Today in history...
Jul 9 1952
Musical genius and all-around renaissance man John Tesh is born in Garden City, New York.
Jul 9 1980
Seven faithful are trampled in a stampede during a papal visit to Brazil by John Paul II. Way to go!
Jul 9 1982
Michael Fagan, dressed in jeans and a dirty t-shirt, and bleeding from a fresh cut on his hand, walks into the private bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II while she is asleep and her personal guard out walking her dogs. Fagan had scaled the wall surrounding Buckingham Palace and gained entry without triggering any alarms. The two carry on a 12-minute conversation, while the intruder holds a jagged broken ashtray, before somebody finally apprehends him.
Jul 9 1986
After spending one year and half a million dollars, the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography releases their two-volume, 1960-page final report. In contrast to the 1970 Presidential Commission on Pornography, the report finds that porn causes violent sex crimes and other antisocial activities. Afterwards, one impartial commission member admits: "I, for one, have no hesitation in condemning nearly every specimen of pornography that we have examined in the course of our deliberations as tasteless, offensive, lewd and indecent. According to my values, these materials are themselves immoral, and to the extent that they encourage immoral behavior they exert a corrupting influence on the family and the moral fabric of society."
Jul 9 1995
Disgruntled postal worker William Clark kills his supervisor, in the City of Industry, California.
Jul 9 1997
Mike Tyson banned from boxing for one year, and fined $3M for biting Evander Holyfield's ear off in a mysterious cajun ritual.
Jul 9 1997
Attempting to spring him from the Arizona state prison at Florence, Rebecca Thornton meets her husband Floyd at the perimeter fence with a rifle. There the escape plan goes haywire, and Rebecca shoots her death-row husband after he instructs her: "Shoot me! I'm sorry things went wrong. Shoot me! Shoot me!" Then they are both gunned down by the guards.
Birthdays today...
1511 - Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1571)
1577 - Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English Jamestown colonist (d. 1618)
1578 - Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1637)
1654 - Emperor Reigen of Japan (d. 1732)
1686 - Philip Livingston, American politician (d. 1749)
1689 - Alexis Piron, French writer (d. 1773)
1721 - Johann Nikolaus Götz, German poet (d. 1781)
1753 - William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1825)
1764 - Ann Radcliffe, English writer (d. 1823)
1775 - Matthew Lewis, English novelist (d. 1818)
1786 - Sophie Hélène Béatrix, Princess of France (d. 1787)
1800 - Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician (d. 1885)
1808 - Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and soldier (d. 1887)
1819 - Elias Howe, American inventor (d. 1867)
1828 - Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian Catholic churchman (d. 1913)
1836 - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1908)
1836 - Camille de Renesse, Belgian count (d. 1904)
1848 - Robert I, Duke of Parma, last ruling Duke of Parma (d. 1907)
1858 - Franz Boas, German anthropologist (d. 1942)
1879 - Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer (d. 1936)
1879 - Carlos Chagas, Brazilian physician (d. 1934)
1889 - Leo Dandurand, American-born Canadian hockey executive (d. 1964)
1893 - George Geary, English cricketer (d. 1981)
1894 - Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
1901 - Dame Barbara Cartland, English novelist (d. 2000)
1905 - Clarence Campbell, Canadian hockey executive (d. 1984)
1908 - Allama Rasheed Turabi, Pakistani scholar, orator and philosopher (d. 1973)
1911 - Mervyn Peake, British writer and illustrator (d. 1968)
1911 - John A. Wheeler, American physicist (d. 2008)
1915 - David Diamond, American composer (d. 2005)
1916 - Sir Dean Goffin, New Zealand composer (d. 1984)
1916 - Edward Heath, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2005)
1918 - Jarl Wahlström, the 12th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1999)
1925 - Guru Dutt, legendary Bollywood director, producer and actor
