Zappa.com

Happy Birthday Mr_Green...

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Happy Birthday Mr_Green_Genes!

Happy Boiythday Mr GG!

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"Listen to that noise! It's like Barry White eating wasps."

Thanks king, Spacebro. and aspy! Nice card Spacebro.

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The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

1984:



AND



Thinh-Fish and Francesco Zappa are released.

1985:


Meet the Mothers of Prevention is released.


__________________________________________


Missed entries:

19 November 1981:


Joe's Garage is released.

AND

15 November 1986:


Jazz From Hell is released.

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The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

Happy Birthday, belated style Mr. GG!

...You know, birthday's are a conspiracy to make us get old!

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Lesser-evilism IS war.

LOL, thanks baddy. Here is the mother of all modern conspiracies:

1963: Kennedy shot dead in Dallas

The President of the United States has been assassinated by a gunman in Dallas, Texas.

John F Kennedy was hit in the head and throat when three shots were fired at his open-topped car.

The presidential motorcade was travelling through the main business area of the city.

Texas Governor John Connally was also seriously injured when one of the unknown sniper's bullets hit him in the back.

The men were accompanied by their wives, who were both uninjured.

Vice-president Lyndon Johnson - who was following in a different car - has been sworn in as the new US leader.

The presidential party was driving from Dallas airport to the city centre when witnesses said shots were fired from the window of a building overlooking the road.

The president collapsed into Jackie Kennedy's arms, who was heard to cry "Oh no". Seconds later Governor Connally was also hit.

Dallas Times Herald photographer Bob Jackson was in the motorcade close behind the Democrat leader's car and heard the shots as it entered Dealey Plaza.

"As I looked up I saw a rifle being pulled back from a window - it might have been resting on the windowsill - I didn't see a man," he said.

Mr Kennedy's limousine was driven at speed to Parklands Hospital immediately after the shooting.

The president was alive when he was admitted, but died at 1400 local time (1900 GMT) - 35 minutes after being shot.

Police and Secret Service agents stormed the School Book Depository building moments after the shots were fired and recovered a rifle with a telescopic sight, said to be the assassination weapon.

The mood of shock in the US was echoed by Senator Mike Mansfield in an emergency forum of the senate.

"This is terrible - I cannot find words," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/22/newsid_2451000/2451143.stm

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The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

Today: voting for parliament in The Netherlands! Did my civilian duty today, for the third time in 5 years...

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Join the PackardGoose forum! Send me a PM!

1955: Black woman challenges race law


Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat on the bus provoked a boycott

A black woman has been arrested by police in Montgomery, Alabama, after refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white person.

Mrs Rosa Parks now faces a fine for breaking the segregation laws which say black Americans must vacate their seats if there are white passengers left standing.

It is not the first time Mrs Parks, who is a seamstress, has defied the law on segregation.

In 1943 she was thrown off a bus for refusing to get on via the back door, which was reserved for black passengers. She became known to other drivers who sometimes refused to let her on.

Today Mrs Parks left Mongomery Fair, the department store where she was employed doing repairs on men's clothing, as usual.

She said she was tired after work and suffered aches and pains in her shoulders, back and neck.

When she got on the bus she realised the driver was the same man, James Blake, who had thrown her off twelve years before.

As more white people got on and the seats filled up, he asked her to give up her seat and she refused.

He threatened to call the police and she told him to go ahead.

She was subsequently arrested and charged with violating segregation law.

She will now appear in court on Monday 5 December.

Mrs Parks is a youth leader of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and her husband, Raymond, a barber, has taken part in voter registration drives.

Segregation laws

Between them the couple have worked for many years to improve the lot of black Americans in the southern United States where rigid segregation laws have been in force since the end of the Civil War in 1865.

Last year a group of professional black woman in Montgomery, the Women's Political Council, protested to the mayor about segregation on the buses, warning him they were planning a boycott.

The NAACP has also tried to challenge the laws on segregation in the courts and Mrs Parks has been involved in raising money to defend a 15-year-old student, Claudette Colvin, who was removed from a bus in March of this year for refusing to give up her seat to a white man.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/1/newsid_4398000/4398912.stm

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The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

Ten years ago today my gorgeous bouncing babby girl was born. She's growing up to be the most amazing kid, thoughtful, sensitive to others feelings and really confident. She's also a Zappa fan which is just the icing on the cake!

Happy Boiythday Snakey!

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"Listen to that noise! It's like Barry White eating wasps."

Happy Birthday to little Aspargus. Congrats to Mother Aspy as well!

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The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

Thanks GG!

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"Listen to that noise! It's like Barry White eating wasps."

Heyyyyy! Happy Birfday to "Asp's" now 10th-of-a-century-old offspring, "Snakey"!!!

--Bat

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<------PhotoArtWerk by debutante_daisy http://www.facebook.com/BatchainTheMovie

Thanks Batski!

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"Listen to that noise! It's like Barry White eating wasps."

This was my mom's birthday too!!! Happy B young Aspy!

It's Jaco's birthday too!

