Το ναυάγιο του «Χειμάρρα»

Tο ατμόπλοιο «Χειμάρρα»

Η βύθιση του ατμόπλοιου «Χειμάρρα» στις 19 Ιανουαρίου 1947 στον Νότιο Ευβοϊκό είναι το πιο πολύνεκρο ναυτικό δυστύχημα στη χώρα μας. Έμεινε στην ιστορία ως «Ο Τιτανικός της Ελληνικής Ακτοπλοΐας».

Το επιβατηγό ατμόπλοιο «Χειμάρρα», που ανήκε προηγουμένως στη Γερμανία με την ονομασία «Χέρτα», δόθηκε στη χώρα μας ως πολεμική επανόρθωση και το εκμεταλλευόταν το Δημόσιο. Απέπλευσε στις 8:30 το πρωί της 18ης Ιανουαρίου 1947, από τη Θεσσαλονίκη για τον Πειραιά, με 544 επιβάτες και 86 άνδρες πλήρωμα. Βρισκόμαστε στο μέσον του Εμφυλίου Πολέμου και το οδικό δίκτυο της χώρας ήταν σε κακή κατάσταση, αν όχι ανύπαρκτο. Έτσι, μια εναλλακτική διαδρομή από Θεσσαλονίκη προς Αθήνα ήταν μέσω θαλάσσης.

Στις 4:10 τα ξημερώματα της 19ης Ιανουαρίου το «Χειμάρρα» ενώ έπλεε στον Νότιο Ευβοϊκό προσέκρουσε λόγω της πυκνής ομίχλης στις βραχονησίδες «Βερδούγια», μεταξύ Νέων Στύρων και Αγίας Μαρίνας. Είναι η επικρατέστερη εκδοχή του ναυαγίου, γιατί υποστηρίζονται και άλλες απόψεις, όπως ότι προσέκρουσε σε μαγνητική θαλάσσια νάρκη ή ότι έγινε σαμποτάζ.

Ναυαγοί του «Χειμάρρα»

Η σφοδρή πρόσκρουση προκάλεσε εισροή υδάτων και σοβαρό πρόβλημα στο πηδάλιο του πλοίου, με αποτέλεσμα να παραμείνει ακυβέρνητο. Το πλήρωμα του «Χειμάρρα» δεν φρόντισε να διατηρήσει την τάξη κατά την εγκατάλειψη του σκάφους, που έγινε τελείως ανεξέλεγκτα.

Αν και το επιβατηγό βυθίστηκε μιάμιση ώρα αργότερα και σε απόσταση μόλις ενός μιλίου από την Αγία Μαρίνα, ο πανικός που επικράτησε κατά την εγκατάλειψη του πλοίου, το φοβερό ψύχος και τα ισχυρά θαλάσσια ρεύματα της περιοχής, είχαν ως αποτέλεσμα να χάσουν τη ζωή τους τουλάχιστον 383 άνθρωποι. Ανάμεσά τους πολλά γυναικόπαιδα, πολιτικοί κρατούμενοι και χωροφύλακες συνοδοί.

Στη δίκη που ακολούθησε, ο δεύτερος πλοίαρχος Μπέρτολς, που ήταν βάρδια την ώρα του ναυαγίου, καταδικάστηκε σε φυλάκιση 20 μηνών και ο πλοίαρχος Μπελέσης σε φυλάκιση 15 μηνών με αναστολή. Για την απώλεια του πλοίου το Ελληνικό Δημόσιο εισέπραξε από την ασφάλεια 70.000 λίρες Αγγλίας.

Χρόνια αργότερα, ο δύτης Κώστας Θωκταρίδης και η ομάδα του πραγματοποίησαν έρευνες στο σημείο του ναυαγίου και ανέσυραν πολύτιμα αντικείμενα. Εκτέθηκαν μαζί με κειμήλια από το ναυάγιο του Τιτανικού στις αρχές του 2006 στο Ζάππειο.

η Ελεν ΝτεΤζενέρις στα Βραβεία Κοινού -Ολοι οι νικητές 

Οι ταινίες «Ψάχνοντας τη Ντόρι» και «Deadpool», όπως 

και η σταρ της μικρής οθόνης στις ΗΠΑ 'Ελεν ΝτεΤζενέρις

 ήταν οι μεγάλοι νικητές των Βραβείων People's Choice. 

Η 43η τελετή απονομής που πραγματοποιήθηκε Τετάρτη βράδυ στο Microsoft 

Theater.

Οι τιμητικές αυτές διακρίσεις δίνονται στους καλύτερους εκπροσώπους του 

κινηματογράφου, της τηλεόρασης και της μουσικής έπειτα από

 ψηφοφορία του κοινού μέσω Διαδικτύου σε αντίθεση με τα 'Οσκαρ, 

τις Χρυσές Σφαίρες, τα Emmy και άλλα που δίδονται από επαγγελματίες.

Καλύτερη ταινία και καλύτερη οικογενειακή ταινία αναδείχθηκε το 

«Ψάχνοντας τη Ντόρι», το φιλμ των κινηματογραφικών στούντιο Pixar που

 έγινε το 2016 η μεγαλύτερη επιτυχία στην ιστορία των κινηματογραφικών

 ταινιών κινουμένων σχεδίων στις ΗΠΑ.
Το «Deadpool» απέσπασε τα βραβεία του καλύτερου φιλμ δράσης και καλύτερου

 κινηματογραφικού ηθοποιού για την ερμηνεία του Ράιαν Ρέινολντς.

Στις ηθοποιούς, η Τζένιφερ Λόρενς απέσπασε το βραβείο καλύτερης 

κινηματογραφικής ηθοποιού, για δεύτερη φορά από το 2015.

Στους ηθοποιούς ταινιών δράσης, διακρίθηκαν ο Ρόμπερτ Ντάουνι 

Τζούνιορ (ήδη βραβευμένος το 2015) και η Μάργκοτ Ρόμπι. Το βραβείο

καλύτερης ταινίας αγωνίας δόθηκε στην ταινία "Το κορίτσι του τραίνου".