1926 - Ben Roy Mottelson, American-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1927 - Ed Ames, American singer and actor
1927 - Susan Cabot, American actress (d. 1986)
1927 - Red Kelly, Canadian ice hockey player
1928 - Federico Bahamontes, Spanish cyclist
1928 - Vince Edwards, American actor, director and singer (d. 1996)
1929 - King Hassan II of Morocco, (d. 1999)
1929 - Lee Hazlewood, American country singer, songwriter and producer (d. 2007)
1929 - Jesse McReynolds, American singer and mandolinist
1930 - Buddy Bregman, American musical arranger and conductor
1930 - Roy McLean, South African cricketer (d. 2007)
1932 - Donald Rumsfeld, 13th & 21st United States Secretary of Defense
1935 - Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist and politician (d. 2005)
1935 - Michael Williams, English actor (d. 2001)
1936 - Floyd Abrams, First Amendment attorney and advocate
1936 - June Jordan, American poet, writer and teacher (d. 2002)
1936 - Andre Pronovost, French Canadian ice hockey player
1937 - David Hockney, English artist
1938 - Brian Dennehy, American actor
1942 - Richard Roundtree, American actor
1942 - Edy Williams, American actress
1943 - John Casper, astronaut
1945 - Dean R. Koontz, American author
1945 - Root Boy Slim, American entertainer (d. 1993)
1946 - Natasha Pyne, English actress
1946 - Bon Scott, Australian singer (AC/DC) (d. 1980)
1947 - Haruomi Hosono, Japanese musician
1947 - Mitch Mitchell, English drummer (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
1947 - O.J. Simpson, American football player and actor
1948 - Hassan Wirajuda, Indonesian current foreign minister
1950 - Viktor Yanukovych, Prime Minister of Ukraine
1951 - Chris Cooper, American actor
1952 - John Tesh, American composer
1953 - Thomas Ligotti, American author
1953 - Margie Gillis, Canadian dancer and choreographer
1955 - Fred Norris, American radio personality
1955 - Jimmy Smits, American actor
1955 - Willie Wilson, American baseball player
1955 - Steve Coppell, English football player and manager
1956 - Marc Almond, British singer
1956 - Tom Hanks, American actor
1957 - Kelly McGillis, American actress
1957 - Tim Kring, American writer and producer
1957 - Paul Merton, British comedian
1959 - Jim Kerr, Scottish singer (Simple Minds)
1959 - Kevin Nash, American professional wrestler
1959 - Clive Stafford Smith, British human-rights lawyer
1960 - Marc Mero, American professional wrestler
1964 - Courtney Love, American musician
1964 - Gianluca Vialli, Italian football player
1965 - Frank Bello, American musician (Anthrax)
1965 - David O'Hara, Irish-Scottish actor
1965 - Jason Rhoades, American installation artist (d. 2006)
1967 - Gunnar Axén, Swedish politician
1968 - Paolo Di Canio, Italian football player
1968 - Lars Gyllenhaal, Swedish author
1969 - Jason Kearton, Australian former footballer
1969 - Mark Lui, Hong Kong composer and producer
1970 - Trent Green, American footballer
1970 - Masami Tsuda, Japanese manga author
1971 - Marc Andreessen, American software developer
1971 - Dani Behr, Model & TV Presenter
1973 - Kelly Holcomb, American football player
1974 - Nikola Sarcevic, Swedish bassist and singer (Millencolin)
1974 - Sian Berry, British politician
1975 - Jack White, American musician (The White Stripes}
1975 - Shelton Benjamin, American professional wrestler
1976 - Fred Savage, American actor
1976 - Jochem Uytdehaage, Dutch speed skater
1977 - Isaac Brock, American musician
1978 - Linda Park, Korean-born actress
1978 - Mark Medlock, German singer
1979 - Ella Koon, Hong Kong singer and actress
1979 - Suzanne Stokes American model, (Playmate of the Month February 2000)
1981 - Kimveer Gill, Canadian spree shooter (Dawson College shooting) (d. 2006)
1982 - Ashly DelGrosso, American ballroom dancer
1982 - Alecko Eskandarian, Armenian-American footballer
1982 - Maggie Ma, Canadian actress
1982 - Sakon Yamamoto, Japanese race-car driver
1983 - Lucia Micarelli, American musician
1984 - Jacob Hoggard, singer of Canadian band Hedley (band)
1985 - Paweł Korzeniowski, Polish swimmer
1985 - Ashley Young, English footballer
1986 - Kiely Williams, American singer and actress
1986 - Dominic Cervi, American footballer
1991 - Spencer Elden, Baby/Model on Nirvana (band)'s Nevermind album
1991 - Mitchel Musso, American actor
1995 - Georgie Henley, English actress
Famous deaths...
