Month: October 2012

Updated October 15, 2012, 2:28 pm

On Oct. 16, 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb.

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On Oct. 16, 1888, Eugene Gladstone O’Neill, who was regarded as the foremost American playwright of his time, was born. Following his death on Nov. 27, 1953, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1793	Marie Antoinette was beheaded during the French Revolution.
1859	Abolitionist John Brown, hoping to start an anti-slavery rebellion, led a raid on a federal armory at Harpers Ferry in present-day West Virginia.
1888	Playwright Eugene O’Neill was born in New York City.
1964	China detonated its first atomic bomb.
1969	The New York Mets, a previously hapless expansion team, won the World Series 4 games to 1 over American League powerhouse the Baltimore Orioles.
1970	Anwar Sadat was elected president of Egypt, succeeding the late Gamal Abdel Nasser.
1973	Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, who negotiated a cease-fire in the Vietnam War, were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize; Tho declined the award.
1978	Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was elected pope by the Roman Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals; he took the name John Paul II.
1984	Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
1987	Rescuers freed Jessica McClure, an 18-month-old girl who had been trapped in an abandoned well for 58 hours in Midland, Texas.
1995	A vast throng of black men gathered in Washington for the “Million Man March” led by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
1998	David Trimble and John Hume were named recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the Northern Ireland peace accord.
2002	President George W. Bush signed a congressional resolution authorizing war against Iraq.
2011	The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was formally dedicated in Washington, D.C.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actress Angela Lansbury (“Murder, She Wrote”) turns 87 years old today.

AP Photo/Charles Sykes

Rock musician Bob Weir (Grateful Dead) turns 65 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

1927	Gunter Grass, Nobel Prize-winning author, turns 85
1946	Suzanne Somers, Actress (“Three’s Company”), turns 66
1952	Christopher Cox, Former SEC chairman, turns 60
1958	Tim Robbins, Actor, turns 54
1960	Bob Mould, Rock musician (Husker Du), turns 52
1962	Flea, Rock musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers), turns 50
1969	Wendy Wilson, Singer (Wilson Phillips), turns 43
1975	Kellie Martin, Actress (“Life Goes On”), turns 37
1977	John Mayer, Rock musician, turns 35
1980	Sue Bird, Basketball player, turns 32

 

Historic Birthdays

10/16/1888 – 11/27/1953 Eugene Gladstone O’Neill American dramatist.Go to obituary »

69	Albrecht Von Haller 10/16/1708 – 12/12/1777 Swiss biologist
84	Noah Webster 10/16/1758 – 5/28/1843 American lexicographer
46	Oscar Wilde 10/16/1854 – 11/30/1900 Irish dramatist
87	David Ben-Gurion, aka David Green 10/16/1886 – 12/1/1973 Israeli statesman; first prime minister and secretary of defense (1948-53, 1955-63)
31	Michael Collins 10/16/1890 – 8/22/1922 Irish revolutionary leader and statesman
81	William Orville Douglas 10/16/1898 – 1/19/1980 American associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1939-75)
51	Ford Lee Buck Washington 10/16/1903 – 1/31/1955 American jazz musician

 

Updated October 14, 2012, 2:28 pm

On Oct. 15, 1964, it was announced that Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev had been removed from office. He was succeeded as premier by Alexei N. Kosygin and as Communist Party secretary by Leonid I. Brezhnev.

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On Oct. 15, 1844, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, the influential German philosopher, was born. Following his death on Aug. 25, 1900, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1860	Eleven-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, N.Y., wrote a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he could improve his appearance by growing a beard.
1946	Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering fatally poisoned himself hours before he was to have been executed.
1951	The situation comedy “I Love Lucy” premiered on CBS.
1964	It was announced that Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev had been removed from office.
1976	Democrat Walter F. Mondale and Republican Bob Dole faced off in the first debate between vice-presidential nominees.
1990	Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
1990	South Africa’s Separate Amenities Act, which had barred blacks from public facilities for decades, was scrapped.
1991	The Senate narrowly confirmed the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, 52-48.
1993	Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end apartheid in South Africa.
2002	ImClone Systems founder Sam Waksal pleaded guilty in New York in the biotech company’s insider trading scandal.
2005	Iraqis voted to approve a constitution.
2007	The New York Yankees and third baseman Alex Rodriguez agreed on a record 10-year, $275 million contract, the richest in sports history.
2009	A false report that a 6-year-old boy was aboard a runaway balloon in Colorado captivated a global TV audience. (The boy’s parents later pleaded guilty to charges they made up the story.)

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actress Linda Lavin (“Alice”) turns 75 years old today.

