A New Year comes ... 2010 Happy New Year!

for everybody... especially for who deserves more.

Um Feliz Novo Ano de 2010 com sinal vermelho especialmente para a pobreza espiritual (e material)... e com todas as coisas boas em quantidade q.b. mas bem profuso de sonhos, beijos, sorrisos, flores e .... poesia!

A Vida da Morte - Miguel de Unamuno

Ouvir chover, não mais, sentir-me vivo;
o universo convertido em bruma
em cima a consciência como espuma
por onde as compassadas gotas crivo.

Morto em mim tudo quanto seja activo,
enquanto toda a visão a chuva esfuma,
e, lá em baixo, o abismo onde se suma
da clepsidra a água; e o arquivo

desta memória, de lembranças mudo;
o ânimo saciado em inércia forte;
sem lança e, por isso, já sem escudo,

tudo à mercê dos vendavais da sorte;
este viver, que é o viver desnudo,
- não é acaso o viver da morte?

in Antologia da Poesia Espanhola Contemporânea - Selecção e Tradução de José Bento, Assírio & Alvim

Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (n. Ronda del Casco Viejo (Bilbau), 29 de Setembro de 1864 –m. Salamanca, 31 de Dezembro de 1936)

On this day in History - Dec. 31

• 0192 - Lucius Aurelius Commodus dies murdered (b. 0161). Roman Emperor.
• 0335 - Pope Silvester I, o 33rd pope.
• 0406 - Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia.
• 0535 - Byzantine General Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Ostrogothic garrison of Syracuse, and ending his consulship for the year.
• 0695 - Muhammad bin Qasim was born (d. 0715). Syrian general.
  
• 1164 - Margrave Ottokar III of Styria dies (b. 1124).
• 1194 - Leopold V of Austria dies killed at a tournament in Graz.
• 1229 - James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (nowadays Palma de Mallorca, Spain) thus consuming the Christian conquest of the island of Mallorca.
• 1297 - Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford dies (b. 1249). English soldier.
• 1302 - Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine dies (b. 1238).
• 1378 - Pope Callixtus III was born (d. 1458).
• 1384 - John Wycliffe dies. English philosopher, theologian and religious reformator.
• 1424 - Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter dies. English military leader.
• 1460 - Edmund, Earl of Rutland dies executed (b. 1443). Brother of Kings Edward IV of England and Richard III of England.
• 1460 - Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury dies (b. 1400). English politician.
• 1491 - Jacques Cartier was born (d. 1557). French explorer.
• 1492 - Jews are expelled from Sicily.
• 1510 - Bianca Maria Sforza dies (b. 1472). Wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
  
• 1514 - Andreas Vesalius was born (d. 1564). Flemish anatomist who, as a university teacher insisted on conducting detailed dissections on human cadavers personally ( "De humani corporis fabrica") .
• 1535 - William Skeffington dies (b. 1465). Lord Deputy of Ireland.
• 1553 - Pedro de Valdivia funda en Chile los fuertes de Arauco, Puren, Tucapel y la ciudad de Los Confines o Angol.
• 1568 - Shimazu Tadayoshi dies (b. 1493). Japanese daimyo.
• 1572 - Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan was born (d. 1617).
• 1575 - Pierino Belli dies (b. 1502). Italian soldier and jurist.
• 1583 - Thomas Erastus dies (b. 1524). Swiss theologian.
• 1588 - Fray Luis de Granad dies in Lisbon. Spanish ascetic writer.
• 1599 - British East India Company is chartered.
• 1610 - Ludolph van Ceulen dies (b. 1540). German mathematician.
• 1650 - Dorgon dies (b. 1612). Chinese emperor.
• 1660 - James II of England became Duke of Normandy by King Louis XIV.
• 1668 - Herman Boerhaave was born (d. 1738). Dutch humanist and physician.
• 1673 - Oliver St John dies. English statesman and judge.
• 1679 - Giovanni Alfonso Borelli dies (b. 1608). Italian physiologist who was the first to explain muscular movement and other body functions according to the laws of statics and dynamics. ["De motu animalium (Rome, 1680)].
• 1687 - The first Huguenots set sail from France to the Cape of Good Hope.
• 1691 - Dudley North dies (b. 1641). English economist.
• 1695 - A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax.
• 1719 - John Flamsteed dies (b. 1646). English astronomer who established the Greenwich Observatory, as one of a group of scientists who convinced King Charles II to build a national observatory.
• 1720 - Charles Edward Stuart was born (d. 1788). Pretender to the British throne.
• 1738 - Charles Cornwallis was born (d. 1805). 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general.
• 1741 - Isabella Maria of Parma was born (d. 1763). Empress of Germany.
• 1742 - Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine dies (b. 1661)
• 1744 - James Bradley announced the discovery of Earth's motion of nutation, or wobbling.
• 1753 - Alexandre de Gusmão dies in Lisbon (b. in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil in 1695). Diplomat and politician.
• 1763 - Pierre-Charles Villeneuve was born (d. 1806). French admiral.
• 1769 - Silvestre Pinheiro Ferreira was born (d. 1846). Portuguese philosopher.
• 1775 - American Revolutionary War: British forces repulse an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Quebec.
• 1784 - Para reforzar la lucha contra los piratas, Carlos III establece la pena de galeras en España.
• 1799 - Jean-François Marmontel dies (b. 1723). French historian and writer.
• 1805 - Marie de Flavigny best known for Daniel Stern was born. French writer.
• 1815 - George G. Meade was born (d. 1872). American Civil War general.
• 1816 - Sir William Withey Gull was born (d. 1890); A leading English physician of his time, lecturer and physician at Guy's Hospital, London, and an outstanding clinical teacher.
• 1830 - Alexander Smith was born (d. 1867). Scottish poet.
• 1830 - José Elias Garcia was born (d. 1891). Portuguese politician. President of the Municipal Chamber of Lisbon.
• 1830 - Isma'il Pasha was born (d. 1895). Governor of Egypt.
• 1831 - Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City.
• 1832 - Junqueira Freire was born in Salvador, Bahia (d. 24 Jun 1855). Brazilian poet.
• 1838 - D. Luís I was born in Lisbon (d. 19 Oct 1889). King of Portugal.
• 1846 - Portugal: Os miguelistas são completamente derrotados em Braga, tendo o seu comandante, Macdonell sido preso e morto em 30 de Janeiro de 1847 (O liberalismo em Portugal).
• 1857 - Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa, Ontario, as the capital of Canada.
• 1857 - King Kelly was born (d. 1894). American baseball player.
  
