On This Day

[bothwell_buyer]

This really took my attention---------

1997 Palestinian suicide bombers struck twice in one day, killing themselves but not destroying their targets, which in both cases appear to be buses taking Jewish children to school

They rarely fail to hit their targets :( I wonder were they more noble than they are usually given credit for. Did they feel unable to wipe out two Bus Loads of innocent school children ?

They could not have refused to go on the mission & certainly could not return alive

Bad luck (from their point of view) or a noble act of self sacrifice?

self sacrifice is something that I have a weakness for -

attempting suicide is ok if you have a target in mind - I've been there so have a little knowledge...course I obviously failed. However the thought of harming someone innocent is a strong put-off. kind of destroys the point of doing it. Thats when pride etc comes in and people then choose to back off or 'save face' - whatever that is.

[Raistlin]

Events

1792

The first mint was established in the USA.

1801

The British and Danish fleets met in the Battle of Copenhagen, during which Nelson put his telescope to his blind eye and ignored Admiral Parker's signal to stop fighting; the British fleet won.

1849

Britain annexed the Punjab in India.

1860

The first parliament of the united Italy met at Turin.

1902

"Electric Theatre", the first movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California

1930

Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia

1946

The Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, Berkshire, was founded.

1979

Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin became the first Israeli leader to visit Cairo when he met Egyptian president Sadat.

1982

Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands.

1992

John Gotti, head of largest Mafia family in New York, was convicted of murder and racketeering.

1996

Former Polish president Lech Walesa clocked on for work as a £120-a-month electrician at a Gdansk shipyard.

1996

The Dutch legislature voted to reduce the amount of marijuana that could be sold in coffee shops in response to its European neighbours demand for tougher drug laws as a condition for the full removal of border controls.

1997

Tennessee became the last state in the union to ratify the 15th Amendment, which guarantees US citizens the right to vote regardless of 'race, color or previous condition of servitude.' and was ratified in 1870.

2005

Pope John-Paul II dies. Hundreds of millions of Catholics, and non Catholics pay their respects.

Births

742

Charlemagne, King of the Franks

1618

Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)

1653

Prince George of Denmark, prince consort of Anne of England

1725

Casanova, Italian adventurer and writer

1805

Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author

1840

Emile Zola, French novelist

1891

Max Ernst, German painter

1914

Alec Guinness, English actor

1926

jack Brabham, Australian racing driver

1939

Penelope Keith, English actress

1960

Linford Christie, British athlete

Deaths

1791

Honoré Mirabeau, French politician and writer

1865

Richard Cobden, British politician

1872

Samuel Morse, US inventor

1966

C S Forester, English novelist

1974

Georges Pompidou, president of France

1995

Hannes Alfvén, Swedish astrophysicist

2005

Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)

[Raistlin]

Events

AD30

On the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan, almost certainly in this year, ***** eats the Passover supper with his disciples in Jerusalem where he is betrayed by Judas Iscariot and taken to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest.

1721

Robert Walpole became the first prime minister of Britain.

1860

In the USA, the Pony Express came into operation, with despatch riders regularly making the 3,000-km/2,000-mi trip from St Joseph, Missouri to San Francisco, California.

1922

In the USSR, Stalin was appointed as general secretary of the Communist Party.

1930

Haile Selassie became emperor of Ethiopia.

1987

At an auction in Geneva, jewellery belonging to the late Duchess of Windsor raised over £31 million.

1993

In horse racing, the Grand National (held at the Aintree course in NW England) was declared void after two false starts. Over half the runners failed to respond to the second red (cancellation) flag and completed the course. The void race was won by Esha Ness, ridden by John White.

1996

The International Labour Organization reported that a quarter of all children between 5 and 15 were routinely employed for 9 hours a day, 6-7 days a week in some areas of Ghana, India, Indonesia, and Senegal.

1996

Theodore J Kacynski, the suspected 'Unabomber' who had waged a 17-year bombing campaign in the USA, was arrested in Montana.

1997

Thalit massacrebegins in Algeria; all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalitare killed by guerrillas

Births

1367

King Henry IV, first Lancastrian king of England

1783

Washington Irving, US historian and short-story writer

1866

James Hertzog, Boer War leader & Prime Minister of South Africa

1924

Doris Day, US film actress and singer

1924

Marlon Brando, USactor

1930

Helmut Kohl, German politician

1934

Jane Goodall, English zoologist

1961

Eddie Murphy, US film actor

Deaths

1682

Bartolomé Murillo, Spanish painter

1792

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English statesman

1862

James Clark Ross, English explorer

1882

Jesse James, US outlaw

1897

Johannes Brahms, German composer

1901

Richard D’Oyly Carte, founder of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.

1991

Graham Greene, English novelist

1991

Martha Graham, US dancer and choreographer

1993

Dieter Plage, German wildlife photographer

1994

Jérôme Lejeune, French medical geneticist

[Bizarra]

Feast Days

National Day of HungaryFeast day of St Ambrose, St Isidore, St Plato, St Tigernach, St Benedict the Black, and Saints Agathopus and Theodulus.

On This Day Over The Years

1581 Queen Elizabeth I knighted Francis Drake on his ship Golden Hind at Deptford after he completed his circumnavigation of the world.

1896 Discovery of gold in the Yukon sparked and the ‘‘gold rush’’.

1949 The comedy series Ray’s A Laugh began on BBC radio.

It starred Ted Ray and Kitty Bluett and ran until 1961.

1949 Eleven countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington.

1958 The first protest march by CND left Hyde Park, London, for Aldermaston, Berkshire.

1964 The Beatles held the top five places in the US singles chart with Can’t Buy Me Love, Twist And Shout, She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand and Please Please Me.

1968 Dr Martin Luther King, civil rights leader, was shot dead in Memphis, Tennessee, by James Earl Ray.

1981 Bob Champion, who had conquered cancer, won the Grand National on Aldaniti, who had recovered from tendon problems and a broken hock.

1988 The TV soap opera Crossroads ended after 24 years with episode 4,510.

[Bizarra]

Feast Days

Feast day of St Derfel, St Vincent Ferrer, St Ethelburga of Lyminge, St Albert of Montecorvino, and St Gerald of Sauve-Majeure.

On This Day Over The Years

1827 Joseph Lister, the surgeon who introduced antiseptics, was born in London.

1874 Strauss’s opera Die Fledermaus was first performed, in Vienna.

1900 Spencer Tracy, the American actor who won Oscars two years in succession (1937 and 1938), was born.

1902 A stand at Ibrox Park stadium in Glasgow collapsed during an England v Scotland match, killing 20 and injuring more than 200.

1908 Herbert von Karajan, the most recorded orchestral conductor in musical history, was born in Salzburg.

American actress Bette Davis was born on the same day.

1910 Kissing was banned on the French railways.

1955 Sir Winston Churchill, aged 80, resigned as Prime Minister, and the following day Anthony Eden took office.

1960 The film Ben Hur won a record 10 Oscars.

1976 Multi-millionaire recluse Howard Hughes died on his private jet on his way to Houston, Texas.

1982 A British Task Force set out to recover the Falklands from their Argentinian occupiers.

[Bizarra]

Bit too thorough, this Won't use this source again

On this day...

2348 -BC- Noah's ark grounded, Mount Ararat (calculated date)

0823 Pope Peschalis I crowns Lotharius I, co-emperor of France

1058 Bishop John "Minchio", [domkop] elected as Pope Benedictus X

1242 Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod defeats Teutonic Knights

1242 Battle on the More of Pskov Estonia

1566 200 Brussel nobles offer Margaretha of Parma a petition

1585 Clemens Crabbeels becomes bishop of Hertogenbosch

1603 New English king James I departs Edinburgh for London

1614 2nd parliament of King James I begins session (no enactments)

1614 Indian princess Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe

1621 Mayflower sails from Plymouth on a return trip to England

1648 Spanish troops/feudal barons strike down people's uprising in Naples

1722 Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island

1739 French emperor Karel VI sign secret treaty

1751 Adolf Frederik of Holstein-Gottorp crowns himself king of Sweden

1753 British Museum forms (opens in 1759)

1762 British take Grenada, West Indies, from French

1768 1st US Chamber of Commerce forms (New York NY)

1792 George Washington casts 1st presidential veto

1803 1st performance of Beethoven's 2nd Symphony in D

1806 Isaac Quintard patents Apple cider

1812 British storm Badajoz fortress, held by French & Spanish

1814 Netherlands Bank issues it's 1st banknotes

1815 Eruption of Tambora volcano (Sumbawa Java)

1861 Federals abandon Fort Quitman TX

1862 Siege of Yorktown VA

1865 Battle at Amelia Springs/Jetersville VA (Appomattox Campaign)

1874 Johann Strauss Sr's opera "Die Fledermaus", premieres in Vienna

1881 Transvaal regains independence under British suzerainty

1887 Anne Sullivan teaches "water" to Helen Keller

1889 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of The Copper Beeches" (BG)

1893 Cleveland passes Park Act (forerunner of Metroparks)

1894 11 strikers killed in riot at Connellsville PA

1894 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of the Empty House" (BG)

