Volume VI
Today in history...
Jun 26 1945
The United Nations Charter is signed at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House, paving the world for the New World Order. Aim for the blue helmets, everyone!
Jun 26 1961
John F. Kennedy tells the German nation and pastry lovers everywhere "Ich bin ein Berliner"; whether or not he is, in fact, a jelly donut remains a matter of speculation to this day.
Jun 26 1968
Pope Paul VI declares that the bones of Apostle and first Pope, Saint Peter, were found underneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The bones are now housed in plexiglass containers near where they were found, but some of them are clearly those of domesticated animals.
Jun 26 1990
Irish Republican Army
s the Carlton Club, an exclusive conservative gentleman's cabal in London. (It is a well known fact that Margaret Thatcher was denoted an "honorary man" in order to become a member. It is not clear what surgical modifications, if any, were necessary.)
Jun 26 1992
Secretary of the Navy H. Lawrence Garrett resigns over the handling of the Tailhook Scandal, in which 26 women were sexually abused. Some of the women, including 14 Navy officers, had been forced to run through a "gauntlet" where they were groped by Navy personnel.
Birthdays today...
1575 - Anne Catherine of Brandenburg, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1612)
1681 - Hedwig Sophia, duchess of Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish writer (d. 1708)
1689 - Edward Holyoke, American academic (d. 1769)
1694 - Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1768)
1702 - Philip Doddridge, English religious leader (d. 1751)
1703 - Thomas Clap, American academic (d. 1767)
1730 - Charles Messier, French Astronomer (d. 1817)
1817 - Branwell Bronte, British painter and poet (d. 1848)
1819 - Abner Doubleday, American Major General (d. 1893)
1824 - Lord Kelvin, Irish-born physicist (d. 1907)
1838 - Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Bengali Novelist (d. 1894)
1854 - Robert Laird Borden, Canadian politician (d. 1937)
1865 - Bernard Berenson, American art historian (d. 1959)
1866 - George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English financier of Egyptian excavations (d. 1923)
1869 - Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish writer (d. 1954)
1880 - Natalia, Princess Brassova (d. 1952)
1892 - Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1973)
1895 - George Hainsworth, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1950)
1898 - Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft designer (d. 1978)
1898 - Chesty Puller, the most decorated Marine in history (d. 1971)
1899 - Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
1902 - Hugues Cuénod, Swiss Tenor
1904 - Frank Scott Hogg, Canadian astronomer (d. 1951)
1904 - Peter Lorre, Hungarian-born actor (d. 1964)
1906 - Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer (d. 1974)
1906 - Viktor Schreckengost, American industrial designer (d. 2008)
1907 - Debs Garms, American baseball player (d. 1984)
1908 - Salvador Allende, Former President of Chile (1970-1973) (d. 1973)
1909 - Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager (d. 1997)
1911 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete (d. 1956)
1913 - Aimé Césaire, French Martinican poet and politician (d. 2008)
1914 - Laurie Lee, British writer (d. 1997)
1915 - Paul Castellano, American mafia boss (d. 1985)
1915 - Charlotte Zolotow, American author
1919 - Richard Neustadt, American political historian (d. 2003)
1921 - Violette Szabo, French WWII secret agent (d. 1945)
1922 - Eleanor Parker, American actress
1923 - Barbara Graham, American murderer (d. 1955)
1924 - Costas Axelos, Greek philosopher
1925 - Pavel Belyayev, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1970)
1928 - Jacob Druckman, American composer (d. 1996)
1928 - Yoshiro Nakamatsu, Japanese inventor
1929 - Milton Glaser, American Designer
1933 - Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor
1933 - Gene Green, American baseball player (d. 1981)
1934 - Jeremy Wolfenden, British journalist (d. 1965)
1934 - Dave Grusin, American jazz pianist
1936 - Robert Maclennan, British politician
1936 - Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, Archbishop of Montreal
1937 - Sombat Metanee, Thai film actor
1937 - Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist, Nobel laureate
1938 - Gerald North, American climatologist
1940 - Billy Davis, Jr., American singer (The Fifth Dimension)
1941 - Yves Beauchemin, Canadian novelist
1942 - Gilberto Gil, Brazilian singer and Minister of Culture
1943 - John Beasley, American actor
1943 - Georgie Fame, British singer
1945 - Malachi York, Nuwaubian leader
1951 - Gary Gilmour, Australian cricketer
1954 - Steve Barton, American actor (d. 2001)
1955 - Mick Jones, British guitarist (The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite)
1956 - Chris Isaak, American singer
1957 - Patty Smyth, American singer (Scandal)
1957 - Philippe Couillard, Quebec neurosurgeon and politician
1959 - Mark McKinney, Canadian actor
1960 - Zachary Breaux, American jazz guitarist
1961 - Greg LeMond, American cyclist
1961 - Terri Nunn, American singer (Berlin)
1961 - Manu Chao, French Musician
1963 - Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, Russian businessman
