Today in history...
Feb 25 1922
Henri Landru, the notorious French serial killer known as "Bluebeard", guillotined for murdering ten women, and one boy. His motive was purely financial; by placing classified ads Landru lured selected women into his clutches, married them, and disposed of their bodies without a trace. While denying guilt to the end, a drawing given to his attorney had written on the reverse, "I did it. I burned their bodies in my kitchen oven".
Feb 25 1932
Austrian Adolf Hitler granted German citizenship, to meet a "minor" technical requirement in order to run for president.
Feb 25 1983
Playwright Tennessee Williams found dead in his New York hotel room after he choked on a bottle cap during the night.
Feb 25 1986
Egyptian Military Police enter four luxury hotels near the Pyramids, setting fires and looting. Hotel guests were terrorized. The police were upset over tours of duty that were being extended.
Feb 25 1994
Baruch Goldstein fires on Palestinians at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, slaughtering 29 of them. Goldstein, born and raised in Brooklyn New York, was a follower of Rabbi Meir Kahane and had been plotting acts of violence for two years.
Feb 25 1996
Dr. Haing S. Ngor, the Cambodian who won the 1984 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Killing Fields, shot during a robbery attempt in the carport of his Los Angeles apartment.
Birthdays today...
1398 - Xuande, Emperor of China (d. 1435)
1591 - Friedrich von Spee, German writer (d. 1635)
1643 - Ahmed II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1695)
1663 - Pierre Antoine Motteux, French-born English dramatist (d. 1718)
1682 - Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist (d. 1771)
1692 - Karl Ludwig, Freiherr von Pöllnitz, German adventurer and writer (d. 1775)
1707 - Carlo Goldoni, Italian writer (d. 1793)
1714 - René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (d. 1792)
1714 - Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet, British admiral (d. 1782)
1725 - Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet (d. 1798)
1752 - John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
1778 - José de San Martín, Argentine general and liberator of South America (d. 1850)
1841 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter, graphic artist and sculptor (d. 1919)
1842 - Karl May, German writer (d. 1912)
1845 - George Reid, fourth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)
1855 - George Bonnor, Australian cricketer (d. 1912)
1855 - Cesário Verde, Portuguese poet (d. 1886)
1860 - Sir William Ashley, economic historian (d. 1927)
1861 - Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and educator (d. 1925)
1866 - Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher (d. 1952)
1873 - Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
1877 - Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist (d. 1935)
1883 - Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone (d. 1981)
1885 - Sylvia Brett, Lady Brooke, Ranee of Sarawak (d. 1971)
1888 - John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State (d. 1959)
1889 - Homer S. Ferguson, United States Senator (d. 1982)
1890 - Dame Myra Hess, English pianist (d. 1965)
1890 - Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet politician (d. 1986)
1894 - Meher Baba, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1969)
1895 - Lew Andreas, American basketball coach (d. 1984)
1901 - Zeppo Marx, American actor (d. 1979)
1903 - King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
1908 - Frank G. Slaughter, American novelist (d. 2001)
1910 - Millicent Fenwick, American fashion editor and politician (d. 1992)
1912 - Brenda Joyce, American actress
1913 - Jim Backus, American actor (d. 1989)
1913 - Gert Fröbe, German actor (d. 1988)
1914 - John Arlott, English cricket journalist (d. 1991)
1916 - Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (d. 1991)
1917 - Anthony Burgess, English author (d. 1993)
1918 - Barney Ewell, American athlete (d. 1996)
1918 - Rena Kyriakou, Greek pianist (d. 1994)
1918 - Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (d. 1995)
1919 - Karl H. Pribram, Austrian neuroscientist
1920 - Gérard Bessette, Canadian author (d. 2005)
1921 - Pierre Laporte, Canadian statesman (d. 1970)
1927 - Ralph Stanley, American musician
1928 - Larry Gelbart, American comedy writer
1929 - Christopher George, American actor (d. 1983)
1929 - Tommy Newsom, American bandleader (d. 2007)