1895 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of the 3 Students" (BG)

1895 Oscar Wilde loses libel case against Marquess of Queensberry, who accused him of homosexual practices

1896 1st modern Olympic Games officially open in Athens

1900 Attempted assassination of Prince of Wales in Brussels, fails

1902 Maurice Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante defunte", premieres in Paris France

1902 Soccer match riot between Scotland & England kills 25

1905 James Barrie's "Alice-sit-by-the-fire", premieres in London

1906 St Pius X encyclical "On the Mariavites or Mystic Priests of Poland"

1908 British premier Henry Campbell-Bannerman resigns

1911 Waldorf W Aster acquires the Daily Observer

1911 MCC tour match vs Jamaica finishes in a tie

1915 Jess Willard defeats jack Johnson in 26 for heavyweight boxing title

1915 French begin Woëvre-offensive

1916 French troops occupy Bois de Caillette

1919 Eamon de Valera becomes president of Dail Eireann

1919 Polish Army executes 35 young Jews

1919 Heavyweight Jess Willard KOs jack Johnson in Havana

1922 KOB-AM in Albuquerque NM begins radio transmissions

1922 WDZ-AM in Decatur IL begins radio transmissions

1923 Firestone Company puts their inflatable tires into production

1925 Belgian Workers Party wins parliamentary election

1925 Yankees whip Dodgers in exhibition 16-9 but Babe Ruth collapses in North Carolina due to an ulcer

1927 Johnny Weissmuller set records in the 100 & 200 meter freestyle

1929 Lithuania signs Litvinov-pact

1930 England out for 849 vs West Indies Kingston, Sandham out for 325

1932 Dutch textile strike broken by trade unions

1935 Croatian Farmers Party wins Yugoslavian election

1936 Tupelo MS virtually annihilated by a tornado, 216 die

1938 Anti-Jewish riots break out in Dabrowa Poland

1939 Membership in Hitler Youth becomes obligatory

1941 In San Francisco, Castro & Fillmore streetcars replaced by buses

1943 Poon Lim found after being adrift 133 days

1943 Allies bomb Mortsel

1944 140 Lancasters bomb airplane manufacturer in Toulouse

1945 Kuniaki Koiso resigns as PM of Japan; replaced by Kantaro Suzuki

1945 Almelo Netherlands freed

1946 1st performance of Charles Ives' 3rd Symphony

1948 WGN TV channel 9 in Chicago IL (IND) begins broadcasting

1949 60 year old St Anthony's Hospital burns, kills 77 (Effingham IL)

1950 Prague espionage trial against bishops & priests begins

1951 Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, atomic spies, sentenced to death

1952 Henry Wittenberg wins his 8th AAU wrestling title

1953 Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open

1953 WEYI TV channel 25 in Saginaw MI (CBS) begins broadcasting

1954 Elvis Presley records his debut single, "That's All Right"

1955 Winston Churchill resigns as British PM, Anthony Eden succeeds him

1959 Art Wall wins golf's Masters

1959 23rd Golf Masters Championship Art Wall Jr wins, shooting a 284

1961 Barbra Streisand appears on "The jack Paar Show"

1961 Dutch Governor Platteel installs New Guinea Council

1962 NASA civilian pilot Neil A Armstrong takes X-15 to an altitude of 54,600 meters

1962 Herb Gardner's "Thousand Clowns", premieres in NYC

1962 Manager J Daems appointed bishop of Antwerp

1962 St Bernard Tunnel finished-Swiss/Italians workers shake hands

1963 Beatles receive their 1st silver disc (Please Please Me)

1963 Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II becomes chief of Western Samoa

1964 1st driverless trains run on the London Underground

1964 Mary Lena Faulk wins LPGA St Petersburg Women's Golf Open

1965 37th Academy Awards - "My Fair Lady", Rex Harrison & Julie Andrews win

1965 Lava Lamp Day celebrated

1965 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1966 WTVX TV channel 34 in Fort Pierce-Vero Beach FL (IND) 1st broadcast

1967 ATS II launched but fails to reach orbit

1967 Philadelphia '76er Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record of 41 rebounds

1968 Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego opens

1968 US marine base Khe San Vietnam, appalled

1970 WSNS TV channel 44 in Chicago IL (IND) begins broadcasting

1971 Mount Etna erupts in Sicily Italy

1971 Fran Phipps is 1st woman to reach North Pole

1971 US Lieutenant Wiliam Calley (My Lai Massacre) sentenced to life

1971 WNJT TV Channel 52 in Trenton NJ (PBS) begins broadcasting

1972 Baseball season is delayed due to a strike

1972 Mets trade Ken Singleton to Expos for Rusty Staub

1973 NFL adopts jersey numbering system (ie quarterbacks, 1-19)

1973 Pioneer 11 launched to Jupiter

1974 Then tallest building, World Trade Center opens in NYC (110 stories)

1974 Last day of Test cricket for Garry Sobers & Rohan Kanhai

1975 Soyuz 18A launch aborted short of orbit; cosmonauts return safely

1975 "Letter for Queen Victoria" closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 18 performances

1976 Harold Wilson resigns as James Callaghan becomes PM of England

1976 Tom Stoppard's "Dirty Linen", premieres in London

1977 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1979 Pioneer 11 launched towards Jupiter

1979 Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver wins his 1,000th game as a skipper

1979 Ex-premier Pol Jar flees out of Cambodia

1981 Philadelphia Flyers amass a record 2,621 penalty minutes

1981 10th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Nancy Lopez

1982 Lord Carrington, British foreign secretary resigns due to Falkland Islands war

1982 St Louis Cardinals' Jim Kaat pitches in record 24th consecutive season

1983 France throws out 47 Soviet diplomats

1983 New York Mets' Tom Seaver's sets record 14th National League Opening Day assignment

1984 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain's all-time career scoring record of 31,419 points (31,421)

1984 "Human Comedy" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 13 performances

1986 Record for a throw-and-return boomerang toss is set (121 meters)

1986 2 US soldiers & Turkish woman killed in West Berlin discotheque bombing

1987 Fox TV network premieres showing Married With Children & Tracey Ullman

1987 Wayne Gretzky wins 7th straight NHL scoring title

1987 16th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Betsy King

1989 David Letterman becomes 1st network TV series to use dolby stereo

1989 Orel Hershiser ends his 59 consecutive scoreless pitched inning streak

1989 Solidarity granted legal status in Poland

1990 John Stockton reaches 1000-assist mark for NBA record 3 years in a row

1990 New York Rangers beat New York Islanders 2-1 in 1st game of preliminaries

1990 Paul Newman wins a court victory over Julius Gold, to keep giving all profits from Newman foods to charity

1991 Joe Dumaars (Detroit) ends NBA free throw streak of 62 games

1991 Kitty Kelly publishes a book knocking Nancy Reagan

1991 Space Shuttle STS 37 (Atlantis 8) launched

1991 US begins air drops to Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq

1991 Southeast Airlines Embracer 120 crashes in Georgia, killing 23

1992 Comedian Sam Kinison marries live-in girlfriend Malika Souiri

1992 Game 2 of Mayor Challenge - New York Yankees sweep New York Mets 6-5 at Shea Stadium

1992 "Search & Destroy" closes at Circle in Square Theater NYC after 46 performances

1992 11th NCAA Women's Basketball Champion Stanford beats Western Kentucky 78-62

1992 4th Seniors Golf Tradition Lee Trevino

1992 Dana Lofland wins Las Vegas LPGA Golf International

1992 Peru's President Alberto Fujimori suspend constitution & dissolved Congress

1992 Thailand General Suchinda Kraprayoon installed as president

1992 Wrestlemania VIII, 62,167 at Hoosier Dome Randy "Macho Man" Savage beats Ric Flair for title, Hulk Hogan disqualifies Sid Justice

1993 55th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship North Carolina beats Michigan 77-71

1993 Colorado Rockies 1st game - lose to New York Mets 3-0

1993 Construction begins on Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

1993 Crowd of 73,293 watches New York Yankees beat Cleveland Indians 9-1

1993 Florida Marlins 1st game - beat Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3

1993 Republican Guard kills 64 in Chad

1994 "Jackie Mason Politically Incorrect" opens at Golden NYC for 347 performances

1994 Miami Heat beat New York Knicks ending 15 game NBA winning streak

1996 John Bobbitt is put under house arrest in Las Vegas for 120 days

1996 Marlon Brando makes anti-semitic remarks about hollywood on Larry King

1997 Galileo, 3rd Ganymede Flyby (Orbit 7)

2063 Earth's 1st contact by extra-terrestrials (Vulcan); according to Star Trek

[Raistlin]

Events

1580 An earth tremor damaged several London churches, including the old St Paul's Cathedral.

1652 Dutch sailor Jan van Rieeck establishes a resupply camp at the Cape of Good Hope, which will eventually develop into Cape Town.

