A tsunami caused by an eruption of Anak Krakatau in Indonesia kills at least 430 people and injures almost a thousand more.
The 2018 Sunda strait tsunami occurred on 22 December 2018 at around 21:38 local time after large parts of the southwestern side of Anak Krakatoa collapsed onto its caldera. The landslide spawned a massive tsunami wave that struck multiple coastal regions in Banten and Lampung, including the popular tourist destination of Anyer.
Anak Krakatoa is a volcanic island in Indonesia. On 29 December 1927, Anak Krakatoa first emerged from the caldera formed in 1883 by the explosive volcanic eruption that destroyed the island of Krakatoa. There has been sporadic eruptive activity at the site since the late 20th century, culminating with a large underwater collapse of the volcano that caused a deadly Tsunami in December 2018. There has been subsequent activity since. Due to its young age, the island is one of several in the area that are of interest to, and the subject of extensive study by, volcanologists.
The 2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown, the longest shutdown of the U.S. federal government in history, begins.
The United States federal government shutdown from midnight EST on December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019 was the longest U.S. government shutdown in history and the second and final federal government shutdown involving furloughs during the presidency of Donald Trump. It occurred when the 116th United States Congress and President Donald Trump could not agree on an appropriations bill to fund the operations of the federal government for the 2019 fiscal year, or a temporary continuing resolution that would extend the deadline for passing a bill. The Antideficiency Act prohibits federal departments or agencies from conducting non-essential operations without appropriations legislation in place. As a result, nine executive departments with around 800,000 employees had to shut down partially or in full, affecting about one-fourth of government activities and causing employees to be furloughed or required to work without being paid. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the shutdown cost to the American economy at at least $11 billion USD, excluding indirect costs that were difficult to quantify.
In the United States, government shutdowns occur when there is a failure to enact funding legislation to finance the government for its next fiscal year or a temporary funding measure. Ever since a 1980 interpretation of the 1884 Antideficiency Act, a "lapse of appropriation" due to a political impasse on proposed appropriation bills requires that the US federal government curtail agency activities and services, close down non-essential operations, furlough non-essential workers, and only retain essential employees in departments covering the safety of human life or protection of property. Voluntary services may only be accepted when required for the safety of life or property. Shutdowns can also occur within and disrupt state, territorial, and local levels of government.
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a federal district, five major self-governing territories and several island possessions. The federal government, sometimes simply referred to as Washington, is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress, the president and the federal courts, respectively. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of Congress, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397 against North Korea is unanimously approved.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397 is a resolution adopted unanimously on 22 December 2017 in response to North Korea's launch of a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile on 28 November of that year. The resolution condemned the launch and further tightened sanctions on the country, restricting fuel imports and other trade, as well as the ability of North Korean citizens to work abroad. On 24 December, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the resolution constitutes an act of war.
President Donald Trump signs the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, Pub.L. 115–97 (text) (PDF), is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), that amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Major elements of the changes include reducing tax rates for businesses and individuals, increasing the standard deduction and family tax credits, eliminating personal exemptions and making it less beneficial to itemize deductions, limiting deductions for state and local income taxes and property taxes, further limiting the mortgage interest deduction, reducing the alternative minimum tax for individuals and eliminating it for corporations, doubling the estate tax exemption, and cancelling the penalty enforcing individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
A study finds the VSV-EBOV vaccine against the Ebola virus between 70 and 100% effective, thus making it the first proven vaccine against the disease.
Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus–Zaire Ebola virus (rVSV-ZEBOV), also known as Ebola Zaire vaccine live and sold under the brand name Ervebo, is an Ebola vaccine for adults that prevents Ebola caused by the Zaire ebolavirus. When used in ring vaccination, rVSV-ZEBOV has shown a high level of protection. Around half the people given the vaccine have mild to moderate adverse effects that include headache, fatigue, and muscle pain.
Zaire ebolavirus, more commonly known as Ebola virus, is one of six known species within the genus Ebolavirus. Four of the six known ebolaviruses, including EBOV, cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other mammals, known as Ebola virus disease (EVD). Ebola virus has caused the majority of human deaths from EVD, and was the cause of the 2013–2016 epidemic in western Africa, which resulted in at least 28,646 suspected cases and 11,323 confirmed deaths.
Bashir Ahmad Bilour of Awami National Party and eight others are killed in a Pakistan Taliban bomber suicide attack in Dhaki Nalbandi area near Qissa Khwani Bazaar.
Bashir Ahmad Bilour was a member of the provincial assembly of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Senior Minister for Local Government and Rural Development of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The Awami National Party is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Asfandyar Wali Khan, grandson of Bacha Khan, with Mian Iftikhar Hussain serving as the Secretary-General. Part of the PPP-led cabinet of the Pakistani government during 2008−13, ANP's political position is considered left-wing, advocating for secularism, public sector government, and social egalitarianism.
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population just behind Indonesia. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country in the world by area and 2nd largest in South Asia, spanning 881,913 square kilometres. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650-mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre.
The Taliban, which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pashtun nationalist political movement in Afghanistan. It ruled approximately three-quarters of the country from 1996 to 2001, before being overthrown following the United States invasion. It recaptured Kabul on 15 August 2021 after nearly 20 years of insurgency, and currently controls all of the country, although its government has not yet been recognized by any country. The Taliban government has been criticized for restricting human rights in Afghanistan, including the right of women and girls to work and to have an education.
The United States repealed its controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the military.
The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 is a landmark United States federal statute enacted in December 2010 that established a process for ending the "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, thus allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces. It ended the policy in place since 1993 that allowed them to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation secret and the military did not learn of their sexual orientation, which was controversial.
"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, 1993, and was in effect from February 28, 1994, until September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. This relaxation of legal restrictions on service by gays and lesbians in the armed forces was mandated by Public Law 103–160, which was signed November 30, 1993. The policy prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability".
The repeal of the Don't ask, don't tell policy, the 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, is signed into law by President Barack Obama.
The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 is a landmark United States federal statute enacted in December 2010 that established a process for ending the "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, thus allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces. It ended the policy in place since 1993 that allowed them to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation secret and the military did not learn of their sexual orientation, which was controversial.
"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, 1993, and was in effect from February 28, 1994, until September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. This relaxation of legal restrictions on service by gays and lesbians in the armed forces was mandated by Public Law 103–160, which was signed November 30, 1993. The policy prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability".
Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the United States. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004, and previously worked as a civil rights lawyer before entering politics.
A dike ruptured at a waste containment area in Roane County, Tennessee, U.S., releasing 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m3) of coal fly ash slurry into local waterways.
The Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill was an environmental and industrial disaster that occurred on Monday December 22, 2008, when a dike ruptured at a coal ash pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons of coal fly ash slurry. The coal-fired power plant, located across the Clinch River from the city of Kingston, used a series of ponds to store and dewater the fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion. The spill released a slurry of fly ash and water, which traveled across the Emory River and its Swan Pond embayment, onto the opposite shore, covering up to 300 acres (1.2 km2) of the surrounding land. The spill damaged multiple homes and flowed into nearby waterways including the Emory River and Clinch River, both tributaries of the Tennessee River. It was the largest industrial spill in United States history.
Roane County is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,404. Its county seat is Kingston. Roane County is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Fly ash, flue ash, coal ash, or pulverised fuel ash – plurale tantum: coal combustion residuals (CCRs) – is a coal combustion product that is composed of the particulates that are driven out of coal-fired boilers together with the flue gases. Ash that falls to the bottom of the boiler's combustion chamber is called bottom ash. In modern coal-fired power plants, fly ash is generally captured by electrostatic precipitators or other particle filtration equipment before the flue gases reach the chimneys. Together with bottom ash removed from the bottom of the boiler, it is known as coal ash.
A slurry is a mixture of denser solids suspended in liquid, usually water. The most common use of slurry is as a means of transporting solids or separating minerals, the liquid being a carrier that is pumped on a device such as a centrifugal pump. The size of solid particles may vary from 1 micrometre up to hundreds of millimetres. The particles may settle below a certain transport velocity and the mixture can behave like a Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluid. Depending on the mixture, the slurry may be abrasive and/or corrosive.
An ash dike ruptured at a solid waste containment area in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 4.2 million m3 (1.1 billion US gal) of coal fly ash slurry.
The Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill was an environmental and industrial disaster that occurred on Monday December 22, 2008, when a dike ruptured at a coal ash pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons of coal fly ash slurry. The coal-fired power plant, located across the Clinch River from the city of Kingston, used a series of ponds to store and dewater the fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion. The spill released a slurry of fly ash and water, which traveled across the Emory River and its Swan Pond embayment, onto the opposite shore, covering up to 300 acres (1.2 km2) of the surrounding land. The spill damaged multiple homes and flowed into nearby waterways including the Emory River and Clinch River, both tributaries of the Tennessee River. It was the largest industrial spill in United States history.
Roane County is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,404. Its county seat is Kingston. Roane County is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dead plant matter decays into peat and is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years. Vast deposits of coal originate in former wetlands called coal forests that covered much of the Earth's tropical land areas during the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and Permian times. However, many significant coal deposits are younger than this and originate from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.
Fly ash, flue ash, coal ash, or pulverised fuel ash – plurale tantum: coal combustion residuals (CCRs) – is a coal combustion product that is composed of the particulates that are driven out of coal-fired boilers together with the flue gases. Ash that falls to the bottom of the boiler's combustion chamber is called bottom ash. In modern coal-fired power plants, fly ash is generally captured by electrostatic precipitators or other particle filtration equipment before the flue gases reach the chimneys. Together with bottom ash removed from the bottom of the boiler, it is known as coal ash.
A slurry is a mixture of denser solids suspended in liquid, usually water. The most common use of slurry is as a means of transporting solids or separating minerals, the liquid being a carrier that is pumped on a device such as a centrifugal pump. The size of solid particles may vary from 1 micrometre up to hundreds of millimetres. The particles may settle below a certain transport velocity and the mixture can behave like a Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluid. Depending on the mixture, the slurry may be abrasive and/or corrosive.
Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai.
Burhānuddīn Rabbānī was an Afghan politician and teacher who served as President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996.
The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, was a military alliance of groups that operated between late 1996 to 2001 after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) took over Kabul. The United Front was originally assembled by key leaders of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, particularly president Burhanuddin Rabbani and former Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud. Initially it included mostly Tajiks but by 2000, leaders of other ethnic groups had joined the Northern Alliance. This included Karim Khalili, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Abdullah Abdullah, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Abdul Qadir, Asif Mohseni, Amrullah Saleh and others.
Hamid Karzai is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from December 2004 to September 2014. He previously served as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration from December 2001 to July 2002. He is the chief (khān) of the Popalzai Durrani tribe of Pashtuns in Kandahar Province.
Richard Reid unsuccessfully attempted to detonate a bomb in his shoe (pictured) on a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami.
Richard Colvin Reid, also known as the "Shoe Bomber", is a British terrorist who attempted to detonate a shoe bomb on a transatlantic flight in 2001. Born to a father who was a career criminal, Reid converted to Islam as a young man in prison after years as a petty criminal. Later he became radicalized and went to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he trained and became a member of al-Qaeda.
On December 22, 2001, a failed shoe bombing attempt occurred aboard American Airlines Flight 63. The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300ER with 197 passengers and crew aboard, was flying from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, to Miami International Airport in the U.S. state of Florida.
Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Northern Alliance, hands over power in Islamic State of Afghanistan to the interim government headed by President Hamid Karzai.
Burhānuddīn Rabbānī was an Afghan politician and teacher who served as President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996.
The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, was a military alliance of groups that operated between late 1996 to 2001 after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) took over Kabul. The United Front was originally assembled by key leaders of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, particularly president Burhanuddin Rabbani and former Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud. Initially it included mostly Tajiks but by 2000, leaders of other ethnic groups had joined the Northern Alliance. This included Karim Khalili, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Abdullah Abdullah, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Abdul Qadir, Asif Mohseni, Amrullah Saleh and others.
The Islamic State of Afghanistan was the government of Afghanistan, established by the Peshawar Accords on 26 April 1992 by many, but not all, Afghan mujahideen parties, after the fall of the communist government. Its power was limited due to civil war. When the Taliban took control of Kabul in 1996, it transitioned to a government in exile and led the Northern Alliance against the partially recognized Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. In the aftermath of the 2001 United States-led invasion of Afghanistan and victory by the Northern Alliance, the Islamic State briefly regained control of the country. In 2002, it was formally succeeded by the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan.
The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces.
Hamid Karzai is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from December 2004 to September 2014. He previously served as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration from December 2001 to July 2002. He is the chief (khān) of the Popalzai Durrani tribe of Pashtuns in Kandahar Province.
Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.
Richard Colvin Reid, also known as the "Shoe Bomber", is a British terrorist who attempted to detonate a shoe bomb on a transatlantic flight in 2001. Born to a father who was a career criminal, Reid converted to Islam as a young man in prison after years as a petty criminal. Later he became radicalized and went to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he trained and became a member of al-Qaeda.
On December 22, 2001, a failed shoe bombing attempt occurred aboard American Airlines Flight 63. The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300ER with 197 passengers and crew aboard, was flying from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, to Miami International Airport in the U.S. state of Florida.
Just after taking off from London Stansted Airport, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 crashes into Hatfield Forest near Great Hallingbury, killing all four people on board.
London Stansted Airport is an international airport located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, 42 mi (68 km) northeast of Central London.
Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 was a Boeing 747-2B5F, registered HL7451 and bound for Milan Malpensa Airport, that crashed due to instrument malfunction and pilot error on 22 December 1999 shortly after take-off from London Stansted Airport where the final leg of its route from South Korea to Italy had begun. The aircraft crashed into Hatfield Forest near the village of Great Hallingbury, close to but clear of some houses. All four crew on board died.
Hatfield Forest is a 403.2-hectare (996-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Essex, three miles east of Bishop's Stortford. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is owned and managed by the National Trust. A medieval warren in the forest is a Scheduled Monument.
Great Hallingbury is a village and a civil parish in the Uttlesford District of Essex, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 713. It is near the town of Bishop's Stortford, and the M11 motorway.
Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquished the disputed title of President of Somalia.
Hussein Mohamed Farrah Aidid is the son of General Mohamed Farrah Aidid. His father was leader of the Somali National Alliance (SNA), the organization that fought US forces in Mogadishu, through his death on August 2, 1996, after being shot in a tribal battle. Farrah succeeded his father as leader of the SNA, and two days after his father's death, the SNA declared Farrah as the new President, although he too was not internationally recognized as such. Farrah relinquished his claim as president in December 1997, by signing the Cairo Declaration, a significant step toward peace in Somalia.
The president of Somalia is the head of state of Somalia. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Somali Armed Forces. The president represents the Federal Republic of Somalia, and the unity of the Somali nation, as well as ensuring the implementation of the Constitution of Somalia and the organised and harmonious functioning of the organs of state. The office of President of Somalia was established with the proclamation of the Republic of Somalia on 1 July 1960. The first president of Somalia was Aden Abdullah Osman Daar.
Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas are massacred by paramilitary forces.
The Acteal massacre was a massacre of 45 people attending a prayer meeting of [Catholic] indigenous townspeople, including a number of children and pregnant women, who were members of the pacifist group Las Abejas, in the small village of Acteal in the municipality of Chenalhó, in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Right-wing paramilitary group Máscara Roja murdered the victims on December 22, 1997, while the Government of Mexico first admitted responsibility for the massacre in September 2020.
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2019. As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Acteal is a small village in the municipality of Chenalhó, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 20 km north of San Cristóbal de las Casas. It became known internationally at the end of 1997 for the massacre of 45 indigenous people.
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 124 municipalities as of September 2017 and its capital and largest city is Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Other important population centers in Chiapas include Ocosingo, Tapachula, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Comitán, and Arriaga. Chiapas is the southernmost state in Mexico, and it borders the states of Oaxaca to the west, Veracruz to the northwest, and Tabasco to the north, and the Petén, Quiché, Huehuetenango, and San Marcos departments of Guatemala to the east and southeast. Chiapas has a significant coastline on the Pacific Ocean to the southwest.
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carry out duties that a country's military or police forces are unable or unwilling to handle. Other organizations may be considered paramilitaries by structure alone, despite being unarmed or lacking a combat role.
Somali Civil War: Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquishes the disputed title of President of Somalia by signing the Cairo Declaration, in Cairo, Egypt. It is the first major step towards reconciliation in Somalia since 1991.
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups, including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast, the Somali National Movement in the northwest, and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups overthrew the Barre government in 1991.
Hussein Mohamed Farrah Aidid is the son of General Mohamed Farrah Aidid. His father was leader of the Somali National Alliance (SNA), the organization that fought US forces in Mogadishu, through his death on August 2, 1996, after being shot in a tribal battle. Farrah succeeded his father as leader of the SNA, and two days after his father's death, the SNA declared Farrah as the new President, although he too was not internationally recognized as such. Farrah relinquished his claim as president in December 1997, by signing the Cairo Declaration, a significant step toward peace in Somalia.
The president of Somalia is the head of state of Somalia. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Somali Armed Forces. The president represents the Federal Republic of Somalia, and the unity of the Somali nation, as well as ensuring the implementation of the Constitution of Somalia and the organised and harmonious functioning of the organs of state. The office of President of Somalia was established with the proclamation of the Republic of Somalia on 1 July 1960. The first president of Somalia was Aden Abdullah Osman Daar.
Many factions opposed to Siad Barre set aside tribal and political differences to unite in purpose to overthrow his regime. After the collapse of Siad Barre's government in 1991 the nation fell into a long period of increasingly chaotic conflict between forces of clans, militias, warlords, separatist, religious functions and rebellion movements, other nations, and even the United Nations peacekeepers.
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East. The Greater Cairo metropolitan area, with a population of 21.9 million, is the 12th-largest in the world by population. Cairo is associated with ancient Egypt, as the Giza pyramid complex and the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis are located in its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta, the city first developed as Fustat, a settlement founded after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640 next to an existing ancient Roman fortress, Babylon. Under the Fatimid dynasty a new city, al-Qāhirah, was founded nearby in 969. It later superseded Fustat as the main urban centre during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life, and is titled "the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture. Cairo's historic center was awarded World Heritage Site-status in 1979. Cairo is considered a World City with a "Beta +" classification according to GaWC.
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip of Palestine and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt, while Alexandria, the second-largest city, is an important industrial and tourist hub at the Mediterranean coast. At approximately 100 million inhabitants, Egypt is the 14th-most populated country in the world.
Airborne Express Flight 827 crashes near Narrows, Virginia, killing all six people on board.
Airborne Express Flight 827 was a functional evaluation flight (FEF) of an Airborne Express Douglas DC-8-63F that had undergone a major modification. On December 22, 1996, during the test flight, the aircraft stalled and crashed, killing all six people on board. Accident investigators determined the cause of the accident was improper crew control inputs.
Narrows, named for the narrowing of the New River that flows through the town, is a town in Giles County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,029 at the 2010 census, a decline of 3.9% from the 2000 count of 2,111. It is part of the Blacksburg–Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.
During approach to Tripoli International Airport, a Boeing 727 operating as Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 collides in mid-air with a Libyan Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, killing 157 people.
Tripoli International Airport is a closed international airport built to serve Tripoli, the capital city of Libya. The airport is located in the area of Qasr bin Ghashir, 24 kilometres (15 mi) from central Tripoli. It used to be the hub for Libyan Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways, and Buraq Air.
The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airports. On December 5, 1960, the 727 was launched with 40 orders each from United Airlines and Eastern Air Lines. The first 727-100 rolled out November 27, 1962, first flew on February 9, 1963, and entered service with Eastern on February 1, 1964.
Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 was a Boeing 727-2L5 with 10 crew and 147 passengers on board that collided with a LARAF Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 on 22 December 1992. All 157 people onboard flight 1103 were killed, while the crew of the MiG-23 ejected and survived. It was the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Libya at the time.
The Libyan Air Force is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat-capable aircraft operating from 13 military airbases in Libya. Since the 2011 civil war and the ongoing conflict, multiple factions fighting in Libya are in possession of military aircraft. As of 2019 the Libyan Air Force is nominally under the control of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli, though the rival Libyan National Army of Marshal Khalifa Haftar also has a significant air force. In 2021, the air force is under command of the new President of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi that replaced Fayez al-Sarraj.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircraft such as the Su-17 "Fitter". It was the first Soviet fighter to field a look-down/shoot-down radar, the RP-23 Sapfir, and one of the first to be armed with beyond-visual-range missiles. Production started in 1969 and reached large numbers with over 5,000 aircraft built, making it the most produced variable-sweep wing aircraft in history. Today the MiG-23 remains in limited service with some export customers.