Six years ago on this day I got sworn in as a lawyer.

vcf

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There isn't much chance that you'll get people to like you. The best that most folks can hope for is that people will put up with their shit. MTF

Revel in your otherness. MK

STILL pissed at Tipper. VCF

Happy Birthday to Aspy JR. and congrats Ms Aspy!

today the party in the goverment in mexico
finished their dirty work doing a media fraud in the president elections
and the new dirty asshole president completed the bush father instructions
the matter was that the other party people had the entrances copped
trying the ceremony not to be completed
their candidate was the less worst of all but the
goverment did a dirty campaign against him telling the people
in top hours expensive tv time not to vote for him
'cause he was a bad comunist (wich he is not) and they will loose
there houses and everything if they voted for him
after the elections there was a petition to recount the votes since
the difference was only less than 0.05% betwen candidates
but the goverment spend twice or more the money and time
in a electoral trial to say that there was not need to count the votes
the most pathetic thing was that
when the new now president got into the parlament to do the pwoer change there was arnold the asshole shwaseneger in front
then the mexican new president and then in his back george bush father
who came to see his instructions where done
now it's really pathetic
mexicans voted for fear, just the same than in US
and it was done under US goverment instructuions
i wanna die

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i'm totally spiritual

I feel for ya googly. It's felt like a coup happened here and only a few will stand up to it and call it for what it is.
hope yer new 'leader' doesn't run with the 'prize' like bush jr did: run all over everybody who isn't one of his bedfellows. Sayin he's got a mandate and go on and fuck everything up the world over like this one here.
but when the hate fog lifts, use that and go out to do what you can to get more people to vote next time. we fuct that up here and things got worse than we could imagine and it'll take a lot longer to fix, the world over now . . .
use that emotion:
as a friend said:
"find ways to creatively and constructively channel your sacred rage at what's wrong in your world."

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" . . . On the outside now . . ."

* 771 - Austrasian King Carloman dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne King of the now complete Frankish Kingdom.
* 1110 - First Crusade: The Crusaders conquer Sidon.
* 1259 - Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels.
* 1563 - The final session of the Council of Trent is held (it opened on December 13, 1545).
* 1619 - 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God (this is considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas).
* 1639 - Jeremiah Horrocks made the first observation of a transit of Venus. (November 24 under the Julian calendar.)
* 1674 - Father Jacques Marquette founds a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan to minister to the Illiniwek (the mission would later grow into the city of Chicago, Illinois).
* 1676 - Battle of Lund: A Danish army under the command of King Christian V of Denmark engages the Swedish army commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt.
* 1783 - At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.
* 1791 - The first issue of The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published.
* 1829 - In the face of fierce opposition, British governor Lord William Bentinck carries a regulation declaring that all who abetted suttee in India were guilty of culpable homicide.
* 1864 - American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea - At Waynesboro, Georgia, forces under Union General Judson Kilpatrick prevent troops led by Confederate General Joseph Wheeler from interfering with Union General William T. Sherman's campaign destroying a wide swath of the South on his march to the Atlantic Ocean from Atlanta (Union forces did suffer more than three times the Confederate casualties, however).
* 1867 - Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (better known today as the Grange movement).
* 1872 - The crewless American ship Mary Celeste is found by the British brig Dei Gratia (the ship was abandoned for 9 days but was only slightly damaged).
* 1875 - Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison and flees to Cuba, then Spain.
* 1881 - The Los Angeles Times is first published.
* 1906 - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity in the United States established for men of African descent, was founded at Cornell University.
* 1918 - US President Woodrow Wilson sails for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office.
* 1921 - The Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle ends in a hung jury.
* 1942 - Holocaust: In Warsaw, Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Filipowicz set up Żegota.
* 1943 - World War II: In Yugoslavia, resistance leader Marshal Tito proclaims a provisional democratic Yugoslav government in-exile.
* 1943 - US President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes the Works Progress Administration.
* 1945 - By a vote of 65 to 7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations (the UN was established on October 24, 1945).
* 1951 - Mir Waiz Maulvi Muhammad Yusouf appointed President of Azad Kashmir Government.
* 1952 - Great Smog of 1952: A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing up to 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow.
* 1956 - During a Carl Perkins recording session also involving Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis Presley visits the studio and jams with Perkins and Lewis extensively with the tapes rolling. (Cash reportedly participates briefly in the jam before leaving the studio with his wife and daughter.) The four men become known as the Million Dollar Quartet, and the complete tape from this legendary session is eventually released on compact disc in 1987.
* 1958 - Dahomey (present-day Benin) becomes a self-governing country within the French Community.
* 1967 - Vietnam War: US and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta.
* 1969 - Black Panther members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot and killed in their sleep during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.
* 1969 - Surfer Greg Noll rides a 65-foot wave on the North Shore of Oahu, still the highest ever recorded.
* 1971 - UN Security Council calls emergency session to consider deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan.
* 1971 - Attack on Pakistan Navy and Karachi by the Indian Navy.
* 1971 - The Montreux Casino in Switzerland is set ablaze by someone wielding a flare gun during a Frank Zappa concert; the incident would be immortalized in the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water".
* 1977 - Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.
* 1977 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 is hijacked and crashes in Tanjong Kupang, Johor, killing 100.
* 1978 - Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein becomes San Francisco, California's first woman mayor (she served until January 8, 1988).
* 1979 - The Hastie fire in Hull, kills three schoolboys and eventually leads police to arrest Bruce George Peter Lee.
* 1980 - The rock group Led Zeppelin formally announces its breakup.
* 1981 - South Africa grants "homeland" Ciskei independence (not recognized outside South Africa).
* 1982 - The People's Republic of China adopts its current constitution.
* 1984 - Hezbollah militants hijacked a Kuwait Airlines plane and killing four passangers.
* 1991 - Journalist Terry Anderson is released after 7 years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut (he was the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon).
* 1991 - US airline Pan Am ends operations.
* 1992 - Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia.
* 1993 - A truce is concluded between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels.
* 1998 - Unity, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched.
* 2001 - Lisa Beamer, wife of Todd Beamer, through the Todd M. Beamer Foundation, registers [1] the trademark "Let's Roll" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office less than three months after his death in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
* 2005 - Tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong protested for democracy and called on the Government to allow universal and equal suffrage.