• 1860 - Joseph S. Cullinan was born. American oil industrialist, founder of Texaco.
• 1860 - Manuel Lopes Rodrigues was born (d. 1917). Brazilian painter.
• 1862 - American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the Union (thus dividing Virginia in two); meanwhile, the Battle of Stones River is fought near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
• 1862 - American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River is fought near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
• 1864 - Robert Grant Aitken was born (d.1951). American astronomer who specialized in the study of double stars, of which he discovered more than 3,000.
• 1868 - É ocupada Assunção, a capital do Paraguai, por uma coluna brasileira sob o comando do Coronel Hermes Ernesto da Fonseca.
• 1869 - Henri Matisse was born (d. 1954). French painter and graphic artist. Along with Picasso, Matisse is considered one of the two foremost artists of the modern period. His contribution to 20th-century art is inestimable.
• 1872 - Aleksis Kivi dies (b. 1834). Finnish author.
• 1877 - Lawrence Beesley was born (d. 1967). English journalist and author.
• 1877 - Gustave Courbet dies (b. 1819). French painter.
• 1878 - Elizabeth Arden was born in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada (d. 1966). Beautician, business executive.
• 1878 - Horacio Silvestre Quiroga was born in Salto. Uruguayan writer
• 1879 - Thomas Edison gave the first public demonstration of an electric incandescent lamp.
• 1880 - George C. Marshall was born (d. 1959) General and cabinet member, recipient of Nobel Prize in Peace 1953 for the Marshall Plan.
• 1880 - Fred Beebe was born (d. 1957). American baseball player.
• 1881 - Max Pechstein was born (d. 1955). German painter and graphic artist.
• 1882 - Martin O'Meara was born (d. 1935). Australian soldier.
• 1884 - Bobby Byrne was born (d. 1964). American baseball player.
• 1885 - Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein was born (d. 1970).
• 1888 - Samson Raphael Hirsch dies (b. 1808). German rabbi.
• 1889 - Ion Creangă dies. Romanian writer.
• 1890 - Francisca Carrasco Jiménez (Pancha) dies (b. 1816). "Defensora de lasLibertades Patrias" de Costa Rica.
• 1891 - A new immigration depot is opened on Ellis Island, New York.
  
• 1891 - Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a famous Nigerian missionary dies on this day.
• 1894 - Pola Negri was born (d. 1987). Polish actress.
• 1894 - Thomas Joannes Stieltjes dies (b. 1856). Dutch mathematician.
• 1898 - Sir John Eric Sidney Thompson was born (d. 1975). He was a leading English ethnographer of the Mayan people.
• 1899 - Silvestre Revueltas was born (d. 1940). Mexican composer.
• 1902 - Lionel Daunais was born (d. 1982). Quebec singer and composer.
• 1902 - Candido López dies in Baradero, Buenos Aires. Argentine painter.
• 1903 - Nathan Milstein was born (d. 1992). Ukrainian violinist.
• 1904 - The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square, then known as Longacre Square, in New York, New York.
• 1904 - Umm Kulthum was born (d. 1975). Egyptian singer and actress.
  
• 1905 - Jule Styne was born (d. 1994). English-born composer.
  
• 1905 - Alexander Popov dies (b. 1859). Russian physicist and electrical engineer acclaimed in Russia as the inventor of radio.
• 1905 - Jule Styne was born (d. 1994). English-born composer.
• 1905 - Waldemar Seyssel was born in Jaguariaiva, Paraná (d. 23 May 2005). Brazilian comedian and actor.
• 1908 - Simon Wiesenthal was born. Concentration camp survivor, activist.
• 1909 - Manhattan Bridge Opens.
• 1909 - Jonah Jones was born (d. 2000). American jazz trumpeter.
• 1910 - Carl Dudley was born (d. 1973). American film director.
• 1910 - John Moisant dies (b. 1868). American aviator.
• 1910 - Arch Hoxsey dies (b. 1884). American aviator.
• 1911 - Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize.
• 1911 - Dal Stivens was born (d. 1997). Australian novelist.
  
• 1912 - Maj-Gen John Frost was born (d. 1993). British para commander.
  
• 1913 - Seth Carlo Chandler dies (b. 1846). American astronomer best known for his discovery (1884-85) of the Chandler Wobble, a complex movement in the Earth's axis of rotation (now refered to as polar motion) that causes latitude to vary with a period of 14 months.
• 1916 - The Hampton Terrace Hotel in North Augusta, South Carolina, one of the largest and most luxurious hotels in the USA at the time, burns to the ground.
• 1917 - António José Saraiva was born (d. 17 Mar 1993). Portuguese essayst and Professor.
• 1919 - Tommy Byrne was born. American baseball player.
• 1920 - Rex Allen was born (d. 1999). American actor and singer.
• 1921 - Boies Penrose dies (b. 1860). American Senator from Pennsylvania.
• 1923 - The Sahara is traversed by an automobile for the first time.
• 1923 - The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC.
• 1923 - Se inauguran los servicios aéreos entre Buenos Aires y Montevideo.
• 1924 - Inicio de la Corrida de San Silvestre, celebrada anualmente Sao Paulo, Brasil.
• 1924 - Taylor Mead was born. American actor.
• 1926 - Tom Marvolo Riddle was born. English wizard.
• 1928 - Siné was born. French cartoonist.
• 1929 - Jeremy Bernstein was born; American physicist, educator, and writer widely known for the clarity of his writing for the lay reader on the major issues of modern physics.
• 1929 - Guy Lombardo plays Auld Lang Syne for the first time.
• 1930 - Odetta was born. American singer.
• 1931 - Bob Shaw was born (d. 1996). Irish writer.
• 1933 - Edward Bunker was born (d. 2005). American author, screenwriter and actor.
• 1934 - Akram Awan was born. Islamic scholar.
• 1934 - Cornelia Maria Clapp dies [b. 1849]; American zoologist and educator whose influence as a teacher was great and enduring in a period when the world of science was just opening to women.
• 1935 - Monopoly was patented, game assigned to Parker Brothers, Inc., by Charles Darrow of Pennsylvania.
• 1935 - Manuel Portela Valladares preside un nuevo Gobierno en España.
• 1936 - Miguel de Unamuno dies (b. 1864). Spanish writer and philosopher.
• 1937 - Avram Hershko was born. Israeli biologist, Nobel laureate.
• 1937 - Anthony Hopkins was born. Welsh actor.
• 1938 - The first breath test for drivers, "drunkometer," was introduced in Indianapolis.
• 1938 - Rosalind Cash was born (d. 1995). American actress.
• 1940 - Mani Neumeier was born. German musician (Guru Guru).
• 1940 - Arsène d'Arsonval dies (b. 1851). French physician and physicist who was a pioneer in therapeutic use of electricity, heat, and light.
• 1941 - Alex Ferguson was born. Scottish football (soccer) player and well known manager (Manchester United).
• 1941 - Sarah Miles was born. English actress.
• 1942 - Andy Summers was born. British musician (The Police).
• 1943 - John Denver was born (d. 1997). Country/pop musician.
• 1943 - Ben Kingsley was born in Scarborough England; actor (Gandhi, Betrayal, Maurice...).
• 1943 - Pete Quaife was born. English bass guitarist (The Kinks).
• 1944 - World War II: Hungary declares war on Germany.
• 1944 - Taylor Hackford was born. American film producer and director.
• 1945 – Barbara Carrera was born. Nicaraguan actress and model.
• 1945 - Connie Willis was born. American writer.
• 1945 - Diane von Fürstenberg was born. Belgian-born fashion designer.
• 1946 - President Harry Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.
• 1946 - Pius Ncube was born. Zimbabwean human rights advocate.
• 1947 - Rita Lee was born in São Paulo. Brazilian singer and composer.
• 1947 - Burton Cummings was born. Canadian musician (The Guess Who).
• 1947 - Tim Matheson was born. American actor.
• 1948 - Donna Summer was born in Boston. American singer.
• 1948 - René Robert was born. National Hockey League player.
• 1948 - Malcolm Campbell dies (b. 1885). English race car driver.
• 1949 - 18 countries recognize Republic Indonesia.
• 1949 - Ellen Datlow was born. American editor.
• 1949 - Susan Shwartz was born. American writer.
• 1951 – The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $13.3 billion USD in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.
• 1951 - George Thorogood was born. American musician.
• 1951 - Tom Hamilton was born. American musician (Aerosmith).
• 1952 - Vaughan Frederick Randal Jones was born; New Zealand mathematician who was awarded the Fields Medal in 1990 for his study of functional analysis and knot theory.
• 1953 - James Remar was born. American actor.
• 1953 - Jane Badler was born. American actress.
• 1953 - Albert Plesman dies (b. 1889). Dutch aviation pioneer.
• 1954 - Alex Salmond was born. Scottish politician.
• 1955 -The General Motors Corporation becomes the first American corporation to make over USD $1 billion in a year.
• 1955 - Dawood Ibrahim was born. Indian terrorist.
• 1956 - On December, 31st. in Romania was launched the first TV program.
• 1956 - Steve Rude was born. American comics artist.
• 1956 - Francisco José Tenreiro dies (b. 1921). Poet and government official, São Tomé & Príncipe.
• 1958 - Ernesto "Che" Guevara encabeza la ocupación de Santa Clara. Horas más tarde Fulgencio Batista huye de Cuba.
• 1958 - Bebe Neuwirth was born. American actress.
• 1959 - Phill Kline was born. American politician.
• 1959 - Paul Westerberg was born. American musician (The Replacements).
• 1959 - Val Kilmer was born. American actor (The Saint, Top Gun, The Doors).
• 1960 - The farthing coin, used in Britain since the 13th century, ceases to be legal tender.
• 1960 - John Allen Muhammad was born. American serial killer.
• 1960 - Steve Bruce was born. English football player & manager.
• 1961 - The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.
• 1961 - Nina Li Chi was born. Chinese actress.
• 1961 - Rick Aguilera was born. Baseball player.
• 1962 - Heather McCartney was born. British activist.
• 1962 - Pedro Cardoso was born. Brazilian actor.
• 1963 - The Central African Federation officially collapses and splits into Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
• 1963 - Scott Ian was born. American musician (Anthrax).
• 1963 - Konishiki was born. American sumo wrestler.
• 1964 - Michael McDonald was born. American actor, comedian.
• 1964 - Lowri Turner was born. British TV presenter.
• 1964 - Allen D'Nulderf was born. American stuntman.
• 1964 - Ólafur Thors dies (b. 1892). Prime Minister of Iceland.
  
