carnivore and Fallout) (d. 2010)
1963 – Dave Foley, Canadian comedian and actor
1963 – Till Lindemann, German singer (Rammstein and First Arsch)
1964 – Tom Westman, American reality-show contestant on Survivor: Palau
1964 – Dot Jones, American athlete and actress
1965 – Yvan Attal, French actor and director
1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player
1965 – Beth Gibbons, English singer (Portishead)
1965 – Rick Hearst, American actor
1965 – Cait O'Riordan, British musician (The Pogues)
1965 – Julia Ormond, English actress
1965 – Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-British choreographer, dancer and theatre director
1966 – Deana Carter, American singer
1966 – La Parka, Jr., Mexican professional wrestler
1967 – David Berman, American poet and singer/songwriter (Silver Jews and Ectoslavia)
1967 – Johnny Nelson, English boxer
1967 – Marina Orsini, Canadian actress
1967 – David Toms, American golfer
1968 – Mike Wilpolt, American arena football head coach
1969 – Corie Blount, American basketball player
1969 – Kees van Wonderen, Dutch footballer
1970 – Chris Kanyon, American professional wrestler (d. 2010)
1971 – Junichi Kakizaki, Japanese artist, sculptor
1972 – Charlotte Hudson, British television presenter
1972 – James Longley, American documentary filmmaker
1973 – Greg de Vries, Canadian hockey player
1973 – Frank Høj, Danish cyclist
1973 – Harmony Korine, American film director and artist
1974 – Danilo Hondo, German cyclist
1974 – Ian Moor, English singer
1974 – Armin Zöggeler, Italian luger
1975 – Shane Carwin, American mixed martial artist
1975 – Jill Marie Jones, American actress
1976 – Benoît Joachim, Luxembourgish cyclist
1976 – Ted Lilly, American baseball player
1977 – Irán Castillo, Mexican actress
1977 – David Millar, British cyclist
1977 – Dan Shanahan, Irish hurler
1977 – Tim Wheeler, Irish singer (Ash)
1978 – Dominik Hrbatý, Slovakian tennis player
1978 – Mai Meneses, Spanish singer
1979 – Shergo Biran, German footballer
1979 – Tristan Gommendy, French racing driver
1979 – Charity Rahmer, American actress
1980 – Greg Cipes, American actor
1980 – Bobbi Eden, Dutch pornographic actress
1980 – Alexandra Jiménez, Spanish actress
1980 – Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
1980 – Yaroslav Popovych, Ukrainian cyclist
1981 – Silvy De Bie, Belgian singer
1981 – Hitomi Obara, Japanese wrestler
1982 – Paulo Ferrari, Argentinian footballer
1982 – Kang Hye-jung, South Korean actress
1982 – Richard Logan, English footballer
1982 – Lucie Škrobáková, Czech athlete
1983 – Gemma Hunt, English TV presenter
1983 – Spencer Chamberlain, American musician (Underoath and This Runs Through)
1985 – Fernando Rees, Brazilian race car driver
1986 – Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwanese tennis player
1986 – James Milner, English footballer
1986 – Steve Slaton, American football player
1988 – Anestis Argyriou, Greek footballer
1988 – Nabila Jamshed, Indian writer
1989 – Jeff Gyasi, Nigerian footballer
1989 – Graham Rahal, American race car driver
1990 – Toni Kroos, German footballer
1990 – Iago Falqué, Spanish footballer
1990 – Melissa Long, American journalist
1990 – Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer
1991 – Tal al-Mallohi, Syrian blogger and activist
1991 – Stefan Nenadovic, Montenegrin footballer
1991 – Olivia Tennet, New Zealand actress
1995 – María Isabel, Spanish singer
1996 – Jade Jones, English wheelchair racer
2000 – Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, American actress

Deaths

1248 – King Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1207)
1428 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1370)
1564 – Hosokawa Ujitsuna, Japanese military commander (b. 1514)
1584 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and drawer (b. 1539)
1695 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (b. 1628)
1752 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (b. 1704)
1761 – Stephen Hales, English physiologist (b. 1677)
1773 – Anton Losenko, Russian painter (b. 1737)
1782 – Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect (b. 1698)
1786 – Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher (b. 1729)
1804 – Charlotte Lennox, English author and poet (b. c.1730)
1821 – Elizabeth Ann Seton, American saint (b. 1774)
1825 – King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1751)
1863 – Roger Hanson, American Confederate general (b. 1827)
1874 – Thomas Gregson, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)
1877 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American entrepreneur (b. 1794)
1882 – John William Draper, English scientist, photographer (b. 1811)
1883 – Antoine Chanzy, French general (b. 1823)
1891 – Antoine Labelle, Quebec catholic priest (b. 1833)
1896 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German Old Catholic bishop (b. 1821)
1901 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter (b. 1842)
1903 – Gulstan Ropert, Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1839)
1903 – Topsy the elephant (b. c. 1875)
1910 – Léon Delagrange, French aviator and sculptor (b. 1873)
1919 – Georg von Hertling, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1843)
1920 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish novelist (b. 1843)
1924 – Alfred Grünfeld, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1852)
1931 – Art Acord, American actor (b. 1890)