[edit] Births

* 1555 - Heinrich Meibom, German historian and poet (d. 1625)
* 1580 - Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (d. 1626)
* 1585 - John Cotton, American Puritan leader (d. 1652)
* 1595 - Jean Chapelain, French writer (d. 1674)
* 1612 - Samuel Butler, English poet (d. 1680)
* 1660 - André Campra, French composer (d. 1744)
* 1670 - John Aislabie, English politician (d. 1742)
* 1713 - Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist (d. 1786)
* 1777 - Madame Récamier, French writer (d. 1849)
* 1795 - Thomas Carlyle, British writer and historian (d. 1881)
* 1798 - Jules Armand Dufaure, French statesman (d. 1881)
* 1835 - Samuel Butler, British writer (d. 1902)
* 1844 - Franz Xavier Wernz, German Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1914)
* 1849 - Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux chief (d. 1877)
* 1852 - Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist (d. 1934)
* 1861 - Lillian Russell, American singer and actress (d. 1922)
* 1866 (O.S.) - Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born painter (d. 1944)
* 1868 - Jesse Burkett, Baseball player (d. 1953)
* 1875 - Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet (d. 1926)
* 1875 - Joe Corbett, baseball player (d. 1945)
* 1881 - Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (d. 1944)
* 1892 - Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain (d. 1975)
* 1895 - Fung Yu-lan, Chinese philosopher (d. 1990)
* 1903 - Cornell Woolrich, American writer (d. 1968)
* 1908 - Alfred Hershey, American bacteriologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)
* 1910 - Alex North, American film music composer (d. 1991)
* 1912 - Pappy Boyington, American pilot (d. 1988)
* 1913 - Mark Robson, Canadian-born film director and producer (d. 1978)
* 1914 - Rudolf Hausner, Austrian artist (d. 1995)
* 1915 - Eddie Heywood, American jazz musician (d. 1989)
* 1916 - Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer (d. 1994)
* 1921 - Deanna Durbin, Canadian actress
* 1922 - Gérard Philipe, French actor (d. 1959)
* 1930 - Jim Hall, jazz guitarist
* 1930 - Ronnie Corbett, Scottish actor
* 1931 - Alex Delvecchio, Canadian hockey player
* 1931 - Wally George, American TV commentator (d. 2003)
* 1933 - Horst Buchholz, German-born actor (d. 2003)
* 1934 - Victor French, American actor (d. 1989)
* 1934 - Wink Martindale, American game show host
* 1937 - Max Baer, Jr., American actor
* 1938 - Yvonne Minton, Australian soprano
* 1939 - Freddy Cannon, American musician
* 1940 - John Cale, Welsh musician {The Velvet Underground)
* 1942 - Gemma Jones, British actress
* 1942 - Roh Tae-woo, President of South Korea
* 1944 - Dennis Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (d. 1983)
* 1944 - Anna McGarrigle, Canadian folk music singer and songwriter
* 1945 - Roberta Bondar, Canadian astronaut
* 1949 - Jeff Bridges, American actor
* 1949 - Pamela Stephenson, actress
* 1953 - Rick Middleton, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1954 - Tony Todd, American actor and producer
* 1955 - Dave Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1957 - Eric S. Raymond, American open source advocate
* 1958 - Steve Sailer, American political commentator
* 1959 - Christa Rothenburger, German speed skater and cyclist
* 1960 - Glynis Nunn, Australian athlete
* 1960 - David Green, baseball player
* 1961 - Frank Reich, American football player
* 1962 - Alexander Litvinenko, Russian ex-spy (d. 2006)
* 1963 - Sergei Bubka, Ukrainian pole vaulter
* 1964 - Marisa Tomei, American actress
* 1965 - Ã￾lex de la Iglesia, Spanish film director
* 1966 - Fred Armisen, American actor and musician
* 1966 - Chris Shepherd, British film director
* 1969 - Lucas Radebe, South-African footballer
* 1969 - Jay-Z (Shawn Carter), American rapper
* 1970 - Sylvester Terkay, American professional wrestler
* 1972 - Nikki Tyler, American actress
* 1972 - Jassen Cullimore, National Hockey League defenseman
* 1973 - Tyra Banks, American supermodel
* 1973 - Steven Menzies, Australian rugby league player
* 1974 - Tadahito Iguchi, Japanese baseball player
* 1976 - Kristina Groves, Canadian speed skater
* 1978 - Kyle Lohse, baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds)
* 1982 - Ho-Pin Tung, Dutch-Chinese racing driver
* 1984 - Lindsay Felton, American actress

[edit] Deaths

* 765 - Jafar Sadiq, Shia Imam (b. 702)
* 771 - Carloman, King of the Franks (b. 751)
* 1075 - Archbishop Anno II of Cologne
* 1123 - Omar Khayyám, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1048)
* 1214 - William I of Scotland
* 1270 - Theobald V of Champagne, King of Navarre
* 1334 - Pope John XXII (b. 1249)
* 1340 - Henry Burghersh, English bishop and chancellor (b. 1292)
* 1459 - Adolf VIII, Duke of Southern Jutland (b. 1401)
* 1576 - Rheticus, Austrian mathematician (b. 1514)
* 1585 - John Willock, Scottish reformer
* 1609 - Alexander Hume, Scottish poet
* 1642 - Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, French statesman (b. 1585)
* 1649 - William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (b. 1585)
* 1679 - Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (b. 1588)
* 1680 - Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (b. 1616)
* 1696 - Empress Meisho of Japan (b. 1624)
* 1732 - John Gay, British playwright (b. 1685)
* 1798 - Luigi Galvani, Italian physicist (b. 1737)
* 1828 - Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)
* 1845 - Gregor MacGregor, British con-man
* 1902 - Charles Dow, American journalist (Dow Jones & Company - Wall Street Journal) (b. 1851)
* 1926 - Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian-born painter (b. 1861)
* 1933 - Stefan George, German poet (b. 1868)
* 1935 - Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian composer (b. 1864)
* 1935 - Charles Robert Richet, French physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
* 1944 - Roger Bresnahan, Baseball player (b. 1879)
* 1945 - Thomas Hunt Morgan, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1866)
* 1956 - Alexandr Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer (b. 1891)
* 1967 - Bert Lahr, American actor (b. 1895)
* 1969 - Fred Hampton, American activist (b. 1948)
* 1975 - Hannah Arendt, German political theorist (b. 1906)
* 1976 - Tommy Bolin, American guitarist (b. 1951)
* 1976 - Benjamin Britten, British composer (b. 1913)
* 1976 - W. F. McCoy, Northern irish politician (b. 1886)
* 1980 - Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1934)
* 1980 - Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Polish-born athlete (b. 1911)

