What's so special about March 4th?

[Cosmin M.]

Events

51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).

303 or 304 - Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.

852 - Croatian Duke Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.

932 - Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.

1152 - Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of the Germans.

1215 - King John of England makes an oath to the Pope as a crusader to gain the support of Innocent III.

1238 - The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol Hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Russia.

1351 - Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.

1386 - Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.

1461 - Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his Yorkist cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.

1492 - King James IV of Scotland concludes an alliance with France against England.

1493 - Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what is now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.

1519 - Hernan Cortes arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and their wealth.

1570 - King Philip II of Spain bans foreign Dutch students.

1611 - George Abbot is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.

1621 - Jakarta, Java is renamed Batavia.

1629 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.

1633 - Samuel Cole opens the first tavern in Boston, Massachusetts. [1]

1665 - English King Charles II declares war on The Netherlands which marks the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.

1675 - John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.

1681 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.

1776 - The American War of Independence: The Americans capture Dorchester Heights dominating the port of Boston, Massachusetts.

1778 - The Continental Congress votes to ratify both the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance with France. The two treaties are the first entered into by the United States government.

1789 - In New York City, the first United States Congress meets, putting the Constitution of the United States into effect.

1790 - France is divided into 83 départements, which cuts across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.

1791 - Vermont is admitted as the 14th U.S. state.

1791 - A Constitutional Act is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).

1793 - French troops conquer Geertruidenberg, Netherlands.

1794 - The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.

1797 - In the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, John Adams is sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington.

1804 - Castle Hill Rebelion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.

1813 - Russian troops fighting the army of Napoleon reach Berlin in Germany and the French garrison evacuates the city without a fight.

1814 - Americans defeat the British at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.

1824 - The "National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck" is founded in the United Kingdom, later to be renamed The Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1858.

1837 - Chicago is incorporated as a city.

1845 - James Knox Polk is inaugurated as the 11th President of the United States.

1848 - Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d'Italia

1861 - First national flag of the Confederate States of America (the 'Stars and Bars') is adopted.

1861 - Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States.

1863 - The Idaho Territory is created as a political division of the United States.

1865 - Third (and last) national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted.

1877 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake receives its première performance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

1882 - Britain's first electric trams run in East London.

1887 - Gottlieb Daimler unveils his first automobile which he test runs in Esslingen and Cannstatt, Germany.

1890 - The longest bridge in the Great Britain, the Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland, measuring 1,710 feet (520 m) in length, is opened by the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII.

1893 - Congo Free State: The army of Francis, Baron Dhanis attacks the Lualaba, enabling him to transport his troops across the Upper Congo and, capture Nyangwe almost without an effort.

1894 - Great fire in Shanghai. Over 1,000 buildings are destroyed.

1899 - Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 metres (39 ft) wave that reaches up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland, killing over 300.

1902 - In Chicago, the American Automobile Association is established.

1904 - Russo-Japanese War: Russian troops in Korea retreat toward Manchuria followed by 100,000 Japanese troops.

1908 - The Collinwood School Fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.

1911 - Victor Berger (Wisconsin) becomes the first socialist congressman in U.S..

1917 - Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.

1917 - Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia's renunciation of the throne is made public, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia publicly issues his abdication manifesto. The victory of the February Revolution.

1918 - The first case of Spanish flu occurs, the start of a devastating worldwide pandemic.

1925 - Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President of the United States to have his inauguration broadcast on radio.

1929 - Charles Curtis becomes the first native-American Vice President of the United States.

1930 - Floods ransack Languedoc and the surrounding area in south-west France, resulting in twelve départements being submerged by water and causing the death of over 700 people.

1931 - The British Viceroy of India, Governor-General Edward Frederick Lindley Wood and Mohandas Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) meet to sign an agreement envisaging the release of political prisoners and allowing salt to be freely used by the poorest members of the population.

1933 - Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.

1933 - The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure - Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates authoritarian rule by decree (see Austrofascism).

1941 - World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands.

1944 - World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.

1945 - In the United Kingdom, Princess Elizabeth, later to become Queen Elizabeth II, joins the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service as a driver.

1945 - Lapland War: Finland declares war on Nazi Germany.

1954 - Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant.

1957 - The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.

1960 - French freighter 'La Coubre' explodes in Havana, Cuba killing 100. Fidel Castro blames the U.S.

1962 - The United States Atomic Energy Commission announces that the first atomic power plant at McMurdo Station in Antarctica is in operation.

1966 - Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.

1970 - French submarine Eurydice explodes.

1972 - Libya and the Soviet Union sign a cooperation treaty.

1976 - The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London via the British parliament.

1976 - The last flight of the second Concorde prototype aircraft to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at the Royal Naval Air Station, Yeovilton, England.

1977 - The 1977 Bucharest Earthquake in southern and eastern Europe kills more than 1,500.

1977 - The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico.

1979 - The first encyclical written by Pope John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis (Latin for "The Redeemer of Man") is promulgated less than five months after his installation as pope.

1980 - Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister.

1982 - NASA launches the Intelsat V-508 satellite.

1983 - Bertha Wilson is appointed the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada.

1985 - The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.

1986 - The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Comet Halley and the first images ever of its nucleus.

1991 - Sheikh Saad Al-Abdallah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister of Kuwait, returns to his country for the first time since Iraq's invasion.

1994 - Space shuttle STS-62 (Columbia 16) launches into orbit.

1994 - Bosnia's Bosniaks and Croats sign an agreement to form a federation in a loose economic union with Croatia.

1997 - U.S. President Bill Clinton bans federally funded human cloning research.

1998 - Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.

2001 - 4 March 2001 BBC bombing: a massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring 11 people. The attack was attributed to the Real IRA.

2001 - Hintze Ribeiro disaster, a bridge collapses in northern Portugal, killing up to 70 people.

2002 - Canada bans human embryo cloning but permits government-funded scientists to use embryos left over from fertility treatment or abortions.

2002 - Multinational Force in Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers are killed as they attempt to infiltrate the Shahi Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.

2005 - The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by US soldiers after it ran a roadblock in Iraq, causing the death of an Italian Secret Service Agent and injuring two passengers.

2005 - The United Nations warns that about 90 million Africans could be infected by the HIV virus in the future without further action against the spread of the disease.