Lech Wałęsa is elected President of Poland.
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratically elected President of Poland since 1926 and the first-ever Polish President elected in popular vote. A shipyard electrician by trade, Wałęsa became the leader of the Solidarity movement, and led a successful pro-democratic effort which in 1989 ended the Communist rule in Poland and ushered in the end of the Cold War.
Presidential elections were held in Poland on 25 November 1990, with a second round on 9 December. They were the first direct presidential elections in the history of Poland, and the first free presidential elections since the May Coup of 1926. Before World War II, presidents were elected by the Sejm. From 1952 to 1989—the bulk of the Communist era—the presidency did not exist as a separate institution, and most of its functions were fulfilled by the State Council of Poland, whose chairman was considered the equivalent of a president.
The president of Poland, officially the president of the Republic of Poland, is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president heads the executive branch. In addition, the president has a right to dissolve parliament in certain cases, can veto legislation and represents Poland in the international arena.
Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship.
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia. The country's population of 58,413 people is spread out over five islands and 29 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The capital and largest city is Majuro. It has the largest portion of its territory composed of water of any sovereign state, at 97.87%. The islands share maritime boundaries with Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the southeast, Nauru to the south, and Federated States of Micronesia to the west. About 52.3% of Marshall Islanders live on Majuro. In 2016, 73.3% of the population were defined as being "urban". The UN also indicates a population density of 760 inhabitants per square mile (295/km2), and its projected 2020 population is 59,190.
The Federated States of Micronesia, is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states – from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae – that are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise around 607 islands that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,678 mi) just north of the equator. They lie northeast of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km (1,802 mi) north of eastern Australia, 3,400 km (2,133 mi) southeast of Japan, and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of the main islands of the Hawaiian Islands.
The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994.
Romanian Revolution: Communist President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu is overthrown by Ion Iliescu after days of bloody confrontations. The deposed dictator and his wife Elena flee Bucharest in a helicopter as protesters erupt in cheers.
The Romanian Revolution, also known as the Christmas Revolution, was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world. The Romanian Revolution started in the city of Timișoara and soon spread throughout the country, ultimately culminating in the drumhead trial and execution of longtime Romanian Communist Party (PCR) General Secretary Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena, and the end of 42 years of Communist rule in Romania. It was also the last removal of a Marxist–Leninist government in a Warsaw Pact country during the events of 1989, and the only one that violently overthrew a country's leadership and executed its leader; according to estimates, over one thousand people died and thousands more were injured.
Communism is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange which allocates products to everyone in the society. Communist society also involves the absence of private property, social classes, money, and the state. Communists often seek a voluntary state of self-governance, but disagree on the means to this end. This reflects a distinction between a more libertarian approach of communization, revolutionary spontaneity, and workers' self-management, and a more vanguardist or communist party-driven approach through the development of a constitutional socialist state followed by the withering away of the state.
The president of Romania is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An individual may serve two terms. During their term in office, the president may not be a formal member of a political party.
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was also the country's head of state from 1967, serving as President of the State Council and from 1974 concurrently as President of the Republic, until his overthrow and execution in the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, part of a series of anti-Communist uprisings in Eastern Europe that year.
Ion Iliescu is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu was a senator for the Social Democratic Party (PSD), of which he is the founder and honorary president to this day.
Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km (37.3 mi) north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border.
German reunification: Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.
German reunification was a geo-political event on 3 October 1990 by which the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and its territory became part of the Federal Republic of Germany to form present-day Germany.
The Brandenburg Gate is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One of the best-known landmarks of Germany, it was built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der Havel, which used to be the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic, was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state was a part of the Eastern Bloc in the Cold War. Commonly described as a communist state, it described itself as a socialist "workers' and peasants' state". Its territory was administered and occupied by Soviet forces following the end of World War II—the Soviet occupation zone of the Potsdam Agreement, bounded on the east by the Oder–Neisse line. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin but did not include it and West Berlin remained outside the jurisdiction of the GDR.
West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 October 1990. During the Cold War, the western portion of Germany and the associated territory of West Berlin were parts of the Western Bloc. West Germany was formed as a political entity during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II, established from eleven states formed in the three Allied zones of occupation/Trizone held by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The FRG's provisional capital was the city of Bonn, and the Cold War era country is retrospectively designated as the Bonn Republic.
Brazilian unionist and environmental activist Chico Mendes was murdered at his Xapuri home.
A trade union, often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", such as attaining better wages and benefits, improving working conditions, improving safety standards, establishing complaint procedures, developing rules governing status of employees and protecting the integrity of their trade through the increased bargaining power wielded by solidarity among workers.
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the impact of changes to the environment on humans, animals, plants and non-living matter. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologism combines the ideology of social ecology and environmentalism. Ecologism is more commonly used in continental European languages, while environmentalism is more commonly used in English but the words have slightly different connotations.
Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, better known as Chico Mendes, was a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader and environmentalist. He fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest, and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and Indigenous peoples. He was assassinated by a rancher on 22 December 1988. The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, a body under the jurisdiction of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, is named in his honor.
Xapuri is a municipality located in the southeast of the Brazilian state of Acre. It was the scene of an early bloodless victory during the war to make Acre independent of Bolivia. The town is known as the birthplace of the rubber tapper and environmentalist Chico Mendes and of the surgeon and professor Adib Jatene.
In Zimbabwe, the political parties ZANU and ZAPU reach an agreement that ends the violence in the Matabeleland region known as the Gukurahundi.
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. The capital and largest city is Harare. The second largest city is Bulawayo. A country of roughly 15 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most common. It was once referred to by Samora Machel as the "Jewel of Africa" for its great prosperity during the early years of Robert Mugabe.
The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugabe and Ndabaningi Sithole, later respectively called ZANU–PF and ZANU - Ndonga. These two sub-divisions ran separately at the 1980 general election, where ZANU-PF has been in power ever since, and ZANU – Ndonga a minor opposition party.
The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a Zimbabwean political party. It is a militant organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in Rhodesia, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. It was relaunched in 2008.
Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers and are further separated from Midlands by the Shangani River in central Zimbabwe. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people who were called "Amatabele"(people with long spears - Mzilikazi 's group of people who were escaping the Mfecani wars). Other ethnic groups who inhabit parts of Matabeleland include the Tonga, Bakalanga, Venda, Nambya, Khoisan, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, and Tsonga. The population of Matabeleland is just over 20% of the Zimbabwe's total.
The Gukurahundi was a genocide in Zimbabwe which arose in 1982 until the Unity Accord in 1987. It derives from a Shona language term which loosely translates to "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains".
While riding a New York City Subway train, Bernhard Goetz shot four African-American youths who had attempted to rob him, sparking a nationwide debate on vigilantism, racism, and the legal limits of self-defense.
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the most-used, and the one with the most stations, with 472 stations in operation. Stations are located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
On December 22, 1984, Bernhard Goetz shot four young men on a New York City Subway train in Manhattan after they allegedly tried to rob him.
Vigilantism is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.
Racism in the United States comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups in the United States, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and actions at various times in the history of the United States against racial or ethnic groups. Throughout American history, white Americans have generally enjoyed legally or socially sanctioned privileges and rights, which have been denied to members of various ethnic or minority groups at various times. European Americans, particularly affluent white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, are said to have enjoyed advantages in matters of education, immigration, voting rights, citizenship, land acquisition, and criminal procedure.
Self-defense is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many jurisdictions.
"Subway vigilante" Bernhard Goetz shoots four would-be muggers on a 2 express train in Manhattan section of New York, United States.
On December 22, 1984, Bernhard Goetz shot four young men on a New York City Subway train in Manhattan after they allegedly tried to rob him.
The 2 Seventh Avenue Express is a rapid transit service in the A Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored red since it uses the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line through most of Manhattan.
Manhattan, known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state of New York. Located near the southern tip of New York State, Manhattan is based in the Eastern Time Zone and constitutes both the geographical and demographic center of the Northeast megalopolis and the urban core of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. Over 58 million people live within 250 miles of Manhattan, which serves as New York City’s economic and administrative center, cultural identifier, and the city’s historical birthplace. Manhattan has been described as the cultural, financial, media, and entertainment capital of the world, is considered a safe haven for global real estate investors, and hosts the United Nations headquarters. New York City is the headquarters of the global art market, centered in Manhattan.
The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform.
The 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was convened August 12–18, 1977, about five years before the 12th National Congress, and four years after the 10th National Congress. The Congress formally declared the Cultural Revolution officially over after 11 long years, ending a long chapter of Chinese history. The Gang of Four were fully criticized for their role in the revolution. Hua Guofeng was formally elected as Chairman of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and was elected to the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission. The Political Bureau was also renewed with new memberships when the 11th Politburo was elected as a result of the congress.
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP chairman Mao Zedong's death in 1976, Deng gradually rose to supreme power and led China through a series of far-reaching market-economy reforms earning him the reputation as the "Architect of Modern China". He contributed to China becoming the world's second largest economy by GDP nominal in 2010.
Mao Zedong, also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which he led as the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from the establishment of the PRC in 1949 until his death in 1976. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist, his theories, military strategies, and political policies are collectively known as Maoism.
The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up, known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Led by Deng Xiaoping, often credited as the "General Architect", the reforms were launched by reformists within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on December 18, 1978, during the "Boluan Fanzheng" period. The reforms went into stagnation after the military crackdown on 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, but were revived after Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour in 1992. In 2010, China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and in 2017 overtook the United States by becoming the world's largest economy by GDP (PPP).
U.S. President Gerald Ford creates the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in response to the 1970s energy crisis.
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected to the office of president or vice president. He previously served as the leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, and was appointed to be the 40th vice president in 1973. When President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, Ford succeeded to the presidency, but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is an emergency stockpile of petroleum maintained by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). It is the largest publicly known emergency supply in the world; its underground tanks in Louisiana and Texas have capacity for 714 million barrels (113,500,000 m3). The United States started the petroleum reserve in 1975 to mitigate future supply disruptions as part of the international Agreement on an International Energy Program, after oil supplies were interrupted during the 1973–1974 oil embargo.
The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period were the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis, when, respectively, the Yom Kippur War and the Iranian Revolution triggered interruptions in Middle Eastern oil exports.
Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli vote to become the independent nation of Comoros. Mayotte remains under French administration.
Grande Comore is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital. The island is made up of two shield volcanoes, with Mount Karthala being the country's highest point at 2,361 m (7,746 ft) above sea level. According to the 2009 revision of the constitution of 2002, it is governed by an elected Governor, as are the other islands, with the federal government being much reduced in power. The name Ngazidja is sometimes seen in the now nonstandard form Njazidja.
Anjouan is an autonomous high island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. Its chief town is Mutsamudu and, as of 2006, its population is around 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 square kilometers.
Mohéli [mɔ.e.li], also known as Mwali, is an autonomous island that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. It is the smallest of the three major islands in the country. It is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa and it is the smallest of the four major Comoro Islands. Its capital and largest city is Fomboni.
An independence referendum was held in the Comoros on 22 December 1974. The overall result was a strong "yes" vote, with 94.57% of voters voting for independence and almost all the "no" votes being cast in Mayotte, where there was a majority for remaining under French control. In contrast, on Mohéli only five out of 6,059 votes were against independence. Voter turnout was 93.3%.
The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population, and the official state religion, is Sunni Islam. As a member of the Arab League, it is the only country in the Arab world which is entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. Comoros proclaimed their independence on July 6, 1975. It is also a member state of the African Union, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Indian Ocean Commission. The country has three official languages: Chi Comori, French and Arabic.
Mayotte, officially the Department of Mayotte, is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is located in the northern part of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Southeastern Africa, between Northwestern Madagascar and Northeastern Mozambique. Mayotte consists of a main island, Grande-Terre, a smaller island, Petite-Terre, as well as several islets around these two. Mayotte is the most prosperous territory in the Mozambique Channel, making it a major destination for immigration.
The house of former British Prime Minister Edward Heath is attacked by members of the Provisional IRA.
Sir Edward Richard George Heath was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath also served for 51 years as a Member of Parliament from 1950 to 2001. Outside politics, Heath was a yachtsman, a musician, and an author.
The Irish Republican Army, also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent, socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It saw itself as the army of the all-island Irish Republic and as the sole legitimate successor to the original IRA from the Irish War of Independence. It was designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an unlawful organisation in the Republic of Ireland, both of whose authority it rejected.
A Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crashes near Tanger-Boukhalef Airport (now Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport) in Tangier, Morocco, killing 106.
Royal Air Maroc, more commonly known as RAM, is the Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country's largest airline.
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for the de Havilland Comet. SNCASE merged into the larger Sud Aviation conglomerate before the aircraft entered revenue service on 26 April 1959 with Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS); 282 were built until production ended in 1972. It was ordered by airlines on every continent and operated until its retirement in 2005.
The 1973 Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crash occurred on December 22, 1973 when a Sobelair Sud Aviation Caravelle SE-210 crashed near Tangier, Morocco. All 106 people on board were killed.
Tangier Ibn Battuta Airport is an international airport serving Tangier, the capital city of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region in Morocco. The airport is named after Ibn Battouta (1304–1368), a Moroccan traveler who was born in Tangier. The airport was formerly known as Tanger-Boukhalef Airport. The airport handled over 1,070,247 passengers in the year 2017.
Tangier is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Ṭanja-Aẓila Prefecture of Morocco.
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Mauritania lies to the south of Western Sahara. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It spans an area of 446,300 km2 (172,300 sq mi) or 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi), with a population of roughly 37 million. Its official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; the Moroccan dialect of Arabic and French are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.
Two groups of French doctors involved in humanitarian aid merged to form Médecins Sans Frontières.
Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Humanitarian relief efforts are provided for humanitarian purposes and include natural disasters and man-made disasters. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity. It may, therefore, be distinguished from development aid, which seeks to address the underlying socioeconomic factors which may have led to a crisis or emergency. There is a debate on linking humanitarian aid and development efforts, which was reinforced by the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. However, the conflation is viewed critically by practitioners.
Médecins Sans Frontières, sometimes referred to in English as Doctors Without Borders, is an international humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin best known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. Main areas of work include diabetes, drug-resistant infections, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, tropical and neglected diseases, tuberculosis, vaccines and COVID. They contribute to patents and intellectual property subjects, as well as research and development. In 2019, the group was active in 70 countries with over 35,000 personnel; mostly local doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, logistical experts, water and sanitation engineers, and administrators. Private donors provide about 90% of the organisation's funding, while corporate donations provide the rest, giving MSF an annual budget of approximately US$1.63 billion.
The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France.
Médecins Sans Frontières, sometimes referred to in English as Doctors Without Borders, is an international humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin best known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. Main areas of work include diabetes, drug-resistant infections, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, tropical and neglected diseases, tuberculosis, vaccines and COVID. They contribute to patents and intellectual property subjects, as well as research and development. In 2019, the group was active in 70 countries with over 35,000 personnel; mostly local doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, logistical experts, water and sanitation engineers, and administrators. Private donors provide about 90% of the organisation's funding, while corporate donations provide the rest, giving MSF an annual budget of approximately US$1.63 billion.
Bernard Kouchner KBE is a French politician and doctor. He is the co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Médecins du Monde. From 2007 until 2010, he was the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the center-right Fillon government under president Nicolas Sarkozy, although he had been in the past a minister in socialist governments. In 2010, The Jerusalem Post considered Bernard Kouchner the 15th most influential Jew in the world. Since 2015 Kouchner is workstream leader for the AMU, where he contributes his expertise in healthcare.
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km², making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, gastronomy, and science. For its leading role in the arts and sciences, as well as its very early system of street lighting, in the 19th century it became known as "the City of Light". Like London, prior to the Second World War, it was also sometimes called the capital of the world.
France, officially the French Republic, is a transcontinental country predominantly located in Western Europe and spanning overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin. Its eighteen integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and contain close to 68 million people. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre; other major urban areas include Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, and Nice.
Cultural Revolution: The People's Daily published a piece by Mao Zedong directing that "the intellectual youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty."
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. The Revolution marked the effective commanding return of Mao –who was still the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)– to the centre of power, after a period of self-abstention and ceding to less radical leadership in the aftermath of the Mao-led Great Leap Forward debacle and the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961). The Revolution failed to achieve its main goals.
The People's Daily is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, the People's Daily is published in multiple languages.
Mao Zedong, also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which he led as the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from the establishment of the PRC in 1949 until his death in 1976. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist, his theories, military strategies, and political policies are collectively known as Maoism.
The sent-down, rusticated, or "educated" youth, also known as the zhiqing, were the young people who—beginning in the 1950s until the end of the Cultural Revolution, willingly or under coercion—left the urban districts of the People's Republic of China to live and work in rural areas as part of the "Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement".
Cultural Revolution: People's Daily posted the instructions of Mao Zedong that "The intellectual youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty."
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. The Revolution marked the effective commanding return of Mao –who was still the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)– to the centre of power, after a period of self-abstention and ceding to less radical leadership in the aftermath of the Mao-led Great Leap Forward debacle and the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961). The Revolution failed to achieve its main goals.
The People's Daily is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, the People's Daily is published in multiple languages.
Mao Zedong, also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which he led as the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from the establishment of the PRC in 1949 until his death in 1976. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist, his theories, military strategies, and political policies are collectively known as Maoism.
The sent-down, rusticated, or "educated" youth, also known as the zhiqing, were the young people who—beginning in the 1950s until the end of the Cultural Revolution, willingly or under coercion—left the urban districts of the People's Republic of China to live and work in rural areas as part of the "Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement".
In the United Kingdom, a 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) speed limit is applied to all rural roads including motorways for the first time.
Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expressed as kilometres per hour (km/h) and/or miles per hour (mph). Speed limits are commonly set by the legislative bodies of national or provincial governments and enforced by national or regional police and judicial authorities. Speed limits may also be variable, or in some places nonexistent, such as on most of the Autobahnen in Germany.
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms include throughway and parkway. Some of these may be limited-access highways, although this term can also refer to a class of highways with somewhat less isolation from other traffic.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the United States Air Force's long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft and the world's fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, made its first flight.
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. It was operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and NASA.
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.
Mach number is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Moravian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach.
A reconnaissance aircraft is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence, signals intelligence, as well as measurement and signature intelligence. Modern technology has also enabled some aircraft and UAVs to carry out real-time surveillance in addition to general intelligence gathering.
The first test flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird) takes place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, United States.
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. It was operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and NASA.
United States Air Force Plant 42 is a classified aircraft manufacturing plant owned by the United States Air Force in the Antelope Valley, about 60 miles from downtown Los Angeles. It is also used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south.
The cruise ship Lakonia burns 290 kilometres (180 mi) north of Madeira, Portugal with the loss of 128 lives.
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "shore excursions". On "cruises to nowhere" or "nowhere voyages", cruise ships make two- to three-night round trips without visiting any ports of call.
TSMS Lakonia was a passenger ship, launched in 1929 for Netherland Line as the ocean liner Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. In 1962 she became the Greek Line cruise ship TSMS Lakonia. On 22 December 1963 she caught fire at sea and on 29 December she sank. 128 people were killed in the disaster.
Madeira, officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira, is one of two autonomous regions of Portugal, the other being the Azores. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in a region known as Macaronesia, just under 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the north of the Canary Islands and 520 kilometres (320 mi) west of the Kingdom of Morocco. Madeira is geologically located on the African Tectonic Plate, notwithstanding being culturally, sociologically, economically and politically European as it is its southern archipelago neighbor. Its population was 251,060 in 2021. The capital of Madeira is Funchal, which is located on the main island's south coast.
The Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia under chairman Sjafruddin Prawiranegara was established to counter Dutch attempts to re-assert colonial control.
The Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia was established by Indonesian Republicans after the Netherlands occupied the at the time capital city of Yogyakarta in Central Java, the location of the temporary Republican capital during the Indonesian National Revolution. It was established in the city of Bukittinggi and led by Sjafruddin Prawiranegara.