1814 Napoleon abdicates. He is then exiled to Elba

1830 Joseph Smith founded the Mormon Church in New York State.

1896 The first modern Olympic Games began in Athens.

1909 US explorer Robert Peary became the first person to reach the North Pole.

1917 The USA declared war on Germany.

1943 In N Africa, Axis forces under Rommel retreated north from Gabes Gap in Tunisia, enabling US and British armies to link up (8th).

1963 Britain and the USA signed the Polaris missile agreement.

1965 Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite, was launched by the USA.

1994 Burundian president Ntaryamira and Rwandan President Habarimana were killed in a plane crash. Their Deaths sparked a wave of violence in Rwanda

1997 Rebels massacred more than 80 villagers in Algeria, slaughtering some with chainsaws and dousing others in petrol.

Births

1826 Gustave Moreau, French painter

1849 John William Waterhouse, British painter (d. 1917)

1866 Butch Cassidy, American outlaw

1874 Harry Houdini, US escapologist

1906 John Betjeman, English poet

1928 James Watson, US biologist

1929 André Previn, US conductor

1938 Paul Daniels, English magician and entertainer

Deaths

1199 Richard I, 'the Lion-Heart', King of England

1520 Raphael, Italian painter and architect

1528 Albrecht Dürer, German painter

1590 Francis Walsingham, English politician

1605 John Stow, English historian

1961 Jules Bordet, Belgian bacteriologist

1971 Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer

1992 Isaac Asimov, US scientist

1994 Juvénal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda

1994 yprien Ntaryamira, President of Burundi

1996 Greer Garson, Irish actress

2005 Rainier III, Prince of Monaco

[Raistlin]

Events

1827 The first matches were sold in Stockton, England, by their inventor, chemist John Walker.

1853 Chloroform was used as an anaesthetic on Queen Victoria, during the birth of her eighth child, Prince Leopold.

1906 A major eruption of the Italian volcano, Vesuvius, took place.

1939 Italy invaded Albania.

1948 The World Health Organization (WHO) was established.

1980 USA bannned trade with Iran, broke off relations, and expelled Iranian diplomats.

1992 The EC formally recognized the independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

1997 US President Clinton, emerging from talks with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, failed to condemn the new Jewish Har Homa settlement in East Jerusalem.

1998 Singer George Michael is arrested in a Beverly Hills public restroom for "engaging in a lewd act."

1999 Kosovo War: Kosovo's main border crossings are closed by Serbian forces to prevent ethnic Albanians from leaving.

2001 Mars Odyssey is launched.

2001 An M-17 helicopter crashes into mountain in south of Hanoi, Vietnam killing 16.

2003 troops capture Baghdad, Saddam Hussein'sregime falls two days later.

2005 The State of Connecticut allows same-sex civil unions.

Births

1506 St Francis Xavier, Spanish Jesuit missionary

1770 William Wordsworth, English poet

1915 Billie Holiday, US jazz singer

1920 Ravi Shankar, Indian sitar player

1939 David Frost, English TV presenter and interviewer

1939 Francis Ford Coppola, US film director

Deaths

1614 El Greco, Greek-born Spanish painter

1739 ***** Turpin, English highwayman

1891 Phineas T Barnum, US showman

1947 Henry Ford, US car manufacturer

1955 Theda Bara, US silent-film actress

1968 Jim Clark, English racing driver, killed in a crash

2003 Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller

[Raistlin]

Events

1827 The first matches were sold in Stockton, England, by their inventor, chemist John Walker.

1853 Chloroform was used as an anaesthetic on Queen Victoria, during the birth of her eighth child, Prince Leopold.

1906 A major eruption of the Italian volcano, Vesuvius, took place.

1939 Italy invaded Albania.

1948 The World Health Organization (WHO) was established.

1980 USA bannned trade with Iran, broke off relations, and expelled Iranian diplomats.

1992 The EC formally recognized the independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

1997 US President Clinton, emerging from talks with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, failed to condemn the new Jewish Har Homa settlement in East Jerusalem.

1998 Singer George Michael is arrested in a Beverly Hills public restroom for "engaging in a lewd act."

1999 Kosovo War: Kosovo's main border crossings are closed by Serbian forces to prevent ethnic Albanians from leaving.

2001 Mars Odyssey is launched.

2001 An M-17 helicopter crashes into mountain in south of Hanoi, Vietnam killing 16.

2003 troops capture Baghdad, Saddam Hussein'sregime falls two days later.

2005 The State of Connecticut allows same-sex civil unions.

Births

1506 St Francis Xavier, Spanish Jesuit missionary

1770 William Wordsworth, English poet

1915 Billie Holiday, US jazz singer

1920 Ravi Shankar, Indian sitar player

1939 David Frost, English TV presenter and interviewer

1939 Francis Ford Coppola, US film director

Deaths

1614 El Greco, Greek-born Spanish painter

1739 ***** Turpin, English highwayman

1891 Phineas T Barnum, US showman

1947 Henry Ford, US car manufacturer

1955 Theda Bara, US silent-film actress

1968 Jim Clark, English racing driver, killed in a crash

2003 Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller

[Raistlin]

Events

1513 Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León arrived in Florida and claimed it for Spain.

1820 The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Melos

1838 Isambard Brunel's steamship Great Western set off on its first voyage, from Bristol to New York; the journey took 15 days.

1898 Lord Kitchener defeated Sudanese leader the Mahdi, at the Battle of Atbara.

1899 Martha Place becomes the first woman to be executed in an electric chair

1908 Herbert Asquith became prime minister of Britain.

1939 In Albania, King Zog abdicated after Italy occupied the country.

1946 The League of Nations met for the last time.

1953 British colonial authorities in Kenya sentenced Jomo Kenyatta to seven years' imprisonment for allegedly organizing the Mau Mau guerrillas.

1992 Serb and federal army forces began bombardment of Sarajevo.

1997 The results of the first ultrasonic scan of the front of the Titanic revealed a series of six short slits as the principle damage to the ship after it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic in 1912.

Births

1889 Adrian Boult, English conductor

1893 Mary Pickford, US film actress

1919 Ian Smith, Rhodesian prime minister

1928 Eric Porter, English actor

1931 Dorothy Tutin, English actress

1944 Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor

Deaths

217 Caracalla, Roman emperor, assassinated

1848 Domenico Donizetti, Italian composer

1861 Elisha Graves Otis, US inventor of the safety lift

1973 Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter

1993 Marian Anderson, US contralto

[balli hi]

Today is my birthday , and i'm 50 years young

This Day in History for 8th April

◄ Mar April May ►

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All Events Birthdays Deaths

Historical Events

217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated (and succeeded) by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.

1093 - The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.

1139 - Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated.

1149 - Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.

1195 - Alexius III Angelus drives out brother Isaak II as Byzantine emperor

1271 - In Syria, sultan Baybars conquers the Krak of Chevaliers.

1341 - Francesco Petrarca crowned in Rome

1378 - Bartolomeo Prignano elected as Pope Urban VI

1455 - Alfonso de Borgia elected as Pope Callistus III

1500 - Battle at Novara: King Louis XII beats duke Ludovico Sforza

1513 - Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain

1716 - Duke Karel Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin signs covenant with Russia & marries Czar Peter the Great's niece

1730 - 1st Jewish congregation in US forms synagogue, "Shearith Israel, NYC"

1759 - British troops chase French out of Masulipatam India

1766 - 1st fire escape patented, wicker basket on a pulley & chain

1767 - Ayutthaya kingdom falls to Burmese invaders.

1781 - Premiere of Mozart's violin sonata K379

1783 - Catharina II of Russia annexes the Krim

1789 - House of Representives 1st meeting

1801 - Soldiers riot in Bucharest, kill 128 Jews

1802 - French Protestant church becomes state-supported & -controlled

1808 - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore was promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.

1820 - The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Melos.

1832 - Charles Darwin begins trip through Rio de Janeiro

1838 - Steamship "Great Western" maiden voyage (Bristol England to NYC)

1848 - 1st battle at Gioto: Sardinia-Piemonte beats Austrians

1848 - Battle at Xaquixaguana, Peru: Pedro de la Gasca beats Gonzalo Pizarro

1861 - US mint at Dahlonega, Georgia seized by confederacy

1862 - John D Lynde patents aerosol dispenser

1864 - Battle of Mansfield, La Federals routed by Gen Richard Taylor

1865 - General Robert E Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House in Virginia

1866 - Italy and Prussia ally against Austria-Hungary.

1869 - American Museum of Natural History opens (NYC)

1876 - Amiliare Ponchielli's opera "La Gioconda," premieres in Milan

1879 - Khedive Ismael of Egypt fires French/British ministers

1879 - Milk was sold in glass bottles for 1st time

1886 - William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.

1893 - The Critic reports that ice cream soda is our national drink

1898 - Battle of Atbara River, Anglo-Egyptian forces crush 6,000 Sudanese

1899 - Martha Place becomes the first woman to be executed in an electric chair.

1904 - Gr Brit & France sign Cordial Entente concerning colonial matter

1904 - British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of the Book of the Law.

