Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE (born September 30, 1928) is a Romanian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps. Wiesel is also the Advisory Board chairman of the newspaper Algemeiner Journal.
When Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, the Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a "messenger to mankind," stating that through his struggle to come to terms with "his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps", as well as his "practical work in the cause of peace", Wiesel had delivered a powerful message "of peace, atonement and human dignity" to humanity.
Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE ( /'?li v?'z?l/; Hungarian: Wiesel Lázár; born September 30, 1928) is a Romanian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps. Wiesel is also the Advisory Board chairman of the newspaper Algemeiner Journal.
When Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, the Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a "messenger to mankind," stating that through his struggle to come to terms with "his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps", as well as his "practical work in the cause of peace", Wiesel had delivered a powerful message "of peace, atonement and human dignity" to humanity.
Events
- 489 – Battle of Verona: The Ostrogoths under king Theodoric the Great defeat the forces of Odoacer for the second time at Verona (Northern Italy).
- 737 – Battle of the Baggage: Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, follow them south of the Oxus and capture their baggage train.
- 1399 – Henry IV is proclaimed King of England.
- 1744 – France and Spain defeat the Kingdom of Sardinia at the Battle of Madonna dell'Olmo.
- 1791 – The first performance of The Magic Flute, the last opera by Mozart to make its debut, took place at Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Austria.
- 1791 – The National Constituent Assembly in Paris is dissolved; Parisians hail Maximilien Robespierre and Jérôme Pétion as "incorruptible patriots".
- 1813 – Battle of Bárbula: Simón Bolívar defeats Santiago Bobadilla.
- 1860 – Britain's first tram service begins in Birkenhead, Merseyside.
- 1882 – Thomas Edison's first commercial hydroelectric power plant (later known as Appleton Edison Light Company) begins operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States.
- 1888 – Jack the Ripper kills his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes.
- 1895 – Madagascar becomes a French protectorate.
- 1903 – The new Gresham's School is officially opened by Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood.
- 1906 – The Real Academia Galega, Galician language's biggest linguistic authority, starts working in Havana.
- 1907 – McKinley National Memorial, final resting place of assassinated U.S. President William McKinley and his family, dedicated in Canton, Ohio.
- 1927 – Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a season.
- 1931 – Start of "Die Voortrekkers" youth movement for Afrikaners in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
- 1935 – The Hoover Dam, astride the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, is dedicated.
- 1938 – At 2:00 am, Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, allowing Germany to occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
- 1938 – The League of Nations unanimously outlaws "intentional bombings of civilian populations".
- 1939 – General Wladyslaw Sikorski becomes commander-in-chief of the Polish Government in exile.
- 1941 – World War II: Holocaust in Kiev, Ukraine: German Einsatzgruppe C complete Babi Yar massacre.
- 1945 – The Bourne End rail crash, in Hertfordshire, England, kills 43
- 1947 – The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Yemen join the United Nations.
- 1947 – The World Series, featuring the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, is televised for the first time.
- 1949 – The Berlin Airlift ends.
- 1954 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel.
- 1955 – Film star James Dean dies in a road accident aged 24.
- 1962 – Mexican-American labor leader César Chávez founds the National Farm Workers Association, which later becomes United Farm Workers.
- 1962 – James Meredith enters the University of Mississippi, defying segregation.
- 1965 – The Lockheed L-100, the civilian version of the C-130 Hercules, is introduced.
- 1966 – The British protectorate of Bechuanaland declares its independence, and becomes the Republic of Botswana. Seretse Khama takes office as the first President.
- 1967 – BBC Light Programme, Third Programme and Home Service are replaced with BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4 Respectively, BBC Radio 1 is also launched with Tony Blackburn presenting the first show.
- 1968 – The Boeing 747 is rolled out and shown to the public for the first time at the Boeing Everett Factory.
- 1970 – Jordan makes a deal with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) for the release of the remaining hostages from the Dawson's Field hijackings.
- 1972 – Roberto Clemente records the 3,000th and final hit of his career.
- 1975 – The Hughes (later McDonnell-Douglas, now Boeing) AH-64 Apache makes its first flight.
- 1977 – Because of US budget cuts and dwindling power reserves, the Apollo program's ALSEP experiment packages left on the Moon are shut down.
- 1979 – The Hong Kong MTR commences service with the opening of its Modified Initial System (aka. Kwun Tong Line).