Sjafruddin Prawiranegara was an Indonesian statesman and economist. He served as the head of government in the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia, as Minister of Finance in several cabinets, and was the first Governor of Bank Indonesia between 1951 and 1958. He then became the prime minister of the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia, a shadow government set up in opposition to the country's central government.
Operation Kraai was a Dutch military offensive against the de facto Republic of Indonesia in December 1948 after negotiations failed. With the advantage of surprise the Dutch managed to capture the Indonesian Republic's temporary capital, Yogyakarta, and seized Indonesian leaders such as de facto Republican President Sukarno. This apparent military success was however followed by guerrilla warfare, while the violation of the Renville Agreement ceasefire diplomatically isolated the Dutch, leading to the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference and recognition of the United States of Indonesia.
Sjafruddin Prawiranegara established the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (Pemerintah Darurat Republik Indonesia, PDRI) in West Sumatra.
Sjafruddin Prawiranegara was an Indonesian statesman and economist. He served as the head of government in the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia, as Minister of Finance in several cabinets, and was the first Governor of Bank Indonesia between 1951 and 1958. He then became the prime minister of the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia, a shadow government set up in opposition to the country's central government.
The Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia was established by Indonesian Republicans after the Netherlands occupied the at the time capital city of Yogyakarta in Central Java, the location of the temporary Republican capital during the Indonesian National Revolution. It was established in the city of Bukittinggi and led by Sjafruddin Prawiranegara.
West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of 42,012.89 km2 (16,221.27 sq mi), with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 census. The official estimate at mid 2021 was 5,580,232. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau to the northeast, Jambi to the southeast, and Bengkulu to the south. The province is subdivided into twelve regencies and seven cities. It has relatively more cities than other provinces outside of Java, although several of them are relatively low in population compared with cities elsewhere in Indonesia. Padangcode: ind promoted to code: id is the province's capital and largest city.
U.S. President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order giving World War II refugees precedence in visa applications under U.S. immigration quotas.
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin Roosevelt and as a United States senator from Missouri from 1935 to January 1945. Assuming the presidency after Roosevelt's death, Truman implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe and established both the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism. He proposed numerous liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the Conservative Coalition which dominated the Congress.
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the United States Constitution gives presidents broad executive and enforcement authority to use their discretion to determine how to enforce the law or to otherwise manage the resources and staff of the executive branch. The ability to make such orders is also based on expressed or implied Acts of Congress that delegate to the president some degree of discretionary power. The vast majority of executive orders are proposed by federal agencies before being issued by the president.
Mass evacuation, forced displacement, expulsion, and deportation of millions of people took place across most countries involved in World War II. A number of these phenomena were categorised as violations of fundamental human values and norms by the Nuremberg Tribunal after the war ended. The mass movement of people – most of them refugees – had either been caused by the hostilities, or enforced by the former Axis and the Allied powers based on ideologies of race and ethnicity, culminating in the postwar border changes enacted by international settlements. The refugee crisis created across formerly occupied territories in World War II provided the context for much of the new international refugee and global human rights architecture existing today.
World War II: Battle of the Bulge: German troops demand the surrender of United States troops at Bastogne, Belgium, prompting the famous one word reply by General Anthony McAuliffe: "Nuts!"
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in Europe. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg.
Nazi Germany was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany quickly became a totalitarian state where nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the government. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", alluded to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which Hitler and the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945 after just 12 years when the Allies defeated Germany, ending World War II in Europe.
Bastogne is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium.
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,528 km2 (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376 per square kilometre (970/sq mi). The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.
Anthony Clement "Nuts" McAuliffe was a senior United States Army officer who earned fame as the acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division defending Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He is celebrated for his one-word reply to a German surrender ultimatum: "Nuts!"
World War II: The People's Army of Vietnam is formed to resist Japanese occupation of Indochina, now Vietnam.
The People's Army of Vietnam, also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army, is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed wing of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam. The PAVN is a part of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and includes: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard and Coast Guard. However, Vietnam does not have a separate Ground Force or Army branch. All ground troops, army corps, military districts and specialised arms belong to the Ministry of Defence, directly under the command of the Central Military Commission, the Minister of Defence, and the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. The military flag of the PAVN is the flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with the words Quyết thắng added in yellow at the top left.
In the European summer of 1940 Germany rapidly defeated the French Third Republic, and colonial administration of French Indochina passed to the French State. Many concessions were granted to the Japanese, such as the use of ports, airfields, and railroads. In September 1940 Japanese troops first entered parts of Indochina; and in July 1941 Japan extended its control over the whole of French Indochina. The United States, concerned by Japanese expansion, started putting embargoes on exports of steel and oil to Japan from July 1940. The desire to escape these embargoes and to become self-sufficient in resources ultimately contributed to Japan's decision to attack on December 7, 1941, the British Empire and simultaneously the USA and at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii). This led to the USA declaring war against Japan on December 8, 1941. The US then joined the side of the British Empire, already at war with Germany since 1939, and its existing allies in the fight against the Axis powers.
Vietnam or Viet Nam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of 311,699 square kilometres (120,348 sq mi) and population of 96 million, making it the world's fifteenth-most populous country. Vietnam borders China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia through the South China Sea. Its capital is Hanoi and its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City.
World War II: Adolf Hitler signs the order to develop the V-2 rocket as a weapon.
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.
The V-2, with the technical name Aggregat 4 (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Nazi Germany as a "vengeance weapon" and assigned to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings against German cities. The V-2 rocket also became the first artificial object to travel into space by crossing the Kármán line with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944.
World War II: Himara is captured by the Greek army.
Himara is a municipality and region in Vlorë County, southern Albania. The municipality has a total area of 571.94 km2 (220.83 sq mi) and consists of the administrative units of Himarë, Horë-Vranisht and Lukovë. It lies between the Ceraunian Mountains and the Albanian Ionian Sea Coast and is part of the Albanian Riviera. The traditionally perceived borders of the Himarë region gradually shrank during the Ottoman period, being reduced to the town of Himarë and the villages of the coastline, generally including only Palase, Dhermi, Pilur, Kudhes, Vuno, Ilias and Qeparo.
Members of the All-India Muslim League observed a "Day of Deliverance" to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Congress over the decision to enter the Second World War at the request of the United Kingdom.
The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontinent.
The "Day of Deliverance" was a celebration day marked by the All-India Muslim League and others on 22 December 1939 during the Indian independence movement. It was led by Muslim League president Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and intended to rejoice the resignation of all members of the rival Congress party from provincial and central offices in protest over their not having been consulted over the decision to enter World War II alongside Britain.
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa. From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement. The Congress led India to independence from the United Kingdom, and significantly influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries.
Indian Muslims observe a "Day of Deliverance" to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Congress over their not having been consulted over the decision to enter World War II with the United Kingdom.
Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in 2011 Census. India is also the country with the second or third largest number of Muslims in the world. The majority of India's Muslims are Sunni, with Shia making up 13% of the Muslim population.
The "Day of Deliverance" was a celebration day marked by the All-India Muslim League and others on 22 December 1939 during the Indian independence movement. It was led by Muslim League president Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and intended to rejoice the resignation of all members of the rival Congress party from provincial and central offices in protest over their not having been consulted over the decision to enter World War II alongside Britain.
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa. From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement. The Congress led India to independence from the United Kingdom, and significantly influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries.
The Lincoln Tunnel, connecting New York City to Weehawken, New Jersey, opened.
The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km) tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned New York State Route 495 on the New York side. It was designed by Ole Singstad and named after Abraham Lincoln. The tunnel consists of three vehicular tubes of varying lengths, with two traffic lanes in each tube. The center tube contains reversible lanes, while the northern and southern tubes exclusively carry westbound and eastbound traffic, respectively.
Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.
The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York City.
The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km) tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned New York State Route 495 on the New York side. It was designed by Ole Singstad and named after Abraham Lincoln. The tunnel consists of three vehicular tubes of varying lengths, with two traffic lanes in each tube. The center tube contains reversible lanes, while the northern and southern tubes exclusively carry westbound and eastbound traffic, respectively.
Opening of Visva-Bharati College, also known as Santiniketan College, now Visva Bharati University, India.
Visva-Bharati is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva-Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India. Until independence it was a college. Soon after independence, the institution was given the status of a central university in 1951 by an act of the Parliament.
Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son Rabindranath Tagore whose vision became what is now a university town with the creation of Visva-Bharati.
The Congress of Soviets approved the GOELRO plan, the first Soviet plan for national economic recovery and development.
The Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and several other Soviet republics from 1917 to 1936 and a somewhat similar Congress of People's Deputies from 1989 to 1991. After the creation of the Soviet Union, the Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union functioned as its legislative branch until its dissolution in 1936. Its initial full name was the "Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies". It was also sometimes known as the "Congress of People's Deputies." A similar name also applied in communist-held China in the Republican era.
GOELRO was the first Soviet plan for national economic recovery and development. It became the prototype for subsequent Five-Year Plans drafted by Gosplan. GOELRO is the transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for "State Commission for Electrification of Russia".
The GOELRO economic development plan is adopted by the 8th Congress of Soviets of the Russian SFSR.
GOELRO was the first Soviet plan for national economic recovery and development. It became the prototype for subsequent Five-Year Plans drafted by Gosplan. GOELRO is the transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for "State Commission for Electrification of Russia".
The All-Russian Congress of Soviets evolved from 1917 to become the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1918 until 1936, effectively. The 1918 Constitution of the Russian SFSR mandated that Congress shall convene at least twice a year, with the duties of defining the principles of the Soviet Constitution and ratifying peace treaties. The October Revolution ousted the provisional government of 1917, making the Congress of Soviets the sole, and supreme governing body. It is important to note that this Congress was not the same as the Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union which governed the whole Soviet Union after its creation in 1922.
An Mw 7.9 earthquake strikes Xinjiang, China, killing at least 280.
The 1906 Manasi earthquake (玛纳斯地震), also known as the Manas earthquake occurred in the morning of December 23, 1906, at 02:21 UTC+8:00 local time or December 22, 18:21 UTC. It measured 8.0–8.3 on the moment magnitude scale and 8.3 on the surface-wave magnitude scale. The epicenter of this earthquake is located in Manas County, Xinjiang, China. An estimated 280–300 people died and another 1,000 more were injured by the earthquake.
The Dreyfus affair begins in France, when Alfred Dreyfus is wrongly convicted of treason.
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francophone world, and it remains one of the most notable examples of a complex miscarriage of justice and antisemitism. The role played by the press and public opinion proved influential in the conflict.
Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. The incident has gone down in history as the Dreyfus affair, the reverberations from which were felt throughout Europe. It ultimately ended with Dreyfus's complete exoneration.
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state. A person who commits treason is known in law as a traitor.
Asteroid 323 Brucia becomes the first asteroid discovered using photography.
Brucia is a stony Phocaea asteroid and former Mars-crosser from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 33 kilometers in diameter. It was the first asteroid to be discovered by the use of astrophotography.
Cornwallis Valley Railway begins operation between Kentville and Kingsport, Nova Scotia.
The Cornwallis Valley Railway (CVR) was a historic Canadian railway in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. It was built in 1889 and ran 13.6 miles (21.9 km) from Kentville to Kingsport serving the Cornwallis Township area of Kings County. For most of its history, it operated as a branch line of the Dominion Atlantic Railway and was sometimes known as the "Kingsport Line".
Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929.
Kingsport is a small seaside village located in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the shores of the Minas Basin. It was famous at one time for building some of the largest wooden ships ever built in Canada.
The Christmas Meeting of 1888, considered to be the official start of the Faroese independence movement.
The Christmas Meeting of 1888 is considered to be the official start of the Faroese National Movement.
The Faroese independence movement, or the Faroese national movement, is a political movement which seeks the establishment of the Faroe Islands as a sovereign state outside Denmark. Reasons for complete autonomy include the linguistic and cultural divide between Denmark and the Faroe Islands as well as their lack of proximity to one another; the Faroe Islands are about 990 km from Danish shores.
Itō Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan.
Itō Hirobumi, born as Hayashi Risuke and also known as Hirofumi, Hakubun and briefly during his youth as Itō Shunsuke) was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Japan. He was also a leading member of the genrō, a group of senior statesmen that dictated Japanese policy during the Meiji era.
Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the daimyo. They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing two swords and Kiri-sute gomen. They cultivated the bushido codes of martial virtues, indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles.
The prime minister of Japan is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of State. The prime minister also serves as the civilian commander-in-chief of the Japan Self Defence Forces and as a sitting member of the House of Representatives. The individual is appointed by the emperor of Japan after being nominated by the National Diet and must retain the nomination of the lower house and answer to parliament to remain in office.
American Civil War: Savannah, Georgia, falls to the Union's Army of the Tennessee, and General Sherman tells President Abraham Lincoln: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah".
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.
Savannah is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. A strategic port city in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War, Savannah is today an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport. It is Georgia's fifth-largest city, with a 2020 U.S. Census population of 147,780. The Savannah metropolitan area, Georgia's third-largest, had a 2020 population of 404,798.
During the American Civil War, the Union, also known as the North, referred to the United States led by President Abraham Lincoln. It was opposed by the secessionist Confederate States of America (CSA), informally called "the Confederacy" or "the South". The Union is named after its declared goal of preserving the United States as a constitutional union. "Union" is used in the U.S. Constitution to refer to the founding formation of the people, and to the states in union. In the context of the Civil War, it has also often been used as a synonym for "the northern states loyal to the United States government;" in this meaning, the Union consisted of 20 free states and five border states.
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River.
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the scorched-earth policies that he implemented against the Confederate States. British military theorist and historian B. H. Liddell Hart declared that Sherman was "the first modern general".
Abraham Lincoln was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.
India's first freight train is operated in Roorkee, to transport material for the construction of the Ganges Canal.
Roorkee (Rūṛkī) is a city and a municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is 31 km (19 mi) from Haridwar city, the district headquarter. It is spread over a flat terrain under Sivalik Hills of Himalayas. The city is developed on the banks of Ganges Canal, its dominant feature, which flows from north–south through middle of the city. Roorkee is home to Asia's first engineering college Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, formerly known as Thomson College of Civil Engineering. Roorkee is also known for the Roorkee Cantonment, one of the country's oldest military establishments and the headquarters of Bengal Engineer Group since 1853. A freight train ran in between Roorkee and Piran Kaliyar on 22 December 1851, this was two years before first passenger trains were started between Bombay and Thana in 1853 and 14 years after first freight trains ran in Chennai in 1837.
The Ganges Canal or Ganga Canal is a canal system that irrigates the Doab region between the Ganges River and the Yamuna River in India.
The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., burns.
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia. The library's functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages."
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia, also known as just Washington or simply D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. It is located on the east bank of the Potomac River, which forms its southwestern and southern border with the U.S. state of Virginia, and it shares a land border with the U.S. state of Maryland on its other sides. The city was named for George Washington, a Founding Father and the first president of the United States, and the federal district is named after Columbia, the female personification of the nation. As the seat of the U.S. federal government and several international organizations, the city is an important world political capital. It is one of the most visited cities in the U.S. with over 20 million annual visitors as of 2016.
Ludwig van Beethoven conducts and performs in concert at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, with the premiere of his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy.
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music. His career has conventionally been divided into early, middle, and late periods. His early period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his middle period showed an individual development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized as heroic. During this time, he began to grow increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression.
The Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808 was a benefit concert held for Ludwig van Beethoven at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna that featured the public premieres of Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Fourth Piano Concerto and the Choral Fantasy. This concert, then called an Akademie, occurred in a very cold hall and lasted for approximately four hours. Its featured performers were an orchestra, chorus, vocal soloists, and the composer was featured as soloist at the piano. Beethoven biographer Barry Cooper refers to the concert, in terms of its content, as the "most remarkable" of Beethoven's career.
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor of Ludwig van Beethoven, Op. 67, was written between 1804 and 1808. It is one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies, and it is widely considered one of the cornerstones of western music. First performed in Vienna's Theater an der Wien in 1808, the work achieved its prodigious reputation soon afterward. E. T. A. Hoffmann described the symphony as "one of the most important works of the time". As is typical of symphonies during the Classical period, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has four movements.
The Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony, is a symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and completed in 1808. One of Beethoven's few works containing explicitly programmatic content, the symphony was first performed alongside his fifth symphony in the Theater an der Wien on 22 December 1808 in a four-hour concert.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806. Beethoven was the soloist in the public premiere as part of the concert on 22 December 1808 at Vienna's Theater an der Wien.
The Fantasy for piano, vocal soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra, Op. 80, usually called the Choral Fantasy, was composed in 1808 by then 38-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven.
In an effort to avoid engaging in the Napoleonic Wars, the United States Congress passed the Embargo Act, forbidding American ships from engaging in trade with foreign nations.
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of French domination over most of continental Europe. The wars stemmed from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars consisting of the War of the First Coalition (1792–1797) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). The Napoleonic Wars are often described as five conflicts, each termed after the coalition that fought Napoleon: the Third Coalition (1803–1806), the Fourth (1806–1807), the Fifth (1809), the Sixth (1813–1814), and the Seventh (1815) plus the Peninsular War (1807–1814) and the French invasion of Russia (1812).
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. Congress has 535 voting members: 100 senators and 435 representatives. The vice president of the United States has a vote in the Senate only when senators are evenly divided. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members.
The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. As a successor or replacement law for the 1806 Non-importation Act and passed as the Napoleonic Wars continued, it represented an escalation of attempts to coerce Britain to stop any impressment of American sailors and to respect American sovereignty and neutrality but also attempted to pressure France and other nations in the pursuit of general diplomatic and economic leverage.
The Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, is passed by the U.S. Congress at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson.
The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. As a successor or replacement law for the 1806 Non-importation Act and passed as the Napoleonic Wars continued, it represented an escalation of attempts to coerce Britain to stop any impressment of American sailors and to respect American sovereignty and neutrality but also attempted to pressure France and other nations in the pursuit of general diplomatic and economic leverage.
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. Congress has 535 voting members: 100 senators and 435 representatives. The vice president of the United States has a vote in the Senate only when senators are evenly divided. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members.
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nation's second vice president under John Adams and the first United States secretary of state under George Washington. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation. He produced formative documents and decisions at state, national, and international levels.
The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Alexander Suvorov and his Russian armies.
Izmail is a city and municipality on the Danube river in Odesa Oblast in south-western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izmail Raion, one of seven districts of Odesa Oblast.
The siege of Izmail was a military investment fought in 1790 on the Black Sea during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). The Russians were led by Alexander Suvorov, who had defeated the Ottomans at Kinburn, Ochakov, and Focsani. The Black Sea flotilla was commanded by the Spanish admiral José de Ribas.
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Prince of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Prince of the Russian Empire and the last Generalissimo of the Russian Empire. Suvorov is considered one of the greatest military commanders in Russian history and one of the great generals of the early modern period. He was awarded numerous medals, titles, and honors by Russia, as well as by other countries. Suvorov secured Russia's expanded borders and renewed military prestige and left a legacy of theories on warfare. He was the author of several military manuals, the most famous being The Science of Victory, and was noted for several of his sayings. He never lost a single battle he commanded. Several military academies, monuments, villages, museums, and orders in Russia are dedicated to him.
Nguyễn Huệ proclaims himself Emperor Quang Trung, in effect abolishing on his own the Lê dynasty.
Emperor Quang Trung or Nguyễn Huệ, also known as Nguyễn Quang Bình, was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1788 until 1792. He was also one of the most successful military commanders in Vietnam's history. Nguyễn Huệ and his brothers, Nguyễn Nhạc and Nguyễn Lữ, together known as the Tây Sơn brothers, were the leaders of the Tây Sơn rebellion. As rebels, they conquered Vietnam, overthrowing the imperial Later Lê dynasty and the two rival feudal houses of the Nguyễn in the south and the Trịnh in the north.
The Lê dynasty, also known as Later Lê dynasty, was the longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, ruling Đại Việt from 1428 to 1789. The Lê dynasty is divided into two historical periods – the Early period before usurpation by the Mạc dynasty (1527–1683), in which emperors ruled in their own right, and the restored period or Revival Lê, in which figurehead emperors reigned under the auspices of the powerful Trịnh family. The Restored Lê period is marked by two lengthy civil wars: the Lê–Mạc War (1533–1592) in which two dynasties battled for legitimacy in northern Vietnam and the Trịnh–Nguyễn War (1627–1672) between the Trịnh lords in North and the Nguyễn lords of the South.