* 1993 - Frank Zappa, American musician and composer (b. 1940)

* 1995 - Lionel Giroux, Canadian midget wrestler (b. 1935)
* 1997 - Richard Vernon, British actor (b. 1925)
* 2005 - Gregg Hoffman, American film producer (b. 1963)
* 2005 - Gloria Lasso, French-Spanish singer (b. 1922)

[edit] Holidays and observances

* Roman festivals - secret ceremonies in honor of Bona Dea
* R.C. Saints - Saint John of Damascus: optional memorial; also Saint Barbara
* First day that rain is prayed for in the Diaspora in Judaism. It is notably the only Jewish day which is tied to the civil calendar.
* Also see December 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* Santería, Lukumí - Day of Shango
* International Hug Day. See Also: January 21st, National Hugging Day
* Navy Day in India

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The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

11th DEC, 1980

Easy Meat (solo and 2nd part)
Soup 'N Old Clothes (Illinois Enema Bandit solo)
Variations On The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression (City Of Tiny Lites solo)

all recorded at the Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California!

not a bad night's work..

they also played there the exact same date the next year.. strange!

_________________
''minimart - it's basically a scaled-down supermarket, fits inside a petrol station. sells pies, antifreeze..''

December 21

Events

* 69 - Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian becomes the fourth Emperor of Rome within a year.
* 1620 - Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
* 1861 - Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.
* 1872 - Challenger expedition: HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sails from Portsmouth.
* 1912 - The movie Das Mirakel premiered in Germany.
* 1913 - Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
* 1917 - Meiji Dairies, a Japanese dairy industry company, is founded.
* 1936 - First flight of the Junkers JU-88 bomber prototype.
* 1937 - The film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is premiered at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles.
* 1958 - French presidential election, 1958: Charles de Gaulle is elected President of France as his Union des Démocrates pour la République party gain 78.5% of the vote.
* 1962 - Rondane National Park is established as Norway's first national park.
* 1968 - Project Apollo: Apollo 8, crewed by Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
* 1973 - The Geneva Conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict opens.
* 1979 - Lancaster House Agreement: An independence agreement for Rhodesia is signed in London by Lord Carrington, Sir Ian Gilmour, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and Dr S C Mundawarara.
* 1987 - The passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector 1 in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing 1,565.
* 1988 - A bomb explodes on board Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, killing 270.
* 1992 - A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport (Portugal), killing 56 people.
* 1999 - The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives which ETA intend to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid.
* 2012 - The Long Count of the Maya calendar recycles according to the most popular correlation. A minority argues it does so on December 23, 2012.