• 1964 - Bobby Byrne dies (b. 1884). Baseball player.
• 1965 - Fernanda Porto was born. Brazilian singer.
• 1965 - Julie Doucet was born. Canadian underground cartoonist.
• 1965 - Nicholas Sparks was born. American writer.
• 1965 - Gong Li was born. Chinese actress.
• 1966 - Lisa Joyner was born. American entertainment reporter.
• 1968 - Marien Ngouabi assumed the presidency of the Republic of the Congo.
• 1968 - Gerry Dee was born. Canadian comedian and actor.
• 1969 - George Lewis dies (b. 1900). American jazz musician.
• 1970 - Carlos Morales Quintana was born. Husband of Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark.
  
• 1970 - Bryon Russell was born. American basketball player.
• 1971 - US President Richard Nixon signs the National Air Quality Control Act, which calls for a 90% reduction in automobile emissions by 1975. The act also tightened air-pollution controls and fines in other industries.
• 1971 - Brent Barry was born. American basketball player.
• 1971 - Esteban Loaiza was born. Mexican Major League Baseball player.
• 1971 - Pete Duel dies (b. 1940). American actor.
• 1971 - Marin Sais dies (b. 1890). American actress.
• 1971 - Vikram Sarabhai dies (b. 1919). Indian physicist.
• 1972 - Joe McIntyre was born. American singer and songwriter (New Kids on the Block).
• 1972 - Roberto Clemente dies (b. 1934). Baseball player. From Puerto Rico Roberto Clement was elected to the Hall of Fame posthumously in 1973, being the first Hispanic American to be selected.
• 1973 - Shandon Anderson was born. American basketball player.
• 1973 - Malcolm Middleton was born. Scottish musician (Arab Strap).
• 1974 - Mario Aerts was born. Belgian cyclist.
• 1974 - Ryan Sakoda was born. Japanese American professional wrestler.
• 1974 - Tony Kanaan was born. Brazilian racing driver.
• 1975 - Pela primeira vez em 51 anos, a corrida de São Silvestre, maratona internacional realizada todos os anos em São Paulo, aceitou a participação de mulheres.
• 1975 - Toni Kuivasto was born. Finnish footballer.
• 1976 - Vanessa Kerry was born. Daughter of American Senator John Kerry.
  
• 1977 - Wardy Alfaro was born. Costa Rican football player
• 1977 - Donald Trump Jr. was born. Son of entrepreneur Donald Trump.
  
