Today in history...
June 5, 2009
* 70 – Titus and his Roman legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem.
* 1257 – Kraków, Poland receive city rights.
* 1798 – The Battle of New Ross: The attempt to spread United Irish Rebellion into Munster is defeated.
* 1817 – The first Great Lakes steamer, the Frontenac, is launched.
* 1829 – HMS Pickle captures the armed slave ship Voladora off the coast of Cuba.
* 1832 – The June Rebellion breaks out in Paris in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy of Louis-Philippe.
* 1837 – Houston, Texas is incorporated by the Republic of Texas.
* 1849 – Denmark becomes a constitutional monarchy by the signing of a new constitution.
* 1851 – Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper.
* 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Piedmont: Union forces under General David Hunter defeat a Confederate army at Piedmont, Virginia, taking nearly 1,000 prisoners.
* 1888 – The Rio de la Plata Earthquake takes place.
* 1900 – Second Boer War: British soldiers take Pretoria.
* 1915 – Denmark amends its constitution to allow women's suffrage.
* 1916 – Louis Brandeis is sworn in as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
* 1917 – World War I: Conscription begins in the United States as "Army registration day".
* 1933 – The U.S. Congress abrogates the United States' use of the gold standard by enacting a joint resolution (48 Stat. 112) nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold.
* 1941 – Four thousands Chongqing residents were asphyxiated in a bomb shelter during the Bombing of Chongqing.
* 1944 – World War II: More than 1000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.
* 1945 – The Allied Control Council, the military occupation governing body of Germany, formally takes power.
* 1946 – A fire in the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago, Illinois kills 61 people.
* 1947 – Marshall Plan: In a speech at Harvard University, United States Secretary of State George Marshall calls for economic aid to war-torn Europe.
* 1956 – Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.
* 1959 – The first government of the State of Singapore is sworn in.
* 1963 – British Secretary of State for War John Profumo resigns in a sex scandal.
* 1963 – Movement of 15 Khordad: Protest against arrest of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini by Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In several cities, masses of angry demonstrators are confronted by tanks and paratroopers.
* 1967 – Six-Day War begins: The Israeli air force launches simultaneous pre-emptive attacks on the air forces of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.
* 1968 – U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies the next day.
* 1969 – The International communist conference begins in Moscow.
* 1975 – The Suez Canal opens for the first time since the Six-Day War.
* 1975 – The United Kingdom holds its first and only country-wide referendum, on remaining in the European Economic Community (EEC).
* 1976 – Collapse of the Teton Dam in Idaho, United States.
* 1977 – A coup takes place in Seychelles.
* 1977 – The Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale.
* 1981 – The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that five people in Los Angeles, California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS.
* 1984 – Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi orders an attack on the Golden Temple, the holiest site of the Sikh religion.
* 1989 – The Unknown Rebel halts the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
* 1995 – The Bose-Einstein condensate is first created.
* 1998 – A strike begins at the General Motors parts factory in Flint, Michigan, that quickly spreads to five other assembly plants (the strike lasted seven weeks).
* 2001 – U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords leaves the Republican Party, an act which shifts control of the United States Senate from the Republicans to the Democratic Party.
* 2001 – Tropical Storm Allison makes landfall on the upper-Texas coastline as a strong tropical storm and dumps large amounts of rain over Houston. The storm caused $5.5 billion in damages, making Allison the costliest tropical storm in U.S. history.
* 2003 – A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reaches its peak, as temperatures exceed 50°C (122°F) in the region.
* 2006 – Serbia declares independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.
Birthdays today...
