Today in history...
June 3, 2009
* 350 – Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
* 1098 – First Crusade: Antioch falls to the crusaders after an eight-month siege.
* 1140 – French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy.
* 1326 – Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark.
* 1539 – DeSoto claims Florida for Spain.
* 1608 – Samuel de Champlain completes his third voyage to New France at Tadoussac, Quebec.
* 1620 – Construction of the oldest stone church in French North America, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, begins at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
* 1621 – The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherlands.
* 1658 – Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France.
* 1665 – James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England) defeats the Dutch Fleet off the coast of Lowestoft.
* 1770 – Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo is founded in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
* 1800 – U.S. President John Adams takes up residence in Washington, D.C. (in a tavern – the White House was not yet completed).
* 1839 – Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kg of opium in Humen, confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a Casus belli to open hostilities with China, resulting in the First Opium War.
* 1850 – The traditional founding date of Kansas City, Missouri. This was the date on which it was first incorporated by Jackson County, Missouri as the "City of Kansas".
* 1861 – Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races) – Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia, in first land battle of the American Civil War.
* 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Cold Harbor – Union forces attack Confederate troops in Hanover County, Virginia.
* 1866 – Fenians are driven out of Fort Erie, Ontario, into the United States.
* 1885 – Last military engagement fought on Canadian soil: Cree leader Big Bear escapes the North West Mounted Police.
* 1888 – The poem "Casey at the Bat", by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, is published in the San Francisco Examiner.
* 1889 – The Canadian Pacific Railway is completed from coast to coast.
* 1889 – The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon, United States.
* 1916 – The Reserve Officer Training Corps or ROTC is established by the U.S. Congress.
* 1916 – The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men.
* 1935 – One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa, Ontario.
* 1937 – The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson.
* 1940 – World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris.
* 1940 – World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.
* 1956 – British Railways renames 'Third Class' passenger facilities as 'Second Class' (Second Class facilities had been abolished in 1875, leaving just First Class and Third Class).
* 1962 – An Air France Boeing 707 charter, Chateau de Sully crashed after aborted takeoff from Paris, killing 130.
* 1963 – A Northwest Airlines DC-7 crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of British Columbia, killing 101.
* 1965 – Launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Crew-member Ed White performs the first American spacewalk (EVA).
* 1968 – Valerie Solanas, author of SCUM Manifesto, attempts to assassinate Andy Warhol by shooting him three times.
* 1969 – Melbourne-Evans collision: Off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half.
* 1973 – A Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near Goussainville, France, killing 14, the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft.
* 1979 – A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 600,000 tons (176,400,000 gallons) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the worst oil spill to date.
* 1982 – The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street. He survives but is permanently paralysed.
* 1984 – The Indian Army storms the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), the most sacred shrine of Sikhism, near Amritsar.
* 1989 – The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.
* 1991 – Mount Unzen erupts in Japan in Kyūshū killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
* 1998 – Eschede train disaster: an ICE high speed train derails in Lower Saxony, Germany, causing 101 deaths.
* 2006 – The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro's formal declaration of independence.
* 2007 – USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) engaged pirates after they boarded the Danish ship Danica White off the coast of Somalia.
* 2008 – Barack Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, making him the first black candidate to lead his party.
Birthdays today...
* 1540 – Charles II of Austria (d. 1590)
* 1635 – Philippe Quinault, French writer (d. 1688)
* 1659 – David Gregory, Scottish astronomer (d. 1708)
* 1723 – Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian-born naturalist (d. 1788)
* 1726 – James Hutton, Scottish geologist (d. 1797)
* 1770 – Manuel Belgrano, Argentine politician (d. 1820)
* 1808 – Jefferson Davis, American politician and President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1889)
* 1818 – Louis Faidherbe, French general (d. 1889)
* 1819 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1892)
* 1832 – Alexandre Charles Lecocq, French composer (d. 1918)
* 1840 – Michael O'Laughlen, American conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1867)
* 1843 – Frederick VIII of Denmark (d. 1912)
* 1844 – Garret Hobart, 24th Vice President of the United States (d. 1899)
* 1844 – Detlev von Liliencron, German poet (d. 1909)
* 1853 – William Matthew Flinders Petrie, English Egyptologist (d. 1942)
* 1864 – Otto Erich Hartleben, German writer (d. 1905)
* 1864 – Ransom E. Olds, American automobile pioneer (d. 1950)
* 1865 – George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1936)
* 1866 – George Howells Broadhurst, English director (d. 1952)
* 1873 – Otto Loewi, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (d. 1961)
* 1877 – Raoul Dufy, French painter (d. 1953)