• 1977 - Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah dies (b. 1924). Ruler of Kuwait.
• 1978 - Papoose was born. African-American rapper.
• 1978 - United States ends official relations with Nationalist China.
• 1978 - En Colombia el Movimiento 19 de Abril sustrae más de cinco mil armas de una guarnición militar conocida como Cantón Norte.
• 1979 - La Reina Isabel II de Inglaterra nombra caballero de la Orden del Imperio Británico al director de cine Alfred Hitchcock.
• 1979 - Bob Bryar was born. American drummer (My Chemical Romance, Gerardolopoly).
• 1979 - Elaine Cassidy was born. Irish actress.
• 1980 - Léopold Sédar Senghor resigns after 20 years as Senegalese president .
• 1980 - Richie McCaw was born.New Zealand rugby player.
• 1980 - Bob Bryar was born. American drummer (My Chemical Romance).
• 1980 - Matt Cross was born. American professional wrestler.
• 1980 - Marshall McLuhan dies (b. 1911). Canadian writer.
• 1980 - Raoul Walsh dies (b. 1887). American film director.
• 1981 - A Coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.
• 1981 - Jason Campbell was born. American football player.
• 1981 - Matthew Pavlich was born. Australian football player.
• 1982 - Craig Gordon was born. Scottish footballer.
• 1982 - Luke Schenscher was born. Australian basketball player.
• 1982 - Julio DePaula was born. Dominican baseball player in the United States.
• 1982 - Kurt Otto Friedrichs dies [ b. 1901] German mathematician.His main work was on partial differential equations in mathematical physics.
• 1983 - The last day that the AT&T Bell System exists before being broken up by the United States Government.
• 1983 - Nigeria's National Assembly dissolves after military coup.
• 1983 - Jaqueline Carvalho was born. Brazilian volleyball player.
• 1984 - Luciano Jaramillo Trujillo dies. Colombian painter.
• 1985 - Rick Nelson dies (b. 1940). American singer.
• 1985 - João de Araújo Correia dies (b. 1 Jan 1899). Portuguese writer [Contos Bárbaros (1939), Montes Pintados, Contos Durienses, Folhas de Xisto].
• 1986 - A fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, kills 97 and injures 140.
• 1986 - Lloyd Haynes dies (b. 1934). American actor.
• 1987 - Robert Mugabe assumes office as President of Zimbabwe.
• 1987 - Javaris Crittenton was born. American basketball player.
• 1987 - Émilie Le Pennec was born. French gymnast.
• 1988 - In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a boat sinks killing 55 people. / No Rio de Janeiro o Bateau Mouche IV afunda na Baía de Guanabara matando 55 pessoas.
• 1988 - Mario Lemieux became the first player in National Hockey League history to score one each of the five types of goals in a single game: an even-strength goal, a power-play goal, a short-handed goal, a penalty shot and an empty-net goal.
• 1988 - Yara Amaral dies (b. 16 Sep 1939). Brazilian actress.
• 1990 - Russian Garry Kasparov holds his title by winning the World Chess Championship match against his countryman Anatoly Karpov.
• 1990 - Vasili Lazarev dies (b. 1928). Soviet cosmonaut.
• 1990 - George Allen dies. American football coach.
• 1991 - All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date and the Soviet Union is officially dissolved.
• 1991 - The civil war in El Salvador ends.
• 1992 - Czechoslovakia is dissolved, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
• 1992 - In the last of the great ITV franchise renewals, Thames Television, Television South West and Television South cease broadcasting, replaced by Carlton Television, Westcountry Television and Meridian Television respectively.
• 1993 - Zviad Gamsakhurdia dies (b. 1939). Scientist and writer, first President of the Republic of Georgia.
• 1993 - the last research samples of the smallpox virus (variola) were scheduled to be destroyed. Smallpox was the world's most dreaded plagues until 1977, when it was declared eradicated. However, some scientists who wanted to continue research on the virus stopped the destruction plan. The remaining frozen samples are in Moscow.
• 1993 - Brandon Teena dies murdered (b. 1972). Transsexual.
• 1993 - Zviad Gamsakhurdia dies (b. 1929). First President of Georgia, scientist and writer.
• 1994 - This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC-11 to UTC+13 and UTC-10 to UTC+14, respectively.
• 1994 - Woody Strode dies (b. 1914). American actor and decathlete.
• 1995 - The last strip of the popular comic Calvin and Hobbes is published.
• 1995 - Renuncia del primer ministro italiano Lamberto Dini.
• 1995 - O presidente da Argélia Liamine Zeroual indica Ahmed Ouyahia como seu novo primeiro-ministro.
• 1997 - Quaker Oats settles a lawsuit involving the immoral use of child subjects in radioactivity experiments circa 1945-56.
• 1997 - Michael Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy, killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado.
• 1997 - Microsoft buys Hotmail E-mail service.
• 1997 - Floyd Cramer dies (b. 1933). American musician.
• 1997 - Billie Dove dies (b. 1903). American actress.
• 1997 - Michael Kennedy dies (b. 1958). American politician.
• 1998 – The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency.
• 1999 - Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President.
• 1999 - Five hijackers, who had been holding 155 hostages on an Indian Airlines plane, leave the plane with two Islamic clerics that they had demanded be freed.
• 1999 - The United States Government hands control of the Panama Canal as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties.
• 1999 - Sarah Knauss dies at the age of 119 years - at death, the world's oldest person alive.
• 1999 - Elliot Richardson dies (b. 1920). American politician.
• 2000 - Alan Cranston dies (b. 1914). American politician.
• 2000 - José Greco dies (b. 1918). Italian-born American flamenco dancer and choreographer.
• 2000 - Kenneth L. Pike dies (b. 1912). He was a U.S. linguist and anthropologist known for his studies of the aboriginal languages of Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, New Guinea, Java, Ghana, Nigeria, Australia, Nepal, and the Philippines.
• 2000 - Bill Clinton suscribe el tratado para crear el Tribunal Penal Internacional (TPI) con capacidad para investigar y juzgar a individuos acusados de haber cometido graves delitos contra el Derecho Internacional Comunitario. Su sucesor en la presidencia de los EE.UU., George W. Bush, retirará la participación de los EE.UU. en el tribunal.
• 2000 - Manuel de Rivacoba y Rivacoba dies. Spanish penalist and politician.
• 2001 - Eileen Heckart dies (b. 1919). American actress.
• 2002 - Kevin MacMichael dies (b. 1951). American guitarist (Cutting Crew).
• 2003 - Arthur R. von Hippel dies (b. 1898). German-born American physicist and professor at MIT.
• 2004 - The official opening of Taipei 101, the current tallest skyscraper in the world, standing at a height of 509 metres (1,670 feet).
• 2004 - Gerard Debreu dies (b. 1921). French-born economist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 2005 - AT&T and SBC Communications merge, SBC name is dropped. A new AT&T is formed.
• 2005 - The Greek BBC radio service ends.
• 2005 - Lisbon-Dakar all terrain veihucules rallye starts from Lisbon, Portugal.
• 2005 - Enrico di Giuseppe dies (b. 1932). American tenor.
• 2005 - Phillip Whitehead dies (b. 1937). British politician.
• 2006 - The United Kingdom pays final installment of Second World War debt to the United States.
• 2006 - First day of Eid-ul-Adha, the Islamic "Festival of Sacrifice".
• 2006 - George Sisler, Jr. dies (b. 1917). American baseball executive.
• 2007 – Bocaue Fire: Seven people injured when a fire razed several fireworks stores in the Municipality of Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines.
• 2007 – The Massive Big Dig construction project in Boston, Massachusetts ends.
• 2007 – Bill Idelson dies (b. 1919). American actor.
  
• 2007 – Ettore Sottsass dies (b. 1917). Italian architect and designer.
  
• 2007 – Kathryn Ish dies (b. 1936). American actress.
  
• 2007 – Markku Peltola dies (b. 1956). Finnish actor and musician.
  
• 2007 – Michael Goldberg dies (b. 1924). American painter.
  
• 2007 – Milton L. Klein dies (b. 1910). Canadian politician.
  
• 2007 – Tommy Dickson dies (b. 1929). British footballer.
  
• 2007 – Tony Elliott dies (b. 1959). American football player.
• 2007 - Vítor [Manuel Moreira] Francisco dies (b. 26 May 1951). Portuguese poet and fadist, Terreiro do Fado webmaster.
• 2008 – Donald E. Westlake dies (b. 1933). American author.
  
• New Year's Eve on the Gregorian Calendar.
• Last Day of the Year Celebration, special non-working holiday in the Philippines.
• Hogmanay in Scotland.
• Roman Catholic Church: St. Sylvester I.

Citação do Dia - Romain Rolland

"Aqueles a quem amamos têm todos os direitos sobre nós, até o de deixarem de nos amar".

"Ao querermos, enganamo-nos muitas vezes. Mas quando nunca queremos, enganamo-nos sempre".

Romain Rolland (Prémio Nobel da Literatura em 1915 n. em Clamecy, França a 29 de Janeiro de 1866 — m. Vézelay, 30 de Dezembro de 1944)

On this day in History - Dec. 30

• 0039 - Tito Flavio Vespasiano was born (d. 0081). Roman emperor.
• 0274 - St Felix I ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
• 1066 – Granada massacre: A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city.
• 1204 - Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd Hakam al Qurashi was born (d. 1282). Ruler of Minorca.
• 1218 - Richard de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford dies (b. 1162). English politician.
• 1460 - Wars of the Roses: The Duke of York is defeated at the Battle of Wakefield.
• 1460 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland (b. 1443) is murdered after batlle. Second son of Richard, Duke of York.
• 1460 - Richard, Duke of York dies killed in battle (b. 1411). Claimant to the English throne.
• 1525 - Jacob Fugger dies (b. 1459). German banker and merchant.
• 1552 - Simon Forman was born (d. 1611). English occultist and astrologer.
• 1572 - Galeazzo Alessi dies (b. 1512). Italian architect.
• 1573 - Giovanni Battista Giraldi dies (b. 1504). Italian writer.
• 1591 - Pope Innocent IX dies (b. 1519).
• 1621 - Saint Job of Maniava dies (b. 1550). Ukrainian Orthodox Saint.
• 1640 - John Francis Regis dies (b. 1597). French saint.
• 1642 - Vicenzo da Filicaja was born (d. 1707). Italian poet.
• 1644 - Jan Baptist van Helmont dies (b. 1580). Belgian chemist, physiologist and physician who recognized the existence of discrete gases and identified carbon dioxide. He was part medieval alchemist and part scientist.
• 1662 - Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria dies (b. 1628).
• 1673 - Ahmed III was born (d. 1736). Ottoman Sultan.
• 1678 - William Croft was born (d. 1727). English composer.
• 1691 - Robert Boyle dies (b. 1627). Irish chemist and natural philosopher noted for his pioneering experiments on the properties of gases and his espousal of a corpuscular view of matter that was a forerunner of the modern theory of chemical elements (See Boyle's law).
• 1703 -Tokyo hit by Earthquake; about 37,000 die.
• 1722 - Charles Yorke was born (d. 1770). Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.
• 1724 - Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée was born (d. 1805). French painter.
• 1740 - Princess Elizabeth Caroline of Wales was born (d. 1759).
• 1741 - Bartolomeo Giacometti was born. Composer.
• 1769 - Nicholas Taaffe, 6th Viscount Taaffe dies (b. 1685). Austrian soldier.
• 1781 - John Needham dies (b. 1713). English naturalist and Roman Catholic priest.
• 1785 - Dorothea Lieven was born (d. 1857). Russian noblewoman.
• 1788 - Francesco Zuccarelli dies at 86. Italian rococo painter/etcher.
• 1803 - The Maratha chief Daulat Rao Sindhia and the British signed the Treaty of Surji-Arjungaon.
• 1803 - Francis Lewis dies (b. 1713). Signer of the American Declaration of Independence.
• 1816 - The Treaty of St. Louis is proclaimed.
• 1819 - John W. Geary was born (d. 1873). 1st Mayor of San Francisco.
• 1819 - Theodor Fontane was born (d. 1898). German novelist and poet.
• 1838 - Émile Loubet was born (d. 1929). 7th President of France.
• 1847 - John Peter Altgeld was born in Niederselters, Prussia. Reformist Illinois governor known principally for his pardon of German American anarchists involved in the Haymarket Riot.
• 1850 - John Milne was born [d. 1913]; English seismologist and geologist who invented the horizontal pendulum seismograph and promoted the establishment of seismological stations.
• 1851 - Asa Griggs Candler was born (d. 1929). American soft-drink manufacturer who developed Coca-Cola®.This soft drink began in 1886 when a druggist named John "Doc" Pemberton started selling the syrup that he used in his drugstore fountain drinks. When he died, the formula (still a very well kept secret) was sold to Asa Candler, a marketing genius.
• 1852 - Future U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes married Lucy Ware Webb in Cincinnati.
• 1853 - Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.
  1853 - A dinner party is held inside a life-size model of an Iguanodon created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in south London.
• 1853 - André Messager was born (d. 1929). French composer.
• 1861 - US banks stops payments in gold.
• 1861 - Henrique de Paiva Couceiro was born in Lisbon. Portuguese militar and Governor of Angola.
• 1862 - USS Monitor sinks off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
• 1865 - Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India (d. 1936). British writer ("Jungle Book" and "Soldiers Three") and recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1907.
• 1868 - Capitulación de las tropas paraguayas ante el duque de Caxias. Francisco Solano López no se rinde y acompañado por un puñado de combatientes, emprende al retirada hacia el norte de Paraguay .
• 1869 - Stephen Butler Leacock was born. British-Canadian writer and economist.
• 1873 - the American Metrological Society was formed in New York City.
• 1873 - Alfred E. Smith was born (d. 1944). American politician.
• 1878 - William Aberhart was born (d. 1943). Canadian politician.
• 1879 - The Pirates of Penzance is first performed (Paignton, Devon, England).
• 1879 - Sri Ramana Maharshi was born (d. 1950). Indian philosopher.
• 1879 - Manuel de Araújo Porto Alegre dies in Lisbon, Portugal (b. 29 Nov 1806). Brazilian painter and writer.
• 1880 - The Transvaal becomes a republic and Paul Kruger, its first president.
• 1882 - Ángel Roffo was born. Argentine physician and investigator.
• 1883 - Leonardo Coimbra was born in Lixa, Amarante (d. 1936). Portuguese philosopher.
• 1883 - Lester Patrick was born (d. 1960). National Hockey League player and coach
• 1883 - John Henry Dallmeyer dies (b. 1830). German-born British inventor and manufacturer of lenses and telescopes.
• 1884 - Hideki Tojo was born (d. 1948). Prime Minister of Japan.
• 1888 - U.S. troops intervene in Haiti
• 1890 - The Dressel Missions fight happens today.
• 1890 - Adolfo Ruiz Cortines was born (d. 1973). President of Mexico(1952 - 1958).
• 1896 - José Rizal (b. 1861), Philippine nationalist, is executed by firing squad in Manila.
• 1897 - Natal annexes Zululand.
• 1897 - Alfredo Bracchi was born (d. 1976). Italian author.
• 1898 - Luís da Câmara Cascudo was born in Natal. Brazilian writer, journalist and folklorist.
• 1899 - Helge Ingstad was born (d. 2001). Norwegian explorer, discoverer of the only confirmed Viking settlement in America.
• 1899 - James Paget dies (b. 1914). English surgeon and physiologist who is considered (with Rudolf Virchow) to be a founder of the science of pathology. Paget discovered (1834) in human muscle the parasitic worm that causes trichinosis. In 1877, he described Paget's disease of bone (osteitis deformans), a chronic disease of bones.
• 1900 - Battleships are sent to Tangiers by the Spanish government as the first part of its intended invasion of Morocco.
• 1902 - A new southing record was set by Robert Falcon Scott, in company with Ernest Henry Shackleton and E.A. Wilson, as they reached the Ross Ice Shelf at the head of the Ross Sea in Antarctica.
• 1903 - A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago kills 600.
• 1904 - Dmitri Kabalevsky was born (d. 1987). Russian composer.
• 1905 - Former Governor Frank Steunenberg is assassinated near his home in Caldwell, Idaho.
• 1905 - Daniil Kharms was born (d. 1942). Soviet-era surrealist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist.
• 1906 - The All India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India Empire, which later laid down the foundations of Pakistan.
• 1906 - Iran becomes a constitutional monarchy.
• 1906 - Carol Reed was born (d. 1976). English film director.
• 1908 - Thomas-Alfred Bernier dies (b. 1844). Canadian lawyer, journalist and senator.
• 1910 - Paul Bowles was born (d. 1999). American composer and author.
• 1911 - Sun Yat-sen is elected the first president of the Republic of China.
• 1911 – Jeanette Nolan was born (d. 1998). American actress.
• 1913 - Tungsten filaments: Dr William David Coolidge patented a method for making ductile tungsten for the purpose of making filaments for electric lamps .
• 1913 - Elyne Mitchell was born (d. 2002). Australian author.
• 1913 - Lucio Agostini Italian-born (d. 1996). Canadian conductor and composer.
• 1914 - Bert Parks was born (d. 1992). Canadian television host.
• 1914 - Jo Van Fleet was born (d. 1996). American actress.
• 1916 – The last coronation in Hungary is performed for King Charles IV and Queen Zita.
• 1916 - Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin was poisoned by Russian conservatives in an effort to halt his influence over Empress Alexandra and the royal family.
• 1917 - Un cataclismo de grandes dimensiones asola Guatemala, cuya ciudad capital quedó convertida en ruinas.
• 1917 - Seymour Melman was born (d. 2004). American industrial engineer.
• 1918 - The Spartacus League lead by Rosa Luxemburgo was transformed into the Communist Party of Germany at a party congress.
• 1919 - Lincoln's Inn in London admits its first female bar student.
• 1920 -Albania was admitted to the League of Nations as sovereign and independent state.
• 1920 - Jack Lord was born (d. 1998). American actor.
• 1921 - Rashid Karami was born (d. 1987). Lebanese stateman.
• 1922 - Vladimir Lenin proclaims the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) with its capital in Moscow, eventually incorporated 15 republics and constituted (in area) the largest country in the world until its dissolution in 1991.
• 1923 - Sara Lidman was born (d. 2004). Swedish writer.
• 1923 - Inauguración del primer servicio público aéreo en Argentina (de Buenos Aires a Montevideo).
• 1924 - Edwin Hubble announces the existence of other galaxies.
• 1927 - The Ginza Line, the oldest subway line in Asia, opened in Tokyo.
• 1927 - Bernard Barrow was born (d. 1993). American actor.
• 1927 - Robert Hossein was born. French film actor and director.
• 1928 - Bo Diddley was born. American singer and musician.
• 1929 - Barbara Nichols was born (d. 1976). American actress.
• 1929 - Rosalind Hurley was born (d. 2004). British physician, barrister, ethicist and writer.
• 1931 - Skeeter Davis was born (d. 2004). American singer.
• 1931 - Tyrone Power Sr dies at 62. Actor (Big Trial, Test of Donald Norton).
• 1933 - O primeiro-ministro da Roménia, Íon Duca, é assassinado por um membro da Guarda de Ferro.
• 1933 - El ministro Javier Burgos establece la división de España en 49 provincias.
• 1934 - Del Shannon was born (d. 1990). American singer. His biggest hit is the No. 1 song "Runaway". Listen it here.
• 1934 - John Norris Bahcall was born (d. 2005). American physicist.
• 1934 - Joseph Bologna was born. American actor.
• 1934 - Joseph P. Hoar was born. U.S. general.
• 1934 - Russ Tamblyn was born. American actor, dancer and singer.
• 1935 - Jack Riley was born. American actor.
• 1935 - Luís Alberto Moniz Bandeira was born. Brazilian historian and political scientist.
  
• 1935 - Omar Bongo was born. President of Gabon.
• 1935 - Sandy Koufax was born. American baseball player.
• 1936 - Beginning of successful 44 day sit-down strike by the United Auto Workers union at GM plant in Flint, MI.
• 1937 - Gordon Banks was born in Sheffield. British footballer (goal-keeper).
• 1937 - Jim Marshall was born. American football player.
• 1937 - John Hartford was born (d. 2001). American musician.
• 1937 - Noel Paul Stookey was born. American folk singer (Peter, Paul & Mary).
• 1937 - Paul Stookey was born. American singer.
• 1938 - An electronic television system was patented by V.K. Zworykin.
• 1939 - Felix Pappalardi was born (d. 1983). American musician and recording producer (Mountain).
• 1939 - Glenda Adams was born (d. 2007). Australian author.
• 1940 - California opens its first freeway: the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
• 1940 - James Burrows was born. American television director.
• 1940 – Childe Wills dies (b. 1878). Early associate of Henry Ford, one of the first employees of the Ford Motor Company, and a contributor to the design of the Model T.
• 1941 - Mel Renfro was born. American football player.
• 1941 - El Lissitzky dies (b. 1890). Russian artist and architect.
• 1942 - Fred Ward was born. American actor.
• 1942 - Guy Edwards was born. English racing driver.
• 1942 - Janko Prunk was born. Slovenian historian.
• 1942 - Michael Nesmith was born. American singer and musician (The Monkees).
• 1942 - Vladimir Bukovsky was born. Russian author and dissident.
• 1943 - Subhash Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.
• 1944 - King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving his throne vacant.
• 1944 - William J. Fallon was born. U.S. Navy Admiral, former U.S. Central Command commander.
• 1944 - Romain Rolland dies (b. 1866). French writer and pacifist, Nobel Prize laureate in 1915.
• 1945 - Arnaldo Faria de Sá was born in São Paulo. Brazilian radio personality and politician.
• 1945 - Concetta Tomei was born. American actress.
• 1945 - Davy Jones was born. English singer (The Monkees).
• 1945 - Lloyd Kaufman was born. American film director and producer.
• 1945 - Vernon Wells was born. Australian actor.
• 1946 - Patti Smith was born. American singer and poet.
• 1947 - King Michael of Romania forced to abdicate by the Soviet-backed Communist government of Romania.
• 1947 - Jeff Lynne was born. English singer and musician (ELO).
• 1947 - Michael Burns was born. American historian and actor.
• 1947 - Alfred North Whitehead dies (b. 1961). English mathematician and philosopher, who collaborated with Bertrand Russell on Principia Mathematica (1910-13).
• 1947 - Han van Meegeren dies (b. 1889). Dutch painter, portraitist and art forgers.
• 1948 - The Cole Porter Broadway musical, Kiss Me, Kate opens opens at the New Century Theatre for the first of 1,077 performances and becomes the first show to win the Best Musical Tony Award.
• 1949 - India recognizes People's Republic of China.
• 1949 - Jim Flaherty was born. Canadian politician.
• 1950 - Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia become Independent states in France Union.
• 1950 - Bjarne Stroustrup was born. Danish computer scientist, creator of C++.
• 1950 - Lewis Shiner was born. American sci-fi/fantasy author.
• 1951 - Doug Allder was born. English football player.
• 1951 - Jocky Wilson was born. Scottish Darts player.
• 1952 - June Anderson was born. American soprano.
• 1953 - The first ever color television sets go on sale for about USD $1,175 each from RCA.
• 1953 - Bill Kazmaier was born. American powerlifter.
• 1953 – Daniel Barry was born. American astronaut.
• 1953 - Harald Schmautz was born. German-born journalist.
• 1953 - Meredith Vieira was born. American television journalist.
• 1954 - 1.st use of 24-sec shot clock in pro basketball (Rochester vs Boston).
• 1954 - Archduke Eugen of Austria dies (b. 1863). Austrian field marshal.
• 1955 - Dindo Yogo was born (d. 2000). Congolese musician.
• 1955 - Rex Ingamells dies (b. 1913). Australian poet.
• 1956 - Sheryl Lee Ralph was born. American actress.
• 1956 - Suzy Bogguss was born. American singer.
• 1957 - Matt Lauer was born. American newscaster.
• 1957 - Israeli government of Ben-Gurion, resigns.
• 1958 - Rod Harrington was born. English darts player.
• 1958 - Steven L. Smith was born. American astronaut.
• 1959 - Josée Verner was born. French Canadian politician.
• 1959 - Tracey Ullman was born. English actress and singer.
• 1960 - Kelli Maroney was born. American actress.
• 1961 - Ben Johnson was born. Canadian athlete.
• 1961 - Douglas Coupland was born. Canadian author.
• 1961 - Sean Hannity was born. American talk radio host and conservative political commentator.
• 1962 - Alessandra Mussolini was born. Italian conservative politician and former actress (Ferragosto OK) and model.
• 1962 - Henry Cho was born. Korean-American comedian.
• 1962 – Joshua Clover was born. American poet.
• 1963 - Chandler Burr was born. American author.
• 1963 - Michelle Douglas was born. Canadian human rights activist.
• 1963 - Milan Šrejber was born. Czech tennis player.
• 1964 - Duglas T. Stewart, Scottish musician (BMX Bandits).
• 1964 - Sylvie Moreau was born. French Canadian actress.
• 1965 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes President of the Philippines.
• 1965 - Darrin C. Huss, Canadian singer Psyche.
• 1965 - Heidi Fleiss was born. American madam.
• 1965 - Zoe Kelli Simon was born. American actress.
• 1965 - Heidi Fleiss was born. American madam.
• 1966 - Bennett Miller was born. American film director.
• 1967 - Carl Ouellet was born. Canadian professional wrestler.
• 1967 – Karen Dunne was born. American track and road cyclist.
• 1967 - Vincent Massey dies (b. 1887). Governor-General of Canada.
• 1968 - Meredith Monroe was born. American actress.
• 1968 - Trygve Lie dies (b. 1896). First United Nations Secretary General.
• 1969 - Jack Yablonski was murdered. Reform mine leader.
• 1969 - Dave England was born. American television personality.
• 1969 - Jay Kay was born. English musician and singer (Jamiroquai).
• 1970 - Sonny Liston dies (b. 1932). American boxer.
• 1971 - Daniel Sunjata was born. American actor.
• 1971 - Ricardo Lopez Felipe was born. Spanish footballer.
• 1971 - Melba Rae dies (b. 1922). American actress.
• 1972 - Vietnam War: President Nixon halted the heavy bombing on North Vietnam.
• 1972 - Daniel Amokachi was born. Nigerian football player.
• 1972 - Kerry Collins was born. American football player.
• 1972 - Paul Keegan was born. Irish footballer.
• 1972 - Selton Mello was born in Passos, Minas Gerais. Brazilian actor.
• 1972 - Steven Wiig was born. American actor and musician.
• 1973 - Ato Boldon was born. West Indian athlete.
• 1973 - Jason Behr was born. American actor.
• 1973 - Nacho Vidal was born. Spanish porn star.
• 1974 - Beatles are legally disbanded (4 years after suit was brought).
• 1974 - Johanna Sällström was born (d. 2007). Swedish actress.
• 1975 - Constitution of Democratic Republic of Madagascar comes into force.
• 1975 - Scott Chipperfield was born. Australian soccer player.
• 1975 - Tiger Woods was born. American golfer.
• 1976 - The Smothers Brothers play their last show (Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas).
• 1976 - A.J. Pierzynski was born. American baseball player.
• 1976 - Alex A. Quinn was born. American actor.
• 1976 - Meredith_Monroe was born. American actress.
• 1976 - Patrick Kerney was born. American football player.
  1977 - For the second time, Ted Bundy escapes from his cell in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
• 1977 - Grant Balfour was born. Australian baseball player.
• 1977 - Kazuyuki Toda was born. Japanese footballer.
• 1977 - Kenyon Martin was born. American basketball player.
• 1977 - Laila Ali was born. American boxer.
• 1977 - Scott Lucas was born. Australian rules footballer.
• 1978 - Devin Brown was born. American basketball player.
• 1978 – Rob Scuderi was born. American ice hockey player.
• 1978 - Tyrese was born. American singer.
• 1978 - Zbigniew Robert Promiński was born. Polish drummer.
• 1979 - Rock group, Emerson, Lake & Palmer break up.
• 1979 - Togo adopts constitution.
• 1979 - Flávio Amado was born. Angolan footballer.
• 1979 - Richard Rodgers dies (b. 1902). American composer.
• 1980 - After 25 years, the longest-running prime-time TV series The Wonderful World of Disney is cancelled by NBC.
• 1980 – DJ Mbenga was born. Belgian basketball player.
• 1980 - Eliza Dushku was born. American actress.
• 1980 - Kenny Kwan was born. Hong-Kong singer.
• 1981 - In the 39th game of his 3rd NHL season Wayne Gretzky scores 5 goals giving him 50 on the year setting a new NHL record previously held by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy who earlier had each scored 50 goals in 50 games.
• 1981 - Ali Al Habsi was born. Omani footballer.
• 1981 - Haley Paige was born (d. 2007). American porn star.
• 1981 - Matt Ulrich was born. American football player.
• 1981 - Michael Rodríguez was born. Costa Rican football player.
• 1981 - Alfie Anido dies (b. 1959). Filipino actor.
• 1982 - Dathan Ritzenhein was born. American runner.
• 1982 - Dawan Landry was born. American football player.
• 1982 - Kristin Kreuk was born. Canadian actress.
• 1983 - A 7.2 earthquake killed 26 people in Afghanistan (14) and Pakistan (12).
• 1984 - LeBron James was born. American basketball player.
• 1984 - Randall Azofeifa was born. Costa Rican footballer.
• 1984 - Massa dies (b. 1930). Oldest gorilla on record.
• 1985 - Alexa Ray Joel was born. Daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley.
• 1985 - Pakistan restores constitution.
• 1985 – Bryson Goodwin was born. Rugby League player.
• 1985 - Lars Boom was born. Dutch cyclist.
• 1986 - The Swift Current Broncos' bus crashes during bad weather outside of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, killing 4 players and injuring 1.
• 1986 - Era Bell Thompson dies (b. 1905). American journalist.
• 1987 - The Transkei government is overthrown in a bloodless coup led by General Bantubonke Holomisa, commander of the Transkei Defence Force.
• 1987 - Premier Mugabe elected President of Zimbabwe.
• 1987 - Jake Cuenca was born. Filipino actor and commercial model.
• 1987 - Thomaz Bellucci was bor. Brazilian tennis player.
• 1988 - Leon Jackson was born. Scottish singer.
• 1988 - Yuli Daniel dies (b. 1925). Russian writer.
• 1989 - Dmitri Volkov swims world record 50m freestyle (27.15 sec).
• 1989 - Alex Germany-Wald was born. American activist.
• 1989 - Letícia Colin was born. Brazilian actress.
• 1989 - Ryan Sheckler was born. Professional skateboarder.
• 1989 - Lenore Lemmon dies (b. 1923). Wife of George Reeves.
• 1992 - Ling-Ling dies (b. 1969). Panda given to the USA by China.
• 1993 - Israel and the Vatican signed an agreement of mutual recognition to put an end to Jewish-Christian hostilities.
• 1993 - Giuseppe Occhialini dies (b. 1997). Italian physicist.
• 1993 - Irving "Swifty" Lazar dies (b. 1907). American Hollywood talent agent.
• 1993 - Mack David dies (b. 1912). American lyricist and songwriter.
• 1994 - Dmitri Ivanenko dies (b. 1904). Russian physicist.
• 1994 - Maureen Starkey dies (b. 1946). Wife of Ringo Starr.
• 1995 - The lowest ever UK temperature of -27.2°C was recorded at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands. This equalled the record set at Braemar, Aberdeenshire on February 11, 1895 and January 10, 1982.
• 1995 - Doris Grau dies (b. 1924). American actress.
• 1995 - Ralph Flanagan dies (b. 1914). American band leader.
• 1996 - In the Indian state of Assam, a passenger train is bombed by Bodo separatists, killing 26.
• 1996 - Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.
• 1996 - Jack Nance dies (b. 1943). American actor.
• 1996 - Lew Ayres dies (b. 1908). American actor.
• 1997 - In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres, 400 people are killed from four villages.
• 1997 - In Spain a judge accused 36 Argentine military and police officers of involvement in torture and the disappearance of 600 Spaniards during the dirty war from 1976-1983. Most of those named served in the ESMA, a torture center used by the military regime.
• 1997 - In Italy Danilo Dolci, advocate of nonviolent social reform, died at age 73. His writings and poetry chronicled Sicily’s beauty and despair. His books include: “Report From Palermo,” “Waste,” and "Sicilian Lives".
• 1997 - Shinichi Hoshi dies (b. 1926). Japanese novelist.
• 1998 - Joaquim Pacífico da Silva dies in Guararema, São Paulo (b. 1909). Brazilian musician, singer and composer.
• 1998 - George Webb dies (b. 1911). English actor.
• 1998 - Johnny Moore dies (b. 1934). American singer (The Drifters).
• 1998 - Sam Muchnick dies (b. 1905). American professional wrestling promoter.
• 1999 - O ex-beatle George Harrison foi esfaqueado no tórax dentro de sua mansão em Londres por Michael Abram, de 33 anos. Foi hospitalizado recebendo alta dias depois.
• 1999 - Fritz Leonhardt dies (b. 1909). German structural engineer.
• 1999 - Sarah Knauss dies (b. 1880). American, once considered the world's oldest living person.
• 2000 - Rizal Day Bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines within a span of a few hours, killing 22 and injuring about a hundred.
• 2000 - Julius J. Epstein dies (b. 1909). American screenwriter.
• 2001 - Pakistan arrested Hafiz Saeed, leader of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (Army of the Pure) as India moved more troops to the border.
• 2002 - Eleanor Jack Gibson dies (b. 1910). American psychologist who studied learning processes in children. She is remembered for her “visual cliff” experiment which showed how an infant's depth perception helps prevent injuries and falls.
• 2002 - Mary Brian dies (b. 1906). American actress.
• 2002 - Mary Wesley dies (b. 1912). English novelist.
• 2003 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it was banning the sale of ephedra and urged consumers to immediately stop using the herbal stimulant linked to 155 deaths and dozens of heart attacks and strokes.
• 2003 - U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recuses himself and his office from the Plame affair.
• 2003 - Anita Mui dies (b. 1963). Hong Kong singer and actress.
• 2003 - David Bale dies (b. 1941). South African-born activist.
• 2003 - John Gregory Dunne dies (b. 1932). American writer.
• 2004 - A fire in the República Cromagnon nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 194.
• 2004 - Artie Shaw dies (b. 1910). American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader.
• 2005 - Tropical Storm Zeta forms in the open Atlantic, tying the record for the latest tropical cyclone ever to form in the North Atlantic basin.
• 2005 – Eddie Barlow dies (b. 1940). South African cricketer.
• 2005 - Gianni Ratto dies (b. 1916). Italian cenographer.
• 2005 - Rona Jaffe dies (b. 1932). American author.
• 2006 - Madrid Barajas International Airport is bombed.
• 2006 - Deposed President of Irak Saddam Hussein (b. 1937), convicted of the executions of 148 Iraqi Shiit, is executed by hanging.
• 2006 - Michel Plasse dies (b. 1948). Canadian ice hockey player.
• 2006 - Terry Peck (b. 1938), who acted as a scout for 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment in the Falklands War, dies.
• R.C. Saints - Pope Felix I (optional memorial), Saint Sabinus, Anysia of Salonika, Anysius, Aphian, Donatus, Egwin of Worcester, Eugene of Milan, Eugenia Ravasco, Exuperantius, Holy Family (2007), Honorius, John Alcober, Liberius of Ravenna, Mansuetus, Marcellus, Margaret Colonna, Matthia dei Nazzarei, Our Lady of Bethlehem, Ralph of Vaucelles, Raynerius of Aquila, Ruggero of Canne, Severus, Venustian.
• Philippines - Rizal Day.
• Freedom Day for Scientologists: according to the Church, this day celebrates the official recognition in 1974 of the Church of Scientology in the United States.