2013-12-14

1048 Al-Biruni Arabic royal astrologer, dies at age 74.

1048 Death of Al-Biruni, Persian mathematician (b. 973)

1124 Callistus II [Guido di Borgogna] Italian Pope (1119-24), dies.

1124 Death of Pope Callixtus II

1126 Hendrik IX the Black, Duke of Bayern (1120-26), dies.

1204 Death of Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135)

1250 Death of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1194)

1250 Frederick II German Emperor (1212-1250), dies at age 55.

1294 Pope Coelestinus V ends term.

1294 Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months; Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.

1404 Albrecht duke of Bavaria, dies at age 74.

1404 Death of Albert, Count of Holland (b. 1336)

1466 Death of Donatello (Donato di Niccol= di Betto Bardi), Florentine artist and sculptor (b. 1386)

1516 Death of Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer (b. 1462)

1521 Birth of Sixtus V [Felice Peretti/"Montalto"] bishop of Fermo/Pope (1585-90).

1521 Death of King Manuel I of Portugal (b. 1469)

1521 Manoel I “the Great” King of Portugal (1495-1521), dies at age 52.

1533 Birth of Erik XIV Wasa king of Sweden (1560-69).

1545 Council of Trent begins.

1545 Pope Paul III opens Council of Trente (19th ecumenical council).

1553 Birth of Henry IV first Bourbon-king of Navarre/France (1572/89-1610).

1557 Death of Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia, Italian mathematician

1557 Niccol= Tartaglia Italian mathematician, dies.

1565 Death of Conrad Gessner, Swiss naturalist (b. 1516)

1565 Konrad von Gesner naturalist, dies at age 49.

1570 Sweden and Denmark sign Peace of Stettin.

1572 Spanish army beats Geuzen fleet under Admiral Lumey.

1574 Sel?m II Sari the blonde, sultan of Turkey (1566-74), dies at age 50.

1577 Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.

1577 Sir Francis Drake sets sail from England to go around the world.

1585 Birth of William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (d. 1649)

1603 Death of Frantois ViFte, French mathematician (b. 1540)

1603 Franciscus Vieta mathematician, dies in Paris at age 63.

1621 Death of Katarina Stenbock, Queen of Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1535)

1621 Emperor Ferdinand II delegates first anti-Reformation decree.

1622 Jan Campanus composer, dies at age 50.

1636 The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard.

1640 Birth of Robert Plot, English naturalist (d. 1696)

1642 Abel Janszoon Tasman reaches New Zealand.

1642 New Zealand discovered by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman.

1643 English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire.

1662 Birth of Francesco Bianchini, Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1729)

1668 Jean Racines “Britannicus” premieres in Paris.

1672 Jan II Kazimierz king of Poland (1648-68), dies at age 63.

1678 Birth of Yongzheng Emperor of China (d. 1735)

1693 Dodoftei Romanian metropolitan of Moldavia/writer (Saint Lives), dies.

1693 Willem Van de Velde Dutch the Old, seascape painter, dies at about age 82.

1716 Death of Charles de La Fosse, French painter (b. 1640)

1721 Death of Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor and castaway (b. 1676)

1724 Birth of Aepinus [Franz Hoch] German physician/physicist.

1729 Anthony Collins English philosopher (On Liberty and Necessity), dies at age 53.

1729 Death of Anthony Collins, English philosopher (b. 1676)

1732 Birth of Jean-Claude Trial composer.

1734 England and Russia sign trade agreement.

1738 Gotthard Wagner composer, dies at age 59.

1740 Birth of Franz Xaver Schnitzer composer.

1742 Willem KH Friso tests his mothers potatoes.

1754 Death of Mahmud I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1696)

1759 First music store in America opens (Philadelphia).

1769 C F Gellert writer, dies at age 54.

1769 Dartmouth College founded by the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, with a Royal Charter from King George III, on land donated by Royal Governor John Wentworth.