* 1341 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, son of Edward III of England (d. 1402)
* 1493 – Justus Jonas, German Protestant reformer (d. 1555)
* 1523 – Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry (d. 1573)
* 1553 – Bernardino Baldi, Italian mathematician (d. 1617)
* 1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, queen consort of Charles IX of France (d. 1592)
* 1640 – Pu Songling, Chinese writer (d. 1715)
* 1660 – Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (d. 1744)
* 1646 – Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician (d. 1684)
* 1718 – Thomas Chippendale, English furniture maker (d. 1779)
* 1723 – Adam Smith, Scottish economist (d. 1790)
* 1757 – Pierre Jean George Cabanis, French physiologist (d. 1808)
* 1760 – Johan Gadolin, Finnish scientist (d. 1852)
* 1771 – Ernest Augustus I of Hanover (d. 1851)
* 1781 – Christian August Lobeck, German scholar (d. 1860)
* 1819 – John Couch Adams, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1892)
* 1850 – Pat Garrett, American Western lawman (d. 1908)
* 1862 – Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1930)
* 1868 – James Connolly, Irish socialist (d. 1916)
* 1876 – Tony Jackson, American musician (d. 1920)
* 1878 – Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1923)
* 1879 – Robert Mayer, German-born philanthropist (d. 1985)
* 1879 – René Pottier, French cyclist (d. 1907)
* 1883 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist (d. 1946)
* 1884 – Ralph Benatzky, Czech composer (d. 1957)
* 1894 – Roy Thomson, Lord Thomson of Fleet, English publisher (d. 1976)
* 1895 – William Boyd (actor), American actor (d. 1972)
* 1898 – Salvatore Ferragamo, Italian shoemaker (d. 1960)
* 1898 – Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet, lyricist and dramatist (d. 1936)
* 1899 – Otis Barton, American deep-sea diver, inventor and actor (d. 1992)
* 1900 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
* 1905 – John Abbott, British actor (d. 1996)
* 1905 – Jock Cameron, South African cricketer, Wisden COY 1936 (d. 1935)
* 1912 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist (d. 2003)
* 1919 – Richard Scarry, American author/illustrator (d. 1994)
* 1920 – Cornelius Ryan, Irish-American author (d. 1974)
* 1923 – Jorge Daponte, Argentine racing driver (d. 1963)
* 1923 – Daniel Pinkham, American composer, organist, and harpsichordist (d. 2006)
* 1925 – Art Donovan, American football star
* 1928 – Robert Lansing, American actor (d. 1994)
* 1928 – Tony Richardson, British film director (d. 1991)
* 1930 – Alifa Rifaat, Egyptian writer (d. 1996)
* 1931 – Jacques Demy, French film director (d. 1990)
* 1931 – Jerzy Prokopiuk, Polish philosopher, antroposopher
* 1932 – Christy Brown, Irish author (d. 1981)
* 1934 – Bill Moyers, American journalist
* 1936 – Connie Hines, American actress
* 1938 – Karin Balzer, German hurdler
* 1939 – Joe Clark, sixteenth Prime Minister of Canada
* 1939 – Margaret Drabble, English novelist
* 1941 – Martha Argerich, Argentine pianist
* 1941 – Erasmo Carlos, Brazilian singer and songwriter
* 1941 – Spalding Gray, American actor and writer (d. 2004)
* 1941 – Robert Kraft, American owner of the New England Patriots
* 1942 – Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatoguinean politician
* 1943 – Matthew Lesko, American author
* 1944 – Tommie Smith, American athlete
* 1944 – Colm Wilkinson, Irish singer
* 1945 – John Carlos, American athlete
* 1945 – Patrick Head, English F1 technical director and team co-owner (WilliamsF1)
* 1946 – John Bach, Welsh actor
* 1946 – Freddie Stone, American guitarist (Sly & the Family Stone)
* 1947 – Laurie Anderson, American performance artist
* 1947 – Tom Evans, English musician (Badfinger) (d. 1983)
* 1949 – Ken Follett, Welsh author
* 1950 – J. J. Bittenbinder, American television host and author
* 1950 – Ronnie Dyson, American singer and actor (d. 1990)
* 1950 – Abraham Sarmiento, Jr., Filipino journalist & political activist (d. 1977)
* 1951 – Suze Orman, American financial advisor, writer, and television personality.
* 1952 – Carole Fredericks, American singer (d. 2001)
* 1952 – Daniel Katzen, American classical musician
* 1952 – Nicko McBrain, English drummer (Iron Maiden)
* 1953 – Kathleen Kennedy, American film producer
* 1954 – Haluk Bilginer, Turkish actor
* 1955 – Edino Nazareth Filho, Brazilian football player
* 1956 – Richard Butler, English singer (Psychedelic Furs)
* 1956 – Kenny G, American saxophonist
* 1958 – Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, President of the Comoros
* 1959 – Robert Lloyd, English musician (The Nightingales)
* 1960 – Leslie Hendrix, American actress
* 1960 – Margo Lanagan, Australian author
* 1961 – Mary Kay Bergman, American voice actress (d. 1999)
* 1961 – Anthony Burger, American musician and singer (d. 2006)
* 1962 – Princess Astrid of Belgium
* 1962 – Jeff Garlin, American comedian
* 1963 – Joe Rudán, Hungarian heavy metal singer
* 1964 – Karl Sanders, American musician (Nile)
* 1965 – Sandrine Piau, French soprano
* 1967 – Joe DeLoach, American athlete
* 1967 – Ray Lankford, American baseball player
* 1967 – Ron Livingston, American actor
* 1969 – Brian McKnight, American musician
* 1970 – Martin Gelinas, Canadian hockey player
* 1971 – Susan Lynch, Northern Irish actress
* 1971 – Takaya Tsubobayashi, Japanese racing driver
* 1971 – Mark Wahlberg, American singer and actor
* 1972 – Mike Bucci, American professional wrestler
* 1972 – Chuck Klosterman, American journalist
* 1972 – Pavel Kotla, Polish conductor
* 1973 – Lamon Brewster, American boxer
* 1973 – Daniel Gildenlöw, Swedish musician and songwriter
* 1973 – Gella Vandecaveye, Belgian judoka
* 1974 – Chad Allen, American actor
* 1974 – Russ Ortiz, American baseball player
* 1975 – Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, Lithuanian basketball player
* 1975 – Sandra Stals, Belgian athlete
* 1976 – Torry Holt, American football player
* 1976 – Ross Noble, English comedian
* 1976 – Jack Ross, Scottish footballer
* 1977 – Kristin Gore, American author and screenwriter
* 1977 – Christian Martucci, American musician
* 1977 – Nourhanne, Lebanese singer
* 1977 – Navi Rawat, American actress
* 1977 – Liza Weil, American actress
* 1978 – Fernando Meira, Portuguese football player
* 1979 – David Bisbal, Spanish singer
* 1979 – Fraser Watts, Scottish cricketer
* 1979 – Pete Wentz, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
* 1979 – Jason White, American NASCAR driver
* 1980 – Yasser Latif Hamdani, Pakistani constitutional lawyer
* 1980 – Sutee Suksomkit, Thai football player
* 1980 – Mike Fisher, Canadian Ice Hockey Player (Ottawa Senators)
* 1981 – Jade Goody, British television personality (d. 2009)
* 1981 – Sebastien Lefebvre, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)
* 1983 – Bill Bray, American baseball player
* 1983 – Marques Colston, American football player
* 1984 – Cécilia Cara, French singer and actress
* 1985 – Kenny De Ketele, Belgian cyclist
* 1987 – Charlie Clements, English actor
* 1992 – Emily Seebohm, Australian swimmer
* 1995 – Troye Mellet, Australian actor and singer
* 2005 – Irene Urdangarin, granddaughter of King Juan Carlos I of Spain
Famous deaths...