Defeated by the Burmese Konbaung dynasty, Qing China agreed to a peace treaty to end the Sino-Burmese War.
The Konbaung dynasty, also known as Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်) and formerly known as the Alompra dynasty and the Hunter dynasty, was the last dynasty that ruled Burma/Myanmar from 1752 to 1885. It created the second-largest empire in Burmese history and continued the administrative reforms begun by the Toungoo dynasty, laying the foundations of the modern state of Burma. The reforms, however, proved insufficient to stem the advance of the British, who defeated the Burmese in all three Anglo-Burmese Wars over a six-decade span (1824–1885) and ended the millennium-old Burmese monarchy in 1885.
The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new "Manchu" ethnic identity. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria. It seized control of Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing empire lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With 419,264,000 citizens in 1907, it was the world's most populous country at the time.
The Sino-Burmese War, also known as the Qing invasions of Burma or the Myanmar campaign of the Qing dynasty, was a war fought between the Qing dynasty of China and the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). China under the Qianlong Emperor launched four invasions of Burma between 1765 and 1769, which were considered one of his Ten Great Campaigns. Nonetheless, the war, which claimed the lives of over 70,000 Chinese soldiers and four commanders, is sometimes described as "the most disastrous frontier war that the Qing dynasty had ever waged", and one that "assured Burmese independence". Burma's successful defense laid the foundation for the present-day boundary between the two countries.
Sino-Burmese War: The war ends with the Qing dynasty withdrawing from Burma forever.
The Sino-Burmese War, also known as the Qing invasions of Burma or the Myanmar campaign of the Qing dynasty, was a war fought between the Qing dynasty of China and the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). China under the Qianlong Emperor launched four invasions of Burma between 1765 and 1769, which were considered one of his Ten Great Campaigns. Nonetheless, the war, which claimed the lives of over 70,000 Chinese soldiers and four commanders, is sometimes described as "the most disastrous frontier war that the Qing dynasty had ever waged", and one that "assured Burmese independence". Burma's successful defense laid the foundation for the present-day boundary between the two countries.
The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new "Manchu" ethnic identity. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria. It seized control of Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing empire lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With 419,264,000 citizens in 1907, it was the world's most populous country at the time.
The forces of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, take control of Almería from the Nasrid ruler of Granada, Muhammad XIII.
The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the de facto unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; to remove the obstacle that this consanguinity would otherwise have posed to their marriage under canon law, they were given a papal dispensation by Sixtus IV. They married on October 19, 1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was eighteen years old and Ferdinand a year younger. It is generally accepted by most scholars that the unification of Spain can essentially be traced back to the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella.
Ferdinand II, also called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon and Sardinia from 1479, King of Sicily from 1468, King of Naples from 1504 and King of Navarre from 1512 until his death in 1516. He was also the nominal Duke of the ancient Duchies of Athens and Neopatria. He was King of Castile and León from 1475 to 1504, alongside his wife Queen Isabella I. From 1506 to 1516, he was the Regent of the Crown of Castile, making him the effective ruler of Castile. From 1511 to 1516, he styled himself as Imperator totius Africa after having conquered Tlemcen and making the Zayyanid Sultan, Abu Abdallah V, his vassal. He was also the Grandmaster of the Spanish Military Orders of Santiago (1499-1516), Calatrava (1487-1516), Alcantara (1492-1516) and Montesa (1499-1516), after he permanently annexed them into the Spanish Crown. He reigned jointly with Isabella over a dynastically unified Spain; together they are known as the Catholic Monarchs. Ferdinand is considered the de facto first King of Spain, and was described as such during his reign.
Isabella I, also called Isabella the Catholic, was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by virtue of her marriage to King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Reigning together over a dynastically unified Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand are known as the Catholic Monarchs.
Almería is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city grew wealthy during the Islamic era, becoming a world city throughout the 11th and 12th centuries. It enjoyed an active port that traded silk, oil and raisins.
The Nasrid dynasty was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula, ruling the Emirate of Granada from 1230 until 1492. Its members claimed to be of Arab origin. Twenty-three emirs ruled Granada from the founding of the dynasty in 1230 by Muhammad I until 2 January 1492, when Muhammad XII surrendered all lands to Queen Isabella I of Castile. Today, the most visible evidence of the Nasrid dynasty is part of the Alhambra palace complex built under their rule.
The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Islamic realm in southern Iberia during the Late Middle Ages. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western Europe.
Abu Abdallah Muhammad az-Zaghal was the 23rd Nasrid ruler of Granada in Spain. Christians called him Mahoma XIII el Zagal.
Pope Honorius III approves the Dominican Order through the papal bull of confirmation Religiosam vitam.
Pope Honorius III, born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of important administrative positions, including that of Camerlengo. In 1197, he became tutor to the young Frederick II. As pope, he worked to promote the Fifth Crusade, which had been planned under his predecessor, Innocent III. Honorius repeatedly exhorted King Andrew II of Hungary and Emperor Frederick II to fulfill their vows to participate. He also gave approval to the recently formed Dominican and Franciscan religious orders.
The Order of Preachers abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Caleruega. It was approved by Pope Honorius III via the papal bull Religiosam vitam on 22 December 1216. Members of the order, who are referred to as Dominicans, generally carry the letters OP after their names, standing for Ordinis Praedicatorum, meaning of the Order of Preachers. Membership in the order includes friars, nuns, active sisters, and lay or secular Dominicans. More recently there has been a growing number of associates of the religious sisters who are unrelated to the tertiaries.
Religiosam vitam is the incipit designating a papal bull issued on 22 December 1216 by Pope Honorius III. It gave universal recognition to the Dominican Order. The order already had monasteries in Rome, Paris and Boulogne and had already been locally recognized by the bishop of Toulouse the year before – its creation had coincided with the Albigensian Crusade in southern France, in whose support the Dominicans had been very active. It adopted the Rule of St Augustine, but was also regulated by rulings and decisions taken by its own regular general chapters.
Three weeks after the death of King Henry I of England, Stephen of Blois claims the throne and is privately crowned King of England, beginning the English Anarchy.
Henry I, also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henry's elder brothers Robert Curthose and William Rufus inherited Normandy and England, respectively, but Henry was left landless. He purchased the County of Cotentin in western Normandy from Robert, but his brothers deposed him in 1091. He gradually rebuilt his power base in the Cotentin and allied himself with William Rufus against Robert.
Stephen, often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne jure uxoris from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 until 1144. His reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda, whose son, Henry II, succeeded Stephen as the first of the Angevin kings of England.
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. The current monarch is King Charles III, who ascended the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legitimate son of King Henry I, who drowned in the sinking of the White Ship in 1120. Henry sought to be succeeded by his daughter, known as Empress Matilda, but was only partially successful in convincing the nobility to support her. On Henry's death in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the throne, with the help of Stephen's brother Henry of Blois, who was the bishop of Winchester. Stephen's early reign saw fierce fighting with disloyal English barons, rebellious Welsh leaders, and Scottish invaders. Following a major rebellion in the south-west of England, Matilda invaded in 1139 with the help of her half-brother Robert of Gloucester.
Luoyang, eastern capital of the Tang dynasty, is captured by rebel leader Huang Chao during the reign of Emperor Xizong.
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast. As of December 31, 2018, Luoyang had a population of 6,888,500 inhabitants with 2,751,400 people living in the built-up area made of the city's five out of six urban districts and Yanshi District, now being conurbated.
The Tang dynasty, or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty.
Huang Chao was a Chinese smuggler, soldier, and rebel, and is most well known for being the leader of a major rebellion that severely weakened the Tang dynasty.
Emperor Xizong of Tang, né Li Yan, later name changed to Li Xuan, was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 873 to 888. He was the fifth son of his predecessor Emperor Yizong and was the elder brother of his successor Emperor Zhaozong. His reign saw his realm overrun by the great agrarian rebellions led by Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao, and while both were eventually defeated, by the end of Emperor Xizong's reign, the Tang state had virtually disintegrated into pieces ruled by individual warlords, rather than the imperial government, and would never recover, falling eventually in 907.
An earthquake registering an estimated 7.9 Ms struck the eastern Alborz mountains in Persia, causing an estimated 200,000 deaths.
The 856 Damghan earthquake or the 856 Qumis earthquake occurred on 22 December 856. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.9, and a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The meizoseismal area extended for about 350 kilometres (220 mi) along the southern edge of the eastern Alborz mountains of present-day Iran including parts of Tabaristan and Gorgan. The earthquake's epicenter is estimated to be close to the city of Damghan, which was then the capital of the Persian province of Qumis. It caused approximately 200,000 deaths and is listed by the USGS as the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history. This death toll has been debated.
The surface wave magnitude scale is one of the magnitude scales used in seismology to describe the size of an earthquake. It is based on measurements of Rayleigh surface waves that travel along the uppermost layers of the Earth. This magnitude scale is related to the local magnitude scale proposed by Charles Francis Richter in 1935, with modifications from both Richter and Beno Gutenberg throughout the 1940s and 1950s. It is currently used in People's Republic of China as a national standard for categorising earthquakes.The successful development of the local-magnitude scale encouraged Gutenberg and Richter to develop magnitude scales based on teleseismic observations of earthquakes. Two scales were developed, one based on surface waves, , and one on body waves, . Surface waves with a period near 20 s generally produce the largest amplitudes on a standard long-period seismograph, and so the amplitude of these waves is used to determine , using an equation similar to that used for .
The Alborz range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merges into the smaller Aladagh Mountains and borders in the northeast on the parallel mountain ridge Kopet Dag in the northern parts of Khorasan. All these mountains are part of the much larger Alpide belt. This mountain range is divided into the Western, Central, and Eastern Alborz Mountains. The Western Alborz Range runs south-southeastward almost along the western coast of the Caspian Sea. The Central Alborz runs from west to east along the entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea, while the Eastern Alborz Range runs in a northeasterly direction, toward the northern parts of the Khorasan region, southeast of the Caspian Sea. Mount Damavand, the highest mountain in Iran measuring 5,610.0 m, is located in the Central Alborz Mountains.
Damghan earthquake: An earthquake near the Persian city of Damghan kills an estimated 200,000 people, the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history.
The 856 Damghan earthquake or the 856 Qumis earthquake occurred on 22 December 856. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.9, and a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The meizoseismal area extended for about 350 kilometres (220 mi) along the southern edge of the eastern Alborz mountains of present-day Iran including parts of Tabaristan and Gorgan. The earthquake's epicenter is estimated to be close to the city of Damghan, which was then the capital of the Persian province of Qumis. It caused approximately 200,000 deaths and is listed by the USGS as the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history. This death toll has been debated.
Damghan is the capital of Damghan County, Semnan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 57,331, in 15,849 families. It is situated 342 km (213 mi) east of Tehran on the high-road to Mashad, at an elevation of 1,250 m (4,101 ft). It is one of the oldest cities on the Iranian plateau, stretching back 7,000 years, and boasts many sites of historic interest. The oldest of these is Tappeh Hessar, lying to the southeast of the city, which holds the ruins of a castle dating from the Sasanian Empire.
Pope Innocent I began his papacy, succeeding Anastasius I.
Pope Innocent I was the bishop of Rome from 401 to his death on 12 March 417. He may have been the son of his predecessor, Anastasius I. From the beginning of his papacy, he was seen as the general arbitrator of ecclesiastical disputes in both the East and the West. He confirmed the prerogatives of the Archbishop of Thessalonica, and issued a decretal on disciplinary matters referred to him by the Bishop of Rouen. He defended the exiled John Chrysostom and consulted with the bishops of Africa concerning the Pelagian controversy, confirming the decisions of the African synods. The Catholic priest-scholar Johann Peter Kirsch, 1500 years later, described Innocent as a very energetic and highly gifted individual "...who fulfilled admirably the duties of his office".
Pope Anastasius I was the bishop of Rome from 27 November 399 to his death on 19 December 401.
Pope Innocent I is elected, the only pope to succeed his father in the office.
Pope Innocent I was the bishop of Rome from 401 to his death on 12 March 417. He may have been the son of his predecessor, Anastasius I. From the beginning of his papacy, he was seen as the general arbitrator of ecclesiastical disputes in both the East and the West. He confirmed the prerogatives of the Archbishop of Thessalonica, and issued a decretal on disciplinary matters referred to him by the Bishop of Rouen. He defended the exiled John Chrysostom and consulted with the bishops of Africa concerning the Pelagian controversy, confirming the decisions of the African synods. The Catholic priest-scholar Johann Peter Kirsch, 1500 years later, described Innocent as a very energetic and highly gifted individual "...who fulfilled admirably the duties of his office".
Roman emperor Vitellius was captured by soldiers loyal to Vespasian and executed at the Gemonian stairs in Rome.
AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Rufinus. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Aulus Vitellius was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Vitellius was the first to add the honorific cognomen Germanicus to his name instead of Caesar upon his accession. Like his direct predecessor, Otho, Vitellius attempted to rally public support to his cause by honoring and imitating Nero who remained widely popular in the empire.
Vespasian was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolidation of the empire generated political stability and a vast Roman building program.
The Gemonian Stairs were a flight of steps located in the ancient city of Rome. Nicknamed the Stairs of Mourning, the stairs are infamous in Roman history as a place of execution.
Vespasian is proclaimed Emperor of Rome; his predecessor, Vitellius, attempts to abdicate but is captured and killed at the Gemonian stairs.
AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Rufinus. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Vespasian was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolidation of the empire generated political stability and a vast Roman building program.
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period. The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history. Often when a given Roman is described as becoming "emperor" in English it reflects his taking of the title augustus. Another title often used was caesar, used for heirs-apparent, and imperator, originally a military honorific. Early emperors also used the title princeps civitatis. Emperors frequently amassed republican titles, notably princeps senatus, consul, and pontifex maximus.
Aulus Vitellius was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Vitellius was the first to add the honorific cognomen Germanicus to his name instead of Caesar upon his accession. Like his direct predecessor, Otho, Vitellius attempted to rally public support to his cause by honoring and imitating Nero who remained widely popular in the empire.
The Gemonian Stairs were a flight of steps located in the ancient city of Rome. Nicknamed the Stairs of Mourning, the stairs are infamous in Roman history as a place of execution.
Ram Dass, American spiritual teacher and author (b. 1931) deaths
Ram Dass, also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book Be Here Now, which has been described by multiple reviewers as "seminal", helped popularize Eastern spirituality and yoga in the West. He authored or co-authored twelve more books on spirituality over the next four decades, including Grist for the Mill (1977), How Can I Help? (1985), and Polishing the Mirror (2013).
Simcha Rotem, last survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (b. 1924) deaths
Simcha Rotem was a Polish-Israeli veteran who was a member of the Jewish underground in Warsaw and served as the head courier of the Jewish Fighting Organization (ŻOB), which planned and executed the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the Nazis. He was one of the last two surviving Jewish fighters in the Warsaw uprising and the last surviving fighter from the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Majdanek and Treblinka death camps.
Herman Sikumbang, Indonesian guitarist (b. 1982); casualty during 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami deaths
Herman Sikumbang was an Indonesian guitarist who was also part of the Indonesian pop band Seventeen from 1999 to 2018. He died on 22 December 2018 at the age of 36 during the 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami as the band performed onstage. He married Juliana Moechtar in 2012 and he is survived by his wife.
The 2018 Sunda strait tsunami occurred on 22 December 2018 at around 21:38 local time after large parts of the southwestern side of Anak Krakatoa collapsed onto its caldera. The landslide spawned a massive tsunami wave that struck multiple coastal regions in Banten and Lampung, including the popular tourist destination of Anyer.
Gonzalo Morales Sáurez, Costa Rican painter (b. 1945) deaths
Gonzalo Morales Sáurez was a Costa Rican painter. He studied in The San Fernando Academy in Madrid, Spain from 1970 to 1974. He is best known for his hyper-realistic works, and has exhibited his art in many museums and art galleries in Europe and the Americas.
Chad Robinson, Australian rugby league player (b. 1980) deaths
Chad Damian Robinson was an Australian professional rugby league footballer. Robinson spent several years in Australia's National Rugby League with the Parramatta Eels and the Sydney Roosters and a season with Super League side Harlequins RL.
Peter Lundblad, Swedish singer-songwriter (b. 1950) deaths
Gustaf Peter Lundblad was a Swedish singer and songwriter, well known for his 1986 song Ta mig till havet. Lundblad started his career in the band 'The most Remarkable Nailband' where Lasse Tennander appeared as songwriter. Later they started the band 'Duga' but Tennander left the band quickly. In 1978, Lundblad and Torbjörn wrote and recorded the song Who Will Comfort Toffle? which also is a children's book written by Tove Jansson. Together with Agneta Olsson, Lundblad competed in Melodifestivalen 1983 with the song Vill du ha mig efter gryningen.
Freda Meissner-Blau, Australian activist and politician (b. 1927) deaths
Freda Meissner-Blau was an Austrian politician, activist, and prominent figurehead in the Austrian environmental movement. She was a founder and the federal spokesperson of the Austrian Green Party.
John Robert Beyster, American physicist and academic (b. 1924) deaths
John Robert Beyster, often styled J. Robert Beyster, was an American scientist and entrepreneur, and the founder of Science Applications International Corporation. He was Chairman of the Board until his retirement in July 2004, and served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) until November 2003. Beyster's primary areas of interest were national security and nuclear reactor physics. Beyster also founded two nonprofit organizations to assist organizations considering employee ownership: the Beyster Institute and the Foundation for Enterprise Development.
Christine Cavanaugh, American actress (b. 1963) deaths
Christine Josephine Cavanaugh was an American actress, who had a distinctive speaking style and provided the voice for a large range of cartoon characters. She was the original voice of Chuckie Finster in Nickelodeon's Rugrats and the voices of Gosalyn Mallard in Darkwing Duck, Bunnie Rabbot from the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday-morning cartoon on ABC, Oblina in Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and the title characters from Babe and Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory.
Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (b. 1944) deaths
John Robert "Joe" Cocker was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of songs written by other song writers, though he composed a number of songs for most of his albums as well, often in conjunction with songwriting partner Chris Stainton.
Bernard Stone, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927) deaths
Bernard "Berny" L. Stone was alderman of the 50th Ward of the City of Chicago, Illinois from 1973 to 2011. The 50th Ward encompasses part of Chicago's far North Side and includes the West Ridge, West Rogers Park and Peterson Park neighborhoods. First elected to the Council in 1973, Stone was the second longest-serving alderman. His tenure spanned the terms of seven Mayors, from Richard J. Daley to Richard M. Daley. Stone was also Vice Mayor of the City of Chicago from 1998 to 2011.
Diomedes Díaz, Colombian singer-songwriter (b. 1956) deaths
Diomedes Díaz Maestre was a Colombian vallenato singer, songwriter, and composer. His nickname, "El Cacique de la Junta", was given to him by another vallenato singer, Rafael Orozco Maestre, in honor to Díaz's birthplace.
Hans Hækkerup, Danish lawyer and politician (b. 1945) deaths
Hans Hækkerup was a Danish politician who has served as a member of parliament (Folketing) for the Social Democratic party and as the Minister of Defense in four cabinets of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.
Oscar Peer, Swiss author, playwright, and philologist (b. 1928) deaths
Oscar Peer was a Swiss novelist, playwright and philologist. His works were written in Romansch and German, and comprised epic novels, short stories, and drama. He was also well known for his Ladin-German dictionary.
Chuck Cherundolo, American football player and coach (b. 1916) deaths
Charles James Cherundolo, Jr. was an American football player and coach. He played center and linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cleveland Rams, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. He was born in Old Forge, Pennsylvania.
Ryan Freel, American baseball player (b. 1976) deaths
Ryan Paul Freel was an American professional baseball player. A utility player, Freel played second base, third base, and all three outfield positions in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays between 2001 and 2009.
Cliff Osmond, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1937) deaths
Cliff Osmond was an American character actor and television screenwriter. A parallel career as an acting teacher coincided with his other activities.