1769 Dartmouth College in New Hampshire received its charter.

1769 Death of Christian Fnrchtegott Gellert, German poet (b. 1715)

1770 Birth of John Clarke-Whitfeld composer.

1774 First incident of the Revolution-400 attack Fort William and Mary, New Hampshire.

1774 Susanne K von Klettenberg German friend of Goethes mother, dies at age 50.

1783 Death of Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, Swedish astronomer (b. 1717)

1784 Birth of Archduke Louis of Austria (d. 1864)

1784 Death of Samuel Johnson, British writer and lexicographer (b. 1709)

1793 Johann Joachim Christoph Bode composer, dies at age 63.

1797 Birth of Heinrich Heine Germany, poet/lyricist (Schubert, Liszt).

1803 In Massing, Czechoslovakia, a building is struck by a meteorite.

1804 Birth of Joseph Howe, Canadian politician (d. 1873)

1810 Birth of Clark Mills US, sculptor (Freedom, Armed Liberty).

1812 Marianne von Martinez composer, dies at age 68.

1813 Birth of David Spangler Kaufman, American politician (d. 1851)

1814 Charles Joseph Prince of Ligne Belgian fieldmarshal/author, dies at age 79.

1814 Death of Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne, Belgian-born Austrian field marshal (b. 1735)

1816 Birth of Clement Claiborne Clay MC (Confederacy), died in 1882.

1816 Patent for a dry dock issued to John Adamson, Boston.

1818 Birth of Mary Todd in Lexington, Kentucky, USA; spouse of President Abraham Lincoln.

1819 Birth of Edwin George Monk composer.

1823 Gioacchino Rossini arrives in London.

1833 HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin arrives in Port Deseado, Patagonie.

1835 Birth of Phillips Brooks Episcopal bishop/composer (Little Town of Bethlehem).

1836 Birth of Franz von Lenbach, German painter (d. 1904)

1837 Death of Herman of Alaska, Russian Orthodox hermit (b. 1756)

1838 Birth of Marie-Alexis Castillon de Saint-Victor composer.

1843 “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens published, 6,000 copies sold.

1843 Birth of George Stephanescu composer.

1850 Birth of G F Grace cricket player (brother of W G).

1853 Birth of Joseph Sickman Corsen Cura?ao, musician/composer/screenwriter.

1854 Birth of Thomas Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934)

1856 Birth of Svetozar Boroevi?, Austro-Hungarian field marshal (d. 1920)

1858 Birth of Jakab Gyula Major composer.

1860 Birth of Lucien G Guitry French actor/theatre director (l’OdTon).

1861 Battle of Alleghany Summit, West Virginia.

1862 American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside.

1862 Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia (Marye’s Heights); South beats North.

1862 Conrad Feger Jackson US Union Brigadier-General, dies in battle at age 49.

1862 Maxcy Gregg US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at age 48.

1862 Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at age 39.