- 1980 – Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.
- 1982 – Cyanide-laced Tylenol kills six people in the Chicago area. Seven are killed in all.
- 1986 – Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed details of Israel's covert nuclear program to British media, is kidnapped in Rome, Italy by the Israeli Mossad.
- 1990 – The Dalai Lama unveils the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights in Canada's capital city of Ottawa.
- 1993 – An earthquake hits India's Latur and Osmanabad district of Marathwada (Aurangabad division) in Maharashtra state leaving tens of thousands of people dead and many more homeless.
- 1994 – Aldwych tube station (originally Strand Station) of the London Underground closes after eighty-eight years of service.
- 1994 – Ongar railway station, the furthest London Underground from Central London, closes.
- 1999 – Japan's second worst nuclear accident at a uranium reprocessing facility in Tokai-mura, northeast of Tokyo.
- 2004 – The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken 600 miles south of Tokyo.
- 2004 – The AIM-54 Phoenix, the primary missile for the F-14 Tomcat, is retired from service. Almost two years later, the Tomcat is retired.
- 2005 – The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
- 2009 – The 2009 Sumatra earthquakes occur, killing over 1,115 people.
Births
- 1207 – Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, Persian mystic and poet (d. 1273)
- 1227 – Pope Nicholas IV (d. 1292)
- 1530 – Geronimo Mercuriali, Italian philologist and physician (d. 1606)
- 1550 – Michael Maestlin, German mathematician (d. 1631)
- 1631 – William Stoughton, American jurist (d. 1701)
- 1689 – Jacques Aubert, French composer and violinist (d. 1753)
- 1700 – Stanislaw Konarski, Polish writer (d. 1773)
- 1710 – John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, British statesman (d. 1771)
- 1715 – Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, French philosopher (d. 1780)
- 1732 – Jacques Necker, French finance minister of Louis XVI (d. 1804)
- 1743 – Christian Ehregott Weinlig, German composer and cantor of Dresden's Kreuzkirche (d. 1813)
- 1765 – José María Morelos, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1815)
- 1800 – Decimus Burton, British architect (d. 1881)
- 1801 – Jerónimo Espejo, Argentine general (d. 1889)
- 1811 – Queen Augusta of Saxe-Weimar of Prussia (d. 1890)
- 1813 – John Rae, Scottish physician and explorer (d. 1893)
- 1827 – Ellis H. Roberts, American politician (d. 1918)
- 1832 – Anna Maria Reeves Jarvis, American labor activist (d. 1905)
- 1852 – Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer (d. 1924)
- 1861 – William Wrigley, Jr., American industrialist (d. 1932)
- 1870 – Jean Baptiste Perrin, French physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1942)
- 1870 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker (d. 1948)
- 1882 – Hans Geiger, German physicist (d. 1945)
- 1883 – Bernhard Rust, Nazi education minister (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Lil Dagover, Dutch-born German actress (d. 1980)
- 1893 – Lansdale Sasscer, American politician (d. 1964)
- 1895 – Lewis Milestone, Russian-born film director (d. 1980)
- 1897 – Alfred Wintle, British military figure and author (d. 1966)
- 1897 – Gaspar Cassadó, Spanish cellist and composer (d. 1966)
- 1898 – Renée Adorée, French actress (d. 1933)
- 1898 – Orestis Makris, Greek actor (d. 1975)
- 1898 – Princess Charlotte of Monaco (d. 1977)
- 1901 – Thelma Terry, American bandleader and bassist (d. 1966)
- 1904 – Waldo Williams, Welsh poet (d. 1971)
- 1905 – Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
- 1905 – Michael Powell, British screenwriter, film director, and producer (d. 1990)
- 1906 – Mireille Hartuch, French singer, composer and actress (d. 1996)
- 1908 – David Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist (d. 1974)
- 1910 – Jussi Kekkonen, Finnish major (d. 1962)
- 1912 – Kenny Baker, American singer and actor (d. 1985)
- 1913 – Bill Walsh, American film producer and writer (d. 1975)
