Today in history...
May 20 1960
Music DJ Alan Freed, originator of the term "Rock and Roll," is indicted in New York in the Payola scandal. Freed had accepted $30,650 from five record companies to play their records, although to be fair "pay for play" was the accepted practice up to that point.
May 20 1971
The bassist and lead singer for the band Chicago undergoes five hours of emergency surgery after getting jumped at a Cubs-Dodgers baseball game. Peter Cetera winds up losing four teeth because some guys decided that his hair was too long.
May 20 1987
Conservative British MP Harvey Proctor pleads guilty to committing acts of gross indecency against minors -- paying rent boys to spank them in his London flat.
May 20 1989
Attempting to clear Tiananmen Square of student activists and quell 100 million others protesting throughout the country, China declares martial law in Beijing. Two weeks later, after they continue to loiter in the Square, thousands of students are massacred by government troops.
May 20 1999
The dissolving body parts of eight people are discovered inside six plastic barrels sitting in an abandoned bank vault in Snowtown, Australia.
Birthdays today....
1315 - Bonne of Luxembourg, wife of John II of France (d. 1349)
1470 - Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal (d. 1547)
1554 - Paolo Bellasio, Italian composer (d. 1594)
1593 - Salomo Glassius, German theologian (d. 1656)
1660 - Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor (d. 1714)
1663 - William Bradford, British-born printer (d. 1752)
1706 - Seth Pomeroy, American gunsmith and soldier (d. 1777)
1726 - Francis Cotes, English painter (d. 1770)
1737 - William Petty Fitzmaurice, British statesman (d. 1805)
1759 - William Thornton, West Indian-born architect (d. 1828)
1768 - Dolley Madison, First Lady of the United States (d. 1849)
1769 - Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835)
1772 - Sir William Congreve, English inventor (d. 1828)
1799 - Honoré de Balzac, French novelist (d. 1850)
1806 - John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (d. 1873)
1818 - William Fargo, co-founder of Wells, Fargo & Company (d. 1881)
1822 - Frédéric Passy, French economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1912)
1830 - Hector Malot, French writer (d. 1907)
1838 - Jules Méline, French statesman (d. 1925)
1851 - Emil Berliner, German-born recording pioneer (d. 1929)
1860 - Eduard Buchner, German chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1917)
1882 - Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (d. 1949)
1883 - King Faisal I of Iraq (d. 1933)
1894 - Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian Hindu sage, Jivanmukta (d. 1994)
1895 - R. J. (Reginald Joseph) Mitchell, British aircraft designer (d. 1937)
1897 - Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish anarchist (d. 1983)
1899 - Alexander Deyneka, Ukrainian painter (d. 1969)
1899 - John Marshall Harlan II, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1971)
1901 - Max Euwe, Dutch chess player (d. 1981)
1906 - Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1989)
1908 - James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
1911 - Gardner Fox, American writer (d. 1986)
1913 - William Hewlett, American engineer (d. 2001)
1914 - Corneliu Coposu, Romanian politician (d. 1995)
1914 - Hideko Maehata, Japanese swimmer (d. 1995)
1915 - Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (d. 1981)
1916 - Trebisonda Valla, Italian athlete (d. 2006)
1916 - Alexei Petrovich Maresiev, Russian flying ace (d. 2001)
1917 - Guy Favreau, French Canadian lawyer (d. 1967)
1917 - Bergur Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic politician (d. 2005)
1918 - Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (d. 2004)
1919 - Gerhard Barkhorn, German fighter pilot (d. 1983)
1919 - George Gobel, American comedian (d. 1991)
1920 - John Cruickshank, Scottish airman, won Victoria Cross
1920 - Betty Driver, English singer and actress
1921 - Wolfgang Borchert, German writer (d. 1947)
1921 - Hal Newhouser, American baseball player (d. 1998)
1925 - Chester Ludgin, American baritone (d. 2003)
1926 - Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956)
1926 - John Lucarotti, TV writer (d. 1994)
1927 - Bud Grant, American football coach
1927 - Franciszek Macharski, Polish Cardinal
1927 - David Hedison, American actor
1928 - Jack Kevorkian, controversial American medical doctor
1930 - Sam Etcheverry, American football player and coach
1931 - Ken Boyer, American baseball player (d. 1982)
1936 - Anthony Zerbe, American actor
1938 - Marinella, Greek singer and actress
1940 - Stan Mikita, Slovak-born ice hockey player
1940 - Sadaharu Oh, Japanese baseball player
1940 - Shorty Long, American musician (d. 1969)
1941 - Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean Senior Minister
1941 - John Strasberg, American actor
1941 - Manuel Isaias Lopez, Mexican child psychiatrist
1942 - Carlos Hathcock, American Marine sniper (d. 1999)
1942 - Jill Jackson, American singer
1943 - Al Bano, Italian singer
1944 - Joe Cocker, British singer
1944 - Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer
1944 - Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman
1945 - Vladimiro Montesinos, Peruvian politician
1946 - Cher, American singer
1947 - Greg Dyke, British broadcast executive
1949 - Dave Thomas, Canadian comedian & actor
1950 - Yvon Lambert, French Canadian ice hockey player
1950 - Reinaldo Merlo, Argentine footballer
1951 - Mike Crapo, American politician
1952 - Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer
1953 - Robert Doyle, Australian politician
1954 - Guy Hoffman, American musician (Violent Femmes)
1954 - David Paterson, American politician
1954 - Cindy Hensley McCain, wife of John McCain
1955 - Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer
1956 - Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author
1956 - Dean Butler, American actor
1956 - William Michaelian, American novelist and poet
1958 - Ron Reagan, American talk show host
1958 - Jane Wiedlin, American singer (The Go-Go's)
1959 - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, American singer (d. 1997)
1959 - Bronson Pinchot, American actor
1960 - Chuck Brodsky, American musician
1960 - Tony Goldwyn, American actor
1961 - Clive Allen, English footballer
1962 - Mike Jeffries, American soccer coach
1963 - David Wells, American baseball player
1963 - Karl Beattie, English television director and producer
1965 - Ted Allen, American television host
1966 - Mindy Cohn, American actress
1966 - Dan Abrams, American TV reporter
1967 - Gabriele Muccino, Italian film director
1967 - Ramzi Yousef, Kuwaiti-born Pakistani terrorist
1967 - Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
1968 - Timothy Olyphant, American actor
1968 - Waisale Serevi, Fijian rugby union and rugby sevens footballer
1969 - Brian Gerard James, American professional wrestler
1970 - Louis Theroux, British television presenter
1970 - Terrell Brandon, American basketball player
1971 - Šárka Kašpárková, Czech athlete
1971 - Tony Stewart, American race car driver
1972 - Tina Hobley, British television actress
1972 - Busta Rhymes, American singer and rapper
1973 - Elsa Lunghini, French singer and actress
1975 - Isaac Gálvez, Spanish cyclist (d. 2006)
1975 - Mark Zupan, American quadriplegic rugby player
1976 - Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
1976 - Tomoya Satozaki, Japanese baseball player
1977 - Matt Czuchry, American actor
1977 - Leonardo Noeren Franco, Argentine footballer
1977 - Miriam Parrish, American television actress
1977 - Vesa Toskala, Finnish ice hockey player
1981 - Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
1981 - Calico Cooper, American actress and dancer
1981 - Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
1981 - Mark Winterbottom, Australian racing driver
1982 - Petr Čech, Czech footballer
1982 - Imran Farhat, Pakistani cricketer
1983 - Jr. NTR, Indian film actor
1986 - Dexter Blackstock, English footballer
1986 - LaLa Brown, American singer (d. 2007)
Famous deaths...
685 - King Ecgfrith of Northumbria (b. 645)
1277 - Pope John XXI (b. 1215)
1285 - John II of Jerusalem, King of Cyprus (b. 1259)
1444 - Saint Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (b. 1380)
1503 - Lorenzo de Medici, Italian patron (b. 1463)
1506 - Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (b. 1451)
1550 - Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (b. 1510)
1622 - Osman II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1604)
1648 - King Wladislaus IV of Poland (b. 1595)
1677 - George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, British statesman (b. 1612)
1713 - Thomas Sprat, English writer (b. 1635)
1717 - John Trevor, British statesman (b. 1637)
1722 - Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist (b. 1669)
1732 - Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (b. 1676)
1782 - William Emerson, British mathematician (b. 1701)
1793 - Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist (b. 1720)
1825 - Papaflessas, Greek priest and government official (b. 1788)
1834 - Gilbert du Motier, French statesman (b. 1757)
1841 - Joseph Blanco White, British theologian (b. 1775)
1873 - Sir George-Étienne Cartier, French-Canadian statesman (b. 1814)
1896 - Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (b. 1819)
1909 - Ernest Hogan, blackface comedian and musician (b. 1859)
1917 - Philipp von Ferrary, Italian philatelist (b. 1850)
1917 - Valentine Fleming, Scottish politician (b. 1887)
1940 - Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1859)
1946 - Jacob Ellehammer, Danish inventor (b. 1871)
1947 - Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1862)
1949 - Randolph West, American biochemist, known for the Dakin-West reaction (b. 1890)
1956 - Max Beerbohm, English theater critic (b. 1872)
1961 - Josef "Pips" Priller, German fighter ace (b. 1915)
1971 - Waldo Williams, Welsh poet (b. 1904)
1973 - Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
1975 - Barbara Hepworth, British sculptor (b. 1903)
1976 - Syd Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1911)
1976 - Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan politician, member of the Christian-Democrat party, and Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz "disappeared"
1978 - Bjarne Brustad, Norwegian composer (b. 1895)
1989 - John Hicks, English economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1904)
1989 - Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (b. 1946)
1992 - Roger Keith Coleman, American convict
1996 - Jon Pertwee, British actor (b. 1919)
2000 - Jean Pierre Rampal, French flutist (b. 1922)
2000 - Malik Sealy, American basketball player (b. 1970)
2001 - Renato Carosone, Italian musician (b. 1920)
2002 - Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist (b. 1941)
2005 - Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher (b. 1913)
2005 - William Seawell, United States Army Brigadier General (b. 1918)
2007 - Norman Von Nida, Australian golfer (b. 1914)
Holidays and observances...
National Day in Cameroon
East Timor National Day.
Have a great Tuesday.
~Brian