1908 - Lord Asquith succeeds Henry Campbell-Bannerman as British premier

1912 - Steamers collide in Nile, drowning 200

1913 - 17th amendment, requiring direct election of senators, ratified

1913 - Opening of China's 1st parliament takes place in Peking (now Beijing)

1914 - US & Colombia sign a treaty concerning Panama Canal Zone

1916 - Norway approves active & passive female suffrage

1916 - In Corona, California, racecar driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three and badly injuring five spectators.

1920 - LONGA soccer team forms in Tilburg

1929 - Indian Independence Movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.

1931 - "White Horse Inn" opens in London

1931 - Dmitri Sjostakovitch' ballet "The Arrow," premieres

1933 - Manchester Guardian warns of unknown !Removed! terror

1935 - 2nd Golf Masters Championship: Gene Sarazen wins, shooting a 282

1935 - Bartoks 5th String quartet premieres in Wash DC

1935 - Works Progress Administration approved by Congress

1939 - ACV soccer team forms in Axes

1939 - King Zog I of Albania, flees

1940 - Germany battle cruisers sink British aircraft carrier Glorious

1941 - Joe Louis TKOs Tony Musto in 9 for heavyweight boxing title

1942 - A Schoenberg & Tudor's ballet "Pillar of Fire," premieres in NYC

1943 - Hakuun Yasutani Roshi, founder of Sanbo Kyodan, receives dharma

1943 - Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya convicted of involvement with Mau Mau

1943 - Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings sweep Boston Bruins in 4 games

1943 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases to common carriers and public utilities.

1945 - !Removed! occupiers executed, !Removed! general Christiansen flees Netherlands

1946 - League of Nations assembles for last time

1947 - Largest recorded sunspot (7,000) observed

1948 - Soen Nakagawa & Nyogen Senzaki (Zen teachers) meet in SF

1950 - "Miss Liberty" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 308 performances

1952 - Pres Truman seizes steel mills to avert a strike

1953 - Dag Hammarskjoeld chosen as secretary-general of UN

1954 - "By the Beautiful Sea" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 270 perfs

1956 - 20th Golf Masters Championship: jack Burke Jr wins, shooting a 289

1956 - 6 marine recruits drown during exercise at Paradise Is SC

1956 - M Bandaranaike's People's front wins election in Ceylon

1960 - Neth & Germany sign accord concerning war casualties

1961 - "Show Girl" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 100 perfs

1961 - British liner "Dara" explodes in Persian Gulf, kills 236

1962 - Accords of Evian (Algeria) accepted by referendum in France

1963 - 35th Academy Awards - "Lawrence of Arabia," A Bancroft & G Peck win

1963 - Tigers claim young pitcher Denny McLain from the White Sox for $25,000

1964 - Unmanned Gemini 1 launched

1966 - AFL chooses 36 year old Al Davis as commissioner

1966 - Leonid Brezhnev elected secretary-general of communist party

1966 - OAO 1, 1st orbiting astronomical observatory, launched

1968 - 40th Academy Awards postponed to Apr 10th due to death of M L King

1968 - Baseball's Opening Day is postponed because of M L King assassination

1968 - Czechoslovakia Cernik govt forms

1968 - New socialist constitution of East Germany takes effect

1968 - WKPI TV channel 22 in Pikeville, KY (PBS) begins broadcasting

1969 - 1st Baseball game in Canada - Mont Expos beats NY Mets 10-9

1969 - Expansion teams Royals, Expos, Padres & Pilots win their 1st games

1970 - "Cry for Us All" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 8 performances

1970 - Senate rejects Nixon's nomination of Carswell to Supreme Court

1971 - 1st legal off-track betting system begins (OTB-New York)

1972 - Alvin Kallicharran scores 100* in his 1st Test Cricket innings v NZ

1973 - Thirty-two terrorist bombings in Cyprus take place.

1974 - Discovery Island opens

12 ►

Famous Birthdays

Results 1 - 100 of 242

1320 - King Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)

1460 - Ponce de Leon, Spain, searched for fountain of youth, found Florida

1533 - Claudio Merulo, organist/composer

1541 - Michele Mercati, Italian physician (d. 1593)

1582 - Phienas Fletcher, poet

1605 - Louis de Vadder, Flemish painter

1605 - Philip IV, King of Spain & Portugal (1621-65)

1631 - Cornelis de Heem, painter

1641 - Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English statesman (d. 1704)

1642 - Gerard Callenbach, Dutch admiral

1655 - Louis Willem I, Margrave (Baden-Baden)

1692 - Giuseppe Tartini, Italy, violinist/composer (Trillo del Diavolo)

1695 - Johann C Gunther, writer

1697 - Pierre Prowo, composer

1708 - Georg Zarth, composer

1726 - Lewis Morris, US farmer (signed Decl of Independence)

1731 - William Williams, US merchant (signed Decl of Independence)

1732 - David Rittenhouse, American astronomer, inventor, and mathematician (d. 1796)

1741 - Jose B da Gama, Portuguese poet (O Uraguai)

1756 - Joseph Gehot, composer

1775 - Adam A earl von Neipperg, Austrian general/Napoleon's wife Marie lover

1776 - Thaddaus Weigl, composer

1783 - John Claudius, London England, horticulturist

1798 - Dionysios Solomos, poet

1816 - Frederick William Burton, painter

1818 - Christaan IX, king of Denmark (1863-1906)

1826 - Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican war heroine (d. 1890)

1827 - Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican politician, medical doctor and diplomat (d. 1898)

1828 - George Baird Hodge, Brig General (Confederate Army)

1831 - Allard Pierson, Dutch theologiost/philosopher/art historian/poet

1832 - Alfred von Waldersee, Prussian fieldmarshal

1842 - Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife of George Armstrong Custer (d. 1933)

1843 - Asger Hamerik, [Hammerich], composer

1850 - William Henry Welch, US, pathologist (founded John Hopkins)

1859 - Edmund Husserl, Germany, philosopher (founded Phenomenology)

1865 - Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist (d. 1940)

1869 - Harvey Cushing, US, neurosurgeon (blood pressure studies)

1871 - Clarence Hudson White American photographer (d. 1925)

1874 - Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)

1875 - Albert I LCMM von Saksen-Coburg, king of Belgium (1909-34)

1878 - Rudolf Nelson, composer

1880 - Victor Schertzinger, composer/director (Uptown NY)

1881 - Fernand Lamy, composer

1883 - R. P. Keigwin, English academic (d. 1972)

1885 - Dimitrios Levidis, composer

1886 - Margaret A Barnes, writer

1887 - Walter Connolly, Cincinnati OH, actor (Good Earth, 5th Avenue Girl)

1888 - Dennis Chavez, American politician (d. 1964)

1889 - Adrian Boult, Chester England, conductor/composer (BBC Sym Orch)

1892 - Richard Neutra, American architect (d. 1970)

1893 - Grace Cunard, Columbus OH, silent screen actress (Resurrection)

1893 - Henri Puvrez, Belgian sculptor (Sereniteit)

1893 - Mary Pickford, [Gladys Smith], actress (Poor Little Rich Girl)

1895 - Bert I Gordon, NY

1895 - Sigurdur Thordarson, composer

1896 - Karl Hermann Pillney, composer

1896 - Yip Harburg, American lyricist (d. 1981)

1897 - Herbert Eimert, German composer/musicologist (Glockenspiel)

1898 - Achiel H Acker, Belgian premier (1945-46, 1954-58)

1898 - Cecil [Maurice] Bowra, British classics expert (Greek experience)

1898 - E Y "Yip" Harburg, [isidore Hochberg], lyricist/librettist

1902 - Arthur Wellard, cricketer (big hitting Somerset & England batsman)

1902 - Josef Krips, Vienna Austria, conductor (London Symph 1954-63)

1903 - Ilka Chase, NYC, actress (Masquerade Party, Trials of O'Brien)

1904 - John Antill, composer

1904 - John R Hicks, British economist (Nobel 1972)

1905 - George Baxter, Paris France, actor (Flying Saucer, Lili, Caged)

1905 - Hans Scherfig, Danish marxist/writer (Idealister, Frydenholm)

1905 - Helen B M Fennell Joseph, anti-apartheid writer (Side by Side)

1905 - Pierre Wigny, Belgian minister of Foreign affairs (1958-61) [or 4/18]

1906 - Charles J B Jonckheere, Flemish poet/writer (Mirror of the Sea)

1906 - Raoul Jobin, French Canadian tenor (d. 1974)

1907 - Maurice Stacey, chemist

1908 - Neil Lawson, British high court judge

1909 - George Dixon, trumpet/sax

1909 - Olavi Pesonen, composer

1909 - William James Millar Mackenzie, political scientist

1910 - George Musso, NFL guard (Chicago Bears)

1910 - Wendell Bill, cricketer (NSW bat 1929-36 Century on debut 1930)

1911 - Douglas Hyde, socialist/Christian

1911 - Emil Mihai Cioran, writer/aphorist

1911 - Melvin Calvin, US chemist (photosynthesis, Nobel 1961)

1912 - Sonja Henie, Oslo Norway, ice skater/actress (Olympic-gold-1928,32,36)

1912 - Alois Brunner, Austrian !Removed!