- 1915 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Park Chung-hee, President of South Korea (d. 1979)
- 1917 – Buddy Rich, American big band jazz drummer (d. 1987)
- 1918 – Lewis Nixon, American WWII veteran (d. 1995)
- 1918 – René Rémond, French historian and political economist (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentine racing driver (d. 1992)
- 1919 – Patricia Neway, American soprano (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Aldo Parisot, Brazilian-American cellist
- 1920 – Willem G. van Maanen, Dutch journalist (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Deborah Kerr, Scottish actress (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Alan Stretton, Australian general
- 1922 – Lamont Johnson, American director (d. 2010)
- 1923 – Donald Swann, member of the group Flanders and Swann (d. 1994)
- 1924 – Truman Capote, American author (d. 1984)
- 1924 – Nikos Rizos, Greek actor (d. 1999)
- 1926 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player (d. 2010)
- 1927 – W. S. Merwin, American poet
- 1928 – Elie Wiesel, Romanian Holocaust survivor; Nobel laureate
- 1929 – Vassilis Papazachos, Greek seismologist
- 1931 – Angie Dickinson, American actress
- 1932 – Shintaro Ishihara, Japanese author and politician (Governor of Tokyo)
- 1932 – Johnny Podres, American baseball player (d. 2008)
- 1933 – Ben Cooper, American actor
- 1933 – Cissy Houston, American gospel singer
- 1933 – Barbara Knox, English actress
- 1934 – Alan A'Court, English footballer (d. 2009)
- 1934 – Udo Jürgens, Austrian singer
- 1934 – Anna Kashfi, Welsh actress
- 1935 – Johnny Mathis, American singer
- 1935 – Z. Z. Hill, American blues singer (d. 1984)
- 1936 – Jim Sasser, American Senator
- 1937 – Valentin Silvestrov, Ukrainian composer
- 1937 – Jurek Becker, German author
- 1938 – Alan Hacker, English clarinettist and professor of the Royal Academy of Music
- 1939 – Jean-Marie Lehn, French chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1939 – Len Cariou, Canadian actor
- 1940 – Dewey Martin, Canadian rock musician (Buffalo Springfield) (d. 2009)
- 1940 – Samuel F. Pickering, Jr., American author and professor
- 1942 – Frankie Lymon, American singer (d. 1968)
- 1942 – Gus Dudgeon, record producer (d. 2002)
- 1943 – Johann Deisenhofer, German chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1943 – Marilyn McCoo, American singer (The 5th Dimension)
- 1943 – Ian Ogilvy, British Actor
- 1944 – Diane Dufresne, French Canadian singer
- 1944 – Jimmy Johnstone, Scottish Celtic footballer (d. 2006)
- 1944 – Red Robbins, American basketball player (d. 2009)
- 1945 – Ehud Olmert, Israeli statesman
- 1945 – Bob Lassiter, American radio personality
- 1946 – Paul Sheahan, Australian test cricketer
- 1946 – Héctor Lavoe, Puerto Rican singer (d. 1993)
- 1946 – Jochen Mass, German race car driver
- 1946 – Claude Vorilhon, French UFO advocate
- 1946 – Fran Brill, American actress, voice actress and puppeteer
- 1947 – Marc Bolan, English musician (T. Rex) (d. 1977)
- 1947 – Rula Lenska, English actress
- 1948 – Craig Kusick, American baseball player (d. 2006)
- 1950 – Laura Esquivel, Mexican author
- 1950 – Renato Zero, Italian musician
- 1951 – Barry Marshall, Australian physician, Nobel laureate
- 1951 – John Lloyd British comedy writer and television producer
- 1952 – Jack Wild, British actor (d. 2006)
- 1952 – John Lombardo, musician, founding member of 10,000 Maniacs
- 1953 – Deborah Allen, American singer
- 1953 – S. M. Stirling, Canadian author
- 1953 – Matt Abts, American drummer (Gov't Mule)
- 1954 – Basia Trzetrzelewska, Polish singer and songwriter
- 1954 – Barry Williams, American actor
- 1954 – Scott Fields, guitarist and composer
- 1954 – Patrice Rushen, American musician
- 1955 – Frankie Kennedy, Irish flute and tin whistle player
- 1955 – Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems
- 1956 – Trevor Morgan, English footballer and coach
- 1957 – Fran Drescher, American actress
- 1958 – Marty Stuart, American musician
- 1959 – Debrah Farentino, American actress
- 1959 – Ettore Messina, Italian basketball coach
- 1960 – Blanche Lincoln, American politician