Lim Keng Yaik, Malaysian physician and politician (b. 1939) deaths
Tun Dr.Lim Keng Yaik was a Malaysian politician and former Minister of Energy, Water and Communications in the Malaysian cabinet. He was the third president of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) from 1980 until stepping down on 8 April 2007 to pave the way for Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon. Just before his death, he was among the only four living Chinese with Tunship holders in Malaysia.
Fred Foy, American soldier and announcer (b. 1921) deaths
Frederick William Foy was an American radio and television announcer and actor. He is best known for his narration of The Lone Ranger. Radio historian Jim Harmon described Foy as "the announcer, perhaps the greatest announcer-narrator in the history of radio drama."
Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Colombian rancher and politician (b. 1940) deaths
Luis Francisco Cuéllar Carvajal was a Colombian politician, serving as Mayor of Morelia, Governor of the Caquetá Department from 2008 to 2009, and Deputy Governor of Caqueta from 2000 to 2003. He is known for being kidnapped and murdered by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and for being kidnapped and held for ransom four times.
Albert Scanlon, English footballer (b. 1935) deaths
Albert Joseph Scanlon was an English footballer. He began his career with Manchester United and was one of the "Busby Babes" who survived the Munich air disaster of 1958. Although he sustained severe injuries, he recovered and continued to play league football for Newcastle United, Lincoln City and Mansfield Town. He then went on to play non-league football until his retirement.
Charles Court, Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia (b. 1911) deaths
Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party.
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive branch of the Government of Western Australia and is accountable to the Parliament of Western Australia. The premier is appointed by the governor of Western Australia. By convention, the governor appoints as premier whoever has the support of the majority of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. In practice, this means that the premier is the leader of the political party or group of parties with a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. Since Western Australia achieved self-governance in 1890, there have been 31 premiers. Mark McGowan is the current premier, having been appointed to the position on 17 March 2017.
Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and playwright (b. 1932) deaths
Adrian E. Cristobal was a Filipino writer who frequently touched on political and historical themes. Perhaps best known to the public for his "Breakfast Table" newspaper column, he was also a Palanca Award-winning playwright, fictionist and essayist. He likewise held several positions in government during the administration of President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (b. 1960) deaths
Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina was a Soviet gymnast who won the all-around title at the 1978 World Championships in Strasbourg, France. Her career was on the rise, and she was widely touted as the next great gymnastics star until 1979, when she broke a leg and missed several competitions. The rushed recovery from that injury, combined with pressure to master a dangerous and difficult tumbling move caused her to break her neck two weeks before the opening of the 1980 Summer Olympics, leaving her permanently quadriplegic.
Galina Ustvolskaya, Russian composer (b. 1919) deaths
Galina Ivanovna Ustvolskaya, was a Russian composer of classical music.
Doug Ault, American baseball player and manager (b. 1950) deaths
Douglas Reagan Ault was an American professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter who played for the Texas Rangers (1976) and Toronto Blue Jays. He is best known for hitting the first two home runs in Blue Jays history, in the team's first Major League Baseball (MLB) game on April 7, 1977, a 9–5 Toronto win against the Chicago White Sox.
Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese lawyer, politician and President of Guyana (b. 1929) deaths
Hugh Desmond Hoyte was a Guyanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Guyana from 1984 to 1985 and President of Guyana from 1985 until 1992.
The president of Guyana is the head of state and the head of government of Guyana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic, according to the Constitution of Guyana. The president is also the chancellor of the Orders of Guyana. Concurrent with their constitutional role as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the President does not appoint a separate Minister of Defence. That portfolio is held by the President who fulfils all responsibilities designated to a minister of defence under the Defence Act.
Joe Strummer, English singer-songwriter (b. 1952) deaths
John Graham Mellor, known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash's second album Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978) reached No. 2 on the UK charts. Soon after, they achieved success in the US, starting with London Calling (1979) and peaking with Combat Rock (1982), which reached No. 7 on the US charts and was certified 2× platinum there. The Clash's explosive political lyrics, musical experimentation, and rebellious attitude had a far-reaching influence on rock music in general, especially alternative rock. Their music incorporated reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly.
Camila Osorio, Colombian tennis player births
María Camila Osorio Serrano is a Colombian professional tennis player. She has been ranked by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) as high as No. 33 in singles and 273 in doubles. She has won one singles title on the WTA Tour and three singles titles on tournaments of the ITF Women's Circuit.
Ovidiu Iacov, Romanian footballer (b. 1981) deaths
Ovidiu Nicolae Iacov was a Romanian footballer. During his career he played only for Steaua București.
Walter Newton Read, American lawyer and second chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission (b. 1918) deaths
Walter Newton "Bud" Read was an American lawyer and the second chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, from 1982 to 1989.
The Casino Control Commission is a New Jersey state governmental agency that was founded in 1977 as the state's Gaming Control Board, responsible under the Casino Control Act for licensing casinos in Atlantic City. The commission also issues licenses for casino key employees and hears appeals from decisions of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. The commission is headquartered in the Arcade Building at Tennessee Avenue and Boardwalk in Atlantic City.
Joshua Bassett, American actor and singer births
Joshua Taylor Bassett is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He is known for his starring role as Ricky Bowen in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
G Hannelius, American actress and singer births
Genevieve Knight Hannelius is an American actress and singer, who made her acting debut starring as Courtney Patterson on the ABC series Surviving Suburbia (2009). She had recurring roles on the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance (2009–2010) and Good Luck Charlie (2010–2011), and soon received recognition for her role as Avery Jennings in the Disney Channel sitcom Dog with a Blog (2012–2015). She has also voiced Rosebud in the Air Buddies film series (2011–2013), for which she won a Young Artist Award in 2012, and starred as Christa Carlyle in the crime series American Vandal (2017).
Casper Ruud, Norwegian tennis player births
Casper Ruud is a Norwegian professional tennis player. Ruud has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2, achieved on 12 September 2022, making him the highest-ranked Norwegian tennis player in history. He has won nine ATP Tour singles titles, eight of which were on clay courts. Ruud is the first Norwegian man to win an ATP singles title, to reach major finals, to reach a Masters 1000 final, and to enter the top 20 in the ATP rankings. He also reached the final of the 2022 ATP Finals. In doubles, he has a career-high ranking of world No. 133, achieved after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
Sebastian Arcos Bergnes, Cuban-American dentist and activist (b. 1931) deaths
Sebastian Arcos Bergnes was a Cuban human rights activist. A prominent Cuban dissident, he was openly adversarial to the dictatorships of Fidel Castro and Fulgencio Batista.
Jack Hamm, American cartoonist and television host (b. 1916) deaths
Jack Beaumont Hamm was an American artist from Wichita, Kansas who is recognized both for his Christian-themed artwork and editorial cartoons, and for his books on drawing technique. He both studied and taught at the Frederic Mizen Academy of Art. As a cartoonist and comic strip letterer, he worked on the Bugs Bunny, Alley Oop, and Boots and Her Buddies comic strips before attending Baylor University to study theology. He taught at Baylor both before and after he graduated in 1948.
Butterfly McQueen, American actress and dancer (b. 1911) deaths
Butterfly McQueen was an American actress. Originally a dancer, McQueen first appeared in films as "Prissy" in Gone with the Wind (1939). She was unable to attend the film's premiere because it was held at a whites-only theater.
James Meade, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907) deaths
James Edward Meade, was a British economist and winner of the 1977 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences jointly with the Swedish economist Bertil Ohlin for their "pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements".
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is an economics award administered by the Nobel Foundation.
Rúben Lameiras, Portuguese footballer births
Rúben Barcelos de Sousa Lameiras is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a midfielder for Vitória de Guimarães.
Meghan Trainor, American singer-songwriter and producer births
Meghan Elizabeth Trainor is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 11 million copies worldwide. Trainor has released five studio albums with the label and has received various accolades, including the 2016 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
Raphaël Guerreiro, Portuguese footballer births
Raphaël Adelino José Guerreiro is a professional footballer who plays as left-back or as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Portugal national team.
Don DeFore, American actor (b. 1913) deaths
Donald John DeFore was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet from 1952 to 1957 and the sitcom Hazel from 1961 to 1965, the former of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
Michaela Hončová, Slovak tennis player births
Michaela Hončová is an inactive Slovak tennis player.
Moonbyul, Korean rapper, vocalist and songwriter births
Moon Byul-yi, better known by the mononym Moonbyul, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, dancer, and radio host signed under RBW. She is the main rapper of the South Korean girl group Mamamoo and its sub-unit Mamamoo+. In May 2018, Moonbyul made her debut as a solo artist, releasing the digital single "Selfish".
Harry Bluestone, English violinist and composer (b. 1907) deaths
Harry Bluestone was a composer and violinist who composed music for TV and film. He was prolific and worked mainly on composing with Emil Cadkin. Earlier on, he was a violinist and freelanced on radio in the 1930s with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and the Dorsey Brothers. Some of his compositions were also featured on APM Music.
Frederick William Franz, American religious leader (b. 1893) deaths
Frederick William Franz was an American religious leader who served as president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the legal entity used to administer the work of Jehovah's Witnesses. He had previously served as vice president of the same corporation from 1945 until 1977 when he replaced Nathan H. Knorr as president. He was also a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, which assumed over-all control of all Jehovah's Witness corporations in 1976.
Jean-Baptiste Maunier, French actor and singer births
Jean-Baptiste Maunier is a French actor and singer. He is best known for his role in the 2004 French film Les Choristes.
Jordin Sparks, American singer-songwriter and actress births
Jordin Sparks-Thomas is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of American Idol at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debut studio album, released later that year, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over two million copies worldwide. The album spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles "Tattoo" and "No Air"; the latter, a collaboration with Chris Brown, is currently the third highest-selling single by any American Idol contestant, selling over three million digital copies in the United States. The song earned Sparks her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
Samuel Beckett, Irish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906) deaths
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic experiences of life, often coupled with black comedy and nonsense. It became increasingly minimalist as his career progressed, involving more aesthetic and linguistic experimentation, with techniques of repetition and self-reference. He is considered one of the last modernist writers, and one of the key figures in what Martin Esslin called the Theatre of the Absurd.
The Nobel Prize in Literature is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction". Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize. The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Literature is traditionally the final award presented at the Nobel Prize ceremony. On some occasions the award has been postponed to the following year, most recently in 2018 as of May 2022.
Leigh Halfpenny, Welsh rugby player births
Stephen Leigh Halfpenny is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a fullback or wing for the Scarlets, Wales and the British & Irish Lions. Halfpenny is the third highest points scorer for Wales after Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones.
Chico Mendes, Brazilian trade union leader and activist (b. 1944) deaths
Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, better known as Chico Mendes, was a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader and environmentalist. He fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest, and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and Indigenous peoples. He was assassinated by a rancher on 22 December 1988. The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, a body under the jurisdiction of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, is named in his honor.
Éder, Bissau-Portuguese footballer births
Ederzito António Macedo Lopes, commonly known as Eder, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward.
Luca Prodan, Italian-Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1953) deaths
Luca Prodan was an Italian-Argentinian musician and singer who rose to fame as the leading vocalist of Sumo, one of the most influential rock bands of Argentina, and is widely considered one of the country's most important artists. He was the older brother of film actor and composer Andrea Prodan.
Dennis Armfield, Australian footballer births
Dennis Brett Armfield is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Fatih Öztürk, Turkish footballer births
Fatih Öztürk is a French professional footballer of Turkish descent who plays as a goalkeeper, most recently for Süper Lig club Galatasaray.
Mary Burchell, English author and activist (b. 1904) deaths
Ida Cook was a British campaigner for Jewish refugees and a romance novelist as Mary Burchell.
David Penhaligon, Cornish Liberal Politician (b. 1944), Member of Parliament (MP) for Truro (1974-1986) deaths
David Charles Penhaligon was a British politician from Cornwall who was Liberal Member of Parliament for the constituency of Truro from 1974–86. He was a popular figure in all parties and had potential to be a front-runner for the party leadership had he not been killed in a car accident. In 2014 a Crowdfunder campaign was launched to record his life's work and impact.
In the United Kingdom, a member of Parliament (MP) is an individual elected to serve in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Truro was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall represented in the House of Commons of England and later of Great Britain from 1295 until 1800, then in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918 and finally from 1950 to 1997. Until 1885 it was a parliamentary borough, electing two members of parliament (MPs) by the plurality-at-large system of election; the name was then transferred to the surrounding county constituency, which elected a single Member by the first past the post system. In 1997, although there had been no changes to its boundaries, it was renamed as Truro and St Austell, reflecting the fact that St Austell by then had a larger population than Truro.
D. Boon, American singer and musician (b. 1958) deaths
Dennes Dale Boon was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the punk rock trio Minutemen.
Basshunter, Swedish singer, record producer and DJ births
Jonas Erik Altberg, known professionally as Basshunter is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter and DJ.
Ryan Eversley, American race car driver births
Ryan A. Eversley is an American professional auto racing driver. Since 2015, Eversley has been a Honda factory driver who primarily races in sports car racing championships such as the Michelin Pilot Challenge and Pirelli World Challenge. He won the 2018 PWC TCR championship.
Drew Hankinson, American wrestler births
Andrew William Hankinson is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Luke Gallows.
Viola Kibiwot, Kenyan runner births
Viola Jelagat Kibiwot is a runner from Kenya who specialises in the 1500 metres.
José Fonte, Portuguese footballer births
José Miguel da Rocha Fonte is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Lille and the Portugal national team.
Britta Heidemann, German fencer births
Britta Heidemann is a German épée fencer. In 2016, Heidemann became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Alinne Moraes, Brazilian actress and model births
Aline Cristine Dorelli de Magalhães e Morais, known professionally as Alinne Moraes, is a Brazilian actress. She is best known by her roles as Maria Sílvia in Duas Caras and as Luciana in Viver a Vida.
Marina Kuptsova, Russian high jumper births
Marina Kuptsova is a Russian high jumper who won a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships. She is also a former European indoor high jump champion. Her personal best jump of 2.02 metres was achieved in Hengelo in June 2003, a year when she also won the national championship.
Jamie Langfield, Scottish footballer and coach births
James Robert Langfield is a Scottish football player and coach, who is currently the goalkeeping coach at St Mirren. Langfield, who played as a goalkeeper, started his career with Dundee. He then played for Partick Thistle and Dunfermline Athletic before joining Aberdeen in 2005. He went on to spend the next decade with Aberdeen, regaining his place in the team after being dropped for off-field indiscipline in 2007, a loss of form in 2008 and then again in 2012 after suffering a brain seizure that kept him out of competitive action for nine months. He was voted the Aberdeen player of the year in 2009 and was part of the team that won the Scottish League Cup in 2014.
Darryl F. Zanuck, American director and producer (b. 1902) deaths
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors. He produced three films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture during his tenure.
Danny Ahn, South Korean singer births
Danny Ahn is a Korean-American entertainer best known as the main rapper of the South Korean pop music group g.o.d. He is notable for his unique rapping. Having made his debut in the entertainment industry as a member of g.o.d in 1999, Ahn has gone into acting and has also been a radio DJ and MC.
Joy Ali, Fijian boxer (d. 2015) births
Zulfikar Joy Ali was a Fijian boxer. He had won 31 boxing matches in his career.
Emmanuel Olisadebe, Nigerian-Polish footballer births
Emmanuel Olisadebe is a former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Steve Kariya, Canadian ice hockey player and coach births
Steven Tetsuo Kariya is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger and younger brother of former National Hockey League player Paul Kariya. Kariya was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
Katleen De Caluwé, Belgian sprinter births
Katleen De Caluwé is a Belgian sprinter, who specializes in the 100 metres. Her personal best time is 11.49 seconds, achieved in May 2002 in Oordegem.
Jason Lane, American baseball player and coach births
Jason Dean Lane is an American professional baseball former player and current coach. He is the third base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres. Originally starting his career as an outfielder, Lane switched positions and became a pitcher.
Aya Takano, Japanese author and illustrator births
Aya Takano is a Japanese painter, Superflat artist, manga artist, and science fiction essayist. Aya Takano is represented by Kaikai Kiki, the artistic production studio created in 2001 by Takashi Murakami.
Sergei Aschwanden, Swiss martial artist births
Sergei Aschwanden is a Swiss judoka born in Bern.
Dmitri Khokhlov, Russian footballer and manager births
Dmitri Valeryevich Khokhlov is a Russian football manager and a former player. He played as a holding midfielder or playmaker.
Marcin Mięciel, Polish footballer births
Marcin Mięciel is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker. His trademark was the bicycle kick.
Stanislav Neckář, Czech ice hockey player births
Stanislav "Stan" Neckář is a former Czech professional ice hockey player. He played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators. He then played two seasons in Europe before retiring, with České Budějovice, and Elitserien team Södertälje SK.
Sterling North, American author and critic (b. 1906) deaths
Thomas Sterling North was an American writer. He is best known for the children's novel Rascal, a bestseller in 1963.
Kirk Maltby, Canadian ice hockey player and scout births
Kirk Frederick Maltby is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings, the latter with whom he won the Stanley Cup four times.
Vanessa Paradis, French singer-songwriter and actress births
Vanessa Chantal Paradis is a French singer, model, and actress. Paradis became a child star at the age of 14 with the international success of her single "Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's highest honours as both a singer and an actress with the Prix Romy Schneider and the César Award for Most Promising Actress for Jean-Claude Brisseau's Noce Blanche, as well as the Victoires de la Musique for Best Female Singer for her album Variations sur le même t'aime. Her most notable films also include Élisa (1995) alongside Gérard Depardieu, Witch Way Love (1997) opposite Jean Reno, Une chance sur deux (1998) co-starring with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, Girl on the Bridge (1999), Heartbreaker (2010) and Café de Flore (2011). Her tribute to Jeanne Moreau at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival during which they sang in duet "Le Tourbillon" became notable in French popular culture. In 2022, she was nominated for the Molière Award for Best Actress for her performance in the play Maman.
Mark Hill, English musician, producer and songwriter births
Mark Leslie Hill is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame as one half of the Artful Dodger and co-writer and producer of Craig David's multi-platinum debut studio album, Born to Do It. Since he began releasing music in 1997, Hill has achieved four Ivor Novello Awards, a number one album, two number one singles and over 10 million records sales worldwide.
Ajeenkya Patil, Indian economist and academic births
Ajeenkya D Y Patil is an Indian educationist and economist. He is the son of D. Y. Patil. He is Chairman of the D Y Patil Group, Chancellor of Ajeenkya D Y Patil University and Pro-chancellor of the Dr. D. Y. Patil University.
Godfried Bomans, Dutch journalist and author (b. 1913) deaths
Godfried Jan Arnold Bomans was a Dutch author and television personality. Much of his work remains untranslated into English.
Ted Cruz, American lawyer and politician births
Rafael Edward Cruz is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 to 2008.
Gary Anderson, Scottish darts player births
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He is a former BDO and WDF world number one, and a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2015 and 2016. His nickname is "The Flying Scotsman", after a famous Scottish steam train.
Myriam Bédard, Canadian biathlete births
Myriam Bédard, is a Canadian retired biathlete. She represented Canada at two Winter Olympics winning gold medals, and a bronze medal. As of 2022, Bédard is the only Canadian biathlete, male or female, ever to win an Olympic medal, and the only North American biathlete ever to win Olympic gold.
Mark Robins, English footballer and manager births
Mark Gordon Robins is an English football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Coventry City in the EFL Championship. As a player, he was a striker and is best known for his time in the Premier League with Norwich City and Leicester City.
Enrique Peñaranda, 45th President of Bolivia (b. 1892) deaths
Enrique Peñaranda del Castillo was a Bolivian general who served as the 38th president of Bolivia from 1940 until his overthrow in 1943. He previously served as commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces during the second half of the Chaco War (1932–1935).
The president of Bolivia, officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the captain general of the Armed Forces of Bolivia.
Emre Aracı, Turkish composer, conductor, and historian births
Emre Aracı is a Turkish music historian, conductor, and composer.
Luis Hernández, Mexican footballer births
Luis Arturo Hernández Carreón is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a striker and is the fourth all-time leading scorer of the Mexico national team with 35 goals, and the joint-highest goalscorer in World Cups. He is widely regarded as one of Mexico's most talented strikers.
Dina Meyer, American actress births
Dina Meyer is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role on the Fox teen drama series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1993–94), before landing a leading role opposite Keanu Reeves in the 1995 film Johnny Mnemonic.