1863 Birth of Johannes Weiss German New Testament scholar.

1863 Death of Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German writer (b. 1813)

1863 Friedrich Hebbel writer, dies at age 50.

1864 Battle of Fort McAllister, Georgia.

1864 Birth of Emil Seidel, Mayor of Milwaukee (d. 1947)

1864 Former Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase is sworn in as chief justice of the US.

1865 Birth of Gustav Luders composer.

1867 Birth of Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian explorer and scientist (d. 1917)

1868 Death of Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist (b. 1794)

1871 Birth of Herman T Colenbrander Dutch historian.

1872 Helena Beeloo, Hague’s maid, murdered by Henry Jut.

1874 Birth of Ludwig Curtius German archaeologist (Die antike Kunst).

1877 Birth of Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych composer.

1879 First federal fish hatching steamer launched (Wilmington Delaware).

1881 August Senoa Croatian writer (Kletva [The Curse]), dies at age 43.

1881 Death of August Senoa, Croatian writer (b. 1838)

1883 Birth of Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer and archivist (d. 1950)

1883 Death of Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (b. 1812)

1886 Birth of Lambertus J van Apeldoorn lawyer (martial law).

1887 Birth of George Polya, Hungarian-born mathematician (d. 1985)

1889 Belgium rules on women/child labor law.

1889 Birth of Clarence Loomis composer.

1890 Birth of Marc Connelly McKeesport Pennsylvania, playwright (One Minute Please).

1892 Birth of Brand Dirck Ochse filmer/co-founder (Polygoon).

1893 Birth of Curt Jurgens Munich Germany; actor (Enemy Below, Longest Day).

1894 Sarah Parker Remond US/Italian abolitionist, dies at age 68.

1895 Death of Anyos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist (b. 1800)

1895 First complete execution of Gustav Mahlers second Symphony.

1897 Birth of Drew Pearson Evanston Illinois, newscaster (Drew Pearson).

1898 Birth of Daniel Lazarus composer.

1898 George Frederick Bristow composer, dies at age 72.

1899 Birth of Harold Guinzburg publisher (founder of Literary Guild).

1900 Battle at Nooitgedacht: Generals The la Rey/Smuts beat Britten.

1900 Birth of Jonel Perlea composer.

1901 Birth of Georg M Rimski-Korssakov Russian musicologist/theory.

1901 Test debut of S F Barnes versus Australia Sydney Cricket Ground, took 5-65 in first innings.

1902 Birth of Paul Kurzbach composer.

1903 Birth of Carlos Montoya Madrid Spain, guitarist (Suite Flamenco 1966).

1903 Italo Marcioni patents the ice cream cone (New Jersey).

1903 Wright Brothers make first flight at Kittyhawk.

1906 Birth of Ingemar Liljefors composer.

1906 German chancellor Bernhard von Bnlow disbands the Parliament.

1907 George Gunn scores 119 on Test debut versus Australia Sydney Cricket Ground.

1907 German emperor Wilhelm II visits Amsterdam.

1908 Birth of Victor Babin composer.

1909 Innokenti F Annenski Russian poet/interpreter, dies at age 53.

1910 Birth of Lillian Roth [Rutstein] singer/actress (Animal Crackers).

1911 Birth of Kenneth Patchen US, poet/novelist (Cloth of the Tempest).

1911 Reg Duff cricket player (23 Tests for Australia 1902-05, 1317 runs), dies.

1913 Birth of Archie Moore light-heavyweight boxing champion (1952-60).

1914 Birth of Alan L Bullock British historian.

1915 Birth of Balthazar Johannes Vorster Prime Minister of South Africa (1966-77).

1916 Avalanche kills 10,000 Austrian and Italian troops in 24 hours in Tyrol.

1916 Esme Stuart Lennox Robinsons premieres in Dublin.

1916 French chief of staff Joffre replaced by Nivelle.

1917 Birth of Dave Street Los Angeles California; actor/singer (Broadway Open House).

1918 US army of occupation crosses the Rhine, enters Germany.

1918 Woodrow Wilson, becomes first to make a foreign visit as President (France).

1919 Amintore Galli composer, dies at age 74.

1919 Death of Woldemar Voigt, German physicist (b. 1850)

1919 Ross and Smith land in Australia from a flight from London.

1920 Birth of Don Taylor Freeport Pennsylvania; actor (Father’s Little Dividend).

1920 F Pease’s interferometer measures first stellar diameter (Betelgeuse).

1920 League of nations establishes International Court of Justice in The Hague.

1920 Netherlands breaks contact with kingdoms of Serbia, Croatia and Slavia.

1921 Frederick Martin cricket player (14 wickets in two Tests for England 1890-92), dies.

1922 Birth of Halina Czerny-Stef�nska Polish pianist (Chopin).

1922 Charles Ebbets proposes putting numbers on players’ sleeves or caps.

1923 Birth of Fred van der Spek; Dutch second chamber member (PSP).

1924 Samuel Gompers, organizer (American Federation of Labor), dies at age 74.

1925 Birth of Dick Van Dyke, American actor and comedian

1926 Birth of Carl Erskine; American baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers).

1927 Birth of Christopher Plummer, Canadian actor

1930 Death of Fritz Pregl, Austrian chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)

1930 George Sisler’s baseball career ends when Boston Braves release him.

1930 Theodore Steeg forms French government.

1931 Death of Gustave le Bon, French psychologist (b. 1840)

1931 Wakatsuki Reijiro resigns as Prime Minister of Japan.

1934 Birth of Richard D. Zanuck, American film producer

1935 Birth of Bonno Spieker; Dutch second Chamber member (PvdA).

1935 Death of Victor Grignard, French chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)

1935 John Nicolson, cricket player (South African lefty batsman 1926-27), dies.

1936 Birth of Karim Aga Khan; prince/spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims.

1936 Final Boston Redskins NFL game, lose to Green Bay Packers 21-6, move to Washington DC.

1936 Green Bay Packers win NFL championship.

1937 Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanjing – Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese.

