DECEMBER 14

Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

Events

★ 1287 - St. Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people.

★ 1542 - Princess Mary Stuart becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland.

★ 1702 (according to the old calendar; January 30, 1703 by the new calendar) - The Forty-seven Ronin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenged the death of their master.

★ 1751 - The Theresian Military Academy was founded as the first Military Academy in the world.

★ 1769 - Dartmouth College is chartered by King George III of England.

★ 1782 - Montgolfier brothers first balloon lifted on its very first test flight.

★ 1819 - Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state.

★ 1825 - Advocates of Liberalism in Russia rise up against Tsar Nicholas I and are put down in the Decembrist Revolt in St. Petersburg.

★ 1836 - The Toledo War unofficially ended.

★ 1896 - The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company.

★ 1900 - Quantum Mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law.

★ 1902 - The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from Ocean Beach, San Francisco to Honolulu, Hawaii.

★ 1903 - The Wright Brothers make their first attempt to fly with the ''Wright Flyer'' at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It crashes, and 3 days later, after repairs, they get it to fly.

★ 1907 - The schooner ''Thomas W. Lawson'' runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef within the Scilly Isles in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die.

★ 1911 - Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole.

★ 1914 - Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressist Party (''Partido Demócrata Progresista'', PDP) at the Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires.

★ 1918 - Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne.

★ 1939 - Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations.

★ 1941 - German military commander of Kharkiv, Ukraine issued an order, according to which the Jewish population was to move to the city periphery within 2 days, into the barracks of the works of a machine factory. In the next days 15,000 Jews were shot at Drobitsky Yar.

★ 1941 - World War II: Japan signs treaty of alliance with Thailand.

★ 1946 - The UN General Assembly votes to establish its headquarters in New York City.

★ 1947 - The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded in Daytona Beach, Florida.

★ 1955 - Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Portugal, Romania and Spain join the United Nations.

★ 1958 - The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first-ever to reach The Pole of Relative Inaccessibility in the Antarctic.

★ 1959 - The ''Motown'' record label is founded in Detroit, Michigan by Berry Gordy.

★ 1962 - NASA's ''Mariner 2'' becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.

★ 1964 - American Civil Rights Movement: ''Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States'' - The United States Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Congress can use its Commerce Clause power to fight discrimination.

★ 1972 - Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of Apollo 17. This was the last manned mission to the moon of the 20th century.

★ 1981 - Arab-Israeli conflict: Israel's Knesset passes ''The Golan Heights Law'', extending Israeli law to the area of the Golan Heights.

★ 1995 - Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by leaders of various governments.

★ 2003 - President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.

★ 2003 - President of Iraq Saddam Hussein was captured at a farmhouse in ad-Dawr near Tikrit.

★ 2004 - The Millau viaduct, the highest bridge in the world, near Millau, France is officially opened.

Births

★ 1009 - Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan (d. 1045)

★ 1503 - Nostradamus, French astrologer (d. 1566)

★ 1546 - Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (d. 1601)

★ 1625 - Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville, French orientalist (d. 1695)

★ 1631 - Anne Conway, Viscountess Conway, English philosopher (d. 1679)

★ 1640 - (baptism date) - Aphra Behn, English playwright and novelist (d. 1689)

★ 1678 - Daniel Neal, English historian (d. 1743)

★ 1720 - Justus Möser, German statesman (d. 1794)

★ 1775 - Philander Chase, American founder of Kenyon College (d. 1852)

★ 1775 - Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, British admiral (d. 1860)

★ 1824 - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter (d. 1898)

★ 1866 - Roger Fry, British artist and art critic (d. 1934)

★ 1870 - Karl Renner, President of Austria (d. 1950)

★ 1881 - Katherine MacDonald, American actress and film producer (d. 1956)

★ 1884 - Jane Cowl, American actress and playwright (d. 1950)

★ 1895 - Paul Eluard, French poet (d. 1952)

★ 1895 - King George VI of the United Kingdom (d. 1952)

★ 1896 - Jimmy Doolittle, American General (d. 1993)

★ 1897 - Margaret Chase Smith, American politician (d. 1995)

★ 1897 - Kurt Schuschnigg, Austrian politician (d. 1977)

★ 1902 - Frances Bavier, American actress (d. 1989)

★ 1908 - Morey Amsterdam, American comedian and actor (d. 1996)

★ 1908 - Claude Davey, Welsh rugby player

★ 1908 - Mária Szepes, Hungarian authoress (d. 2007)

★ 1909 - Edward Tatum, American geneticist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)