Raymond Gram Swing, American journalist (b. 1887) deaths
Raymond Gram Swing was an American print and broadcast journalist. He was one of the most influential news commentators of his era, heard by people worldwide as a leading American voice from Britain during World War II. Known originally as Raymond Swing, he adopted his wife's last name in 1919 and became known as Raymond Gram Swing.
Richey Edwards, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995) births
Richard James Edwards, also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. He was known for his dark, politicised and intellectual songwriting which, combined with an enigmatic and eloquent character, has assured him cult status. He has been cited as a leading lyricist of his generation, leading the Cool Cymru.
Stéphane Gendron, Canadian lawyer and politician births
Stéphane Gendron was the mayor of Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada, from 2003 to 2013 and a radio host, a television host and a political analyst for several media outlets.
Rebecca Harris, English businesswoman and politician births
Elizabeth Rebecca Scott Harris is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Castle Point. She is the incumbent Comptroller of the Household.
Dan Petrescu, Romanian footballer and manager births
Daniel Vasile Petrescu is a Romanian football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj.
Dmitry Bilozerchev, Russian gymnast and coach births
Dmitry Vladimirovich Bilozerchev is a Russian gymnastics coach and retired gymnast who represented the Soviet Union. One of the most accomplished gymnasts in history, he is a two-time World All-Around Champion and three-time Olympic Champion. He trained at the Armed Forces sports society in Moscow.
Marcel Schirmer, German singer-songwriter and bass player births
Destruction is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. They are often credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal by containing several elements of what was to become the genre, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the mid-to-late 1980s, along with American bands like Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel. For most of the 1990s, the band was not signed to a record label and was forced to self-produce their albums until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast in the early 2000s.
David Wright, English lawyer and politician births
David Wright is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Telford from 2001 until 2015. He was an assistant government whip from June 2009 to May 2010. In May 2019, he was elected as a Labour member of Telford and Wrekin Council, representing St George's ward, and became cabinet member for Economy, Housing, Transport and Infrastructure.
David S. Goyer, American screenwriter births
David Samuel Goyer is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998), the Blade trilogy (1998–2004), Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012), Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). He has also directed four films: Zig Zag (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), The Invisible (2007) and The Unborn (2009). He is the creator of the science fiction television series Foundation.
Urszula Włodarczyk, Polish heptathlete and triple jumper births
Urszula Włodarczyk is a retired Polish heptathlete. She also competed briefly in triple jump in the fledgling years of the sport, and was a Polish record holder with 13.98 metres from July 1993 to July 2001.
Richard Dimbleby, English journalist (b. 1913) deaths
Frederick Richard Dimbleby, CBE was an English journalist and broadcaster, who became the BBC's first war correspondent, and then its leading TV news commentator.
Simon Kirby, English businessman and politician births
Simon Gerard Kirby, also known as Simon Radford-Kirby, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in 2010. In 2016, he was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury, where he held responsibility for financial services, unofficially known as the City Minister. He lost his seat at the 2017 general election.
Mike Jackson, American baseball player births
Michael Ray Jackson is a former professional baseball player whose career spanned 19 seasons, 16 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB). Jackson, a relief pitcher for the majority of his career, compiled a career earned run average (ERA) of 3.42, allowing 451 earned runs off of 983 hits, 127 home runs, and 464 walks while recording 1,006 strikeouts over 1,005 games pitched.
Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian footballer and coach births
Giuseppe Bergomi is an Italian former professional footballer who spent his entire career at Inter Milan. He is regarded as one of the greatest Italian defenders of all time, and as one of the best of his generation, being elected by Pelé to be part of the FIFA 100 in 2004.
Brian McMillan, South African cricketer and educator births
Brian Mervin McMillan played 38 Test matches and 78 One Day Internationals for South Africa from 1991 to 1998. He was rated by many as the best all-rounder in the world in the mid-1990s, and won South African Cricket Annual Cricketer of the Year awards in 1991 and 1996.
Luna H. Mitani, Japanese-American painter and illustrator births
Luna H. Mitani is a Japanese-American artist. He works in the fields of painting and pen & ink drawing.
Ralph Fiennes, English actor births
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has received various accolades including a British Academy Film Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and an Emmy Award.
Ross McLarty, Australian politician, 17th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1891) deaths
Sir Duncan Ross McLarty, was an Australian politician and the 17th Premier of Western Australia.
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive branch of the Government of Western Australia and is accountable to the Parliament of Western Australia. The premier is appointed by the governor of Western Australia. By convention, the governor appoints as premier whoever has the support of the majority of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. In practice, this means that the premier is the leader of the political party or group of parties with a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. Since Western Australia achieved self-governance in 1890, there have been 31 premiers. Mark McGowan is the current premier, having been appointed to the position on 17 March 2017.
Yuri Malenchenko, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut births
Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko is a retired Russian cosmonaut. Malenchenko became the first person to marry in space, on 10 August 2003, when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas, while he was 240 miles (390 km) over New Zealand, on the International Space Station. As of June 2016, Malenchenko ranks second for career time in space due to his time on both Mir and the International Space Station (ISS). He is a former Commander of the International Space Station.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, American painter and poet (d. 1988) births
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Luther Campbell, American rapper and actor births
Luther Roderick Campbell, also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke and simply Luke, is an American rapper, promoter, record executive, actor, and former leader of the rap group 2 Live Crew. He also starred in a short-lived show on VH1, Luke's Parental Advisory.
Ninian Comper, Scottish-English architect (b. 1864) deaths
Sir John Ninian Comper was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focussed on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the design of ecclesiastical furnishings, stained glass and vestments. He is celebrated for his use of colour, iconography and emphasis on churches as a setting for liturgy. In his later works, he developed the subtle integration of Classical and Gothic styles, an approach he described as 'unity by inclusion'.
Bernd Schuster, German footballer and manager births
Bernd Schuster is a German former professional footballer of the late 1970s through early 1990s, who won club titles playing for the Spanish sides FC Barcelona (1980–1987) and Real Madrid (1988–1990). He played as a midfielder and was nicknamed "der Blonde Engel". After retiring as a player, he managed a number of European clubs, including Real Madrid, taking them to the league title in the 2007–08 season.
Gilda Gray, Polish-American actress and dancer (b. 1901) deaths
Gilda Gray was a Polish-American dancer and actress who popularized a dance called the "shimmy" which became fashionable in 1920s films and theater productions.
Frank Gambale, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer births
Frank Gambale is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques.
David Heavener, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director births
David Brent Heavener is an American singer, songwriter, director, actor, composer, producer and writer, specialising in low-budget features and direct-to-video action films.
Stephen Conway, English bishop births
Stephen David Conway SCP is a British Anglican bishop. Since December 2010, he has been the Bishop of Ely; and since 2022, the Acting Bishop of Lincoln. From 2006 to 2010, he was the Bishop of Ramsbury, an area bishop and then suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Salisbury.
Carole James, English-Canadian educator and politician births
Carole Alison James is a Canadian politician and former public administrator, who represented Victoria-Beacon Hill in the MLA from 2005 to 2020. She is the former Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia and former leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP), a social democratic political party. She announced her intention to resign as leader on December 6, 2010 and was officially replaced by interim leader Dawn Black on January 20, 2011.
Peter Mortimer, Australian rugby league player births
Peter Mortimer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and New South Wales.
Frank George Woollard, English engineer (b. 1883) deaths
Frank George Woollard, was a British mechanical engineer who worked for nearly three decades in the British motor industry in various roles in design, production, and management. He was a pioneer in what is today called "Lean management," but whose work has been forgotten.
Jane Lighting, English businesswoman births
Jane Elizabeth Stuart Lighting FRSA FRTS is a former Chief Executive of Five (TV) in the United Kingdom.
Galina Murašova, Lithuanian discus thrower births
Galina Murašova is a retired female discus thrower, who competed for the Soviet Union at two Summer Olympics: 1980 and 1988. Her last name is sometimes also spelled as Murashova.
Lonnie Smith, American baseball player births
Lonnie Smith is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder. He made his debut for the Philadelphia Phillies on September 2, 1978 and later played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles. He overcame bouts with drug abuse to become one of the top base-stealers in baseball during the 1980s, with the seventh-most steals. He played on five pennant-winning teams, three of which won the World Series.
Thomas C. Südhof, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate births
Thomas Christian Südhof, ForMemRS, is a German-American biochemist known for his study of synaptic transmission. Currently, he is a professor in the School of Medicine in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and by courtesy in Neurology, and in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's 1895 will, are awarded "to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
Hideshi Matsuda, Japanese racing driver births
Hideshi Matsuda is a Japanese car racer and TV reporter. He has raced in several 24-hour races, including Daytona and LeMans. He also raced 4 times in the Indianapolis 500, in 1994-1996 and 1999, usually for Beck Motorsports. He also drove in one CART Championship Car race at Twin Ring Motegi in his native Japan. He is the brother-in-law of Beat Takeshi.
Derick Parry, Nevisian cricketer births
Derick Recaldo Parry is a former cricketer from St Kitts and Nevis who played 12 Tests and six One Day Internationals for the West Indies.
Ian Turnbull, Canadian ice hockey player births
Ian "Bull" Turnbull is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League from 1973–74 until 1982–83. He and Börje Salming combined to make one of the best 1–2 defensive punches in Toronto Maple Leafs history during the 1970s.
Tom Underwood, American baseball player (d. 2010) births
Thomas Gerald Underwood was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. His younger brother, Pat was also a pitcher, and made his major league debut against Tom. It was the first time in major league history this had occurred.
Sandra Kalniete, Latvian politician and diplomat, Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs births
Sandra Kalniete is a Latvian politician, author, diplomat and independence movement leader. She served as Foreign Minister of Latvia 2002–2004 and as European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries in 2004. Since 2009, she has served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the European People's Party.
The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Latvia is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is charged with being the architect Latvian foreign policy and carrying out diplomatic orders by the President of Latvia. The position was first created in 1918 after Latvian independence, and re-established in May 1990 following the restoration of the country's independence from the USSR. Since October 2011, the position has been held by Edgars Rinkēvičs.
Lasse Bengtsson, Swedish journalist births
Lars Olov "Lasse" Bengtsson is a Swedish journalist and television presenter. He has been the presenter of shows such as Nyhetsmorgon Lördag, TV4 News, Misstänkt ("Suspected"), and he also was a reporter for the Swedish broadcasts of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Charles de Lint, Dutch-Canadian author and critic births
Charles de Lint is a Canadian writer of Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese ancestry. He is married to, and plays music with, MaryAnn Harris.
Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, British landowner, businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016) births
Major General Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster,, was a British landowner, businessman, philanthropist, Territorial Army general, and peer. He was the son of Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, and Viola Lyttelton. He was Chairman of the property company Grosvenor Group. In the first ever edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, published in 1989, he was ranked as the second richest person in the United Kingdom, with a fortune of £3.2 billion, with only The Queen above him.
Jan Stephenson, Australian golfer births
Jan Lynn Stephenson is an Australian professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1974 and won three major championships and 16 LPGA Tour events. She has 41 worldwide victories including (10) LPGA Legends Tour wins and 8 worldwide major championships. She has 15 holes-in-one with (9) in competition. She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, class of 2019.
Frederick Freake, English polo player (b. 1876) deaths
Sir Frederick Charles Maitland Freake, 3rd Baronet was a British polo player in the 1900 Summer Olympics and in the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Maurice Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2003) births
Maurice Ernest Gibb was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lead singers, most of their albums included at least one or two songs featuring Maurice's lead vocals, including "Lay It on Me", "Country Woman" and "On Time". The Bee Gees were one of the most successful pop-rock groups of all time.
Robin Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012) births
Robin Hugh Gibb was a British singer and songwriter. He gained worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successful solo career. Their youngest brother Andy was also a singer.
Ray Guy, American football player births
William Ray Guy was an American professional football player who was a punter for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Guy was a first-team All-American selection in 1972 as a senior for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, and was the first pure punter ever to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, when the Oakland Raiders selected him with the 23rd overall pick in 1973. He won three Super Bowls with the Raiders. Guy was elected to both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. An eight-time All-Pro, Guy is widely considered to be the greatest punter of all time.
Steve Garvey, American baseball player and sportscaster births
Steven Patrick Garvey is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987.
Don Kardong, American runner, journalist, and author births
Donald ("Don") Franklin Kardong is a noted runner and author from the United States. He finished fourth in the 1976 Olympic marathon in Montreal.
Rick Nielsen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births
Richard Alan Nielsen is an American musician, singer-songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the American rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, including his famous five-neck guitar.
Chris Old, English cricketer and coach births
Chris Old is a former English cricketer, who played 46 Tests and 32 ODIs from 1972 to 1981. A right-arm fast-medium bowler and lower order left-handed batsman, Old was a key feature of the Yorkshire side between 1969 and 1983, before finishing his career at Warwickshire in 1985. As a Test bowler for England he took 143 wickets, and scored useful runs in the famous 1981 Ashes series' Headingley victory.
Lynne Thigpen, American actress and singer (d. 2003) births
Cherlynne Theresa Thigpen was an American actress of stage and screen. She was known for her role as "The Chief" of ACME Crimenet in the game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and various spinoffs, and for her role as "Luna" in the Playhouse Disney children's series Bear in the Big Blue House. For her varied television work, Thigpen was nominated for six Daytime Emmy Awards. She won a Tony Award in 1997 for portraying Dr. Judith Kaufman in An American Daughter, and also played Ella Farmer on The District (2000–2003).
Brian Daley, American author and screenwriter (d. 1996) births
Brian Charles Daley was an American science fiction novelist. He also adapted for radio the Star Wars radio dramas and wrote all of its episodes.
Dilip Doshi, Indian cricketer births
Dilip Rasiklal Doshi pronunciation (help·info) is a former Indian cricketer of Gujarati origin who played in 33 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals from 1979 to 1983.
Roger Carr, English businessman births
Sir Roger Martyn Carr is a British businessman. He is the chairman of BAE Systems, a position he will relinquish in 2023.
C. Eugene Steuerle, American economist and author births
C. Eugene "Gene" Steuerle is an American economist, a Richard B. Fisher chair and Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC, and a columnist under the title The Government We Deserve.
Frances Lannon, English historian and academic births
Dame Frances Lannon DBE FRHistS is a retired British academic and educator. She was Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
Sam Newman, Australian footballer and sportscaster births
John Noel William "Sam" Newman is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Diane Sawyer, American journalist births
Lila Diane Sawyer is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, 20/20, and Primetime newsmagazine while at ABC News. During her tenure at CBS News she hosted CBS Morning and was the first woman correspondent on 60 Minutes. Prior to her journalism career, she was a member of U.S. President Richard Nixon's White House staff and assisted in his post-presidency memoirs. Presently she works for ABC News producing documentaries and interview specials.
Mary Archer, English chemist and academic births
Mary Doreen Archer, Baroness Archer of Weston-super-Mare is a British scientist specialising in solar power conversion.
Steve Carlton, American baseball player births
Steven Norman Carlton is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies with whom he won four Cy Young Awards as well as the 1980 World Series. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
Barry Jenkins, English drummer births
Colin Ernest "Barry" Jenkins is an English musician, who is best known for being a drummer for the Animals during both of that 1960s group's incarnations.
Harry Langdon, American actor, comedian, and vaudevillian (b. 1884) deaths
Harry Philmore Langdon was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films, and talkies.
Stefan Janos, Slovak-Swiss physicist and academic births
Stefan Janos is a Slovak-Swiss university physicist and professor, founder of very low temperature physics in Slovakia.
Paul Wolfowitz, American banker and politician, 25th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense births
Paul Dundes Wolfowitz is an American political scientist and diplomat who served as the 10th President of the World Bank, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, and former dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS. He is currently a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
The deputy secretary of defense is a statutory office and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America.
Beatrix Potter, English children's book writer and illustrator (b. 1866) deaths
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which was her first published work in 1902. Her books, including 23 Tales, have sold more than 250 million copies. Potter was also a pioneer of merchandising—in 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy, making him the oldest licensed character.
Jerry Koosman, American baseball player births
Jerome Martin Koosman is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies between 1967 and 1985. Koosman is best known as a member of the Miracle Mets team that won the 1969 World Series.
Dick Parry, English saxophonist births
Richard Parry is an English saxophonist. He has appeared as a session musician on various albums, most notably in solo parts on the Pink Floyd songs "Money", "Us and Them", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Wearing the Inside Out". He also played on the Bloodstone album Riddle of the Sphinx.
Franz Boas, German-American anthropologist and linguist (b. 1858) deaths
Franz Uri Boas was a German–American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical particularism and cultural relativism.
Karel Hašler, Czech actor, director, composer, and screenwriter (b. 1879) deaths
Karel Hašler was a Czech songwriter, actor, lyricist, film and theatre director, composer, writer, dramatist, screenwriter and cabaretier. He was murdered in the Mauthausen concentration camp.
Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Colombian rancher and politician (d. 2009) births
Luis Francisco Cuéllar Carvajal was a Colombian politician, serving as Mayor of Morelia, Governor of the Caquetá Department from 2008 to 2009, and Deputy Governor of Caqueta from 2000 to 2003. He is known for being kidnapped and murdered by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and for being kidnapped and held for ransom four times.
Mike Molloy, English journalist, author, and illustrator births
Michael Molloy is a British author and former newspaper editor and cartoonist.
Nathanael West, American author and screenwriter (b. 1903) deaths
Nathanael West was an American writer and screenwriter. He is remembered for two darkly satirical novels: Miss Lonelyhearts (1933) and The Day of the Locust (1939), set respectively in the newspaper and Hollywood film industries.
Ma Rainey, American singer (b. 1886) deaths
Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of southern blues, influencing a generation of blues singers.
Matty Alou, Dominican-American baseball player and scout (d. 2011) births
Mateo "Matty" Rojas Alou was a Dominican former professional baseball player and manager. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Taiheiyo Club Lions from 1974 through 1976. Alou was a two-time All-Star and the 1966 National League batting champion.
Lucien Bouchard, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Premier of Quebec births
Lucien Bouchard is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat and retired politician.
The premier of Quebec is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following that year's election.
Red Steagall, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and poet births
Russell "Red" Steagall is an American actor, musician, poet, and stage performer, who focuses on American Western and country music genres.
Charlotte Lamb, English author (d. 2000) births
Sheila Holland, née Sheila Ann Mary Coates was best known under the pseudonym Charlotte Lamb as a prolific romantic novelist. She signed her novels with her married or maiden names – Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates – and under the pseudonyms Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. She was married to Richard Holland. They had five children, including a set of twins: - Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland.
Eduard Uspensky, Russian author, poet, and playwright (d. 2018) births
Eduard Nikolayevich Uspensky was a Soviet and Russian children's writer and poet, author of over 70 books, as well as a playwright, screenwriter and TV presenter. His works have been translated into 25 languages and spawned around 60 cartoon adaptations. Among the characters he created are Cheburashka and Gena the Crocodile, Uncle Fyodor and Kolobki brothers. He was awarded Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class in 1997.
Ken Whitmore, English author and playwright births
Ken Whitmore, born Hanley, Staffordshire, December 22, 1937, is a prolific author of radio plays, stage plays, short stories and poetry. His writing is characterised by black comedy and fantastic ideas, such as the complete disappearance of a man’s house, family and dog and the need for all mankind to jump in the air simultaneously
James Burke, Irish historian and author births
James Burke is a British broadcaster, science historian, author, and television producer. He was one of the main presenters of the BBC1 science series Tomorrow's World from 1965 to 1971 and created and presented the television series Connections (1978), and its more philosophical sequel The Day the Universe Changed (1985), about the history of science and technology. The Washington Post has called him "one of the most intriguing minds in the Western world".
Héctor Elizondo, American actor and director births
Héctor Elizondo is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series Chicago Hope (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series Last Man Standing (2011–2021). His film roles include The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), American Gigolo (1980), Leviathan (1989), Pretty Woman (1990), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Runaway Bride (1999), The Princess Diaries (2001), and Valentine's Day (2010).
Paulo Rocha, Portuguese director and screenwriter (d. 2012) births
Paulo Soares da Rocha was a Portuguese film director. Among his best-known films are A Ilha dos Amores and O Rio do Ouro. A Ilha dos Amores was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, O Desejado was entered into the main competition at the 44th edition of the Venice Film Festival, and O Rio do Ouro was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Festival.