1932 - Tony Brooks, English race car driver
1932 - Faron Young, American singer (d. 1996)
1934 - Bernard Bresslaw, English actor (d. 1993)
1934 - Tony Lema, American golfer (d. 1966)
1935 - Sally Jessy Raphaël, American talk show host
1937 - Tom Courtenay, English actor
1937 - Barbara Piasecka Johnson, widow of John Seward Johnson I
1937 - Bob Schieffer, American broadcast journalist
1938 - Diane Baker, American actress
1938 - Herb Elliott, Australian runner
1940 - Danny Cater, American baseball player
1940 - Billy Packer, American sports broadcaster
1940 - Ron Santo, American baseball player
1942 - Karen Grassle, American actress
1943 - George Harrison, English musician (The Beatles) (d. 2001)
1943 - Wilson da Silva Piazza, Brazilian footballer
1945 - Elkie Brooks, English singer
1945 - Herbert Léonard, French singer
1946 - Franz Xaver Kroetz, German dramatist
1946 - Jean Todt, French executive director of Scuderia Ferrari
1947 - Lee Evans, American athlete
1947 - Doug Yule, American bass guitarist (The Velvet Underground)
1948 - Aldo Busi, Italian writer
1948 - Danny Denzongpa, Indian actor
1949 - Ric Flair, American professional wrestler
1950 - Neil Jordan, Irish director
1950 - Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina
1950 - Francisco Fernández Ochoa, Spanish alpine skier (d. 2006)
1951 - James Brown, American sportscaster
1951 - César Cedeño, Dominican baseball player
1951 - Don Quarrie, Jamaican runner
1952 - Jerry Chamberlain, American musician
1952 - Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (d. 2000)
1952 - Inger Segelström, Swedish politician
1953 - José María Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain
1953 - Kim Yeong-cheol, South Korean actor
1954 - John Doe, American musician
1957 - Sérgio Marques, Portuguese politician
1958 - Kurt Rambis, American basketball player
1959 - Carl Marotte, Canadian actor
1959 - Mike Peters, Welsh musician (The Alarm)
1960 - Stefan Blöcher, German field hockey player
1960 - Tony Grimaud, Maltese-born singer and songwriter
1961 - Davey Allison, American race car driver (d. 1993)
1961 - Todd Blackledge, American football player
1962 - Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
1963 - Paul O'Neill, American baseball player
1964 - Lee Evans, English comedian
1964 - Don Majkowski, American football player
1965 - Brian Baker, American guitarist
1965 - Carrot Top, American comedian
1966 - Alexis Denisof, American actor
1966 - Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (d. 2003)
1966 - Téa Leoni, American actress
1966 - Nancy O'Dell, American reporter and television personality
1966 - Samantha Phillips, American actress
1968 - Evridiki, Greek Cypriot singer
1968 - Sandrine Kiberlain, French actress
1969 - Paul Trimboli, Australian soccer player
1970 - Julie Hesmondhalgh, English actress
1971 - Sean Astin, American actor
1971 - Dave Harris, American disc jockey
1971 - Daniel Powter, Canadian musician
1973 - Julio Iglesias, Spanish singer
1973 - Justin Jeffre, American singer (98 Degrees)
1973 - Anson Mount, American actor
1973 - Normann Stadler, German triathlete
1975 - Chelsea Handler, American comedian and actress
1976 - Rashida Jones, American actress, writer, model, and musician
1976 - Chris Pitman, American keyboardist (Guns N' Roses)
1977 - Sarah Jezebel Deva, English singer
1977 - Josh Wolff, American footballer
1979 - Jennifer Ferrin, American actress
1979 - David Hoflin, Swedish-born Australian Actor
1980 - Antonio Burks, American basketball player
1980 - Christy Knowings, American actress
1981 - Misty Giles, American beauty queen and Survivor contestant
1981 - Park Ji-Sung, South Korean footballer
1981 - Shahid Kapoor, Indian actor
1981 - Jamie Lynn, American porn star
1982 - Chris Baird, Irish footballer
1982 - Maria Kanellis, American model and professional wrestler
1982 - Bert McCracken, American singer (The Used)
1982 - Anton Volchenkov, Russian ice hockey player
1982 - Tara Wilson, Canadian actress
1983 - Eduardo da Silva, Brazilian-born Croatian footballer
1984 - Logan Leistikow, American director and actor
1984 - Lovefoxxx, Brazilian singer (CSS)
1985 - Benji Marshall, New Zealand rugby player
1985 - Joakim Noah, American basketball player
1986 - Justin Berfield, American actor
1986 - James and Oliver Phelps, English actors
1986 - Danny Saucedo, Swedish singer
1987 - Eva Avila, Canadian singer
1990 - Alejandra Andreu, Miss International 2008
1991 - Tony Oller, American actor
1998 - Brendon Baerg, American actor
Famous deaths...