518 - Anastasius I, Byzantine Emperor (b. 430)
1228 - Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury
1386 - Leopold III of Austria (b. 1351)
1553 - Maurice, Elector of Saxony (b. 1521)
1654 - Ferdinand IV of Germany (b. 1633)
1706 - Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, French Canadian sailor and explorer (b. 1661)
1737 - Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1671)
1742 - John Oldmixon, English historian (b. 1673)
1746 - Philip V of Spain (b. 1683)
1747 - Giovanni Bononcini, Italian composer (b. 1670)
1766 - Jonathan Mayhew, American minister (b. 1720)
1795 - Henry Seymour Conway, British general and statesman (b. 1721)
1797 - Edmund Burke, British philosopher and statesman (b. 1729)
1850 - Báb, Persian founder of the Bábi Faith (b. 1819)
1850 - Zachary Taylor, 12th President of the United States (b. 1784)
1852 - Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan, American politician (b. 1794)
1855 - Lord Raglan Commander of the British forces during the Crimean War
1856 - Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist (b. 1776)
1856 - James Strang, Mormon splinter group leader (b. 1813)
1880 - Paul Broca, French physician and anatomist (b. 1824)
1882 - Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean war hero
1903 - Alphonse François Renard, Belgian geologist (b. 1842)
1927 - John Drew Jr., American actor (b. 1853)
1932 - King C. Gillette, American inventor (b. 1885)
1937 - Oliver Law, first African-American commander of U.S. troops (b. 1899)
1938 - Benjamin Cardozo, American jurist (b. 1870)
1947 - Lucjan Żeligowski, Polish general (b. 1865)
1949 - Fritz Bennicke Hart, English-born Australian composer (b. 1874)
1951 - Harry Heilmann, American Baseball player (b. 1894)
1955 - Don Beauman, British racing driver (b. 1928)
1967 - Eugen Fischer, Nazi physician (b. 1874)
1972 - Robert Weede, American baritone (b. 1903)
1974 - Earl Warren, 14th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1891)
1979 - Cornelia Otis Skinner, American actress and author (b. 1899)
1980 - Vinicius de Moraes, Brazilian poet and lyricist (b. 1913)
1985 - Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1896)
1985 - Jimmy Kinnon, Scottish founder of Narcotics Anonymous (b. 1911)
1992 - Eric Sevareid, American reporter (b. 1912)
1994 - Bill Mosienko, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
1996 - Melvin Belli, American attorney (b. 1907)
1999 - Robert de Cotret, Canadian politician (b. 1944)
2000 - Doug Fisher, English actor (b. 1941)
2002 - Laurence Janifer, American writer (b. 1933)
2002 - Rod Steiger, American actor (b. 1925)
2004 - Chuck Cadman, Canadian politician (b. 1948)
2004 - Paul Klebnikov, American journalist (b. 1963)
2004 - Isabel Sanford, American actress (b. 1917)
2005 - Yevgenij Grishin, Russian speed skater (b. 1931)
2005 - Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)
2006 - Milan Williams, American musician (The Commodores) (b. 1948)
2007 - Charles Lane, American actor (b. 1905)
Holidays and observances...
Roman festival - Caprotinia, or feasts of Juno Caprotina.
Argentina - Independence Day.
São Paulo (state) - Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932.
Palau - Constitution Day.
Bahá'í Faith - Holy Day: Martyrdom of the Báb.
Fence month - The closed season for deer in England ends (date varies).
Have a great Wednesday.
~Brian