1963 - Richard Garfield, American game designer
1967 - Todd Pletcher, American horse trainer
1968 - Paolo Maldini, Italian footballer
1968 - Shannon Sharpe, American football player
1969 - Colin Greenwood, British musician (Radiohead)
1969 - Mike Myers, American baseball player
1970 - Chris O'Donnell, American actor
1970 - Sean Hayes, American Actor
1970 - Irv Gotti, American record producer
1970 - Paul Thomas Anderson, American filmmaker
1970 - Nick Offerman, American actor
1971 - Max Biaggi, Italian motorcycle racer
1972 - Garou, Canadian singer
1972 - Jai Taurima, Australian long jumper
1973 - Gretchen Wilson, American singer
1973 - Paweł Małaszyński, Polish actor
1973 - Jussi Sydänmaa, Finnish musician (Lordi)
1974 - Matt Striker, American professional wrestler
1974 - Derek Jeter, American baseball player
1974 - Jeff Frankenstein, American musician (Newsboys)
1974 - Jason Kendall, American baseball player
1974 - Nicole Saba, Lebanese singer
1975 - Jonah Sorrentino, American hip hop artist
1975 - Terry Skiverton, English football player
1976 - Ed Jovanovski, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 - Chad Pennington, American football player
1976 - Joe Landon, American pornographic actor
1977 - Kubo Tite, Japanese cartoonist
1978 - Alexandra, French singer, L5's singer
1979 - Wálter Herrmann, Argentinian basketball player
1979 - Andy O'Brien, English footballer
1979 - Ryo Fukuda, Japanese racing driver
1980 - Jason Schwartzman, American actor
1980 - Michael Vick, American football player
1980 - Chris Shelton, American baseball player
1980 - Sinik, French singer and rapper
1984 - Elijah Dukes, American baseball player
1984 - Raymond Felton, American basketball player
1984 - Deron Williams, American basketball player
1984 - Jose Juan Barea, American basketball player
1985 - Urgyen Trinley Dorje, Tibetan spiritual leader
1986 - Casey Desmond, American singer
1987 - Carlos Iaconelli, Brazilian racing driver
1987 - Samir Nasri, French footballer, currently playing for Marseille
1992 - Jennette McCurdy, American actress
2005 - Princess Alexia of the Netherlands
Famous deaths...
363 - Julian the Apostate, Roman Emperor (killed in battle) (b. 331)
1291 - Eleanor of Provence, wife of Henry III of England
1541 - Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conqueror of Peru (murdered)
1688 - Ralph Cudworth, English philosopher (b. 1617)
1784 - Caesar Rodney, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1728)
1793 - Gilbert White, English ornithologist (b. 1720)
1810 - Joseph Michel Montgolfier, inventor of the hot air balloon (b. 1740)
1836 - Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French composer (La Marseillaise) (b. 1760)
1878 - Mercedes of Orleans, queen of Spain (b. 1860)
1918 - Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
1922 - Albert I, Prince of Monaco (b. 1848)
1939 - Ford Madox Ford, English writer (b. 1873)
1943 - Karl Landsteiner, Austrian biologist and physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1868)
1946 - Yosuke Matsuoka, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan (b. 1880)
1946 - Max Kögel, SS officer (b. 1895)
1947 - Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1870)
1948 - Lilian Velez, Filipino actress (murdered) (b. 1924)
1949 - Kim Gu, President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (b. 1876)
1956 - Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1930)
1957 - Alfred Döblin, German writer (b. 1878)
1958 - George Orton, Canadian athlete (b. 1873)
1958 - Andrija Štampar, Croatian physician and United Nations diplomat (b. 1888)
1964 - Leo Dandurand, American-born Canadian sports executive (b. 1889)
1964 - Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect (b. 1888)
1967 - Françoise Dorléac, French actress (b. 1942)
1975 - St. Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish Catholic priest (b. 1902)
1992 - Herman Rohde, professional wrestler (b. 1921)
1993 - William H. Riker, American political scientist (b. 1920)
1993 - Roy Campanella, Major League baseball player (b. 1921)
1994 - Jahanara Imam, Bangladeshi writer and political activist (b. 1929)
1996 - Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (b. 1958)
1997 - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian singer (b. 1959)
2001 - Soccer (dog actor) (b. 1988)
2002 - Arnold Brown, the 11th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1913)
2002 - Jay Berwanger, American football player (b. 1914)
2003 - Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon footballer (b. 1975)
2003 - Denver Randleman, U.S. Army Seargent (b. 1920)
2003 - Strom Thurmond, U.S. Senator (b. 1902)
2003 - Sir Dennis Thatcher MBE, husband of Margaret Thatcher (b. 1915)
2004 - Yash Johar, Indian film producer (b. 1929)
2004 - Naomi Shemer, Israeli singer and song-writer (b. 1930)
2005 - Richard Whiteley, British television game show host (b. 1943)
2007 - Liz Claiborne, Belgian-born American fashion designer (b. 1929)
2007 - Joey Sadler, All Black rugby player (b. 1914)
Holidays and observances...
International Day in Support of Torture Victims
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
Madagascar: Independence Day
Thailand: Sunthorn Phu Day
Mar Abhai
Anthelm of Belley
Saints John and Paul
Saint Josemaría Escrivá (d. 1975)
Have a great Thursday.
~Brian