1938 Birth of Tom Shaw in Wichita, Kansas, USA; PGA golfer (1969 Doral Open AVCO Golf Classic).

1938 The Holocaust: 100 deportees from Sachsenhausen build the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg.

1939 Birth of Eric Flynn, British actor and singer (d. 2002)

1939 World War II: Battle of the River Plate – Captain Hans Langsdorff of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee engages with Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles.

1940 Death of Jacques-ArsFne d’Arsonval, French physicist (b. 1851)

1940 Dusty Tapscott, cricket player (brother of Doodles, 4&1 in only South Africa Test), dies.

1940 George Macaulay, cricket player (took 24 wickets in 8 Tests, England 22-33), dies.

1941 Bulgaria declares war on Great Britain and the United States.

1941 German occupiers forbid National Front and Netherlands Union.

1941 Hungary declares war on Great Britain and the United States.

1941 Lawine battlers destroy Haaraz, Peru; about 3,000 die.

1941 World War II: Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States.

1942 Birth of Anna Eshoo, American politician

1942 Seyss-Inquart allows Dutch Nazi Anton Mussert to call himself Leader.

1942 Washington Redskins defeat Chicago Bears 14-6, to win NFL title.

1943 150 US Marauders bomb Schiphol.

1943 Birth of Ferguson Jenkins; baseball pitcher (Boston Red Sox).

1944 Death of Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born French artist (b. 1866)

1945 Robert van Genechten, Dutch Nazi (NSB), commits suicide.

1946 LTon Blum is elected French premier.

1947 Birth of Les Joslin; cricket player (Test as batsman for Australia 1968, made 7 and 2).

1947 Death of Nicholas Roerich, Russian-born painter (b. 1874)

1948 Birth of Jeff “Skunk” Baxter; guitarist (Steely Dan – “Deacon Blues”).

1949 Birth of Nana Alexandria in the USSR; International Woman’s Chess Grandmaster (1976).

1949 Knesset votes to transfer Israel’s capitol to Jerusalem.

1949 The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem.

1950 Birth of Davey O’List; rocker (Roxy Music).

1950 James Dean begins his career with an appearance in a Pepsi commercial.

1951 Future British Prime Minister Margaret Roberts Thatcher marries Denis Thatcher.

1951 Selim Palmgren, Finnish pianist/composer (Daniel Hjort), dies at age 73.

1953 Birth of Ray Stewart in Matsqui, British Columbia, Canada; Canadian Tour golfer (1994 Dunhill Cup).

1954 Birth of John Anderson, American country musician

1955 Death of Egas Moniz, Portuguese physician and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)

1956 Birth of Dale Berra; baseball infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees).

1956 Brooklyn Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to New York Giants for pitcher Dick Littlefield and $35,000; Robinson retires.