1913 - H Ernst, bishop (Breda Neth)

1914 - John Cameron, cricketer (brother of Jimmy WI v-capt 1939 England tour)

1914 - María Félix, Mexican actress (d. 2002)

1918 - Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States

1918 - Glendon Swarthout, American author (d. 1992)

1919 - [Douglas] Ian Smith, premier of Rhodesia (1964-..)

1920 - Carmen McRae (Clark), US jazz singer/pianist (Dream of Life)

1920 - Erik Pausin, Austria, figure skating pairs (Olympics-silver-1936)

1921 - Alfie Bass, London England, actor (Moonraker, Are You Being Served)

1921 - Betty Bloomer Ford, 1st lady (1975-76)/namesake for Betty Ford Clinic

1921 - Jan Novak, composer

1921 - Virginia O'Brien, LA Calif, actress/singer (Gus, Ziegfeld Follies)

1921 - Franco Corelli, Italian tenor (d. 2003)

1923 - Edward Mulhare, Cork Ireland, actor (Daniel Gregg-Ghost & Mrs Muir)

1923 - Franco Corelli, Anconia Italy, tenor (Don Jose-Carmen)

1923 - George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)

123 ►

Famous Deaths

Results 1 - 100 of 110

217 - Caracalla, [Marcus Antoniius], Roman emperor (198-217), murdered at 29

956 - Gilbert of Chalon, Duke of Burgundy

1143 - John II Comnenus, Emperor of Byzantium (1118-43), dies in an accident

1364 - Jan II, the Good, King of France (1350-64), dies at 44

1364 - King John II of France (b. 1319)

1461 - Georg Purbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)

1492 - Lorenzo I de' Medici"il Magnifico", ruler of Florence (1469-92), dies

1498 - Charles VIII, King of France (1483-98), beheaded at 27

1537 - Willem Aerts, Flemish architect, dies

1586 - Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran reformer and theologian (b. 1522)

1587 - John Foxe, English writer (b. 1516)

1629 - Willem Teellinck, Dutch theologist/vicar, dies at 50

1697 - Niels Juel, Danish admiral (b. 1629)

1704 - Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (b. 1624)

1704 - Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English statesman (b. 1641)

1725 - John Wise, English clergyman (b. 1652)

1735 - Francis II Rákóczi, leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburg (b. March 27, 1676)

1736 - Pedro Vaz Rego, composer, dies at 63

1759 - Francois de La Croix, composer, dies at 76

1778 - Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, Dutch founder (Teyler Museum), dies at 76

1794 - Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicholas-Caritat, mathematician dies

1844 - Ignaz Franz von Mosel, composer, dies at 72

1848 - Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti, Italian composer, dies at 50

1848 - Gaetano Donizetti, composer, dies at 50

1851 - John Parry, composer, dies at 75

1853 - Jan W Pieneman, historical painter (Battle at Waterloo), dies at 73

1857 - Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (b. 1827)

1858 - Anton Diabelli, Austrian composer/publisher, dies at 76

1861 - Elisha G Otis, US elevator builder (Otis), dies at 50

1863 - Joseph Netherclift, composer, dies at 70

1865 - John Park, composer, dies at 61

1870 - Charles-Auguste de Beriot, Belgian violinist/composer, dies at 68

1871 - Charles-Louis Hanssens, composer, dies at 68

1889 - Henry Jupp, cricketer (scored 63 on Test debut for Engl in 1877), dies

1890 - Junius Morgan, philanthropist, dies at 76

1894 - Bankim C Chattopadhyaya, writer (Mrinalini, Anandamath), dies at 55

1897 - George Garrett, composer, dies at 62

1897 - Heinrich von Stephan, UK politician, dies

1902 - Sipyagain, Russian min of interior/headed Secret Service, assassinated

1906 - Auguste D, First recorded Alzheimer's victim (b. 1950)

1919 - Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist (b. 1848)

1920 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes, US composer (White Peacock), dies at 35

1921 - Earnest von Possart, German actor/stage manager, dies

1931 - Eric Axel Karlfeldt, poet, dies

1935 - Edwin Cannan, economist, dies

1936 - Robert Bárány, Austrian physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1876)

1937 - Arthur William Foote, US organist/composer, dies at 84

1937 - William Henry Hadow, composer (Studies in Modern Music), dies at 77

1938 - Harold Baumgartner, cricketer (took 2-99 lefty in test for S Af), dies

1942 - Alfred Mombert, writer, dies

1942 - Kostas Skarvelis, Greek songwriter (b. 1880)

1943 - Paul Colin, Belgian journalist/collaborator, executed

1943 - Richard Sears, 1st to win US amateur national tennis match, dies at 81

1947 - Henry Ford, US industrialist (Ford cars), dies

1948 - Josef B Kjellgren, Swedish writer (Guldkedjan), dies at 40

1950 - Albert Ehrenstein, Austria writer (Strum), dies at 63

1950 - Vaslav Fromich Nijinsky, Ukrainian ballet dancer, dies in London

1957 - Frank Chester, cricketer (distinguished 1-armed Engl Test ump), dies

1958 - Ethel Turner, Australian author (b. 1872)

1959 - Gustave Charlier, Belgian literature historian, dies

1963 - Len Tuckett, cricketer (no runs no wkts in 1 Test for S A), dies

1965 - Erik A Blomberg, Swedish art historian/poet/author, dies at 70

1965 - jack Durston, cricketer (one Test for England, 4-102 & 1-34), dies

1965 - Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (Flesh & Devil), dies after illness at 78

1966 - George Creten, Belgian sculptor/painter, dies at 79

1969 - Arthur Walter Kramer, composer, dies at 78

1969 - Denton Cooley, got 1st fully artificial heart, dies at 48

1970 - Marie V Felix, Prince of Luxemburg, dies

1973 - Pablo (Ruiz y) Picasso, Spanish/French painter (Guernica), dies at 91

1974 - James Charles McGuigan, Catholic archbishop of Toronto (b. 1894)

1976 - Phil Ochs, rock producer (Joe Hill), dies at 35

1977 - Frank Milan, actor (Witness), dies at 71

1978 - Ford C Frick, baseball commissioner, dies at 83

1981 - Norman Taurog, dies

1981 - Omar Bradley, last US 5-star general, (Normandy) dies in NY at 88

1984 - Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1894)

1985 - J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (b. 1897)

1986 - Yukiko Okada, Japanese idol singer (b. 1967)

1987 - Francis C Denebrink, US Naval officer (WW I, WW II, Korea) dies at 90

1990 - Doreen Sloane, dies

1990 - Jose De Vega, dies of AIDS at 56

1990 - Ryan White, hemophiliac aids sufferer, dies at 18

1991 - Dead (musician), Swedish metal singer (b. 1969)

1992 - Nelson Olmstead, dies at 78

1992 - Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born pharmacologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1907)

1993 - Arleen Whelan, dies of stroke at 78

1993 - H Earnest, bishop of Breda, dies

1993 - Marian Anderson, US contralto (My Lord, What a Morning), dies at 96

1994 - Frank Wells, president (Disney), dies in helicopter crash

1994 - Irene Eisinger, singer, dies at 91

1994 - Kurt Donald Cobain, musician (Nirvana), found dead aged 27

1994 - Walter Arnold, Germ theologist (World council of Churches), dies at 64

1994 - François Rozet, French Canadian actor (b. 1899)

1995 - Maurice Allom, cricketer (14 Test wickets-NZ debut hat-trick), dies

1996 - Basil Hembry, farmer/campaigner, dies at 80

1996 - Ben Johnson, cowboy actor (Tex, Dillinger), dies of heart attack at 77

1996 - Charles Donald Adams, singer, dies at 67

1996 - Ben Johnson, American actor (b. 1918)

1997 - Laura Nyro, singer, dies of ovarian cancer at 49

2000 - Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910)

[Raistlin]

Events

1747 The Scottish Jacobite Lord Lovat was beheaded on Tower Hill, London, for high treason; he was the last man to be executed in this way in Britain.

1770 English navigator James Cook arrived in Botany Bay, Australia, the first European to do so.

1865 The American Civil War came to an end when Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S Grant, at Appomattox, Virginia.

1869 The Hudson Bay Company agreed to transfer its territory to Canada.

1917 In France, during World War I, Canadian forces began the assault on Vimy Ridge, and the Battle of Arras began.

1969 The British supersonic aircraft Concorde made its first test flight, from Bristol to Fairford, Gloucestershire.

1991 The parliament of Georgia voted to assert independence from the USSR.

1992 British General Election confounded predictions of opinion pollsters by returning the Conservatives for a fourth term, though with a reduced majority of 21.

1995 President Alberto Fujimori of Peru was the first person to be elected for a second consecutive term.

1997 Hong Kong's incoming government stated that draconian curbs would be imposed on the activities of political organizations and the right to protest after the handover of the colony to China at the end of June 1997.

1999 Nigerian President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassarais assassinated.

2002 The funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother of the United Kingdom is held at Westminster Abbey.