- 1960 – Julia Adamson, composer/musician
- 1960 – Miki Howard, American singer and actress
- 1961 – Eric Stoltz, American actor
- 1961 – Crystal Bernard, American actress
- 1961 – Eric van de Poele, Belgian racing driver
- 1961 – Sally Yeh, Hong Kong singer and actress
- 1962 – Frank Rijkaard, Dutch football player and manager
- 1962 – Marley Marl, American rapper and record producer
- 1963 – David Barbe, American musician (Sugar)
- 1964 – Monica Bellucci, Italian actress
- 1964 – Trey Anastasio, American musician (Phish)
- 1964 – Robby Takac, American singer and bassist (Goo Goo Dolls)
- 1965 – Kathleen Madigan, American comedian
- 1965 – Omid Djalili, British stand-up comedian and actor
- 1966 – Kerry G. Johnson, African American graphic designer and caricaturist
- 1966 – Gary Armstrong, Scotland rugby player
- 1966 – Markus Burger, German pianist, composer and music educator
- 1967 – Andrea Roth, Canadian actress
- 1969 – Chris Von Erich, American professional wrestler (d. 1991)
- 1969 – Mark Smith, English body builder
- 1970 – Tony Hale, American actor
- 1970 – Eric Piatkowski, American basketball player
- 1971 – Jenna Elfman, American actress
- 1972 – Ari Behn, Norwegian author
- 1972 – Shaan, Indian singer
- 1972 – John Campbell, American musician (Lamb of God)
- 1972 – Jamal Anderson, American football player
- 1972 – José Lima, American baseball player (d. 2010)
- 1974 – Jeremy Giambi, American baseball player
- 1974 – Daniel Wu, American-born Chinese film actor, director, and producer
- 1974 – Eli Cottonwood, American professional wrestler and former basketball player.
- 1975 – Marion Cotillard, French actress
- 1975 – Sammy Igoe, English footballer
- 1975 – Carlos Guillén, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1975 – Jay Asher, American novelist
- 1975 – Georges-Alain Jones, French singer
- 1977 – Maia Brewton, American actress
- 1977 – Roy Carroll, Northern Irish footballer
- 1977 – Sun Jihai, Chinese footballer
- 1978 – Stark Sands, American actor
- 1978 – Candice Michelle, American female wrestler
- 1978 – Róbinson Zapata, Colombian footballer
- 1979 – Andy van der Meyde, Dutch footballer
- 1979 – Clio-Danae Othoneou, Greek actress, musician and pianist
- 1979 – Vince Chong, Malaysian singer-songwriter
- 1979 – Cameron Bruce, Australian rules footballer
- 1980 – Camilla D’Errico, Canadian comic book artist and painter
- 1980 – Martina Hingis, Swiss tennis player
- 1980 – Simon Little, English bassist
- 1981 – Cecelia Ahern, Irish author
- 1981 – Kristina Barrois, German tennis player
- 1981 – Dominique Moceanu, American gymnast
- 1981 – Brandon Watson, American baseball player
- 1982 – Seth Smith, American baseball player
- 1982 – Lacey Chabert, American actress
- 1982 – Kieran Culkin, American actor
- 1982 – Ola Jordan, Professional dancer
- 1982 – Tory Lane, American nude model and pornographic actress
- 1982 – Michelle Marsh, British model
- 1982 – Teal Redmann, American actress
- 1982 – Yan Stastny, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Ryan Stout, American comedian
- 1982 – Ryane Clowe Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Andreea Raducan, Romanian gymnast
- 1983 – Adam Jones, American football player
- 1984 – Georgios Eleftheriou, Greek-Cypriot footballer
- 1984 – Keisha Buchanan, British singer and songwriter (Sugababes)
- 1985 – Adam Cooney, Australian rules footballer
- 1985 – T-Pain, American musician
- 1985 – Cristian Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1986 – Martin Guptill, New Zealand cricketer
- 1986 – Quinn Johnson, American football player
- 1986 – Cemil Mengi, Turkish footballer
- 1986 – Rene Ranger, New Zealand rugby player
- 1986 – Cristián Zapata, Colombian footballer
- 1987 – Denise Laurel, Filipino actress and singer
- 1988 – Egle Staišiunaite, Lithuanian athlete
- 1989 – André Weis, German footballer
- 1994 – Aliya Mustafina, Russian gymnast
Deaths
- 420 – Saint Jerome, translator of the Vulgate Bible
- 653 – Saint Honorius, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 954 – King Louis IV of France (b. 920)
- 1101 – Anselm IV, Archbishop of Milan