[edit] Births

* 1118 - Thomas Becket, Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1170)
* 1401 - Tommaso Masaccio, Italian painter (d. 1428)
* 1596 - Petro Mohyla, Moldovan Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Kiev and Galicia (d. 1646)
* 1603 - Roger Williams, English theologian and colonist (d. 1684)
* 1714 - John Bradstreet, Canadian-born soldier (d. 1774)
* 1804 - Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1881)
* 1805 - Thomas Graham, British chemist (d. 1869)
* 1811 - Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1882)
* 1815 - Thomas Couture French painter and teacher (d. 1879)
* 1843 - Thomas Bracken, Irish-born New Zealander poet (d. 1898)
* 1850 - Zdeněk Fibich, Bohemian composer (d. 1900)
* 1859 - Gustave Kahn, French poet (d. 1936)
* 1872 - Don Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (d. 1956)
* 1872 - Albert Payson Terhune, American author (d. 1942)
* 1876 - Jack Lang (John Thomas Lang), Premier of New South Wales (d. 1975)
* 1878 - Jan Å￾ukasiewicz, Polish philosopher and mathematician (d. 1956)
* 1885 - Frank Patrick, National Hockey League player and head coach (d. 1960)
* 1889 - Sewall Wright, American biologist (d. 1988)
* 1890 - Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
* 1892 - Walter Hagen, American golfer (d. 1969)
* 1892 - Rebecca West, American writer (d. 1983)
* 1896 - Leroy Robertson, American composer (d. 1971)
* 1911 - Josh Gibson, African-American baseball player (d. 1947)
* 1914 - Ivan Generalić, Austro-Hungarian-born Croatian painter (d. 1992)
* 1917 - Heinrich Böll, German writer and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
* 1918 - Donald Regan, White House Chief of Staff and United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 2003)
* 1918 - Kurt Waldheim, Austrian United Nations Secretary-General and Federal President of Austria
* 1920 - Jean Gascon, Canadian actor, director and administrator (d. 1988)
* 1921 - Vampira (Maila Nurmi), Finnish-born actress
* 1921 - Alicia Alonso (Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martinez Hoya), Cuban ballerina
* 1922 - Paul Winchell, American ventriloquist (d. 2005)
* 1926 - Joe Paterno, American Football coach
* 1935 - John G. Avildsen, American film director and editor
* 1935 - Yusuf Bey (Joseph Stephens), American activist and businessman (d. 2003)
* 1935 - Phil Donahue, American talk show host
* 1935 - Edward Schreyer, Canadian politician, Premier of Manitoba
* 1937 - Jane Fonda, American actress and activist
* 1939 - Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian politician
* 1940 - Frank Zappa, American singer, guitarist and composer (d. 1993)
* 1940 - Ray Hildebrand, American singer (Paul & Paula)
* 1942 - Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China
* 1942 - Reinhard Mey, German singer
* 1942 - Carla Thomas, American singer
* 1943 - André Arthur. Quebec radio host and politician
* 1944 - Michael Tilson Thomas, American conductor
* 1944 - Bill Atkinson, English footballer
* 1946 - Carl Wilson, American singer and guitarist (The Beach Boys) (d. 1998)
* 1947 - Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist
* 1947 - Bryan Hamilton, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
* 1948 - Samuel L. Jackson, American actor
* 1948 - Willi Resetarits, Austrian musician and cabaret artist
* 1948 - Dave Kingman, Major League Baseball player
* 1950 - Jeffrey Katzenberg, American producer
* 1952 - Joaquín Andújar, Baseball player
* 1953 - Betty Wright, American singer
* 1954 - Chris Evert, American tennis player
* 1955 - Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
* 1955 - Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese musician
* 1956 - Lee Roy Parnell, American country singer
* 1957 - Tom Henke, American baseball player
* 1957 - Ray Romano, American comedian and actor
* 1959 - Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter, Olympic gold medalist and 100 m & 200 m world record holder (d. 1998)
* 1960 - Louis Demetrius Alvanis, London-based pianist
* 1960 - Andy Van Slyke, Major League Baseball player
* 1961 - Francis Ng, Hong Kong actor
* 1964 - Rob Kelly, English football manager
* 1965 - Andy Dick, American actor and comedian
* 1965 - Anke Engelke, German comedienne
* 1966 - Kiefer Sutherland, British-born Canadian actor
* 1966 - Karri Turner, American actress
* 1967 - Mikhail Saakashvili, Soviet-born President of Georgia
* 1969 - Julie Delpy, French actress
* 1969 - Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer
* 1971 - Mathieu Chedid, French musician, singer and songwriter
* 1971 - Brett Scallions, American singer (Fuel)
* 1972 - Latroy Hawkins, professional baseball player
* 1972 - Dustin Hermanson, baseball player
* 1973 - Karmen Stavec, German-born Slovenian singer
* 1973 - Mike Alstott, American football player
* 1974 - Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
* 1975 - Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballet dancer (American Ballet Theatre)
* 1977 - Jim Carson, American music producer and disc jockey
* 1978 - Mike Vitar, American actor.
* 1981 - Cristian Zaccardo, Italian Footballer
* 1982 - Mike Gansey, American basketball player
* 1984 - Darren Potter, Irish footballer
* 1985 - Yanagi Kotarou, Japanese actor

[edit] Deaths

* 1295 - Marguerite Berenger of Provence, wife of Louis IX of France (bc. 1221)
* 1308 - Henry I of Hesse (b. 1244)
* 1375 - Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian writer (b. 1313)
* 1504 - Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild, German archbishop and elector (b. 1442)
* 1549 - Marguerite of Navarre, wife of Henry II of Navarre (b. 1492)
* 1579 - Vicente Masip, Spanish painter
* 1597 - Petrus Canisius, Dutch Jesuit (b. 1521)
* 1807 - John Newton, English cleric and hymnist (b. 1725)
* 1824 - James Parkinson, English physician, geologist, paleontologist, and political activist (b. 1755)
* 1873 - Francis Garnier, French explorer (b. 1839)
* 1889 - Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist (b. 1809)
* 1935 - Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist and satirist (b. 1890)
* 1937 - Frank B. Kellogg, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1856)
* 1940 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, American writer (b. 1896)
* 1945 - George S. Patton, U.S. general (b. 1885)
* 1957 - Eric Coates, English composer (b. 1886)
* 1958 - Lion Feuchtwanger, German writer (b. 1884)
* 1959 - Rosanjin, Japanese calligrapher, restaurateur and ceramicist (b. 1883)
* 1964 - Carl Van Vechten, American writer and photographer (b. 1880)
* 1965 - Claude Champagne, Quebec composer (b. 1891)
* 1967 - Stuart Erwin, American actor (b. 1903)
* 1974 - James Henry Govier, British artist (b. 1910)
* 1974 - Richard Long, American actor (b. 1927)
* 1981 - Allan Dwan, Canadian-born American director and screenwriter (b. 1885)
* 1983 - Paul de Man, Belgian-born literary critic (b. 1919)
* 1988 - Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ornithologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1907)
* 1992 - Albert King, American musician (b. 1924)
* 1992 - Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1903)
* 2001 - Dick Schaap, American sports journalist (b. 1931)
* 2004 - Autar Singh Paintal, Indian medical scientist (b. 1925)

[edit] Holidays and observances

* Roman festivals - Divalia in honour of Angerona
* R.C. Saints - O Oriens, Saint Petrus Canisius; formerly feast day of Thomas the apostle
* Also see December 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* The December solstice, sometimes known as Yule, occurs on or very close to this date. In the Northern Hemisphere, it marks the first official day of Winter. It is also an important festival in the Chinese calendar.

_________________
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

1961: John F Kennedy sworn in as US president
The Democrat John F Kennedy has been sworn in as the youngest ever elected president of the United States.

The 43-year-old Roman Catholic was inaugurated as the 35th president on a snow-covered Capitol Hill in Washington. He takes over from the oldest president in American history, General Dwight Eisenhower, who is bowing out aged 70.

The president's Republican rival, Richard Nixon, who came a close second in the race for the White House, also attended the inauguration ceremony.

Millions watched the swearing-in of the new president on television. He chose to wear formal dress, including a top hat, for the occasion. (...)

_________________________________________________________________



2002: Camp X-Ray pictures spark outrage
The publication of photographs of prisoners being held at a US military camp in Cuba has led to concern that their human rights are being abused.



The Pentagon has released the pictures showing the detainees kneeling and subjected to sensory deprivation on their arrival at Camp X-Ray, which is housed in a military base at Guantanamo Bay.

They are seen handcuffed, wearing goggles, ear muffs, surgical masks and heavy gloves.

A new group of 34 prisoners have arrived at Camp X-Ray, taking the total number being held there to 144.

US forces captured the men during military operations in Afghanistan on suspicion of links to the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

'Terrible nightmares'

Human rights activists have objected to the prisoners being shackled and kept in temporary eight-by-eight feet cells made of wire mesh and corrugated metal roofs, leaving them subject to adverse weather.

Amnesty International, the human rights group, says conditions there fall below US standards for ordinary prisoners and the men are being degraded.

The director of the British-based Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, Helen Bamber, said: "They will probably have panic attacks, mood changes and terrible nightmares."

But Washington says the pictures show the men arriving at the camp and were not representative of daily life there.

It says they have been treated humanely and been given adequate provisions.

The US military has stressed the prisoners are extremely dangerous and said it will press ahead with plans to expand Camp X-Ray so it can hold 320 prisoners.

Hundreds of detainees remain in custody in Afghanistan awaiting transfer to the camp.

A permanent prison which will hold up to 1,000 detainees is currently under construction at Guantanamo Bay.

Last week, a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross started evaluating conditions at the US military camp and interviewing detainees.

Officials will report on whether the captives are being treated humanely in accordance with the Geneva Conventions on prisoners of war.

But the US insists the men are not PoWs but illegal combatants, which means they can be interrogated without legal representation.

Under the Geneva Conventions, prisoners would be tried for war crimes through courts martial or civilian courts, not by secretive military tribunals which could impose the death penalty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/20/newsid_4118000/4118239.stm

_________________
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

1964: Beatlemania arrives in the US

The four members of the British hit band, the Beatles, have arrived in New York at the start of their first tour of the United States.

The young men, with their now infamous mop-head hairstyles, stepped onto the tarmac at Kennedy Airport just after 1300 local time.

There were more than 3,000 screaming teenagers at the airport. Many had skipped school or work. Some were in tears and some were carrying placards with phrases such as "I love you, please stay".

The Beatles' first scheduled appearance will be on American television on Sunday on the Ed Sullivan show. He apparently booked them to appear after seeing the huge crowds who greeted their return to Heathrow from Sweden last October.



Security barriers

More than 5,000 fans applied for tickets to be part of the audience for the live show - only 750 were lucky enough to get them.

The Beatles - Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison - received maximum police protection, the kind of arrangement usually produced for kings and presidents.

There were security barriers too, without which, the Beatles would almost certainly have been crushed by the throng of screaming women.

Elsewhere in the United States, excitement over the Beatles' arrival has reached almost fever-pitch.

Their songs are playing constantly on radio stations, in shops and other places of work.

Millions of Beatle records have already been sold and a company called Puritan Fashions Incorporated, which describes itself as "the only exclusive official licensed manufacturer of Beatle wearing apparel" is marketing T-shirts, sweat shirts, turtle-neck sweaters, tight-legged trousers, night shirts, scarves and jewellery inspired by the Beatles.

Beatle wigs are also for sale at $2.99 each - or the equivalent of one guinea.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/7/newsid_4185000/4185201.stm

_________________
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

February 16

Events

* 1249 - Andrew of Longjumeau was dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khan of the Mongols.
* 1279 - Afonso III of Portugal dies. His son Denis succeeds the Portuguese throne.
* 1568 - The entire population of the Netherlands - three million people - was sentenced to death by the Roman Catholic Church for heresy; see Eighty Years' War.
* 1742 - Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister.
* 1804 - First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USS Philadelphia.
* 1838 - Weenen Massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal were killed by Zulus.
* 1852 - Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.
* 1857 - The National Deaf Mute College (later renamed Gallaudet University) is established in Washington, DC, becoming the first school for the advanced education of the deaf.
* 1859 - The French Government passes a law to set the A-note above middle C to a frequency of 435 Hz, in an attempt to standardize the pitch.
* 1862 - American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
* 1866 - Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes the British Secretary of State for War
* 1868 - In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE).
* 1883 - Ladies' Home Journal is published for the first time.
* 1899 - President Félix Faure of France dies in office.
* 1918 - The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.[ABC?]
* 1923 - Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
* 1934 - Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republican Schutzbund
* 1934 - Commission of Government sworn in as form of direct rule for the Dominion of Newfoundland.
* 1936 - Elections bring the Popular Front to power in Spain.
* 1937 - Wallace H. Carothers receives a patent for nylon.
* 1940 - World War II: Altmark Incident: The German tanker Altmark, with 299 British prisoners, is boarded in neutral Norwegian waters by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack and the prisoners set free, a breach of Norwegian neutrality at the beginning of World War II.
* 1943 - World War II: USSR reconquers Kharkov.
* 1945 - World War II: American forces land on Corregidor island in the Philippines.
* 1945 - World War II: First American Aircraft carrier strikes on Tokyo.
* 1945 - American forces recapture the Bataan Peninsula.
* 1957 - The "Toddlers' Truce", a controversial television closedown between 6.00pm and 7.00pm was abolished in the United Kingdom
* 1959 - Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after President Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
* 1961 - Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) launched.
* 1968 - In Haleyville, Alabama the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.
* 1972 - NBA basketball player Wilt Chamberlain scores 30,000th point.
* 1978 - The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois).
* 1983 - The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia claim the lives of 71 people in Australia's worst ever fires.
* 1985 - The founding of Hezbollah.
* 1986 - The Soviet liner Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.
* 1987 - The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being a Nazi guard dubbed "Ivan the Terrible" in Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem.
* 1991 - Gulf War: U.S. and UK war planes bomb the suburbs of Baghdad, injuring at least 11 civilians and killing three others.
* 1998 - China Airlines Flight 676 crashed into a residential area near by Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, killing 202 people, included all 196 on board and six on the ground.
* 1999 - In Uzbekistan a bomb explodes and gunfire is heard at the government headquarters in an apparent assassination attempt against President Islam Karimov.
* 1999 - Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrested one of their rebel leaders, Abdullah Öcalan.
* 2005 - The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.
* 2005 - The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004-2005 regular season and playoffs, becoming the first major sports league in North America to do so over a labour dispute.
* 2006 - The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.

Births

* 1032 - Emperor Yingzong of China (d. 1067)
* 1222 - Nichiren, Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism (d. 1282)
* 1497 - Philipp Melanchthon, German humanist and reformer (d. 1560)
* 1519 - Gaspard de Coligny, French Huguenot leader (d. 1572)
* 1543 - Kano Eitoku, Japanese painter (d. 1590)
* 1620 - Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg, Duke of Prussia (d. 1688)
* 1643 - John Sharp, English Archbishop of York (d. 1714)
* 1698 - Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician (d. 1758)
* 1710 - King Louis XV of France (d. 1774)
* 1727 - Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian scientist (d. 1817)
* 1761 - Charles Pichegru, French general (d. 1804)
* 1802 - Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, American philosopher (d. 1866)
* 1804 - Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist (d. 1885)
* 1812 - Henry Wilson, 18th Vice President of US (d. 1875)
* 1821 - Heinrich Barth, German explorer (d. 1865)
* 1822 - Sir Francis Galton, English explorer and biologist (d. 1911)
* 1824 - Peter Kozler, Slovenian cartographer and geographer (d. 1879)
* 1826 - Julia Grant, First Lady of the United States (d. 1902)
* 1826 - Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German poet (d. 1886)
* 1831 - Nikolai Leskov, Russian writer (d. 1895)
* 1834 - Ernst Haeckel, German zoologist and philosopher (d. 1919) [coined the term ECOLOGY]
* 1838 - Henry Adams, American historian and novelist (d. 1918)
* 1847 - Philipp Scharwenka, Polish-German composer (d. 1917)
* 1848 - Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist (d. 1935) [rediscovered Mendel principles of Heredity - The Green Genes...]
* 1856 - Rudolph Karstadt, German entrepreneur (d. 1944)
* 1856 - Willem Kes, Dutch conductor (d. 1934)
* 1866 - Vyacheslav Ivanov, a Russian poet (d. 1949)
* 1876 - George Macaulay Trevelyan, English historian (d. 1962)
* 1884 - Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (d. 1951)
* 1886 - Van Wyck Brooks, American historian and critic (d. 1963)
* 1887 - Kathleen Clifford, American actress (d. 1962)
* 1898 - Katharine Cornell, American actress (d. 1974)
* 1901 - Vincent Coleman, American actor (d. 1971)
* 1901 - Chester Morris, American film actor (d. 1970)
* 1903 - Edgar Bergen, American ventriloquist (d. 1978)
* 1903 - George-Henri Lévesque, Quebec priest and sociologist (d. 2000)
* 1904 - George F. Kennan, American historian, diplomat and political policy-maker (d. 2005)
* 1909 - Hugh Beaumont, American actor (d. 1982)
* 1909 - Jeffrey Lynn, American actor (d. 1995)
* 1909 - Richard McDonald, American fast food pioneer (d. 1998)
* 1915 - Jim O'Hora, American college football coach (d. 2005)
* 1915 - Michael Relph, British film producer and director (d. 2004)
* 1916 - Bill Doggett, American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist (d. 1996)
* 1918 - Patty Andrews, American singer
* 1921 - Jean Behra, French Formula One driver (d. 1959)
* 1921 - Araucaria, British crossword compiler
* 1921 - Vera-Ellen, American actress (d. 1981)
* 1925 - Carlos Paredes, Portuguese guitar master (d. 2004)
* 1926 - John Schlesinger, English film director (d. 2003)
* 1927 - June Brown, British actress
* 1927 - Tom Kennedy, American game show host
* 1929 - Gerhard Hanappi, Austrian footballer (d. 1980)
* 1931 - Ken Takakura, Japanese actor
* 1932 - Gretchen Wyler, American actress and dancer
* 1932 - Otis Blackwell, American songwriter and singer (d. 2002)
* 1932 - Harry Goz, American actor (d. 2003)
* 1932 - Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, President of Sierra Leone
* 1934 - Herbie & Harold Kalin, American singers (d. 2005-Harold / 2006-Herbie)
* 1934 - Marlene Hagge, American professional golfer
* 1935 - Sonny Bono, American entertainer (d. 1998)
* 1936 - Jill Kinmont, American skier
* 1937 - Yuri Manin, Russian mathematician
* 1938 - John Corigliano, American composer
* 1938 - Barry Primus, American actor
* 1941 - Kim Jong-il, North Korean leader
* 1943 - Brig Owens, American football player
* 1944 - Richard Ford, American novelist
* 1945 - Jeremy Bulloch, English actor
* 1945 - Frank Welker, American voice actor
* 1950 - Peter Hain, British politician
* 1950 - Kazuki Tomokawa, Japanese acid-folk singer
* 1951 - William Katt, American actor
* 1952 - Barry Foote, Major League Baseball player
* 1953 - George Martin, American footballer
* 1953 - Lanny McDonald, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1953 - Roberta Williams, computer game designer
* 1954 - Michael Holding, West Indian fast bowler cricket
* 1954 - Iain Banks, Scottish author
* 1954 - Margaux Hemingway, American actress and model (d. 1996)
* 1955 - Hunt Block, American actor
* 1956 - James Ingram, American singer
* 1957 - LeVar Burton, American actor
* 1958 - Ice-T, American rapper, songwriter, and actor
* 1958 - Lisa Loring, American actress
* 1958 - Oscar Schmidt, Brazilian basketball player
* 1959 - John McEnroe, American tennis player
* 1959 - Kelly Tripucka, American basketball player
* 1960 - Pete Willis, English guitarist (Def Leppard)
* 1961 - Andy Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran)
* 1963 - Dave Lombardo, Cuban drummer (Slayer)
* 1964 - Bebeto, Brazilian footballer
* 1964 - Christopher Eccleston, English actor
* 1967 - John Valentin, baseball player
* 1967 - Keith Gretzky, former hockey player; brother of Wayne Gretzky
* 1968 - Warren Ellis, British comic book writer
* 1969 - David Heath, American professional wrestler better known as Gangrel
* 1970 - D.J. Wallis, American fitness competitor
* 1972 - Jerome Bettis, American football player
* 1973 - Cathy Freeman, Australian athlete
* 1974 - Satyajit Salian, Still too early to assess impact on history
* 1975 - Nanase Aikawa, Japanese singer
* 1976 - Eric Byrnes, American baseball player
* 1976 - Kyo, Japanese singer (Dir en grey)
* 1977 - Ian Clarke, Irish computer programmer
* 1977 - Ahman Green, American football player
* 1978 - John Tartaglia, Broadway actor and Muppeteer
* 1979 - Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer
* 1980 - Ashley Lelie, American football player
* 1981 - Qyntel Woods, American basketball player
* 1982 - Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, American rapper
* 1983 - Tuomo Ruutu, Finnish hockey player


Deaths

* 1247 - Heinrich Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (b. 1204)
* 1279 - King Afonso III of Portugal (b. 1210)
* 1391 - John V Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1332)
* 1531 - Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1452)
* 1560 - Jean du Bellay, French Catholic cardinal and diplomat
* 1710 - Esprit Fléchier, French writer and Bishop of Nîmes (b. 1632)
* 1721 - James Craggs the Younger, English politician (b. 1686)
* 1754 - Richard Mead, English physician (b. 1673)
* 1844 - Joseph Crosfield, English soap and alkali manufacturer (b. 1792)
* 1866 - Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, 19th Century Philosopher (b. 1802)
* 1898 - Thomas Bracken, New Zealand poet (b. 1843)
* 1899 - Félix Faure, President of France (b. 1841)
* 1907 - Giosuè Carducci, Italian writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1835)
* 1912 - St. Nikolai of Japan, Eastern Orthodox priest (b. 1836)
* 1917 - Octave Mirbeau, French writer (b. 1848)
* 1919 - Vera Kholodnaya, Russian film star (b. 1893)
* 1928 - Eddie Foy, American singer and dancer (b. 1856)
* 1932 - Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1841)
* 1967 - Antonio Moreno, Spanish-born actor (b. 1887)
* 1967 - Smiley Burnette, American actor, singer and songwriter (b. 1911)
* 1974 - John Garand, Canadian rifle engineer and manufacturer (b. 1888)
* 1975 - Morgan Taylor, American athlete (b. 1903)
* 1977 - Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (b. 1897)
* 1978 - E. Roland Harriman, American financier (b. 1895)
* 1980 - Erich Hückel, German physicist (b. 1895)
* 1988 - Jean Carignan, French Canadian fiddler (b. 1916)
* 1990 - Keith Haring, American artist (b. 1958)
* 1992 - Angela Carter, English writer (b. 1940)
* 1992 - Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician (b. 1917)
* 1992 - Herman Wold, Swedish statistician (b. 1908
* 1996 - Roger Bowen, American actor (b. 1932)
* 1996 - Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California (b. 1905)
* 1996 - Brownie McGhee, American singer (b. 1915)
* 1997 - Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American Physicist (b. 1912)
* 1999 - Michael Larson, Press Your Luck Big-winning contestant
* 2000 - Marceline Day, American actress (b. 1908)
* 2000 - Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-born engineer and inventor (b. 1911)
* 2000 - Lila Kedrova, Russian-born actress (b. 1918)
* 2001 - Bob Buhl, baseball player (b. 1928)
* 2001 - William Masters, American gynecologist and sexologist (b. 1915)
* 2002 - Walter Winterbottom, England football manager (b. 1913)
* 2003 - Eleanor "Sis" Daley, wife of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley (b. 1907)
* 2004 - Shirley Strickland, Australian athlete (b. 1925)
* 2004 - Doris Troy, American singer (b. 1937)
* 2005 - Nicole DeHuff, American actress (pneumonia) (b. 1975)
* 2006 - Johnny Grunge, American professional wrestler (b. 1966)
* 2006 - Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

* Lithuania - Independence Day (1918)
* Kyoto Protocol Day (2005)
Liturgical feasts

* Saint Elias and companions
* Remembrance of Lambertus
* Saint Juliana
* Saint Lucilla
* Saint Gilbert of Sempringham
* Saint Aganus
* Saint Honestus
* Saint Julian of Egypt
* Saint Onesimus
* February 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* Anna Dynkns Birthday

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_16

_________________
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true Art and Science. - Albert Einstein

Happy Birthday Bobo Fett, where ever you are.