★ 1911 - Spike Jones, American comedian and musician (d. 1965)

★ 1913 - Dan Dailey, American actor (d. 1978)

★ 1914 - Karl Carstens, President of Germany (d. 1992)

★ 1914 - Attila Petschauer, Hungarian Olympic champion fencer (d. 1943)

★ 1914 - Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (d. 2003)

★ 1916 - Shirley Jackson, American writer (d. 1965)

★ 1917 - C.-H. Hermansson, Swedish communist leader

★ 1918 - James T. Aubrey, American television executive (d. 1994)

★ 1918 - B.K.S. Iyengar, Indian yoga advocate

★ 1920 - Clark Terry, American trumpeter

★ 1922 - Nikolay Basov, Soviet-born Russian physicist and Noble Prize laureate (d. 2001)

★ 1923 - Gerard Reve, Dutch writer

★ 1924 - Raj Kapoor, Indian actor (d. 1988)

★ 1925 - Sam Jones, baseball player (d. 1971)

★ 1931 - Jon Elia, Pakistani scholar, poet and philosopher (d. 2002)

★ 1932 - Charlie Rich, American musician (d. 1995)

★ 1932 - Abbe Lane, American singer and actress

★ 1935 - Lee Remick, American actress (d. 1991)

★ 1935 - Lewis Arquette, American film actor, writer and producer (d. 2001)

★ 1938 - Leonardo Boff, Brazilian theologian

★ 1941 - Ellen Willis, American journalist (d. 2006)

★ 1946 - Jane Birkin, British-born actress

★ 1946 - Patty Duke, American actress

★ 1946 - Michael Ovitz, American film producer

★ 1946 - Stan Smith, American former tennis player

★ 1946 - Ruth Fuchs, East German athlete

★ 1947 - Christopher Parkening, American guitarist

★ 1947 - Linda Sutton, British artist

★ 1948 - Lester Bangs, American music journalist (d. 1982)

★ 1948 - Dee Wallace-Stone, American actress

★ 1949 - Bill Buckner, American baseball player

★ 1949 - Cliff Williams, British-born bassist (AC/DC)

★ 1951 - Jan Timman, Dutch chess grandmaster

★ 1953 - Vijay Amritraj, Indian former tennis player

★ 1953 - René Eespere, Soviet-born Estonian composer

★ 1953 - Mikael Odenberg, Swedish politician

★ 1954 - Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (d. 1993)

★ 1954 - James Horan, American actor

★ 1954 - Steven MacLean, Canadian astronaut

★ 1956 - Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein skier

★ 1957 - Gary Ferris, American author

★ 1958 - Mike Scott, British singer and songwriter (The Waterboys)

★ 1958 - Spider Stacy (Peter Richard Stacy), British-born tin whistle player (The Pogues)

★ 1960 - Bob Paris, American bodybuilder and gay rights advocate

★ 1962 - Ginger Lynn (Ginger Lynn Allen), American adult film actress

★ 1963 - Cynthia Gibb, American actress

★ 1965 - Craig Biggio, American baseball player

★ 1965 - Ken Hill, baseball player

★ 1966 - Fabrizio Giovanardi, Italian racecar driver

★ 1966 - Bill Ranford, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1966 - Tim Skold, Swedish/American musician

★ 1967 - Ewa Białołęcka, Polish writer

★ 1969 - Scott Hatteberg, American baseball player

★ 1970 - Anna Maria Jopek, Polish singer

★ 1971 - Natascha McElhone, British actress

★ 1972 - Marcus Jensen, baseball player

★ 1972 - Eric Anderson, American musical theatre actor

★ 1973 - Tomasz Radzinski, Polish-born Canadian international footballer

★ 1973 - Tia Texada, American actress and singer

★ 1973 - Thuy Trang, American actress (d. 2001)

★ 1974 - Billy Koch, baseball player

★ 1975 - Justin Furstenfeld, American rock singer

★ 1976 - Leland Chapman, bounty hunter, son of Duane "Dog" Chapman.

★ 1976 - André Couto, Portuguese racing driver

★ 1976 - Santiago Ezquerro, Spanish football player

★ 1977 - KaDee Strickland, American actress

★ 1978 - Kim St-Pierre, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1978 - Radu Sârbu, singer (O-Zone)

★ 1979 - Michael Owen, English footballer

★ 1979 - Jean-Alain Boumsong, French footballer

★ 1979 - Sophie Monk, Australian actress, singer, and model

★ 1980 - Tata Young, Thai-American singer

★ 1981 - Amber Chia, Malaysian model and actress

★ 1981 - Emilie Heymans, Canadian diver

★ 1981 - Johnny Jeter, American professional wrestler

★ 1981 - Shaun Marcum, American baseball player

★ 1982 - Josh Fields, American baseball player

★ 1982 - Steve Sidwell, English footballer

★ 1982 - Anthony Way, British singer and actor

★ 1984 - Chris Brunt, Northern Irish footballer

★ 1984 - Edward Rainsford, Zimbabwean cricketer

★ 1985 - Tom Smith, Welsh Rugby Union Player

★ 1985 - Nonami Takizawa, Japanese actress

★ 1988 - Nicolas Batum, French basketball player

★ 1988 - Vanessa Anne Hudgens, American actress

★ 1989 - Pedro Roberto Silva Botelho, Brazilian footballer

★ 1995 - Princess Olimpia Preslavska of Bulgaria

Deaths

★ 1460 - Guarino da Verona, Italian humanist and translator (b. 1370)

★ 1510 - Friedrich of Saxony (b. 1473)

★ 1542 - King James V of Scotland (b. 1512)

★ 1553 - Hanibal Lucić, Croatian writer (b. 1485)

★ 1591 - Saint John of the Cross, Spanish friar and poet (b. 1542)

★ 1624 - Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, English statesman (b. 1536)

★ 1651 - Pierre Dupuy, French scholar (b. 1582)

★ 1713 - Thomas Rymer, English historian (b. 1641)

★ 1715 - Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1636)

★ 1735 - Thomas Tanner, English bishop and antiquarian (b. 1674)

★ 1741 - Charles Rollin, French historian (b. 1661)

★ 1788 - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer (b. 1714)

★ 1788 - King Charles III of Spain (b. 1716)

★ 1799 - George Washington, first President of the United States (b. 1732)

★ 1838 - Jean-Olivier Chénier, French Canadian physician and Patriote (b. 1806)

★ 1860 - George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1784)

★ 1861 - Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, consort of Queen Victoria (b. 1819)

★ 1865 - Johan Georg Forchhammer, Danish geologist (b. 1794)

★ 1873 - Louis Agassiz, Swiss-born American zoologist and geologist (b. 1807)

★ 1902 - Julia Grant, wife of President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant (b. 1826)

★ 1927 - Yulian Vasilievich Sokhotski, Russian mathematician (b. 1842)

★ 1935 - Stanley G. Weinbaum, American science-fiction author (b. 1902)

★ 1947 - Stanley Baldwin, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)

★ 1947 - Edward Higgins, General of The Salvation Army (b. 1864)

★ 1956 - Juho Kusti Paasikivi, president of Finland (b. 1870)

★ 1963 - Dinah Washington, American singer (b. 1924)

★ 1964 - William Bendix, American actor (b. 1906)

★ 1970 - Franz Schlegelberger, German Nazi politician (b. 1876)

★ 1971 - Dick Tiger, Nigerian-born boxer (b. 1929)

★ 1978 - Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish diplomat, writer, historian and pacifist (b. 1886)

★ 1984 - Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer and Nobel laureate (b. 1898)

★ 1985 - Catherine Doherty, social justice activist (b. 1896)

★ 1985 - Roger Maris, American baseball player (b. 1934)

★ 1989 - Andrei D. Sakharov, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1921)

★ 1990 - Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss writer (b. 1921)

★ 1993 - Myrna Loy, American actress (b. 1905)

★ 1993 - Jeff Alm, American football player (b. 1968)

★ 1997 - Kurt Winter, Canadian musician (The Guess Who) (b. 1946)

★ 1997 - Stubby Kaye, American actor (b. 1918)

★ 1998 - Norman Fell, American actor (b. 1924)

★ 1998 - Annette Strauss, American philanthropist (b. 1924)

★ 1998 - Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American civil rights activist and author (b. 1928)

★ 2003 - Jeanne Crain, American actress (b. 1925)

★ 2003 - Blas Ople, foreign minister of the Philippines (b. 1927)

★ 2004 - Rod Kanehl, American baseball player (b. 1934)

★ 2004 - Fernando Poe, Jr., Filipino actor and presidential candidate (b. 1939)

★ 2005 - Dr. Rodney William Whitaker, American author (b. 1931)

★ 2006 - Anton Balasingham, chief political strategist of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (b. 1938)

★ 2006 - Ahmet Ertegün, co-founder of Atlantic Records (b. 1923)

★ 2006 - Mike Evans, American actor (b. 1949)

Holidays and observances

★ R.C. Saints - Memorial of Saint John of the Cross

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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