AP Photo/Peter Kramer

Singer Tito Jackson (The Jackson Five) turns 59 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

1924	Lee Iacocca, Former Chrysler chairman, turns 88
1935	Barry McGuire, Rock singer, turns 77
1943	Penny Marshall, Actress, director, turns 69
1945	Jim Palmer, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 67
1946	Richard Carpenter, Singer, musician (The Carpenters), turns 66
1953	Larry Miller, Actor, turns 59
1954	Jere Burns, Actor, turns 58
1955	Tanya Roberts, Actress, turns 57
1959	Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, turns 53
1959	Emeril Lagasse, TV chef, turns 53
1966	Eric Benet, R&B singer, turns 46
1969	Paige Davis, TV host (“Trading Spaces”), turns 43
1969	Dominic West, Actor (“The Wire”), turns 43
1970	Ginuwine, R&B singer, turns 42

 

Historic Birthdays

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche 10/15/1844 – 8/25/1900 German philosopher.Go to obituary »

48	Virgil 10/15/70 BC – 9/21/19 BC Roman poet
39	Evangelista Torricelli 10/15/1608 – 10/25/1647 Italian physicist and mathematician
71	Allan Ramsay 10/15/1686 – 1/7/1758 Scottish poet
65	James Tissot 10/15/1836 – 8/8/1902 French artist
59	John Lawrence Sullivan 10/15/1858 – 2/2/1918 American professional boxer
89	Edith Bolling Galt Wilson 10/15/1872 – 12/28/1961 American first lady (1915-1921)
77	Marie C. C. Stopes 10/15/1880 – 10/2/1958 Scottish scientist and advocate of birth control
93	Sir P. G. Wodehouse 10/15/1881 – 2/14/1975 English comic novelist, short story writer, lyricist and playwright
50	S.S. VanDine 10/15/1888 – 4/11/1939 American critic, editor and author of popular detective novels
86	Mervyn LeRoy 10/15/1900 – 9/13/1987 American film director

 

Updated October 13, 2012, 2:28 pm

On Oct. 14, 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

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On Oct. 14, 1890, Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th United States president and highly respected American general, was born. Following his death on March 28, 1969, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1890	Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, was born in Denison, Texas.
1910	Hall of Fame UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was born near Martinsville, Ind.
1933	Nazi Germany announced it was withdrawing from the League of Nations.
1944	German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide rather than face execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.
1947	Air Force test pilot Charles E. Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier when he flew the experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane over Edwards Air Force Base in California.
1960	Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy suggested formation of a Peace Corps during a talk at the University of Michigan.
1964	Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
1968	The first live telecast from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.
1977	Singer Bing Crosby died at age 73.
1979	Hockey Hall-of-Famer Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scored the first of his record 894 goals in a home game against the Vancouver Cancucks.
1986	Holocaust survivor and human rights advocate Elie Wiesel was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
1987	A 58-hour drama began in Midland, Texas, as 18-month-old Jessica McClure slid 22 feet down an abandoned well at a private day care center.
1990	Composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein died at age 72.
1991	Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
2006	The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose punishing sanctions on North Korea for carrying out a nuclear test.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi turns 51 years old today.

AP Photo/Kathy Willens

Actor Steve Coogan turns 47 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

1916	C. Everett Koop, Former surgeon general, turns 96
1927	Roger Moore, Actor, turns 85
1938	John Dean, Former White House counsel, turns 74
1939	Ralph Lauren, Fashion designer, turns 73
1940	Cliff Richard, Singer, turns 72
1946	Justin Hayward, Rock musician (The Moody Blues), turns 66
1952	Harry Anderson, Actor (“Night Court”), turns 60
1953	Greg Evigan, Actor (“My Two Dads”), turns 59
1956	Beth Daniel, Golf Hall of Famer, turns 56
1958	Thomas Dolby, Rock singer, musician, turns 54
1974	Natalie Maines, Country singer (Dixie Chicks), turns 38
1978	Usher, R&B singer, actor, turns 34
1979	Stacy Keibler, TV personality (“Dancing with the Stars”), turns 33
1987	Jay Pharoah, Actor, comedian (“Saturday Night Live”), turns 25

Historic Birthdays

Dwight David Eisenhower 10/14/1890 – 3/28/1969 34th president of the United States and supreme commander of World War II Allied forces in Europe.Go to obituary »

62	Sir Peter Lely 10/14/1618 – 12/7/1680 English painter
67	James II 10/14/1633 – 9/16/1701 English king (1685-8)
73	William Penn 10/14/1644 – 7/30/1718 English Quaker and advocate for religious liberty; founded American colony of Pennsylvania
58	George Grenville 10/14/1712 – 11/13/1770 English first lord of the Treasury (1763-5)
62	Francis Lightfoot Lee 10/14/1734 – 1/11/1797 American revolutionary leader; signed Declaration of Independence
48	Ferdinand VII 10/14/1784 – 9/29/1833 Spanish king (1808, 1813-33)
67	Elwood Haynes 10/14/1857 – 4/13/1925 American industrialist
92	Eamon de Valera 10/14/1882 – 8/29/1975 Irish politician and patriot; prime minister (1932-48; 1951-4; 1957-9) and president (1959-73)
99	Lillian Gish 10/14/1893 – 2/27/1993 American actress
67	e. e. cummings 10/14/1894 – 9/3/1962 American poet