1931 – Louise, Princess Royal of Fife (b. 1867)
1931 – Mohammad Ali Jouhar, Indian Muslim leader, activist, scholar, journalist and poet (b. December 1878)
1940 – Flora Finch, British-American silent-film comedienne (b. 1867)
1941 – Henri Bergson, French philosopher, Nobel laureate (b. 1859)
1944 – Kaj Munk, Danish playwright and pastor (b. 1898)
1945 – Harold Fraser, American golfer (b. 1872)
1947 – Julian Ashby Burruss, American academic (b. 1876)
1960 – Albert Camus, Algerian-born philosopher and Nobel laureate (b. 1913)
1961 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist and Nobel laureate (b. 1887)
1962 – Hans Lammers, German SS officer (b. 1879)
1965 – T. S. Eliot, American-born British Nobel laureate (b. 1888)
1967 – Donald Campbell, English motorboat racer (b. 1921)
1969 – Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins (b. 1908)
1970 – Jean-Étienne Valluy, French general (b. 1899)
1971 – Arthur Ford, American clairaudient (b. 1896)
1974 – Epameinondas Thomopoulos, Greek artist (b. 1878)
1975 – Carlo Levi, Italian painter, writer and activist (b. 1902)
1981 – Ruth Lowe, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1914)
1985 – Brian Horrocks, British general (b. 1895)
1985 – Lovro von Matacic, Croatian conductor (b. 1899)
1986 – Christopher Isherwood, English writer (b. 1904)
1986 – Phil Lynott, Irish musician (Thin Lizzy) (b. 1949)
1988 – Lily Laskine, French harpist (b. 1893)
1990 – Henry Bolte, Australian politician (b. 1908)
1990 – Harold Edgerton, American electrical engineer (b. 1903)
1993 – Charles Bridgford, Australian politician (b. 1910)
1994 – R.D. Burman, Indian musician (b. 1939)
1995 – Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor and composer (b. 1942)
1995 – Sol Tax, American anthropologist (b. 1907)
1996 – Ramón Vinay, Chilean operatic tenor (b. 1911)
1997 – Harry Helmsley, American real estate mogul (b. 1909)
1998 – John Gary, American singer (b. 1932)
1998 – Mae Questel, American actress (b. 1908)
1999 – Iron Eyes Cody, American actor (b. 1904)
2000 – Tom Fears, American football player (b. 1922)
2000 – Spyros Markezinis, Greek politician (b. 1909)
2001 – Les Brown, American bandleader (b. 1912)
2001 – Yoshika, Japanese fashion model (b. 1983)
2003 – Hanno Drechsler, German politician (b. 1931)
2003 – Conrad Hall, American cinematographer (b. 1927)
2003 – Yfrah Neaman, Lebanese-born violinist (b. 1923)
2003 – Sabine Ulibarrí, American writer (b. 1919)
2004 – Joan Aiken, English author (b. 1924)
2004 – Brian Gibson, English film director (b. 1944)
2004 – Jake Hess, American singer (b. 1927)
2004 – Jeff Nuttall, English writer (b. 1933)
2004 – John Toland, American historian (b. 1912)
2005 – Humphrey Carpenter, English author (b. 1946)
2005 – Guy Davenport, American author and scholar (b. 1927)
2005 – Ali al-Haidari, Iraqi governor of Baghdad
2005 – Frank Harary, American mathematician (b. 1921)
2005 – Robert Heilbroner, American economist (b. 1919)
2005 – Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1924)
2005 – Alton Tobey, American artist (b. 1914)
2006 – John Hahn-Petersen, Danish actor (b. 1930)
2006 – Milton Himmelfarb, American sociographer (b. 1918)
2006 – Robert Howard White, New Zealander politician (b. 1914)
2006 – Irving Layton, Romanian born Canadian poet (b. 1912)
2006 – Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubaian politician and statesman (b. 1946)
2007 – Ben Gannon, Australian theatre producer (b. 1952)
2007 – Gren, Welsh newspaper cartoonist (b. 1934)
2007 – Helen Hill, American filmmaker (b. 1970)
2007 – Lewis Hodges, British Air Chief Marshal (b. 1918)
2007 – Steve Krantz, American film and TV producer (b. 1923)
2007 – Gáspár Nagy, Hungarian poet and writer (b. 1949)
2007 – Sandro Salvadore, Italian footballer (b. 1939)
2007 – Jan Schröder, Dutch cyclist (b. 1941)
2007 – Marais Viljoen, South African politician (b. 1915)
2007 – Osman Waqialla, Sudanese artist and calligrapher (b. 1925)
2008 – Joyce Carlson, American artist (b. 1923)
2008 – Xavier Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan print editor (b. 1932)
2008 – Jimmy Nah, Singaporan comedian and actor (b. 1968)
2008 – Yannis Tamtakos, Greek political activist (b. 1908)
2009 – Gert Jonke, Austrian poet, playwright and novelist (b. 1946)
2009 – Giselle Salandy, Trinidadian female boxer (b. 1987)
2010 – Johan Ferrier, Surinamian politician (b. 1910)
2010 – Casey Johnson, American heiress and socialite (b. 1979)
2010 – Rory Markas, American sportscaster (b. 1955)
2010 – Sandro, Argentine songwriter (b. 1945)
2010 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese Businessman, and Survivor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings (b. 1916)
2011 – Mohamed Bouazizi, Tunisian vegetable vendor and activist (b. 1984)
2011 – Mick Karn, Cypriot-born British musician (Japan) (b. 1958)
2011 – Dick King-Smith English Author (b. 1922)
2011 – Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (b. 1937)
2011 – Ali-Reza Pahlavi, Iranian Prince and younger son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (b. 1966)
2011 – Gerry Rafferty, British musician and songwriter (The Humblebums and Stealers Wheel) (b. 1947)
2011 – Salmaan Taseer, Governor of Punjab (b. 1944)
2012 – Harry Fowler, British actor (b. 1926)
2012 – Kerry McGregor, British singer and reality contestant (b. 1974)
2012 – Carmen Naranjo, Costa Rican novelist, poet and essayist (b. 1928)