2006 - Final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network. No response was received.

2007 - Estonian parliamentary election, 2007: Approximately 30,000 voters take advantage of electronic voting in Estonia, the world's first nationwide voting where part of the votecasting is allowed in the form of remote electronic voting via the Internet.

2009 - Gordon Brown becomes the United Kingdom's fifth Prime Minister to address a joint session of the United States Congress.

Births

1188 - Blanche of Castile, wife of Louis VIII of France (d. 1252)

1394 - Henry the Navigator (d. 1460)

1492 - Francesco de Layolle, Italian composer (d. c. 1540)

1525 - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer (d. 1594)

1610 - William Dobson, English portraitist and painter (d. 1646)

1651 - John Somers, 1st Baron Somers (d. 1716)

1665 - Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)

1678 - Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer (d. 1741)

1702 - Jack Sheppard, English burglar and escapee (d. 1724)

1706 - Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect and architectural writer (d. 1759)

1715 - James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, British statesman (d. 1763)

1719 - George Pigot, Baron Pigot, British governor of Madras (d. 1777)

1729 - Anne d'Arpajon, comtesse de Noailles, French noblewoman (d. 1794)

1745 - Charles Dibdin, English composer (d. 1814)

1746 - Kazimierz Pułaski, American Revolutionary War general (d. 1779)

1756 - Sir Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter (d. 1823)

1781 - Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)

1782 - Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss folklorist (d. 1830)

1792 - Samuel Slocum, American inventor (d. 1861)

1793 - Karl Lachmann, German philologist (d. 1851)

1817 - Edwards Pierrepont, American statesman, Attorney General]] (d. 1892)

1819 - Charles Oberthur, German-born harpist (d. 1895)

1820 - Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (d. 1856)

1822 - Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician (d. 1880)

1826 - John Buford, American Civil War Union cavalry officer (d. 1863)

1826 - Theodore Judah, American railroad engineer (d. 1863)

1828 - Owen Wynne Jones (Glasynys), Welsh clergyman and author (d. 1870)

1835 - John Hughlings Jackson, English neurologist (d. 1911)

1847 - Karl Bayer, Austrian chemist (d. 1904)

1854 - Sir Napier Shaw, British meteorologist (d. 1945)

1856 - Toru Dutt, English and French poet and author (d. 1877)

1856 - Alfred William Rich, English painter (d. 1921)

1859 - Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist (d. 1905)

1862 - Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)

1863 - Reginald Innes Pocock, British zoologist (d. 1947)

1863 - John Henry Wigmore, American jurist (d. 1943)

1864 - David W. Taylor, U.S. Navy architect (d. 1940)

1870 - Thomas Sturge Moore, English poet (d. 1944)

1871 - Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician (d. 1945)

1873 - Guy Wetmore Carryl, American humorist and poet (d. 1904)

1873 - John H. Trumbull, 54th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961)

1875 - Mihály Károlyi, former Prime Minister and President of Hungary (d. 1955)

1876 - Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet (d. 1947)

1876 - Theodore Hardeen, Founder of the Magician's Guild (d. 1945)

1877 - Alexander Fyodorovich Gedike, Russian composer (d. 1957)

1877 - Fritz Graebner, German ethnologist (d. 1934)

1877 - Garrett Morgan, American inventor (d. 1963)

1878 - Egbert Van Alstyne, American songwriter and pianist (d. 1951)

1878 - Peter D. Ouspensky, Russian philosopher (d. 1947)

1878 - Arishima Takeo, Japanese writer (d. 1923)

1879 - Josip Murn Aleksandrov, Slovenian poet (d. 1901)

1880 - Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)

1881 - Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1924)

1881 - Maude Fealy, American actor (d. 1971)

1881 - Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American writer (d. 1965)

1881 - Richard C. Tolman, American mathematical physicist (d. 1948)

1882 - Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian diplomat (d. 1941)

1883 - Sam Langford, Canadian boxer (d. 1956)

1884 - Red Murray, American baseball player (d. 1958)

1886 - Paul Bazelaire, French cellist (d. 1958)

1887 - John Alexander Buchanan, Canadian politician and civil engineer (d. 1976)

1887 - Violet MacMillan, American actress (d. 1953)

1888 - Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-born American actress (d. 1942)

1888 - Jeff Pfeffer, American baseball player (d. 1972)

1888 - Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)

1889 - Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician (d. 1967)

1889 - Oren E. Long, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965)

1889 - Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)

1889 - Robert William Wood, American landscape artist (d. 1979)

1891 - Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (d. 1961)

1891 - Lois Wilson, founder of Al-Anon (d. 1988)

1893 - Charles Herbert Colvin, American aeronautical engineer (d. 1985)

1893 - Adolph Lowe (born Adolf Löwe), German sociologist and economist (d. 1995)

1895 - Jesse Baker (basketball, American baseball player (d. 1976)

1895 - Milt Gross, American comic book illustrator (d. 1953)

1895 - Shemp Howard, American comedian (d. 1955)

1896 - Kai Holm, Danish film actor (d. 1985)

1897 - Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (d. 1969)

1898 - Georges Dumézil, French philologist (d. 1940)

1899 - Liana Del Balzo, Italian film actress (d. 1982)

1899 - Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and editor (d. 1962)

1900 - Herbert Biberman, American screenwriter (d. 1971)

1901 - Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist (d. 1986)

1901 - Charles Goren, American bridge player and writer (d. 1991)

1901 - Jean Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy/French poet (d. 1937)

1902 - Fred Mallin, English boxer (d. 1987)

1902 - Russell Reeder, United States Army officer and author (d. 1998)

1903 - Carrie Best, Canadian journalist (d. 2001)

1903 - Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish statesman (d. 1973)

1903 - William C. Boyd, American immunochemist (d. 1983)

1903 - Malcolm Dole, American chemist (d. 1990)

1903 - Merwin Graham, American Olympic track and field athlete (d. 1989)

1903 - Dorothy Mackaill, British-born actress (d. 1990)

1903 - John Scarne, American magician (d. 1985)

1904 - George Gamow, Ukrainian-born physicist (d. 1968)

1904 - Joseph Schmidt Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)

1904 - Chief Tahachee, American actor (d. 1978)

1906 - Buck Canel, Argentine American sportscaster (d. 1980)

1906 - Meindert DeJong American author (d. 1991)

1906 - Avery Fisher, American audio specialist (d. 1994)

1906 - Georges Ronsse, Belgian bicycle racer (d. 1969)

1906 - Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Jr., American businessman (d. 2007)

1907 - Eleanor "Sis" Daley, wife of Richard J. Daley (d. 2003)

1908 - T.R.M. Howard, American civil rights leader (d. 1976)

1908 - Thomas Shaw, American musician (d. 1977)

1909 - Harry Helmsley, American real estate entrepreneur (d. 1997)

1909 - George Edward Holbrook, American chemical engineer (d. 1987)

1910 - Miriam Kressyn, Polish-born actor (d. 1996)

1911 - Carl Forberg, American racecar driver (d. 2000)

1912 - Afro Basaldella, Italian painter (d. 1976)

1912 - Judith Furse, British character actress (d. 1974)

1912 - Ferdinand Leitner, German conductor (d. 1996)

1912 - Carl Marzani, American documentarian (d. 1994)

1913 - Taos Amrouche, Algerian writer and singer (d. 1976)

1913 - John H. Fremlin, English nuclear physicist (d. 1995)

1913 - John Garfield, American actor (d. 1952)

1913 - Willie Johnson (guitarist), American guitarist (d. 1995)

1914 - Gino Colaussi (Luigi Colaussi), Italian footballer (d. 1991)

1914 - Ward Kimball, American cartoonist (d. 2002)

1914 - Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor and architect (d. 2000)

1915 - Charles Johnston, Baron Johnston of Rockport, British politician and businessman (d. 2002)

1915 - Frank Sleeman, Australian administrator and politician (d. 2000)

1915 - Carlos Surinach, Spanish composer (d. 1997)

1915 - Robert Thom, American painter and historian (d. 1979)

1916 - William Alland, American actor, producer, writer and director (d. 1997)

1916 - Maurice Argent, American actor (d. 1981)

1916 - Giorgio Bassani, Italian writer (d. 2000)

1916 - Hans Eysenck, German-born psychologist (d. 1997)

1916 - Michael Howard, British actor and comedian (d. 1988)

1917 - Clyde McCullough, American baseball player (d. 1982)

1918 - Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player

1919 - Buck Baker, American racecar driver (d. 2002)

1919 - Tan Chee Khoon, Malaysian politician (d. 1996)

1920 - Jean Lecanuet, French politician (d. 1993)

1920 - Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish actor (d. 2002)

1921 - Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-born composer

1921 - Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)

1921 - Wilson Harris, Guyanese writer

1921 - Dinny Pails, Australian tennis player

1922 - Richard E. Cunha, American cinematographer and film director (d. 2005)

1922 - Martha O'Driscoll, American film actress (d. 1998)

1922 - Dina Pathak, Gujarati theatre and film actress (d. 2002)

1923 - Sir Patrick Moore, British astronomer

1924 - Kenneth O'Donnell, aide to US President John F. Kennedy (d. 1977)

1925 - Paul Mauriat, French musician (d. 2006)

1926 - Richard DeVos, American billionaire, co-founder of Amway

1926 - James J. Eagan, Former Mayor of Florissant, Missouri (d. 2000)

1926 - Pascual Pérez, Argentine boxer (d. 1977)

1926 - Don Rendell, English jazz musician and arranger

1926 - Fran Warren, American singer

1927 - Philip Batt, 29th Governor of Idaho

1927 - Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)

1927 - Jacques Dupin, French poet

1927 - Robert Orben, American magician

1927 - Dick Savitt, American tennis player

1927 - Cy Touff, American jazz musician (d. 2003)

1928 - Samuel Adler, American composer

1928 - Alan Sillitoe, English writer

1929 - Bernard Haitink, Dutch conductor

1929 - Josep Mestres Quadreny, Catalan composer

1929 - Darrett B. Rutman, US historian (d. 1997)

1929 - Elaine Shore, American actress (d. 2007)

1929 - Peter Swerling, American RADAR theoretician (d. 2000)

1931 - Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)

1931 - Bob Johnson, American ice hockey coach (d. 1991)

1931 - William Henry Keeler, American Roman Catholic Archbishop

1931 - Alice Rivlin, American economist

1932 - Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist (d. 2007)

1932 - Miriam Makeba, South African singer (d. 2008)

1932 - Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, American car designer (d. 2001)

1932 - Frank Wells, American entertainment businessman (d. 1994)

1933 - Ann Burton, Dutch jazz singer (d. 1989)

1933 - John W Mills, British sculptor

1933 - Nino Vaccarella, Italian racing driver

1934 - Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian composer

1934 - John Duffey, American bluegrass musician (d. 1996)

1934 - Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)

1934 - Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)

1934 - Sandra Reynolds, South African tennis player

1934 - Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist

1934 - Gleb Yakunin, Russian priest and dissident

1935 - Bent Larsen, Danish chess player

1935 - Nancy Whiskey, Scottish folk singer (d. 2003)

1936 - Eric Allendale, West Indian trombonist and songwriter (d. 2001)

1936 - Jim Clark, OBE, Scottish racing driver (d. 1968)

1936 - Robert Garrow, American serial killer (d. 1978)

1936 - Aribert Reimann, German composer

1937 - Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer

1937 - Leslie Gelb, American foreign policy advisor

1937 - Yuri Senkevich, Russian medical doctor, explorer and TV anchorman. (d. 2003)

1937 - Barney Wilen, French jazz saxophonist (d. 1996)

1938 - Anton Stanislaus Balasingham, Political strategist and negotiator (d. 2006)

1938 - Angus MacLise, American percussionist (d. 1979)

1938 - Don Perkins, American football player

1938 - Paula Prentiss, American actress

1938 - Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish diplomat and researcher

1939 - Jack Fisher, American baseball player

1939 - Carlos Vereza, Brazilian actor

1940 - Volodymyr Morozov, Ukrainian flatwater canoer

1940 - Tom Pedigo, American set decorator (d. 2000)

1940 - Tamara Wilcox, American actress (d. 1998)

1941 - John Aprea, American actor

1941 - Adrian Lyne, English film director

1941 - Bobby Shew, American jazz musician

1942 - Gloria Gaither, American gospel songwriter

1942 - Charles C. Krulak, 31st Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps

1942 - David Matthews, American keyboardist

1943 - Lucio Dalla, Italian singer and songwriter

1943 - Zoltan Jeney, Hungarian composer

1944 - Ulrich Roski, German singer-songwriter (d. 2003)

1944 - Harvey Postlethwaite, English automotive engineer (d. 1999)

1944 - Michael "Mick" Wilson, drummer (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich)

1944 - Greg Weld, American racecar driver (d. 2008)

1944 - Bobby Womack, American singer

1945 - Femi Benussi, Italian film actress

1945 - Tara Browne, British socialite (d. 1966)

1945 - Dieter Meier, Swiss singer

1945 - Frank Novak, American actor

1945 - Tommy Svensson, Swedish football manager

1945 - Tim Weigel, American broadcaster (d. 2001)

1945 - Gary Williams, American basketball coach

1946 - Michael Ashcroft, English entrepreneur

1946 - Daniel Frisella, American baseball player (d. 1977)

1946 - Haile Gerima, Ethiopian filmmaker

1946 - David Gittins (Red Stripe), singer (Flying Pickets)

1946 - Harvey Goldsmith, British impresario

1946 - Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, American author

1946 - Jean-Claude Schmitt, prominent French medievalist

1947 - David Franzoni, American screenwriter

1947 - Jan Garbarek, Norwegian musician

1947 - Gunnar Hansen, Icelandic actor

1947 - Gwen Welles, American actress (d. 1993)

1948 - Lindy Chamberlain, Australian author

1948 - James Ellroy, American writer

1948 - Tom Grieve, American baseball player

1948 - Leron Lee, American baseball player

1948 - Jean O'Leary, American activist and politician (d. 2005)

1948 - Chris Squire, English bassist (Yes)

1948 - Shakin' Stevens, Welsh singer

1949 - Carroll Baker, Canadian country singer and songwriter

1949 - Sergei Bagapsh, President of the partially recognized de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia

1949 - Cookie Mueller, American actress and writer (d. 1989)

1950 - Francis Affleck, Canadian race car driver (d. 1985)

1950 - Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter

1950 - Rick Perry, Governor of Texas

1951 - Edelgard Bulmahn, German politician

1951 - Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager

1951 - Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, American novelist (d. 1982)

1951 - Pete Haycock, English guitarist and composer

1951 - Sam Perlozzo, American baseball manager

1951 - Mike Quarry, American boxer (d. 2006)

1951 - Chris Rea, English singer

1951 - Linda Yamamoto, Japanese singer

1952 - Ronn Moss, American actor

1952 - Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer

1953 - Emilio Estefan, Cuban percussionist

1953 - Scott Hicks, Ugandan-born film director

1953 - Paweł Janas, Polish football manager

1953 - Rose Laurens, French singer-songwriter

1953 - Kay Lenz, American actress

1953 - Chris Smith, American politician

1954 - Timur Apakidze, Russian major general and Hero of the Russian Federation (d. 2001)

1954 - Mark Chorvinsky, American author and editor (d. 2005)

1954 - François Fillon, French politician, Prime Minister of France

1954 - Peter Jacobsen, American professional golfer

1954 - Catherine O'Hara, Canadian actress

1954 - St Clair L. Palmer, vocalist (Sweet Sensation)

1954 - Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian writer and dissident

1954 - Willie Thorne, English snooker player

1954 - Adrian Zmed, American actor

1955 - Rowland Charles Gould (Boon Gould) English musician (Level 42)

1955 - Joey Jones, Welsh professional footballer

1955 - Dominique Pinon, French actor

1955 - James Weaver, English race car driver

1956 - Kermit Driscoll, American jazz bassist

1957 - Jim Dwyer, American journalist

1957 - Rick Mast, American NASCAR driver

1958 - Patricia Heaton, American actress

1958 - Lennie Lee, British artist

1959 - Rick Ardon, Australian news presenter

1960 - Mikko Kuustonen, Finnish singer and songwriter

1960 - John Mugabi, Ugandan boxer

1960 - Thierry Pastor, French singer

1960 - Christina Sussiek, former German athlete

1960 - Mykelti Williamson, American actor

1961 - Sabine Everts, former German track athlete

1961 - Tinker Juarez, bike racer

1961 - Ray Mancini, American boxer

1961 - Mahito Ōba, Japanese voice actor and narrator

1961 - Theodosii Spassov, Bulgarian jazz musician

1961 - Steven Weber, American actor

1961 - Roger Wessels, South African golfer

1962 - Simon Bisley, British comic book artist

1962 - Jon Durno, bassist (Roman Holliday)

1962 - Greg Kragen, American footballer

1962 - David Sparrow, English actor

1963 - Barbara Bubula, Polish politician

1963 - Janey Lee Grace, English singer and disc jockey

1963 - Jason Newsted, American bassist (Metallica, Voivod)

1963 - Daniel Roebuck, American actor

1964 - Tom Lampkin, American baseball player

1964 - Paolo Virzì, Italian screenwriter and director

1965 - Paul W. S. Anderson, English filmmaker

1965 - Andrew Collins, English journalist

1965 - Stacy Edwards, American actress

1965 - Gary Helms, American country singer

1965 - Khaled Hosseini, Afghan author and physician

1965 - WestBam (Maximillian Lenz), German rave techno DJ

1965 - Yuri Lonchakov, Russian cosmonaut

1965 - Jonathan Shearer, Scottish castaway

1966 - Daniela Amavia, American actress and model

1966 - Steve Bastoni, Italian Australian actor

1966 - Patrick Hannan, drummer (The Sundays)

1966 - Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater

1966 - Kevin Johnson, American basketball player and Mayor of Sacramento, California

1966 - Dav Pilkey, American author

1966 - Grand Puba, American rapper

1966 - Nick Scandone, American paralympian yachtsman (d. 2009)

1966 - Wash West, English gay porn film director

1967 - Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer

1967 - Evan Dando, American musician (The Lemonheads)

1967 - Andrew Osmond, English writer

1967 - Dave Rayner, English racing cyclist (d. 1994)

1967 - Sam Taylor-Wood, English conceptual artist

1967 - Kubilay Türkyılmaz, former Turkish-Swiss footballer

1968 - Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player

1968 - Jorge Celedón, Colombian singer

1968 - Patsy Kensit, English actress

1968 - Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek politician

1969 - Chastity Bono, American actress and gay rights activist

1969 - Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian football manager

1969 - Annie Shizuka Inoh, Taiwanese actress

1969 - Frank Nicotero, American comedian

1969 - Stina Nordenstam, Swedish pop singer and musician

1969 - Patrick Roach, Canadian actor

1969 - Jason Townsend, American artist and record producer

1970 - Andrea Bendewald, American actress

1970 - Àlex Crivillé, Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer

1970 - Caroline Vis, Dutch professional tennis player

1971 - Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player

1971 - Fergal Lawler, Irish drummer (The Cranberries)

1971 - Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese racing driver

1971 - Shavar Ross, American filmmaker

1971 - Jason Sellers, American country music artist

1971 - Nick Stabile, American actor

1971 - Jovan Stanković, Serbian footballer

1972 - Pae Gil-Su, North Korean gymnast

1972 - Ivy Queen, American composer and singer

1972 - Robert Smith, American footballer

1972 - Jos Verstappen, Dutch racing driver

1972 - Alison Wheeler, British singer (The Beautiful South)

1973 - Summer Cummings, American porno actress

1973 - Phillip Daniels, American footballer

1973 - Mark Lavine, West Indian cricketer (d. 2001)

1973 - Len Wiseman, American director

1974 - ICS Vortex, Norwegian vocalist (Arcturus)

1974 - Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player

1974 - Ariel Ortega, Argentine footballer

1974 - Tommy Phelps, American baseball player

1974 - Bill Young (rugby union), Australian rugby union footballer

1975 - Kirsten Bolm, German hurdler

1975 - Patrick Femerling, German-born professional basketball player

1975 - Kim Jung-Eun, South Korean actress

1975 - Myrna Veenstra, Dutch field hockey player

1975 - Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player

1975 - Hawksley Workman, Canadian rock singer-songwriter

1976 - Robbie Blake, English footballer

1976 - Hiram Bocachica, Puerto Rican baseball player

1976 - Sean Covel, American film producer

1976 - Hayley Evetts, English singer, TV presenter and stage actor

1976 - Brian Diego Fuentes, Argentine soccer player

1976 - Alireza Heidari, Iranian Olympic wrestler

1976 - Cho In-Chul, World Champion South Korean judoka

1976 - Kim Jung-eun, South Korean actress

1976 - Tommy Jönsson, Swedish football player

1976 - Christian Nicolay, German javelin thrower

1976 - Regi Penxten, Belgian DJ and record producer

1976 - Thierry Renaer, Belgian field hockey player

1976 - Gary Shortland, British professional figure skater

1976 - Scott Sturgeon, American musician (Choking Victim, Leftöver Crack)

1976 - Jasin Thomason, American guitarist (The Ataris)

1976 - Vic Wunderle, American archer

1977 - Nacho Figueras, Argentine polo player

1977 - Ana Gabriela Guevara, Mexican athlete

1977 - Jeremiah Green, American indie rock band drummer (Modest Mouse)

1977 - Juha Helppi, Finnish professional poker player

1977 - Ron Horsley, American author and artist

1977 - Mike Kinsella, American musician (Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc, American Football, and Owen)

1977 - Daniel Klewer, German footballer

1977 - Grégory Le Corvec, French rugby union footballer

1977 - Tonga Lea'aetoa, New Zealand-Tongan rugby union player

1977 - Jason Marsalis, American musician

1977 - Traver Rains, American designer (Heatherette)

1977 - Rockell (Rachel Alexandra Mercaldo), American musician

1977 - Gareth Wyatt, Welsh rugby union player

1978 - Nate Ackerman, British-American logician and wrestler

1978 - Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player

1978 - Denis Dallan, Italian rugby union footballer

1978 - César Morales, Mexican bantamweight boxer

1978 - Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player

1978 - Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress

1979 - Neil Best, Irish rugby union footballer

1979 - Ariel Carreño, Argentine football striker

1979 - Ben Fouhy, New Zealand flatwater canoeist

1979 - Geoff Huegill, Australian swimmer

1979 - Jon Fratelli, Scottish singer (The Fratellis)

1979 - Paul Terry, English footballer

1979 - Stelios Theocharous, Greek Cypriot actor

1980 - Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player

1980 - Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer

1980 - Jung Da Bin, South Korean actress (d. 2007)

1980 - Michael Henrich, American-born ice hockey player

1980 - Alex Ribeiro Garcia, Brazilian professional basketball player

1980 - Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian professional basketball player

1980 - Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby union footballer

1980 - Jack Hannahan, American baseball player

1980 - Greg Lamb, Zimbabwean cricketer

1980 - Arash Markazi, American sportswriter

1980 - Phil McGuire, Scottish football player

1980 - Vladan Milosavljević, Serbian footballer

1980 - Kamalinee Mukherjee, (Kamalini Mukherjee) Indian film actress

1981 - Carol Banawa, Filipino singer and celebrity

1981 - Marie Delattre, French sprint canoer

1981 - Gareth Knapman, English theatre actor and director

1981 - Laura Michelle Kelly, English actress and singer

1981 - Ariza Makukula, Portuguese international football player

1981 - Aketza Peña, Spanish road bicycle racer

1981 - Donny Tourette, English punk rock singer (Towers of London)

1981 - Helen Wyman, British cyclist

1982 - Mariano Altuna, Argentine racing driver

1982 - Uma Blasini, Puerto Rican beauty queen

1982 - Landon Donovan, American soccer player

1982 - Elia Rigotto, Italian road bicycle racer

1983 - Akeem Omolade, Nigerian footballer

1983 - Max Vergara Poeti, Colombian writer

1983 - Ryan Lonie, Australian football player

1984 - Tamir Cohen, Israeli/English football midfielder

1984 - Norbert Hosnyánszky, Hungarian water polo player

1984 - Ai Iwamura, Japanese actress

1984 - Spencer Larsen, American football player

1984 - Zak Whitbread, American-born footballer

1985 - Guillermo Diaz Puerto Rican professional basketball player

1985 - Scott Michael Foster, American actor

1985 - Whitney Port, American reality television personality

1985 - Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player

1986 - Margo Harshman, American actress

1986 - Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer

1986 - Erin O'Kelley, American beauty queen

1986 - Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer

1986 - Park Min Young, South Korean model and actress

1987 - Tamzin Merchant, British actor and poetess

1987 - Cameron Wood, Australian rules footballer

1988 - Adam Watts, English footballer

1989 - Erin Heatherton, American fashion model

1989 - Bradley Middleton, English footballer

1990 - Andrea Bowen, American actress

1990 - Paddy Madden, Irish footballer

1990 - Fran Mérida, Spanish/English Premier League footballer

1990 - Maximiliano Oliva, Argentine footballer

1991 - Diandra Newlin, American actress and fashion model

1991 - Stuart O'Keefe, English footballer

1992 - Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, daughter of Albert II, Prince of Monaco

1993 - Jenna Boyd, American actress

1993 - Abigail Mavity, American actress

1993 - Yves Michel-Beneche, American actor

Deaths

251 - Pope Lucius I

480 - Saint Landry, bishop of Sées

561 - Pope Pelagius I

1172 - Stephen III of Hungary (b. 1147)

1193 - Saladin, Kurdish sultan (b. 1137)

1238 - Joan of England, Queen Consort of Scotland, wife of Alexander II (b. 1210)

1238 - Yuri II, Grand Prince of Vladimir (b. 1189)

1303 - Daniel of Moscow, Russian Saint, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1261)

1484 - Saint Casimir, Prince of Poland (b. 1458)

1496 - Sigismund of Austria (b. 1427)

1583 - Bernard Gilpin, English clergyman, "Apostle of the North" (b. 1517)

1604 - Fausto Paolo Sozzini, Italian theologian (b. 1539)

1615 - Hans von Aachen, German painter (b. 1552)

1619 - Anne of Denmark, wife of James I (b. 1574)

1710 - Louis III, Prince of Condé (b. 1668)

1733 - Claude de Forbin, French naval commander (b. 1656)

1744 - John Anstis, Garter King of Arms (b. 1669)

1762 - Johannes Zick, German fresco painter (b. 1702)

1793 - Louis de Bourbon, French admiral (b. 1725)

1795 - John Collins, American politician (b. 1717)

1805 - Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)

1807 - Abraham Baldwin, American politician (b. 1754)

1821 - Princess Elizabeth of Clarence, daughter of King William IV, granddaughter of King George III (b. 1820)

1832 - Jean-François Champollion, French scholar (b. 1790)

1851 - James Richardson, British explorer (b. 1809)

1852 - Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, Russian writer (b. 1809)

1853 - Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist (b. 1774)

1858 - Matthew Perry, U.S. naval officer (b. 1794)

1864 - Thomas Starr King, influential Californian Unitarian minister during the American Civil War (b. 1824)

1866 - Alexander Campbell, Irish founder of the Disciples of Christ (b. 1788)

1868 - Jesse Chisholm, American pioneer of the Chisholm Trail (b. 1805)

1872 - Johannes Carsten Hauch, Danish poet (b. 1790)

1883 - Alexander Hamilton Stephens, former Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812)

1888 - Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher (b. 1799)

1903 - Joseph Henry Shorthouse, English novelist (b. 1834)

1906 - John McAllister Schofield, former U.S. Secretary of War and Commanding General of the U.S. Army (b. 1831)

1910 - Knut Ångström, Swedish physicist (b. 1857)

1915 - William Willett, inventor of Daylight Saving Time (b. 1856)

1916 - Franz Marc, German artist (b. 1880)

1922 - Bert Williams, American entertainer (b. 1874)

1925 - Moritz Moszkowski, Polish/German composer (b. 1854)

1925 - James Ward, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1843)

1925 - John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player (b. 1860)

1927 - Ira Remsen American chemist (b. 1846)

1938 - George Foster Peabody, American politician (b. 1852)

1938 - Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)

1940 - Hamlin Garland, American novelist (b. 1860)

1941 - Ludwig Quidde, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1858)

1944 - Louis Buchalter, Jewish American mobster (b. 1897) (executed)

1944 - Louis Capone, New York organized crime figure (b. 1896) (executed)

1944 - René Lefebvre, martyr of the French Resistance (b. 1879)

1944 - Emanuel Weiss, American hitman (b. 1906) (executed)

1944 - Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and political activist (b. 1855)

1945 - Lucille La Verne, American actress (b. 1872)

1945 - Mark Sandrich, American film director, writer and producer (b. 1900)

1946 - Bror von Blixen-Finecke, Danish big-game hunter (b. 1886)

1948 - Antonin Artaud, French actor/director (b. 1896)

1950 - Adam Rainer, the only man in recorded human history ever to have been both a dwarf and a giant (b. 1899)

1952 - Charles Scott Sherrington, English scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1857)

1954 - Noel Gay, English composer, (b. 1898)

1959 - Maxey Long, American athlete (b. 1878)

1960 - Herbert O'Conor, 51st Governor of the US State of Maryland (b. 1896)

1960 - Leonard Warren, American baritone (b. 1911)

1962 - George Mogridge, Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1889)

1963 - William Carlos Williams, American poet (b. 1883)

1967 - Vladan Desnica, Croatian and Serbian writer (b. 1905)

1967 - Michel Plancherel, Swiss mathematician (b. 1885)

1969 - Nicholas Schenck, Russian-born film empresario (b. 1881)

1973 - Samuel Tolansky, British scientist and expert on spectroscopy (b. 1907)

1974 - Adolph Gottlieb, American painter (b. 1903)

1976 - Walter H. Schottky, German physicist (b. 1886)

1976 - John Marvin Jones, Texan member of the United States House of Representatives and Chief Judge of the US federal Court of Claims (b. 1882)

1976 - Nikolai Semashko, Soviet sports administrator (b. 1907)

1976 - Jim Walsh, an American basketball player (b. 1930)

1977 - Miles C. Allgood, U.S. Representative from Alabama (b. 1878)

1977 - Anatol E. Baconsky, Romanian modernist poet, essayist, translator, novelist, publisher, literary and art critic (b. 1925)

1977 - Nancy Tyson Burbidge, Australian systemic botanist, conservationist and herbarium curator (b. 1912)

1977 - Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (b. 1951)

1977 - Toma Caragiu, Romanian actor (b. 1925)

1977 - Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German politician (b. 1887)

1977 - William Paul, American attorney, legislator, and political activist (b. 1885)

1978 - Wesley Bolin, former Governor of the U.S. State of Arizona (b. 1909)

1978 - Joe Marsala, Chicago-based jazz clarinetist and songwriter (b. 1907)

1978 - John Meighan, Irish Clann na Talmhan politician (b. 1891)

1979 - Harry Hopkinson, British yodeler (b. 1902)

1979 - Gladys McConnell, American movie actress and aviatrix (b. 1905)

1979 - Mike Patto, (Michael Thomas McCarthy), English vocalist and front man for The Bow Street Runners (b. 1942)

1979 - Robert John Sinclair, 1st Baron Sinclair of Cleeve, British businessman and public servant (b. 1893)

1979 - Willi Unsoeld, American mountain climber (b. 1926)

1980 - Johannes Martin Bijvoet, Dutch chemist and crystallographer (b. 1892)

1980 - Alan Hardaker, English football administrator (b. 1912)

1980 - Eric Kerfoot, English footballer (b. 1924)

1980 - J. F. A. McManus, Canadian pathologist (b. 1911)

1980 - Luis Piazzini, Argentine chess master (b. 1905)

1980 - Alfred Plé, Olympic Frnech rower (b. 1888)

1980 - Alex Vetchinsky, British film designer (b. 1904)

1981 - Odette Barencey, French film actress (b. 1893)

1981 - Yip Harburg, American lyricist (b. 1896)

1981 - Franz Kapus, Swiss Olympic bobsledder (b. 1909)

1981 - John Knight, Australian politician (b. 1943)

1981 - Karl-Jesco von Puttkamer, World War II naval adjutant to Adolf Hitler (b. 1900)

1981 - Torin Thatcher, Indian actor (b. 1905)

1982 - Dorothy Eden, New Zealand-born English novelist (b. 1912)

1984 - Ernest Buckler, Canadian novelist (b. 1908)

1984 - Jewel Carmen, American actress (b. 1897)

1984 - Martin Hürlimann, Swiss photographer (b. 1897)

1984 - Geoffrey Lumsden, British actor (b. 1914)

1986 - Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (b. 1936)

1986 - Albert L. Lehninger, American biochemist (b. 1917)

1986 - Edward MacLysaght, Irish genealogist (b. 1887)

1986 - Richard Manuel, Canadian musician (The Band) (b. 1943)

1986 - Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and novelist (b. 1913)

1986 - John Spence, British Conservative Party politician (b. 1920)

1988 - Beatriz Guido, Argentine novelist and screenwriter (b. 1924)

1989 - Tiny Grimes, American jazz and R&B guitarist (b. 1916)

1990 - Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)

1990 - Harry Worthington, American track and field athlete (b. 1891)

1991 - Godfrey Bryan, English cricketer (b. 1902)

1991 - Kenneth Lindsay, British Labour Party politician (b. 1897)

1992 - Néstor Almendros, Spanish cinematographer (b. 1930)

1992 - Art Babbitt, American animator (b. 1907)

1992 - Peter Judge, English cricketer (b. 1916)

1992 - Pare Lorentz, American filmmaker (b. 1905)

1992 - Mary Osborne, American jazz electric guitarist (b. 1921)

1992 - Larry Rosenthal, American professional baseball outfielder (b. 1910)

1993 - Michael Beecher, Australian-based model and actor (b. 1939)

1993 - Art Hodes, American jazz pianist (b. 1904)

1993 - Tomislav Ivčić, Croatian singer, songwriter and politician (b. 1953)

1993 - Izaak Kolthoff, Dutch chemist (b. 1894)

1993 - Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, British Conservative Party politician and government minister (b. 1929)

1993 - Richard Sale, American screenwriter and film director (b. 1911)

1994 - John Candy, Canadian comedian (b. 1950)

1994 - George Edward Hughes, Irish-born philosopher and logician(b. 1918)

1994 - Chris Seydou, Malian fashion designer (b. 1949)

1994 - Paul Solomon, American psychic (b. 1939)

1995 - eden ahbez, American composer (b. 1908)

1995 - Iftekhar, Bollywood character actor (b.?)

1995 - Matt Urban, Lieutenant Colonel United States Army (b. 1919)

1996 - Minnie Pearl, American comedian (b. 1912)

1996 - Johnny Sauer, American football player, coach, and broadcaster (b. 1925)

1997 - Joe Baker-Cresswell,English Royal Navy officer, aide-de-camp to King George VI and High Sheriff of Northumberland (b. 1901)

1997 - Robert H. Dicke, American physicist (b. 1916)

1997 - Edouard Klabinski, Polish professional racing cyclist (b. 1920)

1997 - Carey Loftin, American actor/stuntman (b. 1914)

1998 - Ivan Dougherty, Australian World War II Army Major General (b. 1907)

1998 - Donald Rodney, British artist (b. 1961)

1998 - Jules Fontaine Sambwa, Zairean political officeholder and economist (b. 1940)

1999 - Harry Blackmun, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (b. 1908)

1999 - Del Close, American actor (b. 1934)

1999 - Fritz Honegger, Swiss politician (b. 1917)

1999 - Milosz Magin, Polish composer and pianist (b. 1929)

1999 - Teddy McRae, American jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger (b. 1908)

1999 - Joseph Regenstein Jr., American business leader and philanthropist (b. 1923)

1999 - Karel van het Reve, Dutch writer, translator and literary historian (b. 1921)

2000 - Hermann Brück, German-born UK astronomer (b. 1905)

2000 - Kyi Kyi Htay, four-time Myanmar Academy Award winning film actress, singer, opera performer and dancer (b. 1924)

2000 - Michael Noonan, Australian/New Zealand novelist and radio script writer (b. 1921)

2000 - Alphons Silbermann, German Jewish sociologist, musicologist, entrepreneur and publicist (b. 1909)

2001 - Gerardo Barbero, Argentine chess grandmaster (b. 1961)

2001 - Jean René Bazaine, French painter, designer of stained glass windows, and writer (b. 1904)

2001 - Glenn Hughes, American singer (The Village People) (b. 1950)

2001 - Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)

2001 - Jim Rhodes, Governor of Ohio (b. 1909)

2001 - Harold Stassen, American politician (b. 1907)

2001 - Martin Wright, British bioengineer and inventor of the peak flow meter (b. 1912)

2002 - Claire Davenport, English actress (b. 1933)

2002 - Eric Flynn, British actor/singer (b. 1939)

2002 - Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian writer and translator (b. 1935)

2002 - Elyne Mitchell, Australian author (b. 1913)

2002 - Margarete Neumann, German writer and lyrical poet (b. 1917)

2002 - Shirley Russell, award-winning British costume designer (b. 1935)

2002 - Velibor Vasović, Yugoslavian footballer (b. 1939)

2003 - Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian bank robber (b. 1926)

2003 - Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter and film director (b. 1931)

2004 - Fernando Lázaro Carreter, Spanish linguist and journalist. (b. 1923)

2004 - John McGeoch, Scottish musician (b. 1955)

2004 - Claude Nougaro, French singer (b. 1929)

2004 - George Pake, American physicist (b. 1924)

2004 - Stephen Sprouse, American fashion designer (b. 1953)

2005 - Nicola Calipari, Italian secret service agent (b. 1953)

2005 - Robert Consoli, American actor and musician (b. 1964)

2005 - Una Hale, Australian soprano (b. 1922)

2005 - Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian statesman (b. 1951)

2005 - Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-born writer (b. 1934)

2006 - Roman Ogaza, Polish footballer (b. 1952)

2006 - John Reynolds Gardiner, American engineer (b. 1944)

2006 - Dave Rose, American artist (b. 1910)

2006 - Edgar Valter, Estonian illustrator/cartoonist (b. 1929)

2007 - Natalie Bodanya (Natalie Bodanskaya), American soprano (b. 1908)

2007 - Thomas Eagleton, American politician (b. 1929)

2007 - Bob Hattoy, American activist (b. 1950)

2007 - Richard Joseph, British games soundtrack composer (b. 1954)

2007 - Sunil Kumar Mahato, Indian parliamentarian (b. 1966)

2007 - Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish composer, guitar player, vocalist and lyricist (b. 1934)

2007 - Ian Wooldridge, British sports journalist (b. 1932)

2007 - Jorge Kolle Cueto, Bolivian politician

2008 - Tina Lagostena Bassi, Italian lawyer, Italian deputy for Forza Italia party, showoman and writer (b. 1926)

2008 - Robert Bruning, Australian actor and producer (b. 1928)

2008 - Gary Gygax, Fantasy author and role-playing games creator. (b. 1938)

2008 - Elena Nathanael, Greek film actress (b. 1941)

2008 - Leonard Rosenman, American film, television and concert composer (b. 1924)

2008 - Semka Sokolovic-Bertok, Yugoslavian-born Croatian actress (b. 1935)

2008 - George Walter, former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda (b. 1928)

2009 - John Cephas, American Piedmont blues guitarist (b. 1930)

2009 - Horton Foote, American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Academy Award-winning screenwriter (b. 1916)

Holidays and observances

Pennsylvania - Charter Day (1681).

St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada - Charter Day (1881)

Vermont - Admission Day (1791).

Roman Catholicism - Feast day of Saint Casimir, patron saint of Lithuania.

Roman Catholicism - Humbert III of Savoy

Saint Adrian of Nicomedia, bishop of Saint Andrew's, and his Companions.

Saint Basil and his Companions

Saint Basinus

Saint Efrem

Saint Lucius I.

Saint Peter of Pappacarbone.

Roman Catholicism - Commemoration of Saint Lucius I, pope, martyr.

March 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

[Cosmin M.]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_4

(In case there is something wrong with the information above.)

[GreatLakesGramma]

It's also my former off-campus college roommate's birthday. Happy birthday Karen, wherever you are.

[Cosmin M.]

Happy birthday Karen.

I bet it would be a funny/miracle thing if the next post name would be Karen saying hi.

[Cosmin M.]

bump

(Just to get rid of the 666 number from my posts!)

[carolaa]

Well, I know one thing special about yesterday, March 3. It was Square Root Day. It only happens 9 times each century. I'd never heard of it before this week.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

March 3 happens every year. There must be something more about it than the date. hmmm. **looking this up**

Quote:

Square root day is a humorous holiday celebrated on dates where the day and the month are both the square root of the last two digits in the current year. For example, the last square root day was February 2, 2004 (2 04), and the next square root day will be March 3, 2009 (3 09). The final square root day of the century will occur on September 9, 2081.

from Wikipedia

[Woody]

Not only does Cosmin get the award for the most bumps and the shortest posts and soon to be the MOST posts .... he is now getting the award for the longest posts. U is the best Cosmin.

[Cosmin M.]

I own!

[Cosmin M.]

Also, dgrimm60 owns all of us.

[carolaa]

March 3 happens every year. There must be something more about it than the date. hmmm. **looking this up**

Quote:

Square root day is a humorous holiday celebrated on dates where the day and the month are both the square root of the last two digits in the current year. For example, the last square root day was February 2, 2004 (2 04), and the next square root day will be March 3, 2009 (3 09). The final square root day of the century will occur on September 9, 2081.

from Wikipedia

Cool, huh? The next one will occur April 4, 2016.

[carolaa]

I can't believe Hallmark hasn't made any cards for that one.

[GreatLakesGramma]

I can't believe Hallmark hasn't made any cards for that one.

LOL! They must not have heard about it!

[Neil D]

Cool, huh? The next one will occur April 4, 2016.

Carolaa- This is for you....

Rachel Maddow

[Outta Here]

March 4 is also National Grammar Day. For those of you who'd like to learn more, check out: SPOGG.org

[carolaa]

Originally Posted By: carolaa

Cool, huh? The next one will occur April 4, 2016.

Carolaa- This is for you....

Rachel Maddow

Somehow I got the impression she wasn't as excited about it as I was. Oh well. At least I learned about Pi Day. Always lookin' for a reason to party....