1957 Birth of Steve Buscemi, American actor

1958 Ahmed Mukhtar Baban, premier of Iraq, is executed.

1958 Barhanuddin Bashajan, Iraqi minister of Foreign affairs, is executed.

1958 Birth of Dana Strum in Washington DC; rock bassist (Slaughter – “Stick it Live”).

1958 Rafiq Aref, Iraqi chief-staff Arabs Statenbond, is executed.

1958 Tim Moore, actor (Kingfish – “Amos ‘n’ Andy”), dies at age 70.

1959 Archbishop Makarios becomes the first President of Cyprus.

1959 Archbishop Makarios elected first President of Cyprus.

1959 Birth of Nadia Russ, Soviet-born artist

1960 Birth of Randy Stoklos in Pacific Palisades, California, USA; beach volleyball player (Olympics-1996).

1960 Italy beats US in Davis Cup (first time in 24 years US not in finals).

1960 Laos General Fumi Nosavang occupies Vientiane.

1961 Birth of Gary Zimmerman; NFL tackle (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32).

1961 Death of Grandma Moses, American painter (b. 1860)

1961 Gideon Hausner in Jerusalem demands death penalty for Adolf Eichmann.

1961 Grandma [Anna M] Moses, US painter, dies at age 101.

1963 Birth of Jake White, South African rugby union coach

1963 Capitol records signs right of first refusal agreement with The Beatles.

1963 Hubert Pierlot, Belgian advocate/premier (1939-45), dies at age 79.

1964 Birth of hide, Japanese musician (X Japan) (d. 1998)

1964 In El Paso, Texas, US President Lyndon Johnson and Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz set off an explosion diverting Rio Grande, to reshape US-MTxico border.

1964 Shirley Englehorn and Sam Snead win Haig and Haig Mixed Foursome Golf.

1965 Algerian President BoumTdienne visits Moscow, Russia.

1965 Birth of Stacy Sunny in San Bernadino, California, USA; female infielder (Colorado Silver Bullets).

1966 First US bombing of Hanoi, Vietnam.

1966 Test debut of Clive Lloyd, versus India Bombay, 82 and 78.

1966 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1967 Birth of Chris O’Loughlin in Los Angeles, California, USA; fencer (Olympics-1996).

1967 United Soccer Association and National Pro Soccer League merge into NASL.

1967 Unsuccessful coup against Greek King Constantine II.

1968 Birth of Carlos Hasselbaink; Dutch soccer player (VVV/FC Utrecht/Haarlem).

1968 President Da Costa e Silva of Brazil disbands parliament, grabs power.

1969 Billy Martin fired as Minnesota Twins’ manager.

1969 Birth of Norm Krumpschmd; hockey forward (Team Austria 1998).

1969 Raymond A Spruance, US admiral (battle of Midway), dies at age 83.

1970 Birth of Basit Ali; cricket player (exciting Pakistani batsman 1993-).

1970 Greg Chappell scores 108 on Test debut versus England at the WACA.

1971 Birth of Johnny Dixon; WLAF safety (Frankfurt Galaxy).

1971 Max Mell, Austrian artillery officer/literary, dies at age 88.

1972 Birth of Craig Sauer; NFL linebacker (Atlanta Falcons).

1973 Birth of Shandon Anderson; NBA forward (Utah Jazz).

1973 MPLA/FNLA accord about combat against Portuguese Libya.

1973 Rael, leader of the Raelian Movement claims to meet an ET he says is named Yahweh, during an alleged UFO encounter in Puy de Lassolas, France.

1973 World Football League grants first franchise (Detroit Wheels).

1974 Birth of Chris Lewis; Canadian Football League safety (Calgary Stampeders).

1974 Malta becomes a republic.

1974 Malta becomes a republic.

1974 The Detroit Wheels of the WFL are established.

1975 Australian Conservatives and Liberals win parliamentary election.

1975 Birth of Matt LeCroy in Anderson, South Carolina; baseball catcher (Olympics-bronze-1996).

1975 Hendrik Kruls, Dutch general/chief military authority (1944-46), dies at age 73.

1975 Jane Blalock wins LPGA 14 Colgate Triple Crown Golf Tournament.

1975 Roy Fredericks hits 169 versus Australia at WACA, hundred in 71 balls.

1975 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk.

1976 Birth of Josh Fogg, American baseball player

1976 Golden Gate Bridge District starts ferry service to Larkspur, California.

1976 Longest non-stop passenger airflight (Sydney to San Francisco, 13 hours 14 minutes).

1977 A United States government aircraft DC-3 crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball team.

1977 Entire University of Evansville basketball team (14 players) die in plane crash.

1978 The first Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation.

1979 Birth of Christina Todd; Miss Ohio Teen USA (Miss Congeniality-1997).

1979 Strikes against price increases in Gdansk, Poland.

1979 The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Joe Clark is defeated in the House of Commons, prompting the 1980 Canadian election.