Όσο για τον Τζόνι Ντεπ, ανακηρύχθηκε «κινηματογραφικό ίνδαλμα» 

της χρονιάς.

Στις κατηγορίες της υποκριτικής, βραβεύτηκαν επίσης η Τζένιφερ Λόπεζ,

Στη μουσική, η Μπρίτνεϊ Σπίαρς βραβεύτηκε σε τρεις κατηγορίες: καλύτερη

 γυναίκα καλλιτέχνης, ποπ καλλιτέχνης, αγαπημένη καλλιτέχνης στα μέσα 

κοινωνικής δικτύυωσης.
Σε αυτά προστίθεται μια ακόμη διάκριση που μοιράστηκε με την 'Ελεν 

ΝτεΤζενέρις για την καλύτερη τηλεοπτική συνεργασία.

Επίσης, ο Τζάστιν Τίμπερλεϊκ ψηφίστηκε ως ο καλύτερος άνδρας καλλιτέχνης

 και ο τραγουδιστής με το πιο αγαπημένο τραγούδι για το "Can't Stop the Feeling".

Η ηθοποιός και παρουσιάστρια εκπομπών λόγου 'Ελεν ΝτεΤζενέρις έγινε

 η καλλιτέχνης που έχει τιμηθεί με τα περισσότερα Βραβεία People's 

Choice, στα 47 χρόνια ύπαρξης του θεσμού αυτού, φεύγοντας χθες με τρία

 βραβεία και έχοντας λάβει συνολικά 20 βραβεία από την αρχή της 20χρονης

 καριέρας της.

Στην τηλεόραση, το "Outlander"ψηφίστηκε ως η καλύτερη σειρά και το 

"The Big Bang Theory"ως η καλύτερη κωμωδία για πέμπτη συνεχή χρονιά. 

Το "Bates Motel"από την πλευρά του αναδείχθηκε η καλύτερη δραματική σειρά 

σε καλωδιακό δίκτυο.
Το αμερικανικό μουσικό γυναικείο συγκρότημα Fifth Harmony ανακηρύχθηκε 

το πιο αγαπημένο συγκρότημα για δεύτερη συνεχή φορά.

Τα 'Οσκαρ, τα πολυτιμότερα κινηματογραφικά βραβεία στις ΗΠΑ, θα

 δοθούν στις 26 Φεβρουαρίου μετά τα σημαντικά μουσικά βραβεία

 "Grammys"στις 12 Φεβρουαρίου.

• Το διάσημο “Borusan Quartet” (συνεργασία με το Τουρκικό Προξενείο)

• Το νεοσύστατο κουιντέτο της Δόμνας Ευνουχίδου με τον Ανδρέα Παπανικολάου, τον Δημήτρη Χανδράκη, τη Χαρά Σειρά και τον Δημήτρη Τραυλό
• Το γνωστό “Lyskamm Quartet” (συνεργασία με Ιταλικό Μορφωτικό Ινστιτούτο)
• Ο τενόρος Γιάννης Χριστόπουλος, η σοπράνο Βασιλική Καραγιάννη, και η πιανίστα Σοφία Ταμβακοπούλου με τίτλο συναυλίας  «Les Chemins de l’Amour»
• Το ντουέτο του καταξιωμένου βιολοντσελίστα Δημήτρη Πάτρα και της Μαριλένας Λιακοπούλου (πιάνο).

• Το Φεστιβάλ για πρώτη φορά μεγαλώνει σε διάρκεια κατά δύο ημέρες, φιλοξενώντας συνολικά 21παιδικές και νεανικές χορωδίες από όλη την Ελλάδα.
• Για πρώτη φορά, στην πανηγυρική καταληκτική συναυλία του Φεστιβάλ μαζί με τις χορωδίες που συμμετέχουν από κοινού θα συμπράξει η Συμφωνική Ορχήστρα του Δήμου και η Συμφωνική Ορχήστρα Νέων, MOYSA.
• Παρόλο που σε κάθε Φεστιβάλ μέχρι σήμερα προσκαλούσαμε έναν μέντορα διεθνούς κύρους για τον συντονισμό των εργαστηρίων και την διεύθυνση της καταληκτικής συναυλίας, για πρώτη φορά θα έχουμε την τιμή να συνεργαστούμε καιμε μία προσωπικότητα  παγκόσμιας αναγνωσιμότητας και ακτινοβολίας – την διεθνούς φήμης σοπράνο, Barbara Hendricks.Την μουσική προετοιμασία και την διεύθυνση της τελικής συναυλίας έχει αναλάβει η Marie Bejstam.

• Εορταστική συναυλία της Μικτής Χορωδίας Θεσσαλονίκης «Μαίρης Κωνσταντινίδου»με τίτλο Πρώην και νυν Χορωδοί με τις Χορωδίες τους
• Εαρινή Συναυλία της Παιδικής-Νεανικής Χορωδίας του Συλλόγου Φίλων Μουσικής Θεσσαλονίκης
• Εορταστική Συναυλία για τα 25 χρόνια από την ίδρυση της Χορωδίας Ι. Ν. Αγ. Κυρίλλου και Μεθοδίου Θεσσαλονίκης

[edit]

• 250 – Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred.
• 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
• 1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament".
• 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
• 1356 – Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
• 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
• 1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
• 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
• 1649 – Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes".
• 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.
• 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
• 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Botany Bay is unsuitable for the location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson.
• 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
• 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
• 1877 – The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
• 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
• 1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is founded.
• 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
• 1929 – In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, is released.
• 1936 – Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
• 1937 – Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President, the first occasion a Presidential Inauguration to take place on 20 January following the ratification of the 20th Amendment
• 1941 – A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
• 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish question".
• 1945 – World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
• 1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
• 1948 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 39 relating to India and Pakistan is adopted.
• 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
• 1954 – In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
• 1972 – Pakistan launched its Nuclear weapons program few weeks after its defeat in Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
• 1981 – Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
• 1986 – In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
• 1990 – The Red Army crackdown on civil protests in Baku, Azerbaijan during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• 1991 – Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
• 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
• 2001 – President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
• 2007 – Four-man Team N2i, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1965 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.
• 2009 – A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.