- 1246 – Yaroslav II of Russia (b. 1191)
- 1440 – Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn, English soldier and politician
- 1487 – John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1400)
- 1551 – Ouchi Yoshitaka, Japanese warlord (b. 1507)
- 1560 – Melchior Cano, Spanish theologian (b. 1525)
- 1572 – St. Francis Borgia, Jesuit priest (b. 1510)
- 1581 – Hubert Languet, French diplomat and reformer (b. 1518)
- 1626 – Nurhaci, Manchurian chief (b. 1559)
- 1628 – Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, English poet (b. 1554)
- 1770 – Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham, English politician and diplomat
- 1770 – George Whitefield, English-born Methodist leader (b. 1714)
- 1772 – James Brindley, English engineer (b. 1716)
- 1865 – Samuel David Luzzatto, Italian-Jewish scholar (b. 1800)
- 1888 – Elizabeth Stride, widely believed to be the third victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1843)
- 1888 – Catherine Eddowes, widely believed to be the fourth victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1842)
- 1891 – Georges Boulanger, French general and politician (b. 1837)
- 1897 – Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Roman Catholic saint and mystic (b. 1873)
- 1910 – Maurice Lévy, French engineer (b. 1838)
- 1913 – Rudolf Diesel, German inventor (b. 1858)
- 1937 – Anthony Sweijs, Dutch sports shooter (b. 1852)
- 1941 – Alice de Janzé, American heiress (b. 1899)
- 1942 – Hans-Joachim Marseille, German fighter pilot (b. 1919)
- 1943 – Franz Oppenheimer, German sociologist (b. 1864)
- 1955 – James Dean, American actor (b. 1931)
- 1961 – Onésime Gagnon, French Canadian politician, lieutenant-governor of Quebec (b. 1888)
- 1973 – Peter Pitseolak, Inuit photographer and author (b. 1902)
- 1974 – Carlos Prats, Chilean Constitutionalist General, assassinated in the frame of Operation Condor (b. 1915)
- 1977 – Mary Ford, American singer (Les Paul and Mary Ford) (b. 1924)
- 1978 – Edgar Bergen, American actor and ventriloquist (b. 1903)
- 1985 – Simone Signoret, French actress (b. 1921)
- 1985 – Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist (b. 1900)
- 1988 – Al Holbert, American race car driver and team owner (b. 1946)
- 1989 – Virgil Thomson, American composer (b. 1896)
- 1990 – Patrick White, Australian writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1912)
- 1990 – Alice Parizeau, Quebec writer and journalist (b. 1930)
- 1990 – Rob Moroso, American NASCAR driver (b. 1968)
- 1991 – Toma Zdravkovic, Serbian folk singer (b. 1938)
- 1994 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
- 1995 – Jean-Luc Pépin, Canadian academic and politician (b. 1924)
- 1998 – Marius Goring, British actor (b. 1912)
- 1998 – Dan Quisenberry, American baseball player (b. 1953)
- 2002 – Hans-Peter Tschudi, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1913)
- 2002 – Göran Kropp, Swedish adventurer and mountaineer (b. 1966)
- 2003 – Yusuf Bey, Black Muslim leader (b. 1935)
- 2003 – Ronnie Dawson, American musician (b. 1939)
- 2003 – Robert Kardashian, Armenian-American lawyer (b. 1944)
- 2004 – Gamini Fonseka, Sri Lankan actor (b. 1936)
- 2004 – Michael Relph, British film producer and director (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Jacques Levy, Jewish American songwriter, theatre director, and clinical psychologist (b. 1935)
- 2008 – Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, Singaporean politician, former Secretary-General of Workers' Party of Singapore (b. 1926)
- 2010 – Aaron-Carl Ragland, American electronic dance musician (b. 1973)
- 2011 – Anwar al-Awlaki, American-born terrorist and Islamist militant (b. 1971)
Holidays and observances
- Agricultural Reform (Nationalization) Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)
- Birth of Morelos (Mexico)
- Blasphemy Day (United States, Canada, other countries)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Independence Day or Botswana Day, celebrate the independence of Botswana from United Kingdom in 1966.
- International Translation Day (International Federation of Translators)