1980 Birth of Bosco Wong; Hong Kong actor.

1980 Harm van Riel, Dutch Liberal Party politician, dies at age 73.

1981 70th Davis Cup: USA beats Argentina in Cincinnati (3-1).

1981 Birth of Amy Lee; American pianist/singer/songwriter (Evanescence).

1981 General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.

1981 Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, to prevent the dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.

1982 71st Australian Men’s Tennis: Johan Kriek beats Steve Denton (6-3, 6-3, 6-2).

1982 Birth of Anthony Callea; Australian singer.

1982 In Yemen, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurs, centered about 46 miles south of Sana, the capital. Deaths of more than 2,800 people killed, 1,500 injured, 700,000 homeless and about 300 villages destroyed or badly damaged.

1982 Jack Badcock, cricket player (7 Tests, 1 century but inconsistent), dies.

1982 New Jersey Devils’ first hat trick-Steve Tambellini.

1983 Birth of Otylia Jedrzejczak; Polish swimmer.

1983 British Airways incorporates.

1983 Death of Alexander Schmemann, Orthodox Christian priest and theologian (b. 1921)

1983 New York Islander’s Butch Goring scores four goals against Edmonton Oilers.

1983 The Denver Nuggets and the visiting Detroit Pistons combine for an NBA record 370 points, with Detroit winning in triple overtime, 186-184.

1984 Artificial heart recipient William Schroeder suffers first stroke.

1985 David Boon’s first Test century, 123 versus India at Adelaide.

1985 Test debut of Merv Hughes, Geoff Marsh and Bruce Reid (v India).

1987 Belgium Christian Democrats (CVP) lose parliamentary election.

1987 Cleveland Browns set club record for most points scored in a quarter, 28.

1987 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk.

1988 Palestinian Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat addresses United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

1988 Three men end 29-hour all-466-station subway ride in New York City, New York.

1989 Birth of Taylor Swift, American country music singer.

1989 Forced repatriation of Vietnamese in Hong Kong.

1989 The last issue of Gnistan (The Spark), the organ of the Solidaritetspartiet, is published in Sweden.

1989 Walter Davis (Denver Nuggets) ends NBA free throw streak of 53 games.

1990 Alice Marble, California tennis star, dies at age 77.

1990 In Sicily, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurs. At least 19 people killed, about 200 injured, 2,500 homeless.

1990 President De Klerk of South Africa meets with Nelson Mandela to talk of end of apartheid.

1991 AndrT Pieyre de Mandiargues, French writer (La marge), dies at age 82.

1991 Birth of Jay Greenberg, American music composer.

1991 New York assembly speaker Mel Miller is convicted of federal mail fraud.

1991 North and South Korea sign an accord calling for reconciliation.

1991 Ricky Pierce (Seattle SuperSonics) ends NBA free throw streak of 75 games.

1992 Dawn Coe-Jones wins Pizza-La LPGA Match Play Golf Championship.

1992 Death of Maxim Matushansky, Israeli chess and grpahic artist

1993 A U-2 spyplane crashes on a local training flight at Beale Air Force Base in California; US Air Force pilot Captain Richard Schneider is killed.

1993 Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell resigns as head of the Conservative Party to be succeeded by Jean Charest.

1993 Death of Vanessa DuriFs, French novelist (car crash) (born 1972).

1993 Fire in textile factory in Fuzjou China, 60 killed.

1993 Kazakhstan parliament approves nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and agrees to dismantle more than 100 missiles.

1993 Space shuttle STS-61 (Endeavour 5) lands.

1994 American Eagle commuter plane crashes in North Carolina, killing 15.

1994 Antoine Pinay, Prime Minister of France (1952-53), dies.

1994 Fred West, 53, a builder living in Gloucester, is remanded in custody, charged with murdering 12 people (including two of his own daughters) whose bodies were mostly found buried at his house in Cromwell Street. His wife Rose West, 41, is charged with ten murders. Police believe that the murders took place between 1967 and 1987, and suspect that the couple may have killed up to 30 people.