1246 - Dafydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd
1522 - William Lilye, English classical scholar
1536 - Berthold Haller, German-born reformer (b. 1492)
1553 - Hirate Masahide, Japanese diplomat and tutor of Oda Nobunaga (suicide) (b. 1492)
1558 - Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal and France (b. 1498)
1601 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English politician (b. 1566)
1634 - Albrecht von Wallenstein, Austrian general (b. 1583)
1643 - Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (b. 1582)
1655 - Daniel Heinsius, Flemish scholar (b. 1580)
1682 - Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (b. 1639)
1713 - King Frederick I of Prussia (b. 1657)
1715 - Pu Songling, Chinese writer (b. 1640)
1723 - Sir Christopher Wren, English architect (b. 1632)
1756 - Eliza Haywood, English actress and writer (b. 1693)
1798 - Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini, Duc de Nivernais, French diplomat and writer (b. 1716)
1805 - Thomas Pownall, British colonial statesman (b. 1722)
1831 - Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German writer (b. 1752)
1850 - Daoguang, Emperor of China (b. 1782)
1852 - Thomas Moore, Irish poet (b. 1779)
1860 - Chauncey Allen Goodrich, American clergyman, educator, and lexicographer (b. 1790)
1899 - Paul Julius Reuter, German-born journalist (b. 1816)
1912 - Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
1919 - Josef Christiaens, Belgian racing driver (b. 1879)
1922 - Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (b. 1869)
1934 - John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
1945 - Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer and photographer (b. 1893)
1950 - George Minot, American physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
1953 - Sergei Winogradsky, Russian scientist (b. 1856)
1957 - George "Bugs" Moran, American gangster (b. 1893)
1964 - Grace Metalious, American writer (b. 1924)
1966 - James D. Norris, American sports businessman (b. 1906)
1970 - Mark Rothko, Latvian-born American painter (b. 1903)
1971 - Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1884)
1975 - Elijah Muhammad, American Black Muslim leader (b. 1897)
1978 - Daniel "Chappie" James Jr., American general (b. 1920)
1983 - Tennessee Williams, American playwright (b. 1911)
1987 - James Coco, American actor (b. 1930)
1993 - Eddie Constantine, American-born actor and singer (b. 1917)
1993 - Mary Walter, Filipino actress (b. 1912)
1994 - Baruch Goldstein, American-born mass murderer (b. 1956)
1994 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (b. 1914)
1996 - Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-born actor (b. 1940)
1998 - Celestine Tate Harrington, a quadriplegic street musician and writer.
1999 - Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1912)
2001 - Sir Donald Bradman, Australian cricketer (b. 1908)
2003 - Tom O'Higgins, Irish Chief Justice (b. 1916)
2003 - Alberto Sordi, Italian actor (b. 1920)
2004 - Donald Hings, Canadian inventor (b. 1907)
2005 - Peter Benenson, English founder of Amnesty International (b. 1921)
2006 - Darren McGavin, American actor (b. 1922)
2006 - Charlie Wayman, English footballer (b. 1922)
2006 - Thomas Koppel, Danish musician (b. 1944)
2007 - William R. Anderson, CO USS Nautilus submarine, US Congressman (b. 1921)
2007 - Mark Spoelstra, American singer/songwriter (b. 1940)
2008 - Ashley Cooper, Australian race car driver (b. 1980)
2008 - Hans Raj Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India (b. 1912)
2008 - Static Major, American singer (b. 1974)
2008 - Charles Chan, Father of Jackie Chan (b. December 18, 1914)
Holidays and observances...
Kuwait's national day.
People Power Day, special holiday in the Philippines.
Have a great Wednesday.
~Brian