* 1878 – Barney Oldfield, American race car driver (d. 1946)
* 1879 – Raymond Pearl, American biologist (d. 1940)
* 1881 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter (d. 1964)
* 1888 – Tom Brown, American musician (d. 1958)
* 1899 – Georg von Békésy, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (d. 1972)
* 1901 – Maurice Evans, English actor (d. 1989)
* 1903 – Eddie Acuff, American actor (d. 1956)
* 1904 – Jan Peerce, American tenor (d. 1984)
* 1905 – Martin Gottfried Weiss, German, commandant of Dachau concentration camp (d. 1946)
* 1906 – Josephine Baker, American dancer (d. 1975)
* 1907 – Paul Rotha, English director (d. 1984)
* 1910 – Paulette Goddard, American actress (d. 1990)
* 1911 – Ellen Corby, American actress (d. 1999)
* 1913 – Pedro Mir, Dominican Poet Laureate (d. 2000)
* 1917 – Leo Gorcey, American actor (d. 1969)
* 1918 – Patrick Cargill, English actor (d. 1996)
* 1918 – Lili St. Cyr, American ecdysiast (d. 1999)
* 1921 – Forbes Carlile, Australian athlete
* 1922 – Alain Resnais, French director
* 1923 – Igor Shafarevich, Russian mathematician
* 1924 – Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian actress (d. 1991)
* 1924 – Ted Mallie, American radio and television announcer (d. 1999)
* 1924 – Torsten Wiesel, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate
* 1924 – Jimmy Rogers, American blues guitarist (d. 1997)
* 1925 – Tony Curtis, American actor
* 1925 – Thomas Joseph Winning, Archbishop of Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2001)
* 1926 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (d. 1997)
* 1927 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (d. 2007)
* 1929 – Werner Arber, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate
* 1929 – Chuck Barris, American game show host
* 1930 – Marion Zimmer Bradley, American author (d. 1999)
* 1930 – Dakota Staton, American jazz singer (d. 2007)
* 1930 – Ben Wada, Japanese television producers
* 1931 – Françoise Arnoul, French actress
* 1931 – Raúl Castro, Cuban statesman
* 1931 – John Norman, American author
* 1931 – Lindy Remigino, American athlete
* 1933 – Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, emir of Bahrain (d. 1999)
* 1934 – Rolland D. McCune, American theologian
* 1936 – Jim Gentile, baseball player
* 1936 – Larry McMurtry, American author
* 1937 – Solomon P. Ortiz, American politician
* 1937 – Edward Winter, American actor (d. 2001)
* 1939 – Steve Dalkowski, baseball player
* 1939 – Ian Hunter (singer), English musician
* 1939 – Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, U.S.American novelist
* 1942 – Curtis Mayfield, American musician (d. 1999)
* 1943 – Billy Cunningham, American basketball player
* 1944 – Edith McGuire, American runner
* 1944 – Eddy Ottoz, Italian athlete
* 1945 – John Derbyshire, British-American mathematician and political commentator
* 1946 – Michael Clarke American musician (d. 1993)
* 1946 – Eddie Holman, American singer
* 1946 – Tristan Rogers, Australian-American actor
* 1947 – Mickey Finn, British guitarist and percussionist (T. Rex) (d. 2003)
* 1947 – Mike Burgmann, Australian racing driver (d. 1986)
* 1947 – John Dykstra, American special effects supervisor
* 1950 – Melissa Mathison, American screenwriter
* 1950 – Suzi Quatro, American musician and actress
* 1950 – Christos Verelis, Greek politician
* 1950 – Deniece Williams, American singer
* 1952 – Billy Powell, American keyboardist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2009)
* 1952 – David Richards, CBE, British motor racing entrepreneur
* 1954 – Dan Hill, Canadian singer and songwriter
* 1954 – Wally Weir, Quebec ice hockey player
* 1956 – Brad Nessler, American sports broadcaster
* 1956 – George Burley, Scottish football player and manager
* 1957 – Horst-Ulrich Hänel, German field hockey player
* 1959 – John Carlson, American talk radio host
* 1961 – Lawrence Lessig, American lawyer and author
* 1962 – Susannah Constantine, British fashion guru
* 1963 – Rudy Demotte, Belgian politician
* 1963 – Toshiaki Karasawa, Japanese actor
* 1964 – Kerry King, American musician (Slayer)
* 1964 – Doro Pesch, German singer
* 1964 – James Purefoy, British actor
* 1965 – Mike Gordon, American musician
* 1965 – Jeff Blumenkrantz, American composer and actor
* 1966 – Wasim Akram, Pakistani cricketer
* 1967 – Anderson Cooper, American reporter, journalist and anchorman
* 1968 – Jamie O'Neal, American singer
* 1968 – Samantha Sprackling, Nigerian singer
* 1969 – Takako Minekawa, Japanese musician
* 1969 – Hiroyuki Takami, Japanese musician
* 1970 – Esther Hart, Dutch singer
* 1970 – Julie Masse, French Canadian singer
* 1970 – Peter Tägtgren, Swedish musician (Hypocrisy) and producer
* 1970 – Ammon McNeely, American rock climber
* 1971 – Carl Everett, American baseball player
* 1971 – John Hodgman, American author and humorist
* 1974 – Kelly Jones, Welsh singer (Stereophonics)
* 1974 – Arianne Zuker, American actress
* 1975 – Jose Molina, Puerto Rican baseball player
* 1976 – Jamie McMurray, American NASCAR driver
* 1976 – Yuri Ruley, American drummer
* 1976 – Enda Markey, Irish/Australian entertainer
* 1977 – Cris, Brazilian footballer
* 1977 – Az-Zahir Hakim, American football player
* 1977 – Travis Hafner, American baseball player
* 1978 – Lyfe Jennings, R&B singer and song-writer
* 1980 – Lazaros Papadopoulos, Greek basketball player
* 1982 – Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian pole vaulter
* 1982 – Dihan Slabbert, South African singer and composer
* 1983 – Janine Habeck, German model and Playmate
* 1985 – Enkhbatyn Badar-Uugan, Mongolian olympic champion boxer
* 1986 – Alexandros Karageorgiou, Greek archer
* 1986 – Brenden Richard Jefferson, African-American actor
* 1986 – Rafael Nadal, Spanish tennis player
* 1986 – Tomas Verner, Czech Republic ice skater
* 1986 – Adrián Vallés, Spanish racing driver
* 1986 – Al Horford, American basketball player
* 1987 – Lalaine, American actress and singer
* 1987 – Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
* 1989 – Katie Hoff, American swimmer
* 2002 – Prince Tirso of Bulgaria, titular Bulgarian royal family
* 2006 – Countess Leonore, Member of the Dutch Royal Family
Famous deaths...