David Pearson, American race car driver (d. 2018) births
David Gene Pearson was an American stock car driver, who raced from 1960 to 1986 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 21 Mercury for Wood Brothers Racing. Pearson won the 1960 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award and three Cup Series championships. He never missed a race in the years he was active. NASCAR described his 1974 season as an indication of his "consistent greatness", finishing third in the season points having competed in only 19 of 30 races. Pearson's career paralleled Richard Petty's, the driver who has won the most races in NASCAR history. They accounted for 63 first/second-place finishes, with the edge going to Pearson. Petty had 200 wins in 1,184 starts, while Pearson had 105 wins in 574 starts. Pearson was nicknamed the "Fox" for his calculated approach to racing.
John Hartle, English motorcycle racer (d. 1968) births
John Hartle was an English professional road racer who competed in national, international and Grand Prix motorcycle events.
Phil Woosnam, Welsh soccer player and manager (d. 2013) births
Phillip Abraham Woosnam was a Welsh association football inside-right and manager. A native of Caersws, Powys, Wales, Woosnam played for five clubs in England and one in the United States. He played international football for Wales. He was described as a "gifted inside-forward with a pronounced football intelligence".
Gisela Birkemeyer, German hurdler and coach births
Gisela Birkemeyer is a retired German sprint runner who won two medals in the 80 m hurdles at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics. During her career she set nine world records in the 80 m hurdles and in the 4×100 m, 4×110 yd and 4×200 m relays. She won 40 East German championships, mostly in the 80 m hurdles (1953–1961) and 200 m sprint (1956–1960). At the European Championships in Stockholm in 1958, she was third in the 80 m hurdles. In 1959, she was voted GDR Sportswoman of the Year.
Carlos Graça, São Toméan lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (d. 2013) births
Carlos Alberto Monteiro Dias da Graça served as the 6th Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe.
This article lists the prime ministers of São Tomé and Príncipe, an island country in the Gulf of Guinea off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa, since the establishment of the office of prime minister of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe in 1974. Leonel Mário d'Alva was the first person to hold the office, taking effect on 21 December 1974. The incumbent is Patrice Trovoada, having taken office on 11 November 2022.
Ardalion Ignatyev, Russian sprinter and educator (d. 1998) births
Ardalion Vasilyevich Ignatyev was a Soviet athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. He was born in the village of Novoye Toyderyakovo, Yalchiksky District, Chuvash ASSR.
Wazir Mohammad, Indian-Pakistani cricketer births
Wazir Mohammad is a former Pakistani cricketer and banker who played in 20 Test matches for Pakistan national cricket team between 1952 and 1959.
Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (d. 2016) births
Thomas Fredrik Weybye Barth was a Norwegian social anthropologist who published several ethnographic books with a clear formalist view. He was a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Boston University, and previously held professorships at the University of Oslo, the University of Bergen, Emory University and Harvard University. He was appointed a government scholar in 1985.
Alcides Ghiggia, Italian-Uruguayan footballer and manager (d. 2015) births
Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia Pereyra was a Uruguayan-Italian football player, who played as a right winger. He achieved lasting fame for his decisive role in the final match of the 1950 World Cup, and at the time of his death exactly 65 years later, he was also the last surviving player from that game.
Roberta Leigh (Rita Shulman Lewin), British writer, artist and TV producer (d. 2014) births
Roberta Leigh was an assumed name for Rita Lewin who was a British author, artist, composer and television producer. She wrote romance fiction and children's stories under the pseudonyms Roberta Leigh, Rachel Lindsay, Janey Scott and Rozella Lake.
Lewis Glucksman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2006) births
Lewis L. Glucksman was a former Lehman Brothers trader and former chief executive officer and chairman of Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc.
Lefter Küçükandonyadis, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 2012) births
Lefter Küçükandonyadis was a Turkish professional footballer of Greek descent, who played as a forward. He is often recognized as one of the greatest strikers to play for Fenerbahçe and Turkey. Having won several regional and national championship titles with Fenerbahçe and becoming Turkish top scorer twice in his career, he left an imprint on the history of the club. Lefter is one of a few players whose names are included in the Fenerbahçe Anthem. He was also known as "Ordinaryüs" in Turkey.
Amelie Beese, German pilot and engineer (b. 1886) deaths
Amelie Hedwig Boutard-Beese, also known as Melli Beese, was an early German female aviator.
Frank Corsaro, American actor and director (d. 2017) births
Frank Corsaro was one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Broadway productions include The Night of the Iguana (1961).
Peregrine Worsthorne, English journalist and author (d. 2020) births
Sir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne was a British journalist, writer, and broadcaster. He spent the largest part of his career at the Telegraph newspaper titles, eventually becoming editor of The Sunday Telegraph for several years. He left the newspaper in 1997.
Ruth Roman, American actress (d. 1999) births
Ruth Roman was an American actress of film, stage, and television.
Jim Wright, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2015) births
James Claude Wright Jr. was an American politician who served as the 48th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. He represented Texas's 12th congressional district as a Democrat from 1955 to 1989.
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House and is simultaneously its presiding officer, de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions. Given these several roles and responsibilities, the speaker usually does not personally preside over debates. That duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party. Nor does the speaker regularly participate in floor debates.
Dimitri Fampas, Greek guitarist and composer (d. 1996) births
Dimitris Fampas was a Greek classical guitarist and composer.
Hawkshaw Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963) births
Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky tonk. At 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall, Hawkins had an imposing stage presence, and he dressed more conservatively than some other male country singers. Hawkins died in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was married to country star Jean Shepard.
Hermann Weingärtner, German gymnast (b. 1864) deaths
Hermann Otto Ludwig Weingärtner was a German gymnast.
Aristeidis Moraitinis, Greek lieutenant and pilot (b. 1891) deaths
Aristeidis Moraitinis DSO was an officer of the Hellenic Navy and pioneer of naval aviation. Together with Michael Moutoussis, he performed the first naval air mission in history during the Balkan Wars. Later in World War I, he became Greece's only Flying Ace with nine aerial victories.
Gene Rayburn, American game show host and actor (d. 1999) births
Gene Rayburn was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the American television game show Match Game for over two decades.
Frances Xavier Cabrini, Italian-American nun and saint (b. 1850) deaths
Frances Xavier Cabrini, also called Mother Cabrini, was an Italian-American Catholic religious sister. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious institute that was a major support to her fellow Italian immigrants to the United States. She was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church, on July 7, 1946.
Barbara Billingsley, American actress (d. 2010) births
Barbara Billingsley was an American actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in Three Guys Named Mike (1951), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and Invaders from Mars (1953), and was featured in the 1957 film The Careless Years opposite Natalie Trundy. She then appeared in recurring TV roles, such as The Brothers.
Phillip Glasier, English author and academic (d. 2000) births
Phillip Edward Brougham Glasier was Britain's leading expert on hawking and falconry. Glasier initiated a new interest in falconry in both the UK and the United States of America. He spent much of his life involved with the conservation and breeding of raptors and bringing them to public attention through the foundation of the Falconry Centre, Newent, Gloucestershire, as well as through books, lectures and public demonstrations. He founded the Hawk Trust with John Burkett and the Raptor Breeders' Association.
Rose Talbot Bullard, American medical doctor and professor (b. 1864) deaths
Rose Talbot Bullard was an American physician and medical school professor, who was elected president of the Los Angeles County Medical Association in 1902.
Giorgio Oberweger, Italian discus thrower and hurdler (d. 1998) births
Giorgio Oberweger was an Italian discus thrower who won a bronze medal at the 1936 Olympics and a silver at the 1938 European Champsionships. He placed sixth at the 1934 European Championships and 15th at the 1948 Olympics. Oberweger won five national titles, in the discus throw and 110 metres hurdles (1939).
Elias Degiannis, Greek commander (d. 1943) births
Ilias Degiannis was a Greek navy officer Resistance leader during the Axis occupation of Greece.
Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 38th First Lady of the United States (d. 2007) births
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 when her husband was vice president.
The first lady of the United States is the hostess of the White House. The position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, but, on occasion, the title has been applied to women who were not presidents' wives, such as when the president was a bachelor or widower, or when the wife of the president was unable to fulfill the duties of the first lady. The first lady is not an elected position; it carries no official duties and receives no salary. Nonetheless, she attends many official ceremonies and functions of state either along with or in place of the president. Traditionally, the first lady does not hold outside employment while occupying the office, although Eleanor Roosevelt earned money writing and giving lectures, but gave most of it to charity, and Jill Biden has maintained her regular job as an educator during her time in the role. The first lady has her own staff, including the White House social secretary, the chief of staff, the press secretary, the chief floral designer, and the executive chef. The Office of the First Lady is also in charge of all social and ceremonial events of the White House, and is a branch of the Executive Office of the President.
Danny O'Dea, English actor (d. 2003) births
Peter Anthony Joseph Daniel Wrenshall better known by his stage name Danny O'Dea was an English actor.
Patricia Hayes, English actress (d. 1998) births
Patricia Lawlor Hayes was an English character actress.
Giacomo Manzù, Italian sculptor and academic (d. 1991) births
Giacomo Manzù, pseudonym of Giacomo Manzoni, was an Italian sculptor.
Peggy Ashcroft, English actress (d. 1991) births
Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft, known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years.
Pierre Brasseur, French-Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 1972) births
Pierre Brasseur, born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor.
Pierre Levegh, French ice hockey player and racing driver (d. 1955) births
Pierre Eugène Alfred Bouillin was a French sportsman and racing driver. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh [ləvɛk] in memory of his uncle, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Levegh died in the 1955 Le Mans disaster which also killed 83 spectators during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile race.
Kenneth Rexroth, American poet, translator, and academic (d. 1982) births
Kenneth Charles Marion Rexroth (1905–1982) was an American poet, translator, and critical essayist. He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance, and paved the groundwork for the movement. Although he did not consider himself to be a Beat poet, and disliked the association, he was dubbed the "Father of the Beats" by Time magazine. Largely self-educated, Rexroth learned several languages and translated poems from Chinese, French, Spanish, and Japanese.
Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1983) births
Haldan Keffer Hartline was an American physiologist who was a co-recipient of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in analyzing the neurophysiological mechanisms of vision.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's 1895 will, are awarded "to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German-Austrian psychiatrist and author (b. 1840) deaths
Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing was a German psychiatrist and author of the foundational work Psychopathia Sexualis (1886).
Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-American conductor and composer (d. 1980) births
Andre Kostelanetz was a Russian-born American popular orchestral music conductor and arranger who was one of the major exponents of popular orchestra music.
Marc Allégret, French director and screenwriter (d. 1973) births
Marc Allégret was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director.
Gustaf Gründgens, German actor and director (d. 1963) births
Gustaf Gründgens, born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg. His career continued unimpeded through the years of the Nazi regime; the extent to which this can be considered as deliberate collaboration with the Nazis is hotly disputed.
Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist and publisher, founded Moody Publishers (b. 1837) deaths
Dwight Lyman Moody, also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publishers. One of his most famous quotes was "Faith makes all things possible... Love makes all things easy." Moody gave up his lucrative boot and shoe business to devote his life to revivalism, working first in the Civil War with Union troops through YMCA in the United States Christian Commission. In Chicago, he built one of the major evangelical centers in the nation, which is still active. Working with singer Ira Sankey, he toured the country and the British Isles, drawing large crowds with a dynamic speaking style.
Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as non-charismatic, dispensational and generally Calvinistic. Today, MBI operates undergraduate programs and Moody Theological Seminary at the Chicago campus. Moody Theological Seminary also operates a satellite campus in Plymouth, Michigan; and Moody Aviation operates a flight school in Spokane, Washington.
Vladimir Fock, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1974) births
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock was a Soviet physicist, who did foundational work on quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics.
Edwin Linkomies, Finnish academic, professor and the Prime Minister of Finland (d. 1963) births
Edwin Johannes Hildegard Linkomies was Prime Minister of Finland from March 1943 to August 1944, and one of the seven politicians sentenced to five and a half years in prison as responsible for the Continuation War, on the demand of the Soviet Union. Linkomies was a prominent fennoman academic, pro-rector of the University of Helsinki 1932 to 1943, rector 1956 to 1962, and the government's Chancellor of the University from 1962 until his death.
The prime minister of Finland is the leader of the Finnish Government. The prime minister and their cabinet exercise executive authority in the state. The prime minister is formally ranked third in the protocol after the president of Finland and the speaker of the Parliament. Finland's first prime minister, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, was appointed on 27 November 1917, just a few days before the country declared independence from Russia.
Herman Potočnik, Slovenian-Austrian engineer (d. 1929) births
Herman Potočnik was an ethnically Slovenian Austro-Hungarian Army officer, electrical engineer and astronautics theorist. He is regarded as a pioneer and visionary of modern space flight and is chiefly remembered for his work addressing the long-term human habitation of space.
Paul de Lagarde, German biblical scholar and orientalist (b. 1827) deaths
Paul Anton de Lagarde was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, sometimes regarded as one of the greatest orientalists of the 19th century. Lagarde's strong support of anti-Semitism, vocal opposition to Christianity, racial Darwinism and anti-Slavism are viewed as having been among the most influential in supporting the ideology of Nazism.
George Hutson, English runner and soldier (d. 1914) births
George William Hutson was a British athlete who competed mainly in long-distance running events. He was born in Lewes, East Sussex.
J. Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank, English businessman, founded Rank Organisation (d. 1972) births
Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank was a British industrialist who was head and founder of the Rank Organisation.
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities. It also diversified into the manufacture of radios, TVs and photocopiers. The company name lasted until February 1996, when the name and some of the remaining assets were absorbed into the newly structured Rank Group plc. The company itself became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and was renamed XRO Limited in 1997.
Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (d. 1920) births
Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician. Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable. Ramanujan initially developed his own mathematical research in isolation: according to Hans Eysenck: "He tried to interest the leading professional mathematicians in his work, but failed for the most part. What he had to show them was too novel, too unfamiliar, and additionally presented in unusual ways; they could not be bothered". Seeking mathematicians who could better understand his work, in 1913 he began a postal correspondence with the English mathematician G. H. Hardy at the University of Cambridge, England. Recognising Ramanujan's work as extraordinary, Hardy arranged for him to travel to Cambridge. In his notes, Hardy commented that Ramanujan had produced groundbreaking new theorems, including some that "defeated me completely; I had never seen anything in the least like them before", and some recently proven but highly advanced results.
Deems Taylor, American conductor and critic (d. 1966) births
Joseph Deems Taylor was an American music critic, composer, and promoter of classical music. Nat Benchley, co-editor of The Lost Algonquin Roundtable, referred to him as "the dean of American music."
St. Elmo Brady, African American chemist and educator (d. 1966) births
Saint Elmo Brady was an American chemist who was the first African American to obtain a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States. He received his doctorate at the University of Illinois in 1916.
Marcus Hurley, American cyclist (d. 1941) births
Marcus Latimer Hurley was an American cyclist who competed in the early twentieth century. He specialized in sprint cycling and won 4 gold medals in Cycling at the 1904 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal in the 2 mile race.
Edgard Varèse, French-American composer (d. 1965) births
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined the term "organized sound" in reference to his own musical aesthetic. Varèse's conception of music reflected his vision of "sound as living matter" and of "musical space as open rather than bounded". He conceived the elements of his music in terms of "sound-masses", likening their organization to the natural phenomenon of crystallization. Varèse thought that "to stubbornly conditioned ears, anything new in music has always been called noise", and he posed the question, "what is music but organized noises?"
George Eliot, English novelist and poet (b. 1819) deaths
Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–72) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she emerged from provincial England; most of her works are set there. Her works are known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place and detailed depiction of the countryside.
Myer Prinstein, Polish-American jumper (d. 1925) births
Myer Prinstein was a Polish American track and field athlete and member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He held the world record for the long jump and won gold medals in three Olympic Games for the long jump and triple jump.
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Egyptian-Italian poet and composer (d. 1944) births
Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist, and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de Créteil between 1907 and 1908. Marinetti is best known as the author of the first Futurist Manifesto, which was written and published in 1909, and as a co-author of the Fascist Manifesto, in 1919.
Franz Schmidt, Austrian cellist, pianist, and composer (d. 1939) births
Franz Schmidt, also Ferenc Schmidt was an Austro-Hungarian composer, cellist and pianist.
Camille Guérin, French veterinarian and bacteriologist (d. 1961) births
Jean-Marie Camille Guérin was a French veterinarian, bacteriologist and immunologist who, together with Albert Calmette, developed the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a vaccine for immunization against tuberculosis.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1836) deaths
Gustavo Adolfo Claudio Domínguez Bastida, better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, was a Spanish Romantic poet and writer, also a playwright, literary columnist, and talented in drawing. Today he is considered one of the most important figures in Spanish literature, and is considered by some as the most read writer after Miguel de Cervantes. He adopted the alias of Bécquer as his brother Valeriano Bécquer, a painter, had done earlier. He was associated with the romanticism and post-romanticism movements and wrote while realism was enjoying success in Spain. He was moderately well known during his life, but it was after his death that most of his works were published. His best known works are the Rhymes and the Legends, usually published together as Rimas y leyendas. These poems and tales are essential to the study of Spanish literature and common reading for high-school students in Spanish-speaking countries.
Dmitri Egorov, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1931) births
Dmitri Fyodorovich Egorov was a Russian and Soviet mathematician known for contributions to the areas of differential geometry and mathematical analysis. He was President of the Moscow Mathematical Society (1923–1930).
Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet and playwright (d. 1935) births
Edwin Arlington Robinson was an American poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times.
Jaan Tõnisson, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1941?) births
Jaan Tõnisson was an Estonian statesman, serving as the Prime Minister of Estonia twice during 1919 to 1920, as State Elder from 1927 to 1928 and in 1933, and as Foreign Minister of Estonia from 1931 to 1932.
The Prime Minister of Estonia is the head of government of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed by the parliament (Riigikogu). In case of disagreement, the Parliament can reject the president's nomination and choose their own candidate. In practice, since the prime minister must maintain the confidence of Parliament in order to remain in office, they are usually the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. The current prime minister is Kaja Kallas of the Reform Party. She took the office on 26 January 2021 following the resignation of Jüri Ratas.
Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1788) deaths
Jean-Victor Poncelet was a French engineer and mathematician who served most notably as the Commanding General of the École Polytechnique. He is considered a reviver of projective geometry, and his work Traité des propriétés projectives des figures is considered the first definitive text on the subject since Gérard Desargues' work on it in the 17th century. He later wrote an introduction to it: Applications d'analyse et de géométrie.
Charles Sands, American golfer and tennis player (d. 1945) births
Charles Edward Sands was an American golfer, tennis and real tennis player who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics and in the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (d. 1956) births
Cornelius McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untouchable records for wins (3,731), losses (3,948), and games managed (7,755). Mack's victory total is 829 more than the second highest total, 2,902 wins by Tony La Russa. Mack's lead in career losses is even greater, 1,433 higher than the second highest total, La Russa's 2,515.
Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer and educator (d. 1924) births
Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the late-Baroque era. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-19th-century Romantic Italian opera he later developed his work in the realistic verismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents.
Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937) births
Frank Billings Kellogg was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served in the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Secretary of State. He co-authored the Kellogg–Briand Pact, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929.
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Cabinet, and ranks the first in the U.S. presidential line of succession among Cabinet secretaries.
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine and Literature. Since March 1901, it has been awarded annually to those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".
Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan-American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1917) births
María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García was a Venezuelan pianist, soprano, composer, and conductor. Over the course of her 54-year concert career, she became an internationally renowned virtuoso pianist and was often referred to as the "Valkyrie of the Piano". Carreño was an early adopter of the works of one of her students, American composer and pianist Edward MacDowell (1860–1908) and premiered several of his compositions across the globe. She also frequently performed the works of Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg (1843–1907). Carreño composed approximately 75 works for solo piano, voice and piano, choir and orchestra, and instrumental ensemble. Several composers dedicated their compositions to Carreño, including Amy Beach and Edward MacDowell.
Evgraf Fedorov, Russian mathematician, crystallographer, and mineralogist (d. 1919) births
Evgraf Stepanovich Fedorov was a Russian mathematician, crystallographer and mineralogist.