2005 HRH Charles, Prince of Wales weds Camilla Parker Bowles

Births

1806 Isambard Kingdom Brunel, English engineer

1821 Charles Baudelaire, French poet

1898 Paul Robeson, US actor and singer

1906 Hugh Gaitskell, British politician

1933 Jean-Paul Belmondo, French film actor

1957 Severiano Ballesteros, Spanish golfer

Deaths

1483 Edward IV, King of England

1492 Lorenzo de' Medici, Florentine ruler

1626 Francis Bacon, English philosopher and politician

1882 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English painter and poet

1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian

1959 Frank Lloyd Wright, US architect

[bothwell_buyer]

More large tremors happened in L'Aquila this morning.

(As reported by my dear brother who lives within 30 miles of there)

[Bizarra]

On This Day Over The Years

1633 Bananas were displayed in a London shop window - the first time the fruit had been seen in Britain.

1710 The Copyright Act came into effect, allowing authors to hold exclusive rights to their work for up to 50 years after death.

1820 The first British settlers arrived at Algoa Bay in the eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

1829 William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was born in Nottingham.

1849 The safety pin was patented by Walter Hunt of New York - he made it in only three hours and later sold the rights for 400 dollars to pay debts.

1868 Actor George Arliss was born.

He was the first British star to win an Oscar - in 1929 for his role as Disraeli.

1917 Canadian troops captured Vimy Ridge.

1924 The first book of crosswords was published in New York.

1955 Ruth Ellis shot dead David Blakely outside a pub in north London - an act for which she was subsequently hanged.

1960 The US Senate passed the Civil Rights Bill.

1998 After a marathon session at Stormont, a peace deal for Northern Ireland was finally agreed - at 5.

26pm, 17 hours past the midnight deadline.

[Raistlin]

Events

1564 The Peace of Troyes ended the war between England and France.

1689 The coronation of William III and Mary II took place in London.

1713 The War of the Spanish Succession was ended by the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht; France ceded Newfoundland and Gibraltar to Britain.

1814 Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba; Louis XVIII became king of France.

1855 Britain's first pillar boxes were put up in London; there were just six of them, and they were painted green.

1945 Allied troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald.

1951 US General Douglas MacArthur was relieved of his command in Korea, after a disagreement with President Truman.

1961 Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann went on trial in Jerusalem after being kidnapped from Argentina, where he had fled after World War II.

1996 Fire destroyed the main terminal building at Düsseldorf airport, killing 16 people.

1997 The government of Indian Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda lost a parliamentary vote of confidence and resigned.

1997 In a landmark settlement, a British multinational chemical company agreed to pay £1.3 million in compensation to 20 South African workers who were poisoned by mercury.

2002 The Ghriba synagogue bombing by Al Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.

2002 An attempted coup d'état in Venezuela against President Hugo Chavez began.

Births

1755 James Parkinson, English physician who discovered Parkinson's disease

1770 George Canning, British prime minister

1819 Charles Hallé, German-born British pianist and conductor

1893 Dean Acheson, US politician

1908 Dan Maskell, British tennis player, coach, and commentator

1933 Joel Grey, US actor and singer

Deaths

1514 Donato Bramante, Italian architect who began St Peter's, Rome

1554 Thomas Wyatt, English soldier and conspirator

1926 Luther Burbank, US botanist

1960 Archibald McIndoe, New Zealand-born plastic surgeon

1970 John O'Hara, US novelist

1987 Primo Levi, Italian chemist, composer, librettist, and author

1987 Erskine Caldwell, US novelist

2001 Harry Secombe, Welsh actor and comedian

[Bizarra]

elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

1065 - Pilgrims under bishop Gunther of Bamberg reach Jerusalem

1111 - Pope Paschalis II crowns Henry V, Roman emperor

1204 - 4th Crusade occupies & plunders Constantinople

1229 - Queen Blanche of Castile & earl Raymond VII van Toulouse sign peace

1385 - John without Fear marries Margaretha of Brabant

1385 - Willem van Oostervant weds Philip the Stouts daughter Margaretha (10)

1545 - French king Francois I orders protestants of Vaudois to be killed

1557 - Cuenca is founded in Ecuador.

1583 - William of Orange marries Louise de Coligny

1606 - England adopts Union jack as its flag

1648 - University of Harderwijk Neth solemn opens

1654 - England, Ireland & Scotland united

1709 - 1st edition of Tattler magazine in England

1713 - Dutch State-Gen signs peace with France: Neth loses Orange Princedom

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

Results 1 - 15 of 251

599 BC - Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism (d. 527 BC)

812 - Muhammad at-Taqi, Muslim Shia Imam (d. 835)

1484 - Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect (d. 1546)

1500 - Joachim Camerarius, [Liebhard Kammerer], German humanist

1526 - Muretus, French humanist (d. 1585)

1550 - Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English politician (d. 1604)

1577 - Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)

1579 - Francois de Bassompierre, marshal of France

1626 - Paul Hainlein, composer

1692 - Giuseppe Tartini, composer, Istria

1695 - Caspar Burman, historian/mayor (Utrecht Neth)

1705 - William Cookworthy, English chemist (d. 1780)

1713 - Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French writer (d. 1796)

1716 - Felice de' Giardini, composer

1722 - Pietro Nardini, composer

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

Results 1 - 15 of 105

45 BC - Gnaeus Pompeius, the Younger, Roman general

65 - Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher, statesman and dramatist

238 - Gordian II, heir to the Roman Empire (killed in battle)

238 - Gordian I, Roman Emperor (suicide)

352 - Julius I, pope (337-52), dies

434 - Archbishop Maximianus of Constantinople

1125 - Vladislaus I of Bohemia

1443 - Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury

1550 - Claude of Lorraine, duke of Guise, dies at 53

1555 - Johanna de Wanzinnige, Queen of Castilie (1504-20), dies at 75

1555 - Juana of Castile, wife of Philip I of Castile (b. 1479)

1605 - Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (1598-1605), dies

1675 - Richard Bennett, British Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1609)

1687 - Ambrose Dixon, Virginia Colony pioneer

1690 - Miguel Gomez Camargo, composer, dies at 71

More Famous Deaths »

Hmmmmmm Try this----

On This Day Over The Years

1204 Soldiers taking part in the Fourth Crusade, under the direction of the Doge of Venice, captured the Byzantine city of Constantinople.

1606 The Union Flag became England's official flag.

1709 The Tatler was first published.

1861 The American Civil War, a conflict between 23 northern states and 11 southern, began with the siege of Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

1914 George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion opened in London.

1928 The Bremen set out from Baldonnel Airfield on the first successful east-west flight across the Atlantic.

On board was Dubliner Captain James Fitzmaurice with Germans Baron Von Heunfeld and Captain Kohl.

1954 Bill Haley recorded Rock Around The Clock, the first record to sell a million copies in Britain alone.

It was featured in 14 films and recorded in 35 languages.

1961 The Russians made the first manned space flight with Yuri Gagarin in Vostok 1.

1981 Death of Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, world heavyweight boxing champion.

1990 The Soviet Union admitted the massacre of up to 15,000 Polish officers at Katyn in the Soviet Union in 1940.

[Bizarra]

Feast Days

Feast day of St Guinoch, St Martin I, pope, Saints Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonice, St Hermenegild, and St Martius.

On This Day Over The Years

1668 John Dryden was appointed the first Poet Laureate.

1732 Birth of Frederick, Lord North, who as Prime Minister levied the tax on tea that incensed the American colonists and provoked the Boston Tea Party.

1741 The Royal Military Academy was established at Woolwich.

It is now at Sandhurst.

1742 The first public performance of Handel’s Messiah,ever, was in Dublin.

1852 Frank Winfield Woolworth, merchant and founder of the chain store, was born in New York.

1882 The Anti-Semitic League was founded in Prussia.

1912 The Royal Flying Corps was instituted by Royal Charter.

1936 Joe Payne scored 10 goals for Luton Town against Bristol Rovers on his debut as centre forward — a record for one man in one game.

1964 Sidney Poitier became the first black man to win an Oscar for best actor, in The Lilies Of The Field.

1970 Apollo 13 announces: ‘‘Houston, we have a problem,’’ as one of its oxygen tanks explodes en route to the moon.

1980 Four days after his 23rd birthday, Severiano Ballesteros won the US Masters, the event’s youngest winner.

[Raistlin]

Events

193 Lucius Septimus Severus crowned emperor of Rome

978 Ethelred the Unready is crowned at Kingston upon Thames

1471 Warwick the Kingmaker is killed at the Battle of Barnet against King Edward IV

1536 King Henry VIII expropriates minor monasteries in England

1614 Pocahontas, daughter of chief Powhatan, marries planter John Rolfe

1629 England & France sign the Peace of Susa

1792 France declares war on Austria, starting French Revolutionary Wars

1865 Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor and Southern fanatic John Wilkes Booth at Ford's theater in Washington.

1931 The Highway Code is first issued

1940 Allied troops land in Norway

Deaths

711 Childebert III king of France

911 Sergius III Italian Pope (904-11)

1099 Conrad bishop of Utrecht

1240 Llywelyn ap Iorwerth Prince of Wales

1759 George Handel, German composer, dies in London

1960 Archibald McIndoe, plastic surgeon

1986 Simone de Beauvoir French author

Births

1770 George Canning, London, British Prime Minister (1827)

1889 Arnold Toynbee England, historian

1904 Sir John Gielgud London England, actor

1925 Rod Steiger West Hampton NY, actor

1941 Julie Christie Assam India, actress

[Raistlin]

Events

1532 The Submission of the Clergy was made to Henry VIII, beginning the political Reformation in England.

1755 English lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson published his Dictionary; he had taken eight years to compile it.

1797 Sailors at Spithead, near Portsmouth, mutinied, demanding better conditions; the British government met their demands.

1891 US inventor Thomas Edison gave a public demonstration of his kinetoscope, a moving-picture machine.

1912 Over 1,500 people died when the passenger liner Titanic sank after colliding with an iceberg on its first voyage.

1922 Insulin was discovered by Canadian physiologist Frederick Banting and John J R Macleod.

1927 Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Norma and Constance Talmadge become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood

1942 The George Cross was awarded to the island of Malta, for bravery under heavy attack by German and Italian forces during World War II.

1945 The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.

1986 Bombers from US warships and bases in Britain attacked targets in Libya.

1989 In England, 96 Liverpool fans died in a crush during the Football Association Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough, Sheffield.

1997 Fire engulfed a pilgrims' tent city, killing more than 340 people and injuring 1,290 people on an annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

Births

1469 Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism

1843 Henry James, US-born British novelist

1901 Joe Davis, English snooker player

1924 Neville Marriner, British conductor

1940 Jeffrey Archer, English politician and novelist

1959 Emma Thompson, English actress

Deaths

1764 Mme de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV, King of France

1865 Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the USA, assassinated

1888 Matthew Arnold, English poet and educationalist

1889 Father Damien, Belgian missionary

1980 Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer

1982 Arthur Lowe, English actor

1984 Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedy magician

1988 Kenneth Williams, English actor and comedian

1993 Leslie Charteris, British-born novelist

1994 John Curry, English ice skater

1998 Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator

2000 Edward Gorey, American illustrator

[Bizarra]

I saw Tommy Cooper on Tele, as he died on stage. Every one thought it was part of the act :( even the producers. It was an age before the curtains were drawn. RIP. He was a genius.

[Raistlin]

I saw Tommy Cooper on Tele, as he died on stage. Every one thought it was part of the act :( even the producers. It was an age before the curtains were drawn. RIP. He was a genius.

I agree there

[Bizarra]

On This Day Over The Years

1746 The army of Charles Stuart, the Young Pretender ‘‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’’, was routed by Cumberland at the Battle of Culloden.

1850 Death of Marie Tussaud, Swiss-born modeller who established the world-famous waxworks near Baker Street, London, in 1835.

1889 Charlie Chaplin (later Sir Charles), English comedian, was born in London.

1900 The world’s first book of stamps was issued in the United States.

1912 American Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly the English Channel.

1942 The island of Malta was awarded the George Cross for its heroism during German and Italian bombardment.

1951 The British submarine Affray sank in the English Channel with the loss of 75 lives.

1953 The royal yacht Britannia was launched by the Queen.

1964 Twelve members of the Great Train Robbery gang were sentenced to a total of 307 years in jail.

1969 Desmond Dekker became the first Jamaican artist to top the UK singles charts, with The Israelites.

[Bizarra]

On This Day Over The Years

1421 More than 100,000 drowned when the sea broke through the dykes at Dort in Holland.

1521 Martin Luther was excommunicated by the Diet of Worms.

1860 The first world title fight took place near Farnborough, Hants, when Tom Sayers took on American John Heenan.

After 42 rounds, the match was declared a draw.

1937 A British attendance record at a football match was set when 149,547 people watched Scotland v England at Hampden Park, Glasgow.

1956 Premium Bonds were introduced by British Chancellor Harold Macmillan.

1960 American rock star Eddie Cochran died in a car crash near Chippenham while on tour with Gene Vincent.

1961 An attempt by Cuban exiles and US forces to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, and overthrow Castro’s Communist regime, was repulsed.

1963 In Moscow, British businessman Greville Wynne was accused of spying.

He was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison and five in a labour camp.

1980 Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe.

1984 WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead outside the Libyan People’s Bureau in London.

[Bizarra]

310 - St Eusebius begins his reign as Catholic Pope

387 - Bishop Ambrosius of Milan baptizes Augustinus

1025 - Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland.

1506 - The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid.

1518 - Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland.

1521 - Parliament of Worms: Cardinal Alexander questions Maarten Luther

1552 - Mauritius of Saksen occupies Linz

1599 - Valencia arch duke Albrecht of Austrian marries Isabella of Spain

1663 - Osman declares war on Austria

1666 - Peace of Kleef: Netherlands & bishop Von Galen of Munster

1676 - Sudbury, Mass attacked by Indians

1738 - Real Academia de la Historia ("Royal Academy of History") founded in Madrid.

1775 - Paul Revere & William Dawes warn "British are coming!"

1775 - Paul Revere rides from Charleston to Lexington

1783 - Fighting ceases in the American Revolution, eight years to the day since it began.

1797 - France & Austria signs cease fire

1809 - 1st run of 2,000 guineas horse race at Newmarket England

1834 - Charles Darwin sails to Rio Santa Cruz up Patagonia

1835 - William Lamb Lord Melbourne forms British Govt

1838 - Wilkes' expedition to South Pole sails

1848 - American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.

1853 - 1st train in Asia (Bombay to Tanna, 36 km)

1856 - Russian Republic Chancellor Earl von Nesselrode resigns

1861 - Battle of Harpers Ferry, VA

1861 - Col Robert E Lee turns down offer to command Union armies

1862 - Battle of Ft Jackson, Ft St Philip & New Orlean's, LA

1864 - Battle of Poison Springs, AR (Camden Expedition)

1865 - Confederate Gen Johnson surrendered to Gen Sherman in North Carolina

1868 - San Francisco Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals formed

1869 - 1st international cricket match, held in SF, wins by Californian

1876 - Daniel O'Leary completes a 500 mile walk in 139 hrs 32 min

1879 - Trial of Standing Bear-Crook on indians citizen rights begins

1880 - An F4 tornado strikes Marshfield, Missouri, killing 99 people and injuring 100.

1881 - Natural History Museum of South Kensington England opens

1881 - Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.

1890 - NY Commission of Emigration ends, closing Castle Clinton

1899 - John McGraw, at 36, managerial debut as Oriole manager

1899 - The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria.

1902 - Denmark is 1st country to adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals

1904 - L'Humanité, under Jean Jaurès begins publishing

1906 - 8.25 earthquake shakes SF Calif

1906 - Calvinist Reformed Union in Neth Church forms in Utrecht

1906 - SF earthquake & fire kills nearly 4,000 & destroys 75% of city

1906 - The Los Angeles Times story on the Azusa Street Revival launches Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement.

1907 - Augustus Thomas' "Witching Hour," premieres in NYC

1907 - Fairmont Hotel opens

1908 - Tommy Burns KOs Jewy Smith in 5 for heavyweight boxing title

1909 - Joan of Arc declared a saint

1909 - Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.

1912 - The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.

1915 - French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.

1918 - Cleveland center fielder Tris Speaker turns an unassisted double play

1921 - Junior Achievement incorporated in Colorado Springs Colo

1921 - Philip James Barry's "Punch for Judy," premieres in NYC

1922 - Netherlands soccer team defeats Denmark 2-0

1923 - 74,000 (62,281 paid) on hand for opening of Yankee Stadium

1923 - Poland annexes Central Lithuania

1924 - 1st crossword puzzle book published (Simon & Schuster)

1925 - World's fair opens in Chicago

1926 - Rhein Stadium opens in Dusseldorf Germany

1927 - Chiang Kai-Shek forms anti-govt in China

1929 - Palace for People's industry in Amsterdam devastated by fire

1934 - 1st "Washateria" (laundromat) opens (Ft Worth, Tx)

1934 - Hitler names J von Ribbentrop, ambassador for disarmament

1935 - Gen Sarazen's double eagle on 15th, wins him his 2nd Masters

1935 - Netherlands election (Musserts NSB wins 8% of vote)

1936 - Pan-Am Clipper begins regular passenger flights from SF to Honolulu

1938 - Headless Mad Butcher victim found in Cleveland

1939 - Franz von Papen becomes German ambassador in Turkey

1939 - Hubert Pierlot forms Belgian government

1942 - "Stars & Stripes" paper for US armed forces starts

1942 - James H Doolittle bombs Tokyo & other Japanese cities

1942 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 3

1944 - 48th Boston Marathon won by Gerard Cote of Canada in 2:31:50.4

1944 - Leonard Bernstein & Jerome Robbins' ballet premieres in NYC

1945 - 1 armed outfielder, St L Brown Pete Gray, 1st game he goes 1 for 4

1945 - Epe freed (by corporal G van Aken)

1945 - Clandestine Radio 1212, after broadcasting pro-nazi propoganda for months used their influence to trap 350,000 German army group B troops

1945 - Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Bolivia are established.

1946 - "Call Me Mister" opens at National Theater NYC for 734 performances

1946 - Jackie Robinson debuts as 2nd baseman for the Montreal Royals

1946 - League of Nations dissolves (3 months after UN starts)

1946 - Rome/Auerbach/Horwitt's musical "Call Me Mister," premieres in NYC

1946 - US recognizes Tito's Yugoslavia govt

1948 - International Court of Justice opens at Hague Netherlands

1949 - Republic of Ireland withdraws from British Commonwealth

1950 - 1st opening night-game, Cards beat Pirates, 4-2

1950 - 1st transatlantic jet passenger trip

1950 - Polish Catholic church & govt sign accord over relations

1950 - Sam Jethroe is 1st black to play for Boston Braves

1950 - Yankees win 15-10 after trailing Red Sox 9-0 in 6th

1951 - "Make a Wish" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 102 performances

1951 - Dutch Antilles govt of Da Costa Gomez forms

1951 - France, West Germany & Benelux form European Steel & Coal Community

1951 - NY Yankee Mickey Mantle goes 1-for-4 in his 1st game

1953 - "Pal Joey" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 542 performances

1954 - Colonel Nasser seizes power & becomes PM of Egypt

1954 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open

1955 - "Ankles Aweigh" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 176 perfs

1955 - 1st "Walk"/"Don't Walk" lighted street signals installed

1955 - 1st Bandoeng Conference - Afro-Asian conference opens

1956 - Egypt & Israel agree to a cease fire

1956 - Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco (civil ceremony)

1958 - Govt troops reconquer Padang, Middle-Sumatra Indonesia

1958 - NL single-game record of 78,682, Giants lose to Dogers 6-5, in LA

1958 - A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum.

1959 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1

1961 - CONCP is founded in Casablanca as a united front of African movements opposing Portuguese colonial rule.

1962 - 16th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3

1963 - "Sophie" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 8 performances

1963 - Dr James Campbell performed the 1st human nerve transplant

1963 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 1

1964 - "Cafe Crown" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 3 performances

1964 - "Foxy" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 72 performances

1964 - Artisans strike in Belgium ends

1964 - Sandy Koufax is 1st to strike out the side on 9 pitches

1964 - Van Joe Orton's "Entertaining Mr Sloane"

1966 - Bill Russell became 1st black coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics)

1968 - 178,000 employees of US Bell Telephone System go on strike

1968 - 1st ABA basketball championship began

1968 - Dutch Department of Amnesty International forms

1968 - London Bridge is sold to US oil company (to be erected in Arizona)

1968 - Mart Crowley's "Boys in the Band," premieres in NYC

1968 - Peter Luke's "Hadrian VII," premieres in London

1968 - SF's Old Hall of Justice demolished

1968 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1969 - Melina Mercouri establishes Greek Aid Fund

1971 - Gavaskar makes 220 in 2nd inning v WI after 124 in 1st

1971 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Raleigh Golf Classic

1972 - "Lost in the Stars" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 39 performances

1974 - Red Brigade kidnaps Italian attorney general Mario Sossi

1975 - John Lennon releases "Stand by Me"

1976 - 30th Tony Awards: Travesties & Chorus Line win

1976 - Judy Rankin wins LPGA Karsten- Ping Golf Open

1977 - "Side by Side by Sondheim" opens at music Box NYC for 390 perfs

1977 - 6th Boston Women's Marathon won by Miki Gorman of Calif in 2:48:33

1977 - 81st Boston Marathon won by Jerome Drayton of Canada in 2:14:46

1977 - Alex Haley, author of "Roots," awarded Pulitzer Prize

1977 - Eddie Murray hits his 1st HR

1977 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Michael Cristofer for "Shadow Box"

1977 - Stephen Sondheim's musical "Side by Side" premieres in NYC

1978 - Senate votes to turn Panama Canal over to Panama on Dec 31, 1999

1979 - "Real People" premieres on NBC TV

1979 - Major Haddad declares South-Lebanon independent

1980 - Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) declares independence from UK

1981 - Pawtucket & Rochester start a 33-inning baseball game

1982 - Atlanta Braves win record 11th straight opening game (beat Astros)

1982 - Canada Constitution Act replaces British North America Act

1982 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA CPC Women's Golf International

1982 - Zimbabwe capital Salisbury renamed Harare

1983 - 12th Boston Women's Marathon won by Joan Benoit Samuelson in 2:22:43

1983 - 87th Boston Marathon won by Greg Meyer of Mass in 2:09:00

1983 - A lone suicide bomber kills 63, at US Embassy in Lebanon

1983 - Alice Walker wins Pulitzer Prize for "The Color Purple"

1983 - KMO-AM in Tacoma Wash changes call letters to KAMT (now KKMO)

1983 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Alice Walker for "Color Purple"

1983 - Rangers 3-Isles 1-Patrick Div Finals-Series tied at 2-2

1984 - Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB

1984 - Joan Benoit runs world record female marathon (2:22:43)

1985 - Flyers 3-Isles 0-Patrick Div Finals-Flyers hold 1-0 lead

1986 - Robert M Gates, becomes deputy director of CIA

1986 - Titan rocket explodes seconds after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB

1987 - An unconscious skydiver is rescued by another diver in mid-air

1987 - Bob Land wins his 6th straight Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race

1987 - Mike Schmidt hits 500th home run (vs Robinson-Pirates)

1987 - Pat Knauff, France sets 1-leg downhill ski speed record (115.012 mph)

1987 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Maralinga Australia

1988 - 17th Boston Women's Marathon won by Rosa Mota of Portugal in 2:24:30

1988 - 92nd Boston Marathon won by Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya in 2:08:43

1988 - Barbra Streisand records "Warm All Over"

1989 - Zimbabwe gains independence

1990 - Bankruptcy court forces Frank Lorenzo to give up Eastern Airlines

1990 - Birmingham Fire issued an original franchise in WLAF

1990 - Supreme Court rules states could make it a crime to possess or look at child pornography, even in one's home

1991 - Census Bureau said it failed to count up to 63 million in 1990 census

1991 - Congress ends railroad worker 1 day strike

1991 - John Stockton breaks his own NBA season assist record at 1,136

1992 - Start of South Africa's 1st Test Cricket since 1970 (v WI Bridgetown)

1992 - Tennis ace Stefan Edberg marries Annette Olsen in Sweden

1993 - "Ain't Broadway Grand" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC for 25 perfs

1993 - 54th PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Tom Wargo

1993 - Beirut-hostage Terry Anderson marries Madeleine Bassil

1993 - David Lee Roth arrested in NYC for purchasing marijuana for $10

1993 - Trish Johnson wins LPGA Atlanta Women's Golf Championship

1994 - "Beauty & the Beast" opens at Palace Theater NYC

1994 - 23rd Boston Women's Marathon won by Uta Pippig of Germany in 2:21:45

1994 - 98th Boston Marathon won by Cosmas Ndeti of Kenya in 2:07:15

1994 - ubiknio Hall announces he will end his show in May 1994

1994 - Brian Lara scores 375 for WI vs England to beat Sobers' record

1994 - Cricketer Brian Lara hits 375 runs on 1 day (world record)

1994 - Former President Nixon suffered a stroke & dies 4 days later

1994 - Lebanon drops relations with Iran

1994 - Roseanne Barr Arnold files for divorce from Tom Arnold

1994 - STS-59 (Endeavour) lands [approx]

1995 - Houston Post folds after 116 years

1995 - Quarterback Joe Montana announces his retirement from football

1996 - "Funny Thing Happened," opens at St James Theater NYC for 715 perfs

1996 - In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces accidentally Shell the UN compound at Quana.

2007 - The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision.

<< 17th April

[Bizarra]

On This Day Over The Years

Primrose Day - The Primrose Society places primroses at the statue of Benjamin Disraeli in Parliament Square, London, on the anniversary of his death in 1881.

The primrose was Disraeli's favourite flower.

1587 Sir Francis Drake sailed into Cadiz and sank the Spanish fleet - an action known as ''singeing the King of Spain's beard''.

1775 In Lexington, the opening shot was fired - by a British general - in the American War of Independence.

1824 Poet Lord Byron died of a fever at Missolonghi while aiding Greek insurgents against the Turks in their fight for independence.

He was 36.

April 19 1882 Death of biologist Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution revolutionised scientific thinking.

1906 Pierre Curie, French physicist who worked with his wife on magnetism and radioactivity and who discovered radium, was run over and killed in Paris.

1927 Mae West was found guilty of indecent behaviour in her Broadway production of Sex.

She was sentenced to 10 days in prison and fined 500 dollars.

1951 Eric Morley, publicity officer with Mecca, devised the Miss World beauty contest as part of the Festival of Britain.

1956 Prince Rainier of Monaco married actress Grace Kelly.

1958 Footballer Bobby Charlton made the first of 106 appearances for England.

In the match, against Scotland, he scored the first of his record 49 international goals.