* 1395 – Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria
* 1397 – William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English military leader (b. 1328)
* 1411 – Duke Leopold IV of Austria (b. 1371)
* 1548 – Juan de Zumárraga, Spanish Catholic bishop of Mexico (b. 1468)
* 1594 – John Aylmer, English political theorist (b. 1521)
* 1615 – Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai (b. 1567)
* 1640 – Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, English politician (b. 1584)
* 1657 – William Harvey, English physician (b. 1578)
* 1649 – Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (b. 1590)
* 1659 – Morgan Llwyd, Welsh Puritan preacher and writer (b. 1619)
* 1780 – Thomas Hutchinson, American colonial governor of Massachusetts (b. 1711)
* 1826 – Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, Russian writer (b. 1766)
* 1858 – Julius Reubke, German composer (b. 1834)
* 1861 – Stephen A. Douglas, American politician (b. 1813)
* 1865 – Okada Izō, Japanese samurai (b. 1838)
* 1875 – Georges Bizet, French composer (b. 1838)
* 1877 – Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, Austrian musicologist (b. 1800)
* 1882 – Christian Wilberg, German painter (b. 1839)
* 1894 – Karl Eduard Zachariae, German expert on Byzantine Law (b. 1812)
* 1899 – Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer (b. 1825)
* 1924 – Franz Kafka, Czech novelist (b. 1883)
* 1928 – Li Yüan-hung, Chinese general and political figure (b. 1864)
* 1933 – William Muldoon, American wrestler (b. 1852)
* 1955 – Barbara Graham, American murderer (b. 1923)
* 1963 – Nazim Hikmet, Turkish poet (b. 1902)
* 1963 – Pope John XXIII (b. 1881)
* 1964 – Frans Eemil Sillanpää, Finnish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
* 1970 – Hjalmar Schacht, Nazi official (b. 1877)
* 1971 – Heinz Hopf, German mathematician (b. 1894)
* 1973 – Dory Funk, professional wrestler (b. 1919)
* 1975 – Ozzie Nelson, American band leader, producer, director, and actor (b. 1906)
* 1975 – Eisaku Sato, Prime Minister of Japan, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1901)
* 1977 – Archibald Vivian Hill, English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
* 1977 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian film director (b. 1906)
* 1983 – Nanna, Rafi Khawar, Lollywood actor, Lahore
* 1989 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian Shi'ite leader (b. 1902)
* 1989 – John McCauley, NHL official (b. 1945)
* 1990 – Stiv Bators, American musician (The Dead Boys) (b. 1949)
* 1990 – Robert Noyce, American inventor (b. 1927)
* 1991 – Katia Krafft, French volcanologist (eruption) (b. 1942)
* 1991 – Maurice Krafft, French volcanologist (eruption) (b. 1946)
* 1991 – Takeshi Nagata, Japanese geophysicist (b. 1913)
* 1992 – Robert Morley, English actor (b. 1908)
* 1994 – Puig Aubert, French rugby league footballer (b. 1925)
* 1997 – Dennis James, American television personality (b. 1917)
* 1998 – Poul Bundgaard, Danish actor and singer (b. 1922)
* 2001 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-born actor (b. 1915)
* 2003 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian sculptor (b. 1907)
* 2004 – Frances Shand Kydd, mother of Diana, Princess of Wales (b. 1936)
* 2004 – Quorthon, Swedish musician (Bathory) (b. 1966)
* 2005 – Harold Cardinal, Cree political leader, writer, and lawyer (b. 1945)
* 2006 – Johnny Grande, original accordion/piano/keyboard player for Bill Haley's Comets (b. 1932)
Holidays and observances...
* Roman Empire – Festival to Bellona.
* Confederate Memorial Day observed in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
Have a good Wednesday.
~Brian