1994 Herman W “Fritz” Liebert, US librarian/Yale-curator, dies at age 83.

1995 Evangeline Bruce, hostess, dies at age 81.

1995 US Federal Court votes that cable companies must carry local stations.

1996 Cao Yu, dramatist, dies at age 86.

1996 Charles Edwin Molnar, computer pioneer, dies at age 61.

1996 Edward Blishen, writer teacher/broadcaster, dies at age 76.

1996 Free agent Roger Clemens signs with Toronto Blue Jays.

1996 In Bonn, Germany, the Swiss National Bank publicly acknowledges that it had profited from wartime dealings in gold bullion with the German central bank, but that there is no evidence that the gold was stolen from Holocaust victims, and no gold in Swiss possession bears German stamps. Total value of wartime gold transactions was 1.2 million Swiss francs, with profit of about 20 million francs.

1996 Kofi Annan is elected as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

1997 63rd Heisman Trophy Award: Charles Woodson, Michigan (CB).

1997 Alexander Oppenheim, mathematician, dies at age 94.

1997 Martin Carter, poet/critic, dies at age 70.

1997 Rafael Jose Fernandez de la Calzada y Ferrer, restaurateur, dies at age 83.

2000 American Vice President Al Gore delivers his concession speech ending his hopes of becoming the 43rd President of the United States.

2000 The Boston Red Sox sign Manny Ramirez to an eight-year, $160 million contract.

2000 The Texas 7 escape from their prison unit in Kenedy, Texas, and start a crime spree.

2000 The “Texas 7″ escape from the John Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas and go on a robbery spree, during which police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot and killed.

2000 The U.S. Supreme Court stops the Florida presidential recount, effectively giving the state, and the Presidency, to George W. Bush.

2000 US Vice President Al Gore concedes defeat to Texas Governor George W. Bush in the presidential election.

2001 Death of Chuck Schuldiner, American singer and guitarist (born 1967).

2001 the Indian Parliament Sansad is attacked by Terrorists, killing 15 people, including all the terrorists. Tensions escalate in South Asia, with nuclear war likelihoods.

2001 The New York Yankees sign Jason Giambi to a seven-year deal worth US$120 million.

2001 The Parliament of India is attacked by terrorists, killing 14 people. This brings India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

2001 U.S. President George W. Bush announces the United States’ withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

2002 Death of Zal Yanofsky, American guitarist and singer (The Lovin’ Spoonful) (b. 1945)

2002 Enlargement of the European Union: The European Union announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become members from May 1, 2004.

2003 Death of William Roth, U.S. Senator from Delaware (born 1921).

2003 Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (see Operation Red Dawn).

2003 In the most-attended basketball game in history, 78,129 watch Michigan State University lose 79-74 to the University of Kentucky at Ford Field.

2004 Death of Andre Rodgers, Bahamian baseball player (b. 1934)

2004 Former Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet is put under house arrest, after being sued under accusations over 9 kidnapping actions and manslaughter. The house arrest is lifted the same day on appeal.

2004 Software giants Oracle Corporation and PeopleSoft agree to merge in a US$10.3 billion deal, creating the second largest maker of business applications software.

2005 A 6.7 magnitude earthquake rocks South Asia.

2005 Birth of twins Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric of Belgium, grandsons of King Albert II of Belgium.

2005 Death of Stanley Williams, American gang founder (executed) (born 1953).

2006 Death of Lamar Hunt, American sports executive (born 1932).

2006 The Chinese River Dolphin or Baiji becomes extinct.

2007 Entry into force of the revised version of the European Patent Convention (EPC), known as the EPC 2000.

2007 European leaders sign the Treaty of Lisbon in Lisbon, Portugal.

2007 Former US Senator George J. Mitchell publicly releases a report accusing 88 retired and active Major League Baseball players of anabolic steroid use.

2008 Death of Horst Tappert, German actor (born 1923).

2008 Ecuador president Rafael Correa announces the country is not obligated to pay its national debt, as they had been signed by unelected military dictators who were coerced by World Bank, IMF, and CIA.

2008 Italy launches a high-speed train link between the northern cities of Milan and Bologna, part of a planned expansion to reach Rome next year.

2009 Death of Paul Samuelson, American economist and Nobel Prize laureate (born 1915).

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