Sarada Devi, Indian mystic and philosopher (d. 1920) births
Sarada Devi, born Kshemankari / Thakurmani / Saradamani Mukhopadhyay, was the wife and spiritual consort of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth-century Hindu mystic. Sarada Devi is also reverentially addressed as the Holy Mother by the followers of the Sri Ramakrishna monastic order. The Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission situated at Dakshineshwar is based on the ideals and life of Sarada Devi. She played an important role in the growth of the Ramakrishna Movement.
Manuel María Lombardini, Mexican general and politician. President (1853) (b. 1802) deaths
Manuel Maria Lombardini was a Mexican soldier who served as president briefly for about three months in 1853. He rose to power in the wake of a revolution against the government of President Mariano Arista. After Arista and his successor Juan Ceballos resigned, the insurgents elevated Lombardini to the presidency as a matter of convenience, and he was only ever meant to serve as a placeholder while the true aim of the insurgents, the restoration of Santa Anna, was carried out. Lombardini would resign accordingly on April 20, and he died of pneumonia in December of the same year.
Victoriano Huerta, Mexican general and politician, 35th President of Mexico (d. 1916) births
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero with the aid of other Mexican generals and the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. His violent seizure of power set off a new wave of armed conflict in the Mexican Revolution.
The president of Mexico, officially the president of the United Mexican States, is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mexican Armed Forces. The current president is Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who took office on 1 December 2018.
John Nevil Maskelyne, English magician (d. 1917) births
John Nevil Maskelyne was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions are still performed today. His book Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill is considered a classic overview of card sharp practices.In 1914 he founded the Occult Committee, a group to "investigate claims to supernatural power and to expose fraud".
William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist and physicist (b. 1766) deaths
William Hyde Wollaston was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium. He also developed a way to process platinum ore into malleable ingots.
Franz Abt, German composer and conductor (d. 1870) births
Franz Wilhelm Abt was a German composer and choral conductor. He composed roughly 3,000 individual works mostly in the area of vocal music. Several of his songs were at one time universally sung, and have obtained a more or less permanent place in the popular repertory. Abt was a renowned choral conductor, and he spent much of the last three decades of his life working as a guest conductor with choirs throughout Europe and in the United States.
Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician and academic (d. 1892) births
Pierre Ossian Bonnet was a French mathematician. He made some important contributions to the differential geometry of surfaces, including the Gauss–Bonnet theorem.
Johan Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian author, poet, and critic (d. 1873) births
Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven was a Norwegian author, poet, critic, and art theorist. He has been considered "one of the greatest figures in Norwegian literature."
William Vernon, English-American merchant (b. 1719) deaths
William Vernon, of Newport, Rhode Island, was a merchant in the Atlantic slave trade who played a leading role in the Continental Congress' maritime activities during the American Revolution. In 1774, Vernon was member of the committee of correspondence between Newport and Boston. As president of the Eastern Navy Board during the Revolution, he was responsible for building and outfitting the ships of the Continental Navy. William Vernon was one of the charter members of the Artillery Company of Newport, and is the namesake of the Vernon House.
John Obadiah Westwood, English entomologist and archaeologist (d. 1893) births
John Obadiah Westwood was an English entomologist and archaeologist also noted for his artistic talents. He published several illustrated works on insects and antiquities. He was among the first entomologists with an academic position at Oxford University. He was a natural theologian, staunchly anti-Darwinian, and sometimes adopted a quinarian viewpoint. Although he never travelled widely, he described species from around the world on the basis of specimens, especially of the larger, curious, and colourful species, obtained by naturalists and collectors in England.
Nicholas Callan, Irish priest and physicist (d. 1864) births
Father Nicholas Joseph Callan was an Irish priest and scientist from Darver, County Louth, Ireland. He was Professor of Natural Philosophy in Maynooth College in County Kildare from 1834, and is best known for his work on the induction coil.
Percivall Pott, English physician and surgeon (b. 1714) deaths
Percivall Pott was an English surgeon, one of the founders of orthopaedics, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen.
John Newbery, English publisher (b. 1713) deaths
John Newbery, considered "The Father of Children's Literature", was an English publisher of books who first made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market. He also supported and published the works of Christopher Smart, Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Johnson. In recognition of his achievements the Newbery Medal was named after him in 1922.
Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician and academic (d. 1825) births
Johann Friedrich Pfaff was a German mathematician. He was described as one of Germany's most eminent mathematicians during the 19th century. He was a precursor of the German school of mathematical thinking, which under Carl Friedrich Gauss and his followers largely determined the lines on which mathematics developed during the 19th century.
Carl Friedrich Abel, German viol player and composer (d. 1787) births
Carl Friedrich Abel was a German composer of the Classical era. He was a renowned player of the viola da gamba, and produced significant compositions for that instrument.
The viol, viola da gamba, or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch of each of the strings. Frets on the viol are usually made of gut, tied on the fingerboard around the instrument's neck, to enable the performer to stop the strings more cleanly. Frets improve consistency of intonation and lend the stopped notes a tone that better matches the open strings. Viols first appeared in Spain in the mid-to-late 15th century, and were most popular in the Renaissance and Baroque (1600–1750) periods. Early ancestors include the Arabic rebab and the medieval European vielle, but later, more direct possible ancestors include the Venetian viole and the 15th- and 16th-century Spanish vihuela, a six-course plucked instrument tuned like a lute that looked like but was quite distinct from the four-course guitar.
James Oglethorpe, English general and politician, 1st Colonial Governor of Georgia (d. 1785) births
James Edward Oglethorpe was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to resettle Britain's "worthy poor" in the New World, initially focusing on those in debtors' prisons.
This is of the governors of the Province of Georgia from 1732 until 1782, including the restored Loyalist administration during the War of American Independence.
Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher and academic (d. 1768) births
Hermann Samuel Reimarus, was a German philosopher and writer of the Enlightenment who is remembered for his Deism, the doctrine that human reason can arrive at a knowledge of God and ethics from a study of nature and our own internal reality, thus eliminating the need for religions based on revelation. He denied the supernatural origin of Christianity, and was the first influential critic to investigate the historical Jesus. According to Reimarus, Jesus was a mortal Jewish prophet, and the apostles founded Christianity as a religion separate from Jesus’ own ministry.
Richard Alleine, English minister and author (b. 1611) deaths
Richard Alleine was an English Puritan divine.
Guru Gobind Singh, Indian guru and poet (d. 1708) births
Guru Gobind Singh, born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs at the age of nine, becoming the tenth and final human Sikh Guru. His four biological sons died during his lifetime – two in battle, two executed by the Mughal governor Wazir Khan.
Guercino, Italian painter (b. 1591) deaths
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as Guercino, or il Guercino [ɡwerˈtʃiːno], was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous naturalism of his early manner contrasts with the classical equilibrium of his later works. His many drawings are noted for their luminosity and lively style.
André Tacquet, Flemish priest and mathematician (b. 1612) deaths
André Tacquet was a Brabantian mathematician and Jesuit priest. Tacquet adhered to the methods of the geometry of Euclid and the philosophy of Aristotle and opposed the method of indivisibles.
Petro Mohyla, Ruthenian metropolitan and saint (b. 1596) deaths
Metropolitan Petru Movilă was an influential Ruthenian Eastern Orthodox theologian and reformer of Moldavian origin, Metropolitan of Kyiv, Halych and All Rus' from 1633 until his death.
Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, 2nd Prime Minister of France (b. 1560) deaths
Maximilien de Béthune, 1st Duke of Sully, Marquis of Rosny and Nogent, Count of Muret and Villebon, Viscount of Meaux was a nobleman, soldier, statesman, and counselor of King Henry IV of France. Historians emphasize Sully's role in building a strong centralized administrative system in France using coercion and highly effective new administrative techniques. While not all of his policies were original, he used them well to revitalize France after the European Religious Wars. Most, however, were repealed by later monarchs who preferred absolute power. Historians have also studied his Neostoicism and his ideas about virtue, prudence, and discipline.
The prime minister of France, officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers.
Jean Racine, French poet and playwright (d. 1699) births
Jean-Baptiste Racine was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western tradition and world literature. Racine was primarily a tragedian, producing such "examples of neoclassical perfection" as Phèdre, Andromaque, and Athalie. He did write one comedy, Les Plaideurs, and a muted tragedy, Esther for the young.
Mehmed III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1566) deaths
Mehmed III was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was known for ordering the execution of his brothers and leading the army in the Long Turkish war, during which the Ottoman army was victorious at the decisive Battle of Keresztes. This victory was however undermined by some military losses such as in Gyor and Nikopol. He also ordered the successful quelling of the Jeleli rebellions. The sultan also communicated with the court of Elizabeth I on the grounds of stronger commercial relations and in the hopes of England to ally with the Ottomans against the Spanish.
Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (d. 1666) births
Tommaso Dingli was a Maltese architect and sculptor. One of the last Renaissance architects on the island, he designed several parish churches, most notably those of Attard and Birkirkara.
François Clouet, French miniaturist (b. c. 1510) deaths
François Clouet, son of Jean Clouet, was a French Renaissance miniaturist and painter, particularly known for his detailed portraits of the French ruling family.
Étienne Martellange, French architect (d. 1641) births
Étienne Martellange was a French Jesuit architect and draftsman. He travelled widely in France as an architect for the Jesuit order and designed more than 25 buildings, mostly schools and their associated chapels or churches. His buildings reflect the Baroque style of the Counter-Reformation and include the Chapelle de la Trinité in Lyon and the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis in Paris. In the course of his travels he made almost 200 detailed pen drawings depicting views of towns, buildings and monuments. These pictures have survived and provide an important historical record of French towns in the first third of the 17th century.
Alessandro Bonvicino, Italian painter (b. 1498) deaths
Alessandro Bonvicino, more commonly known as Moretto, or in Italian Il Moretto da Brescia, was an Italian Renaissance painter from Brescia, where he also mostly worked. His dated works span the period from 1524 to 1554, but he was already described as a master in 1516. He was mainly a painter of altarpieces that tend towards sedateness, mostly for churches in and around Brescia, but also in Bergamo, Milan, Verona, and Asola; many remain in the churches they were painted for. Most are on canvas, but a number even of large ones are on wood panel. Only a handful of drawings survive.
Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher and author (d. 1631) births
Cesare Cremonini, sometimes Cesare Cremonino, was an Italian professor of natural philosophy, working rationalism and Aristotelian materialism inside scholasticism. His Latinized name was Cæsar Cremoninus. or Cæsar Cremonius.
Kuroda Yoshitaka, Japanese daimyō (d. 1604) births
Kuroda Yoshitaka , also known as Kuroda Kanbei , was a Japanese daimyō of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods. Renowned as a man of great ambition, he succeeded Takenaka Hanbei as a chief strategist and adviser to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Kuroda became a Christian when he was 38, and received "Simeon Josui" as a baptismal name (rekishijin). His quick wit, bravery, and loyalty were respected by his warriors.
Willibald Pirckheimer, German lawyer and author (b. 1470) deaths
Willibald Pirckheimer was a German Renaissance lawyer, author and Renaissance humanist, a wealthy and prominent figure in Nuremberg in the 16th century, imperial counsellor and a member of the governing City Council for two periods. One of the most important cultural patrons of Germany in his own right, he was the closest friend of the artist Albrecht Dürer, who made a number of portraits of him, and a close friend of the great humanist and theologian Erasmus.
Sultan Cem, Ottoman politician (d. 1495) births
Cem Sultan or Sultan Cem, was a claimant to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century.
Antipope John XXIII deaths
Baldassarre Cossa was Pisan antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope, as he opposed Pope Gregory XII whom the Catholic Church now recognizes as the rightful successor of Saint Peter. He was also an opponent of Antipope Benedict XIII, who was recognized by the French clergy and monarchy as the legitimate Pontiff.
Khutughtu Khan Kusala, Mongolian emperor (d. 1329) births
Khutughtu Khan, born Kuśala, also known by the temple name Mingzong, was a son of Khayishan who seized the throne of the Yuan dynasty of China in 1329, but died soon after. Apart from the Emperor of China, he is considered as the 13th Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, although it was only nominal due to the division of the empire.
Chagatai Khan, Mongol ruler (d. 1242) births
Chagatai Khan was the second son of Genghis Khan and Börte. He inherited most of what are now five Central Asian states after the death of his father. He was also appointed by Genghis Khan to oversee the execution of the Yassa, the written code of law created by Genghis Khan.
Emperor Antoku of Japan (d. 1185) births
Emperor Antoku was the 81st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185.
Olaf Magnusson, King of Norway (b. 1099) deaths
Olav Magnusson was king of Norway in 1103–1115. He was the son of King Magnus Barefoot and Sigrid, daughter of Saxe of Vik.
Bretislav II of Bohemia (b. 1060) deaths
Bretislaus II was the duke of Bohemia from 14 September 1092 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Vratislaus II and Adelaide, daughter of Andrew I of Hungary. He was a major enemy of paganism.
Roger II of Sicily (d. 1154) births
Roger II was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria in 1127, then King of Sicily in 1130 and King of Africa in 1148. By the time of his death at the age of 58, Roger had succeeded in uniting all the Norman conquests in Italy into one kingdom with a strong centralized government.
Cynesige, Archbishop of York deaths
Cynesige was a medieval English Archbishop of York between 1051 and 1060. Prior to his appointment to York, he was a royal clerk and perhaps a monk at Peterborough. As archbishop, he built and adorned his cathedral as well as other churches, and was active in consecrating bishops. After his death in 1060, the bequests he had made to a monastery were confiscated by the queen.
Baha' al-Dawla, Buyid amir of Iraq deaths
Abu Nasr Firuz Kharshadh, better known by his laqab of Baha al-Dawla was the Buyid amir of Iraq (988–1012), along with Fars and Kerman (998–1012). His early reign was dominated by struggles with his rival relatives over control of the western Persian provinces, but by 998 he managed to establish his supremacy over the Buyid confederation. His reign nevertheless saw the increasing encroachment of neighbouring powers on Buyid territory, and marks the beginning of the decline of the Buyids' power. He was the third son of 'Adud al-Dawla.
The Buyid dynasty, also spelled Buwayhid, was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dynasties in the region, the approximate century of Buyid rule represents the period in Iranian history sometimes called the 'Iranian Intermezzo' since, after the Muslim conquest of Persia, it was an interlude between the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Seljuk Empire.
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest and Syria to the west. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups including Iraqi Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Persians and Shabakis with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. The vast majority of the country's 44 million residents are Muslims – the notable other faiths are Christianity, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Yarsanism and Zoroastrianism. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish; others also recognised in specific regions are Neo-Aramaic, Turkish and Armenian.
Gang Gam-chan, Korean official and general (d. 1031) births
Gang Gam-chan was a medieval Korean government official and military commander during the early days of Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392). Even though he was a career scholar and government official, he is best known for his military victories during the Third Goryeo-Khitan War. Gang came from the Geumju Gang clan.
Yuan Qianyao, official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty deaths
Yuan Qianyao (源乾曜), formally the Duke of Anyang (安陽公), was a Chinese politician during the Tang Dynasty, twice serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty, during the reign of king Wu Ding, referred to in the records as the twenty-first King of Shang. Ancient historical texts such as the Book of Documents, the Bamboo Annals and the Records of the Grand Historian describe a Xia dynasty before the Shang, but no writing is known from the period, and Shang writings do not indicate the existence of the Xia. The Shang ruled in the Yellow River valley, which is commonly held to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. However, Neolithic civilizations originated at various cultural centers along both the Yellow River and Yangtze River. These Yellow River and Yangtze civilizations arose millennia before the Shang. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is among the world's oldest civilizations and is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization.
The Tang dynasty, or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty.
Diocletian, Roman emperor (d. 311) births
Diocletian, nicknamed Iovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia. Diocles rose through the ranks of the military early in his career, eventually becoming a cavalry commander for the army of Emperor Carus. After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on a campaign in Persia, Diocles was proclaimed emperor by the troops, taking the name Diocletianus. The title was also claimed by Carus's surviving son, Carinus, but Diocletian defeated him in the Battle of the Margus.
Vitellius, Roman emperor (b. 15) deaths
AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Rufinus. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Aulus Vitellius was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Vitellius was the first to add the honorific cognomen Germanicus to his name instead of Caesar upon his accession. Like his direct predecessor, Otho, Vitellius attempted to rally public support to his cause by honoring and imitating Nero who remained widely popular in the empire.
Dongzhi Festival
The Dongzhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival is one of the most important Chinese festivals celebrated by the Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Koreans and other East Asian-related people during the Dongzhi solar term, some day between December 21 to December 23.
Armed Forces Day (Vietnam)
Many nations around the world observe some kind of Armed Forces Day to honor their military forces. This day is not to be confused with Veterans Day or Memorial Day.
Christian feast day: Anastasia of Sirmium (Orthodox Church)
Saint Anastasia is a Christian saint and martyr who died at Sirmium in the Roman province of Pannonia Secunda. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, she is venerated as St. Anastasia the Pharmakolytria, i.e. "Deliverer from Potions".
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the head of the Roman Catholic Church—the Pope—but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognized by them as primus inter pares, which may be explained as a representative of the church. As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The Eastern Orthodox Church officially calls itself the Orthodox Catholic Church.
Christian feast day: Eimhin
Eimhin was the abbot and bishop of Ros-mic-Truin (Ireland), probably in the sixth century.
Christian feast day: Ernan, Son of Eogan
Ernan is the name of four Irish saints.
Christian feast day: Frances Xavier Cabrini (outside US)
Frances Xavier Cabrini, also called Mother Cabrini, was an Italian-American Catholic religious sister. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious institute that was a major support to her fellow Italian immigrants to the United States. She was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church, on July 7, 1946.
Christian feast day: Hunger
Hunger, also known as Hungerus Frisus, was the Bishop of Utrecht from 854 to 866. He is a Saint of the Catholic Church.
Christian feast day: O Rex
The O Antiphons are Magnificat antiphons used at vespers on the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions. They likely date to sixth-century Italy, when Boethius refers to the text in The Consolation of Philosophy. They subsequently became one of the key musical features of the days leading up to Christmas.
Christian feast day: Henry Budd (Episcopal Church (USA))
Henry Budd, the first Native American ordained an Anglican priest, spent his career ministering to First Nations people.
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important and influential people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term saint is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Episcopalians believe in the communion of saints in prayer and as such the Episcopal liturgical calendar accommodates feasts for saints.
Christian feast day: Lottie Moon (Episcopal Church (USA))
Charlotte Digges "Lottie" Moon was a Southern Baptist missionary to China with the Foreign Mission Board who spent nearly 40 years (1873–1912) living and working in China. As a teacher and evangelist she laid a foundation for traditionally solid support for missions among Southern Baptists, especially through its Woman's Missionary Union.
Christian feast day: December 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
December 21 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - December 23
Mother's Day (Indonesia)
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. It complements similar celebrations, largely pushed by commercial interests, honoring family members, such as Father's Day, Siblings Day, and Grandparents' Day.
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres. With over 275 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.
National Mathematics Day (India)
The 2012 Indian stamp featured Srinivasa Ramanujan. The Indian government declared 22 December to be National Mathematics Day. It was introduced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 26 December 2011 at Madras University, to mark the 125th birth anniversary of the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. On this occasion Prime minister Manmohan Singh also announced that 2012 would be celebrated as the National Mathematics Year.
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
Teachers' Day (Cuba)
Teachers' Day is a special day for the appreciation of teachers, and may include celebrations to honor them for their special contributions in a particular field area, or the community tone in education. This is the primary reason why countries celebrate this day on different dates, unlike many other International Days. For example, Argentina has commemorated Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's death on 11 September as Teachers' Day since 1915. In India the birthday of the second president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, 5 September, is celebrated as Teachers' Day since 1962, while Guru Purnima has been traditionally observed as a day to worship teachers/gurus by Hindus. Many countries celebrate their Teachers' Day on 5 October in conjunction with World Teachers' Day, which was established by UNESCO in 1994.
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean meet. Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the American state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola, and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The official area of the Republic of Cuba is 109,884 km2 (42,426 sq mi) but a total of 350,730 km² including the exclusive economic zone. Cuba is the second-most populous country in the Caribbean after Haiti, with over 11 million inhabitants.
Unity Day (Zimbabwe)
The following is a list of holidays in Zimbabwe: