December 13, 2011 – Smriti "Simmi" D. Isaac

Updated December 12, 2011, 1:28 pm

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On Dec. 13, 1981, authorities in Poland imposed martial law in a crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. Martial law formally ended in 1983.

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On Dec. 13, 1903, Carlos Montoya, the Spanish-American guitarist who popularized flamenco guitar music, was born. Following his death on March 3, 1993, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1642 Dutch navigator Abel Tasman arrived in present-day New Zealand.

1769 Dartmouth College in New Hampshire received its charter.

1862 Confederate forces dealt Union troops a major defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia.

1981 Authorities in Poland imposed martial law in a crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement.

1988 PLO chairman Yasser Arafat addressed the U.N. General Assembly in Geneva, where it had reconvened after the United States refused to grant Arafat a visa to visit New York.

1989 South African President F.W. de Klerk met for the first time with imprisoned African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, at de Klerk’s office in Cape Town.

1996 The U.N. Security Council chose Kofi Annan of Ghana to be the world body’s seventh secretary-general.

2000 Republican George W. Bush claimed the presidency 36 days after Election Day.

2001 The Pentagon released a captured videotape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader said the deaths and destruction achieved by the Sept. 11 attacks exceeded his “most optimistic” expectations.

2001 Five suspected Islamic militants killed nine people in an attack on India’s parliament before being killed themselves.

2001 President George W. Bush served formal notice that the United States was pulling out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia.

2002 Cardinal Bernard Law resigned as Boston archbishop because of the priest sex abuse scandal.

2003 Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole under a farmhouse in Adwar, near his hometown of Tikrit.

2007 Shareholders of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, approved a takeover by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

2007 The Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball was released, implicating seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Country singer Taylor Swift turns 22 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Actor Christopher Plummer turns 82 years old today.

AP Photo/Vince Bucci

1920 George P. Shultz, Former Secretary of State, turns 91

1925 Dick Van Dyke, Actor, turns 86

1930 Lou Adler, Music producer, turns 81

1941 John Davidson, Singer, turns 70

1943 Ferguson Jenkins, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 68

1948 Ted Nugent, Rock musician, turns 63

1950 Wendie Malick, Actress (“Just Shoot Me”), turns 61

1950 Tom Vilsack, Secretary of agriculture, turns 61

1953 Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, turns 58

1954 Steve Forbert, Rock singer, turns 57

1956 Morris Day, R&B singer-actor (The Time), turns 55

1957 Steve Buscemi, Actor, turns 54

1959 Johnny Whitaker, Actor (“Family Affair”), turns 52

1960 Richard Dent, Football Hall of Famer, turns 51

1961 Gary Zimmerman, Football Hall of Famer, turns 50

1967 Jamie Foxx, Actor, singer, turns 44

1969 Sergei Fedorov, Hockey player, turns 42

1975 James Kyson Lee, Actor (“Heroes”), turns 36

1981 Chelsea Hertford, Actress (“Major Dad”), turns 30

1981 Amy Lee, Rock singer (Evanescence), turns 30

Historic Birthdays

Carlos Montoya 12/13/1903 – 3/3/1993 Spanish-American flamenco guitarist. Go to obituary »

85 Carlos Gozzi 12/13/1720 – 4/4/1806
Italian poet and dramatist

72 Sir William Hamilton 12/13/1730 – 4/6/1803
English diplomat and archaeologist

68 Joseph Howe 12/13/1804 – 6/1/1873
Canadian statesman and publisher

86 Lawrence Lowell 12/13/1856 – 1/6/1943
American lawyer, educator, and president of Harvard University (1909-1933)

73 Emily Carr 12/13/1871 – 3/2/1945
Canadian painter and writer

76 Alvin York 12/13/1887 – 9/2/1964
American military hero of World War I

90 Marc Connelly 12/13/1890 – 12/21/1980
American playwright and journalist

84 Archie Moore 12/13/1913 – 12/9/1998
American boxer

1642	Dutch navigator Abel Tasman arrived in present-day New Zealand.
1769	Dartmouth College in New Hampshire received its charter.
1862	Confederate forces dealt Union troops a major defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia.
1981	Authorities in Poland imposed martial law in a crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement.
1988	PLO chairman Yasser Arafat addressed the U.N. General Assembly in Geneva, where it had reconvened after the United States refused to grant Arafat a visa to visit New York.
1989	South African President F.W. de Klerk met for the first time with imprisoned African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, at de Klerk’s office in Cape Town.
1996	The U.N. Security Council chose Kofi Annan of Ghana to be the world body’s seventh secretary-general.
2000	Republican George W. Bush claimed the presidency 36 days after Election Day.
2001	The Pentagon released a captured videotape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader said the deaths and destruction achieved by the Sept. 11 attacks exceeded his “most optimistic” expectations.
2001	Five suspected Islamic militants killed nine people in an attack on India’s parliament before being killed themselves.
2001	President George W. Bush served formal notice that the United States was pulling out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia.
2002	Cardinal Bernard Law resigned as Boston archbishop because of the priest sex abuse scandal.
2003	Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole under a farmhouse in Adwar, near his hometown of Tikrit.
2007	Shareholders of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, approved a takeover by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
2007	The Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball was released, implicating seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars.

1920	George P. Shultz, Former Secretary of State, turns 91
1925	Dick Van Dyke, Actor, turns 86
1930	Lou Adler, Music producer, turns 81
1941	John Davidson, Singer, turns 70
1943	Ferguson Jenkins, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 68
1948	Ted Nugent, Rock musician, turns 63
1950	Wendie Malick, Actress (“Just Shoot Me”), turns 61
1950	Tom Vilsack, Secretary of agriculture, turns 61
1953	Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, turns 58
1954	Steve Forbert, Rock singer, turns 57
1956	Morris Day, R&B singer-actor (The Time), turns 55
1957	Steve Buscemi, Actor, turns 54
1959	Johnny Whitaker, Actor (“Family Affair”), turns 52
1960	Richard Dent, Football Hall of Famer, turns 51
1961	Gary Zimmerman, Football Hall of Famer, turns 50
1967	Jamie Foxx, Actor, singer, turns 44
1969	Sergei Fedorov, Hockey player, turns 42
1975	James Kyson Lee, Actor (“Heroes”), turns 36
1981	Chelsea Hertford, Actress (“Major Dad”), turns 30
1981	Amy Lee, Rock singer (Evanescence), turns 30

85	Carlos Gozzi 12/13/1720 – 4/4/1806 Italian poet and dramatist
72	Sir William Hamilton 12/13/1730 – 4/6/1803 English diplomat and archaeologist
68	Joseph Howe 12/13/1804 – 6/1/1873 Canadian statesman and publisher
86	Lawrence Lowell 12/13/1856 – 1/6/1943 American lawyer, educator, and president of Harvard University (1909-1933)
73	Emily Carr 12/13/1871 – 3/2/1945 Canadian painter and writer
76	Alvin York 12/13/1887 – 9/2/1964 American military hero of World War I
90	Marc Connelly 12/13/1890 – 12/21/1980 American playwright and journalist
84	Archie Moore 12/13/1913 – 12/9/1998 American boxer