* 535 – Epiphanius of Constantinople, patriarch of Constantinople
* 1017 – Emperor Sanjō of Japan (b. 976)
* 1118 – Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester (b. 1049)
* 1296 – Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III of England (b. 1245)
* 1316 – King Louis X of France (b. 1289)
* 1383 – Dmitry Konstantinovich, Russian prince (b. 1324)
* 1568 – Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Flemish general and statesman (b. 1522)
* 1625 – Orlando Gibbons, English composer (b. 1583)
* 1667 – Pietro Sforza Pallavicino, Italian cardinal and historian (b. 1607)
* 1688 – Constantine Phaulkon, Greek adventurer (b. 1667)
* 1716 – Roger Cotes, English mathematician (b. 1682)
* 1722 – Johann Kuhnau, German composer, organist, and harpsichordist (b. 1660)
* 1738 – Isaac de Beausobre, French Protestant pastor (b. 1659)
* 1791 – Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-born colonial governor (b. 1718)
* 1816 – Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer (b. 1741)
* 1825 – Odysseas Androutsos, hero in the Greek War of Independence (b. 1788)
* 1826 – Carl Maria von Weber, German composer (b. 1786)
* 1866 – John McDouall Stuart, Australian explorer (b. 1815)
* 1900 – Stephen Crane, American author (b. 1871)
* 1902 – Louis J. Weichmann, American witness to Abraham Lincoln's assassination (b. 1842)
* 1906 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher (b. 1842)
* 1910 – O. Henry, American author (b. 1862)
* 1913 – Chris von der Ahe, German-born baseball pioneer (b. 1851)
* 1916 – Lord Horatio Kitchener, British field marshal (b. 1850)
* 1920 – Rhoda Broughton, Welsh author (b. 1840)
* 1921 – Georges Feydeau, French playwright (b. 1862)
* 1930 – Pascin, Bulgarian painter (b. 1885)
* 1975 – Paul Keres, Estonian chess player (b. 1916)
* 1976 – Violet Wilkey, American actress (b. 1903)
* 1993 – Conway Twitty, American musician (b. 1933)
* 1998 – Jeanette Nolan, American actress (b. 1911)
* 1998 – Sam Yorty, Mayor of Los Angeles (b. 1909)
* 1999 – Mel Tormé, American singer, composer, and actor (b. 1925)
* 2000 – Don Liddle, American baseball player (b. 1925)
* 2001 – Pedro Laín Entralgo, Spanish medical researcher and humanist (b. 1908)
* 2002 – Gwen Plumb, Australian actress (b. 1912)
* 2002 – Dee Dee Ramone, American bassist (The Ramones) (b. 1952)
* 2003 – Jürgen Möllemann, German politician (b. 1945)
* 2003 – Manuel Rosenthal, French composer and conductor (b. 1904)
* 2004 – Iona Brown, British violinist and conductor (b. 1941)
* 2004 – Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States (b. 1911)
* 2005 – Susi Nicoletti, German actress (b. 1918)
* 2005 – Adolfo Aguilar Zínser, Mexican politician (b. 1949)
* 2006 – Frederick Franck, American artist and writer (b. 1909)
* 2007 – Povel Ramel, Swedish entertainer (b. 1922)
Holidays and observances...
* World Environment Day
* Bahá'í Faith: Feast of Núr (First day of the fifth month of the Bahá'í calendar.)
* Denmark: Constitution Day and Father's Day
* Equatorial Guinea: President's Day
* Iran: Khordad Movement Anniversary
* New Zealand, Yemen: Arbor Day
* Seychelles: Liberation Day
* Suriname: Indian Arrival Day
Have a good Friday.
~Brian