Births[edit]

• 225 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (d. 244)
• 1029 – Alp Arslan, Seljuk sultan (d. 1072)
• 1292 – Elizabeth of Bohemia (d. 1330)
• 1436 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (d. 1490)
• 1502 – Sebastian de Aparicio, Spanish-Mexican rancher and missionary (d. 1600)
• 1554 – Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
• 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1624)
• 1586 – Johann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
• 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (d. 1718)
• 1703 – Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Flemish violinist and composer (d. 1741)
• 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and numismatist (d. 1795)
• 1716 – Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
• 1732 – Richard Henry Lee, American lawyer and politician, President of the Continental Congress (d. 1794)
• 1741 – Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Swedish botanist and author (d. 1783)
• 1755 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1824)
• 1762 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny, Belgian-French composer and theorist (d. 1842)
• 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1836)
• 1781 – Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg, Austrian-German historian and politician (d. 1848)
• 1783 – Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
• 1798 – Anson Jones, American physician and politician, 5th President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1858)
• 1804 – Eugène Sue, French author and politician (d. 1857)
• 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
• 1834 – George D. Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
• 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
• 1867 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
• 1870 – Guillaume Lekeu, Belgian pianist and composer (d. 1894)
• 1873 – Johannes V. Jensen, Danish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
• 1874 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and coach (d. 1938)
• 1876 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1967)
• 1878 – Finlay Currie, Scottish-English actor (d. 1968)
• 1878 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and educator (d. 1968)
• 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
• 1882 – Johnny Torrio, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1957)
• 1883 – Enoch L. Johnson, American mob boss (d. 1968)
• 1883 – Forrest Wilson, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
• 1889 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer and businessman, founded the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company (d. 1969)
• 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (d. 1967)
• 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1946)
• 1894 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (d. 1968)
• 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer, theorist, and academic (d. 1976)
• 1895 – Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1985)
• 1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1996)
• 1898 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (d. 1947)
• 1899 – Clarice Cliff, English potter (d. 1972)
• 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (d. 1990)
• 1900 – Colin Clive, English actor (d. 1937)
• 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1902 – Kevin Barry, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 1920)
• 1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
• 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress and producer (d. 2000)
• 1908 – Fleur Cowles, American author and illustrator (d. 2009)
• 1909 – Gōgen Yamaguchi, Japanese martial artist (d. 1989)
• 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austria-born Kenyan painter and author (d. 1980)
• 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Pakistani businessman and politician, 7th President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
• 1918 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2002)
• 1918 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (d. 2006)
• 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1993)
• 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpet player, composer, bandleader, and actor
• 1922 – Don Mankiewicz, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Slim Whitman, American country and western singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist and composer (d. 2010)
• 1925 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2015)
• 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest, poet, and politician
• 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
• 1927 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian-Pakistani journalist, author, and academic (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (d. 1997)
• 1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor and comedian
• 1929 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
• 1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
• 1931 – David Lee, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1931 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 1992)
• 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
• 1934 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (d. 2014)
• 1937 – Dorothy Provine, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2010)
• 1938 – Derek Dougan, Irish-English footballer and journalist (d. 2007)
• 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American captain and politician (d. 2000)
• 1939 – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist
• 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater and actress
• 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
• 1940 – Mandé Sidibé, Malian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2009)
• 1942 – Linda Moulton Howe, American journalist and producer
• 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish director and producer
• 1944 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
• 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
• 1945 – Eric Stewart, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1946 – David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1946 – Vladimír Merta, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist
• 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and sportscaster
• 1948 – Nancy Kress, American author and academic
• 1948 – Mahamane Ousmane, Nigerian politician, President of Niger
• 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
• 1948 – Nigel Williams, English author, playwright, and screenwriter
• 1949 – Göran Persson, Swedish lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Sweden
• 1950 – Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
• 1950 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2014)
• 1951 – Iván Fischer, Hungarian conductor and composer
• 1952 – Nikos Sideris, Greek psychiatrist and poet
• 1952 – Paul Stanley, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1952 – John Witherow, South African-English journalist and author
• 1953 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and philanthropist
• 1954 – Alison Seabeck, English lawyer and politician
• 1955 – McKeeva Bush, Caymanian politician, Premier of the Cayman Islands
• 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs
• 1956 – Bill Maher, American comedian, actor, and television host
• 1957 – Andy Sheppard, English saxophonist and composer
• 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor, director, and producer
• 1959 – Tami Hoag, American author
• 1959 – R. A. Salvatore, American author
• 1960 – Apa Sherpa, Nepalese-American mountaineer
• 1960 – Scott Thunes, American bass player
• 1960 – Will Wright, American video game designer, co-founded Maxis
• 1963 – James Denton, American actor
• 1963 – Mark Ryden, American painter and illustrator
• 1964 – Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
• 1964 – Ron Harper, American basketball player and coach
• 1964 – Jack Lewis, American soldier and author
• 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese screenwriter and songwriter
• 1964 – Aquilino Pimentel III, Filipino lawyer and politician
• 1964 – Fareed Zakaria, Indian-American journalist and author
• 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1965 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex
• 1965 – Warren Joyce, English footballer and manager
• 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1965 – Heather Small, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
• 1966 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
• 1967 – Stacey Dash, American actress and journalist
• 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1968 – Junior Murray, Grenadian cricketer
• 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker and activist, co-founded MindVox
• 1969 – Blair Larsen, New Zealand rugby player
• 1969 – Nicky Wire, Welsh singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1970 – Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
• 1971 – Questlove, American drummer, DJ, and producer
• 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
• 1971 – Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
• 1971 – Jung Woong-in, South Korean actor
• 1971 – Ger McDonnell, Irish mountaineer and engineer (d. 2008)
• 1972 – Nikki Haley, American accountant and politician, 116th Governor of South Carolina
• 1973 – Stephen Crabb, Scottish-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
• 1973 – Queen Mathilde of Belgium
• 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer and coach
• 1975 – David Eckstein, American baseball player
• 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentinian race car driver
• 1975 – Zac Goldsmith, English journalist and politician
• 1976 – Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish journalist and sportscaster
• 1976 – Michael Myers, American football player
• 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
• 1977 – Paul Adams, South African cricketer and coach
• 1978 – Salvatore Aronica, Italian footballer
• 1978 – Joy Giovanni, American wrestler and actress
• 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
• 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
• 1978 – Sid Wilson, American DJ and pianist
• 1978 – Luciano Zauri, Italian footballer
• 1978 – Kim In-kwon, South Korean actor
• 1979 – Choo Ja-hyun, South Korean actress
• 1980 – Karl Anderson, American wrestler
• 1980 – Philippe Cousteau, Jr., American-French oceanographer and journalist
• 1980 – Philippe Gagnon, Canadian swimmer
• 1980 – Kim Jeong-hoon, South Korean singer and actor
• 1980 – Petra Rampre, Slovenian tennis player
• 1980 – Matthew Tuck, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1981 – Brendan Fevola, Australian footballer
• 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
• 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
• 1981 – Jason Richardson, American basketball player
• 1982 – Ruchi Sanghvi, Indian computer engineer
• 1982 – Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
• 1983 – Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
• 1983 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
• 1985 – Marina Inoue, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1985 – Tanel Sokk, Estonian basketball player
• 1986 – Kevin Parker, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1987 – Janin Lindenberg, German sprinter
• 1987 – Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
• 1988 – Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé, Nigerian footballer
• 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
• 1989 – Nick Foles, American football player
• 1989 – Washington Santana da Silva, Brazilian footballer
• 1989 – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1991 – Polona Hercog, Slovenian tennis player
• 1991 – Jolyon Palmer, English race car driver
• 1992 – Jorge Zárate, Mexican footballer
• 1993 – Lorenzo Crisetig, Italian footballer
• 1994 – Denis Mukhametdinov, Russian footballer
• 1995 – Sergi Samper, Spanish footballer

Deaths[edit]

• 250 – Pope Fabian (b. 200)
• 820 – Al-Shafi‘i, Palestinian scholar and jurist (b. 767)
• 842 – Theophilos, Byzantine emperor (b. 813)
• 882 – Louis the Younger, king of the East Frankish Kingdom
• 1095 – Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester
• 1156 – Henry, English-Finnish bishop and saint
• 1189 – Emperor Shizong of Jin (b. 1123)
• 1191 – Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
• 1191 – Theobald V, Count of Blois (b. 1130)
• 1265 – John Maunsell, Lord Chancellor of England
• 1479 – John II of Aragon (b. 1397)
• 1568 – Myles Coverdale, English bishop and translator (b. 1488)
• 1612 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
• 1663 – Isaac Ambrose, English minister and author (b. 1604)
• 1666 – Anne of Austria (b. 1601)
• 1707 – Humphrey Hody, English scholar and theologian (b. 1659)
• 1709 – François de la Chaise, French priest (b. 1624)
• 1751 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
• 1770 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
• 1779 – David Garrick, English actor, producer, playwright, and manager (b. 1717)
• 1810 – Benjamin Chew, American lawyer and judge (b. 1721)
• 1819 – Charles IV of Spain (b. 1748)
• 1837 – John Soane, English architect, designed the Bank of England (b. 1753)
• 1841 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish explorer (b. 1780)
• 1841 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1791)
• 1848 – Christian VIII of Denmark (b. 1786)
• 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1779)
• 1852 – Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th Yokozuna (b. 1794)
• 1873 – Basil Moreau, French priest, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
• 1875 – Jean-François Millet, French painter and educator (b. 1814)
• 1891 – Kalākaua of Hawaii (b. 1836)
• 1900 – John Ruskin, English painter and critic (b. 1819)
• 1901 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (b. 1826)
• 1907 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (b. 1842)
• 1908 – John Ordronaux, American surgeon and academic (b. 1830)
• 1913 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852)
• 1915 – Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, Irish businessman, philanthropist, and politician (b. 1840)
• 1920 – Georg Lurich, Estonian-Russian wrestler and strongman (b. 1876)
• 1921 – Mary Watson Whitney, American astronomer and academic (b. 1847)
• 1924 – Ivor Crapp, Australian footballer and umpire (b. 1872)
• 1936 – George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
• 1940 – Omar Bundy, American general (b. 1861)
• 1944 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (b. 1860)
• 1947 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1911)
• 1954 – Warren Bardsley, Australian cricketer (b. 1882)
• 1954 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1890)
• 1955 – Robert P. T. Coffin, American author and poet (b. 1892)
• 1962 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (b. 1887)
• 1965 – Alan Freed, American radio host (b. 1922)
• 1971 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
• 1971 – Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (b. 1903)
• 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and surgeon (b. 1885)
• 1973 – Amílcar Cabral, Guinea Bissauan-Cape Verdian engineer and politician (b. 1924)
• 1977 – Dimitrios Kiousopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, 151st Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1892)
• 1979 – Gustav Winckler, Danish singer-songwriter (b. 1925)
• 1980 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (b. 1895)
• 1983 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
• 1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
• 1988 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pakistani activist and politician (b. 1890)
• 1988 – Dora Stratou, Greek dancer and choreographer (b. 1903)
• 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
• 1990 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
• 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (b. 1929)
• 1994 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1909)
• 1994 – Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, first Kenyan Vice-President (b. 1911)
• 1996 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1927)
• 2002 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (b. 1963)
• 2003 – Al Hirschfeld, American painter and illustrator (b. 1903)
• 2003 – Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
• 2003 – Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (b. 1947)
• 2004 – Alan Brown, English race car driver (b. 1919)
• 2004 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Per Borten, Norwegian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Roland Frye, American theologian and critic (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist and politician (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Miriam Rothschild, English zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
• 2006 – Dave Lepard, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1980)
• 2007 – Dan Christensen, American painter (b. 1942)
• 2009 – Stéphanos II Ghattas, Egyptian patriarch (b. 1920)
• 2009 – Sheila Walsh, English author (b. 1928)
• 2012 – John F. Baker, Jr., American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Etta James, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
• 2012 – John Levy, American bassist and manager (b. 1912)
• 2012 – Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Alejandro Rodriguez, Venezuelan-American pediatrician and psychiatrist (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Toyo Shibata, Japanese poet and author (b. 1911)
• 2014 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Otis G. Pike, American judge and politician (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Jonas Trinkūnas, Lithuanian ethnologist and academic (b. 1939)
• 2015 – Edgar Froese, Russian-German keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1944)
• 2016 – Mykolas Burokevičius, Lithuanian carpenter and politician (b. 1927)
• 2016 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (b. 1920)
• 2016 – David G. Hartwell, American anthologist, author, and critic (b. 1941)

Lambada singer Loalwa Braz found dead in Brazil

Loalwa Braz, the Brazilian singer best known for the 1980s hit Lambada, has been found dead in a burnt-out car in Brazil. 

Local police confirmed it was Braz, but the circumstances of her death are unknown. 

The singer, who was 63, was discovered close to her home in Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro state.

International hit Lambada was released by French group Kaoma in 1989, with Braz providing the Portuguese vocals. 

It sold millions of copies around the world. 

In Portuguese, the song was known as Chorando se foi (Crying he/she went). 

The tune and lyrics were based on a Bolivian song, but the title, Lambada, came from a dance style in northern Brazil.

The Bolivian brothers, who recorded the original version with their group Los Kjarkas in 1981, took legal action against Kaoma for the song's unauthorised translation and were reported to have received a pay-off. 

The song, with its catchy beat and sensual lyrics, continues to inspire musicians today. 

US pop singer Jennifer Lopez used the tune in her 2010 hit On The Floor.

British group The Spice Girls mentioned the Lambada by name in their 1998 single Spice Up Your Life.

UK electronic group Clean Bandit cited it, in a BBC interview, as one of their biggest inspirations. 

"It's been quite inspirational for us," said band member Grace Chatto. "It's got that mix of euphoria but also melancholy and beauty that we try to recreate."

Kostas (songwriter)

This outrageous $250 million mansion in LA comes with a 4-lane bowling alley and an entire collection of cars

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

A new home built on speculation in the Bel Airneighborhood of Los Angeles is asking an earth-shattering $250 million. According to its website, it's the most expensive home ever listed in the US.

And it's certainly unlike any other home on the market. The mansion is built in a contemporary style, with stark geometry and huge plate-glass windows.

The home also comes outfitted with furniture, but it's not your standard Restoration Hardware package. It seems it was built with a very specific person in mind — a person who likes decommissioned decorative helicopters, gigantic Leica camera sculptures, velvet-roped lounge areas, and plush decorations that were purchased from Hermès.

As for the living spaces, there are two master suites, 10 "oversized VIP" suites for guests, 21 bathrooms, three separate and fully equipped kitchens, and no fewer than five bars.

It was built by the luxury developer Bruce Makowsky, whom the release refers to as the "spec king." He was also the mastermind behind the $70 million Beverly Hills house sold to Minecraft founder Markus "Notch" Persson in 2014.

"This home was curated for the ultimate billionaire who wants the best of everything that exists in life," Makowsky said in a release announcing the listing. "Until now, the ultra-luxury market was void of homes that even came close to matching the level of mega-yachts and private jets that billionaires spend millions of dollars on every year."

View As: One Page Slides

The sheer footprint of the mansion, spread across 38,000 square feet, is a sight to behold. The exterior decks alone are 17,000 square feet. Downstairs is a car park filled with over $30 million worth of collectible automobiles — all of which are included in the purchase.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

Situated on a hill, the house has a 270-degree view overlooking the LA area — one of its defining features.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

Inside is where things get a little bit funky. The decor is not your typical boilerplate luxe style.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

The home comes fully furnished and stocked with art, including a decommissioned helicopter from the 1980s show "Airwolf."

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

The helicopter isn't functional, but it was refinished with a luxury interior. The listing notes it's a great place to watch the sun set.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/ BAM Luxury Development

The sale includes over 100 pieces of art in the home.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/ BAM Luxury Development

There's a Champagne pinball machine ...

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/ BAM Luxury Development

... an enormous Leica camera sculpture that has been valued at $1 million ...

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/ BAM Luxury Development

... and chrome-plated guns.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/ BAM Luxury Development

They're artistically displayed, of course.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/ BAM Luxury Development

The lounge space is situated like the VIP area of a club, with a velvet rope cordoning it off from the rest of the room.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

Pop-up TV screens can be found in many of the rooms and even outside.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

They don't really compare to the enormous screening room, however, which has room for 40 people and its own James Bond 007 art installation on the back wall.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

If you're not in the mood for movie watching, there's a four-lane bowling alley.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

The fully stocked wine room holds many bottles, though the listing did not specify just how many.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

For all-ages fun, the game room has a literal wall of candy.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

Take a break in the spa room.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

Or sweat it out in the fully equipped home gym.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

Water features can be seen throughout the irregularly laid-out home.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

The pillows were made by Hermès.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

An 85-foot glass-tiled infinity pool out back makes this place the perfect party pad.

Photos Courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

Lights illuminate the house at night.

• 763 – The Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa ends in a decisive Abbasid victory.
• 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz's mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
• 1535 – Following the Affair of the Placards, French Protestants are burned at the stake in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris
• 1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
• 1749 – The Teatro Filarmonico in Verona is destroyed by fire. It is rebuilt in 1754.
• 1774 – Abdul Hamid I became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
• 1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, is printed in Boston.
• 1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
• 1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.
• 1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
• 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.
• 1915 – Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit.
• 1919 – Meeting of the First Dáil Éireann in the Mansion House Dublin. Sinn Féin adopts Ireland's first constitution. The first engagement of the Irish War of Independence, the Soloheadbeg ambush, County Tipperary.
• 1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
• 1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
• 1941 – Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania, the day before, members of the Iron Guard engaged in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews.
• 1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Québec Flag Day.
• 1950 – American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
• 1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
• 1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board.
• 1960 – Avianca Flight 671 crashes and burns upon landing at Montego Bay, Jamaica killing 37. It is the worst air disaster in Jamaica's history and the first for Avianca.
• 1961 – Four hundred thirty-five workers are buried alive when a mine in Coalbrook, Free State, South Africa collapses.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
• 1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
• 1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
• 1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
• 1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
• 1997 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
• 1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board.
• 2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
• 2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
• 2004 – NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
• 2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.

Births[edit]

• 1338 – Charles V of France (d. 1380)
• 1610 – Elizabeth Fones, English-American settler (d. 1673)
• 1721 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, Governor of Minorca (d. 1794)
• 1735 – Johann Gottfried Eckard, German pianist and composer (d. 1809)
• 1738 – Ethan Allen, American general (d. 1789)
• 1804 – Eliza R. Snow, American poet and hymn-writer (d. 1887)
• 1813 – John C. Frémont, American general, explorer, and politician, 5th Territorial Governor of Arizona (d. 1890)
• 1815 – John Bingham, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 7th United States Ambassador to Japan (d. 1900)
• 1820 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (d. 1899)
• 1824 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (d. 1863)
• 1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1900)
• 1829 – Oscar II of Sweden (d. 1907)
• 1846 – Pieter Hendrik Schoute, Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
• 1848 – Henri Duparc, French soldier and composer (d. 1933)
• 1860 – Karl Staaff, Swedish lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)
• 1864 – Paul Troje, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 1942)
• 1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German paramedic and author (d. 1921)
• 1867 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (d. 1965)
• 1878 – Vahan Tekeyan, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1948)
• 1879 – Joseph Roffo, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1933)
• 1881 – Ernst Fast, Swedish runner (d. 1959)
• 1882 – Pavel Florensky, Russian mathematician and theologian (d. 1937)
• 1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet and educator (d. 1929)
• 1883 – Eulogio Rodriguez, Filipino lawyer and politician, 7th President of the Senate of the Philippines (d. 1964)
• 1884 – Roger Nash Baldwin, American author and activist, co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union (d. 1981)
• 1885 – Ernst Gustav Kühnert, Estonian-German architect and historian (d. 1961)
• 1885 – Umberto Nobile, Italian engineer and explorer (d. 1978)
• 1887 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1926)
• 1888 – Herbie Collins, Australian cricketer (d. 1959)
• 1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (d. 1972)
• 1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (d. 1954)
• 1898 – Avery Claflin, American banker and composer (d. 1979)
• 1899 – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian-American pianist and composer (d. 1977)
• 1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1978)
• 1904 – Puck van Heel, Dutch footballer (d. 1984)
• 1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (d. 1957)
• 1905 – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (d. 1978)
• 1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (d. 2004)
• 1910 – Albert Rosellini, American lawyer and politician, 15th Governor of Washington (d. 2011)
• 1910 – Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai composer and bandleader (d. 1981)
• 1911 – Bill Graber, American pole vaulter (d. 1996)
• 1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
• 1913 – William Ungar, Polish-American author and philanthropist, founded the National Envelope Corporation (d. 2013)
• 1915 – Orazio Mariani, Italian sprinter (d. 1981)
• 1915 – Bill Sefton, American pole vaulter (d. 1982)
• 1918 – Chicháy, Filipino actress (d. 1993)
• 1918 – Richard Winters, American soldier (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (d. 2016)
• 1921 – Lincoln Alexander, Canadian lawyer and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1922 – Paul Scofield, English actor (d. 2008)
• 1923 – Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer, and actress (d. 1995)
• 1924 – Benny Hill, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
• 1925 – Eva Ibbotson, Austrian-English author (d. 2010)
• 1925 – Arnold Skaaland, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Brian Brockless, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1995)
• 1927 – Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1985)
• 1928 – John Olsen, Australian painter
• 1928 – Gene Sharp, American political scientist and academic, founded the Albert Einstein Institution
• 1930 – Mainza Chona, Zambian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2001)
• 1932 – Bill Bell, English businessman (d. 2013)
• 1932 – John Chaney, American basketball player and coach
• 1933 – Joseph W. Eschbach, American physician and academic (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Masamichi Noro, Japanese-French martial artist (d. 2013)
• 1937 – Nushiravan Keihanizadeh, Iranian-American journalist and historian
• 1938 – Sandy Barr, American wrestler and referee (d. 2007)
• 1938 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (d. 1995)
• 1938 – Ken Maginnis, Northern Irish soldier and politician
• 1938 – Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
• 1940 – John J. McGinty III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2014)
• 1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer and sportscaster
• 1941 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (d. 2013)
• 1941 – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor
• 1941 – Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
• 1941 – Mike Medavoy, Chinese-American film producer, co-founded Orion Pictures
• 1941 – Ivan Putski, Polish-American wrestler and bodybuilder
• 1941 – Elaine Showalter, American author and critic
• 1942 – Mac Davis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1942 – Edwin Starr, American soul singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
• 1943 – Rosemary Butler, English-Welsh academic and politician
• 1943 – Dimitris Poulikakos, Greek singer-songwriter and actor
• 1945 – Arthur Beetson, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2011)
• 1945 – Martin Shaw, English actor and producer
• 1946 – Johnny Oates, American baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
• 1947 – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
• 1947 – Pye Hastings, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 – Michel Jonasz, French singer-songwriter and actor
• 1947 – Jonathan Meades, English journalist and author
• 1949 – Jonas Åkerlund, Swedish lawyer and politician
• 1949 – Gennaro Contaldo, Italian chef and author
• 1950 – Gary Locke, American politician and diplomat, 36th United States Secretary of Commerce
• 1950 – Billy Ocean, Trinidadian-English singer-songwriter
• 1950 – Agnes van Ardenne, Dutch politician and diplomat, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation
• 1951 – Eric Holder, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 82nd United States Attorney General
• 1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss activist and murderer
• 1953 – Paul Allen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft
• 1953 – Glenn Kaiser, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1954 – Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkinabé director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1954 – Phil Thompson, English footballer and coach
• 1955 – Peter Fleming, American tennis player
• 1955 – Jeff Koons, American painter and sculptor
• 1956 – Robby Benson, American actor and director
• 1956 – Geena Davis, American actress and producer
• 1958 – Gareth Branwyn, American journalist and critic
• 1959 – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1960 – Toxey Haas, American businessman, founded Haas Outdoors, Inc.
• 1960 – Jennifer Keyte, Australian journalist
• 1960 – Mamoru Nagano, Japanese animator and director
• 1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist and academic
• 1962 – Brian Hildebrand, American wrestler, referee, and manager (d. 1999)
• 1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball player
• 1963 – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player and coach
• 1965 – Jam Master Jay, American DJ, rapper, and producer (d. 2002)
• 1967 – Artashes Minasian, Armenian chess player
• 1969 – Eduard Hämäläinen, Finnish-Belarusian decathlete
• 1969 – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese comic artist
• 1970 – Ken Leung, American actor
• 1970 – Oren Peli, Israeli-American director, producer and screenwriter
• 1971 – Sergey Klevchenya, Russian speed skater
• 1971 – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1972 – Alan Benes, American baseball player and coach
• 1972 – Rick Falkvinge, Swedish businessman and politician
• 1972 – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer and producer
• 1972 – Brett Mullins, Australian rugby league player
• 1973 – Rob Hayles, English cyclist
• 1973 – Ruben Wiki, New Zealand rugby league player and manager
• 1974 – Rove McManus, Australian comedian, television host, and producer
• 1974 – Alex Sperafico, Brazilian race car driver
• 1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer and coach
• 1975 – Thomas Castaignède, French rugby player and journalist
• 1975 – Yuji Ide, Japanese race car driver
• 1975 – Ito, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1975 – Willem Korsten, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1976 – Aivaras Abromavičius, Lithuanian-Ukrainian banker and politician; 15th Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development
• 1976 – Emma Bunton, English singer
• 1976 – Mike Daisey, American monologist, author, and actor
• 1976 – Patrick de Lange, Dutch baseball player
• 1977 – Kirsten Klose, German hammer thrower
• 1977 – Ulrike Maisch, German runner
• 1977 – Phil Neville, English footballer and manager
• 1977 – Jerry Trainor, American actor, director, and producer
• 1978 – Faris Al-Sultan, German triathlete
• 1978 – Bryan Gilmore, American football player
• 1978 – Phil Stacey, American singer
• 1978 – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Byung-hyun Kim, South Korean baseball player
• 1979 – Spider Loc, American rapper and actor
• 1979 – Brian O'Driscoll, Irish rugby player
• 1980 – Dave Kitson, English footballer and manager
• 1980 – Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
• 1980 – Brie Rippner, American tennis player
• 1981 – Gillian Chung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
• 1981 – Jamie Dalrymple, English cricketer
• 1981 – Masayuki Deai, Japanese actor
• 1981 – Ivan Ergić, Serbian footballer
• 1981 – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Andy Lee, South Korean singer and actor
• 1981 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress, dancer, and producer
• 1981 – Michel Teló, Brazilian singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Jung Ryeo-won, South Korean actress
• 1982 – Nicolas Mahut, French tennis player
• 1982 – Simon Rolfes, German footballer
• 1982 – Go Shiozaki, Japanese wrestler
• 1983 – Rapsody, American rapper
• 1983 – Alex Acker, American basketball player
• 1983 – Peter Philipakos, American soccer player
• 1983 – Moritz Volz, German footballer
• 1983 – Yoo Gun, South Korean actor
• 1984 – David Harris, American football player
• 1984 – Alex Koslov, Moldovan-American wrestler
• 1984 – Robert Ray, American baseball player
• 1985 – Salvatore Giunta, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient
• 1985 – Justin Ingram, American basketball player
• 1985 – Adrian Lewis, English darts player
• 1985 – Álex Pérez, Spanish footballer
• 1985 – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model and actress
• 1985 – Matt Unicomb, Australian basketball player
• 1986 – Peyton Hillis, American football player
• 1986 – Jonathan Quick, American ice hockey player
• 1987 – Ioannis Athanasoulas, Greek basketball player
• 1987 – Augustine Kiprono Choge, Kenyan runner
• 1987 – Brandon Crawford, American baseball player
• 1987 – Henrico Drost, Dutch footballer
• 1987 – Darren Helm, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Mulopo Kudimbana, Congolese footballer
• 1987 – Maša Zec Peškirič, Slovenian tennis player
• 1988 – Glaiza de Castro, Filipino actress and singer
• 1988 – Ashton Eaton, American decathlete
• 1989 – Doğuş Balbay, Turkish basketball player
• 1989 – Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian footballer
• 1991 – Martin Dorbek, Estonian basketball player
• 1991 – Craig Roberts, Welsh actor and director
• 1991 – Cho Soo-hyang, South Korean actress
• 1993 – John Cofie, English footballer
• 1993 – Ben Meehan, Australian rugby player
• 1994 – Simone Pasa, Italian footballer
• 1994 – Laura Robson, Australian-English tennis player
• 1994 – Booboo Stewart, American actor, singer, and dancer
• 1994 – Kang Seung-yoon, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
• 1994 – Lim Kim, South Korean singer and actress
• 1995 – Jake Elliott, American football player
• 1995 – Andrew Watson, Northern Irish race car driver
• 2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

Deaths[edit]

• 420 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empire
• 496 – Epiphanius of Pavia, Italian bishop and saint (b. 438)
• 917 – Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (b. 880)
• 1118 – Pope Paschal II (b. 1050)
• 1527 – Juan de Grijalva, Spanish explorer (b. 1489)
• 1546 – Azai Sukemasa, Japanese daimyo (b. 1491)
• 1609 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French historian and scholar (b. 1540)
• 1638 – Ignazio Donati, Italian composer (b. 1570)
• 1683 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1621)
• 1670 – Claude Duval, French highwayman (b. 1643)
• 1699 – Obadiah Walker, English historian and academic (b. 1616)
• 1706 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)
• 1710 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic and critic (b. 1638)
• 1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1661)
• 1731 – Ignjat Đurđević, Croatian poet and translator (b. 1675)
• 1773 – Alexis Piron, French playwright and author (b. 1689)
• 1774 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1717)
• 1775 – Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel (b. 1742)
• 1789 – Baron d'Holbach, French-German philosopher and author (b. 1723)
• 1793 – Louis XVI of France (b. 1754)
• 1795 – Samuel Wallis, English navigator and explorer (b. 1728)
• 1809 – Josiah Hornblower, American engineer and politician (b. 1729)
• 1814 – Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French botanist and author (b. 1737)
• 1823 – Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentinian cleric, journalist, and poet (b. 1761)
• 1831 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (b. 1781)
• 1851 – Albert Lortzing, German actor and composer (b. 1801)
• 1862 – Božena Němcová, Austrian-Czech author and poet (b. 1820)
• 1870 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (b. 1812)
• 1872 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright and poet (b. 1791)
• 1881 – Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
• 1891 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (b. 1842)
• 1901 – Elisha Gray, American engineer, co-founded Western Electric (b. 1835)
• 1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1857)
• 1919 – Gojong of Korea (b. 1852)
• 1919 – Ahmed Muhtar Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 277th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1839)
• 1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)
• 1926 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
• 1928 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer (b. 1858)
• 1931 – Felix Blumenfeld, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
• 1932 – Lytton Strachey, English biographer and critic (b. 1880)
• 1933 – George Moore, Irish author, poet, and critic (b. 1852)
• 1937 – Marie Prevost, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1898)
• 1938 – Georges Méliès, French actor, director, and producer (b. 1861)
• 1940 – Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark (b. 1888)
• 1940 – John Duha, American gymnast and triathlete (b. 1875)
• 1945 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and engineer (b. 1886)
• 1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (b. 1876)
• 1950 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (b. 1903)
• 1955 – Archie Hahn, German-American runner and coach (b. 1880)
• 1956 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (b. 1883)
• 1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1881)
• 1960 – Matt Moore, Irish-American actor and director (b. 1888)
• 1961 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss author and poet (b. 1887)
• 1963 – Acharya Shivpujan Sahay, Indian author, poet, and academic (b. 1893)
• 1963 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (b. 1881)
• 1965 – Gwynne Evans, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1880)
• 1967 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)
• 1968 – Will Lang, Jr., American journalist (b. 1914)
• 1977 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet and journalist (b. 1906)
• 1978 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (b. 1898)
• 1983 – Lamar Williams, American bass player (b. 1949)
• 1984 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek playwright and poet (b. 1893)
• 1985 – James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)
• 1985 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (b. 1930)
• 1987 – Charles Goodell, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1926)
• 1988 – Vincent Lingiari, Australian Aboriginal rights activist (b. 1919)
• 1989 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (b. 1922)
• 1989 – Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (b. 1914)
• 1993 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1903)
• 1998 – Jack Lord, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
• 2002 – Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Paul Haines, American-Canadian poet and songwriter (b. 1933)
• 2003 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian author and playwright (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Theun de Vries, Dutch author and poet (b. 1907)
• 2005 – John L. Hess, American journalist and critic (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Kaljo Raid, Estonian cellist, composer, and pastor (b. 1921)
• 2006 – Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
• 2009 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician and diplomat (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Paul Quarrington, Canadian author, playwright, guitarist, and composer (b. 1953)
• 2011 – Theoni V. Aldredge, Greek-American costume designer (b. 1922)
• 2011 – Dennis Oppenheim, American sculptor and photographer (b. 1938)
• 2011 – E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1958)
• 2012 – Roy John Britten, American biologist and geneticist (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Cliff Chambers, American baseball player (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Ernie Gregory, English footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Jean Giambrone, American journalist (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Donald Hornig, American chemist and academic (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Ahmet Mete Işıkara, Turkish geophysicist and academic (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Jake McNiece, American sergeant (b. 1919)
• 2013 – Chumpol Silpa-archa, Thai academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1940)
• 2013 – Michael Winner, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
• 2014 – G. Thompson Brown, American missionary, theologian, and author (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Warren Lamb, English businessman and educator (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Wilford Moore, American football player and coach (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Dick Shrider, American basketball player and coach (b. 1923)
• 2014 – George C. Wortley, American soldier and politician (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian, and author (b. 1942)
• 2015 – Leon Brittan, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1939)
• 2015 – Vince Camuto, American fashion designer and businessman, co-founded Nine West (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (b. 1946)
• 2016 – Bill Johnson, American skier (b. 1960)
• 2016 – Mrinalini Sarabhai, Indian dancer and choreographer (b. 1918)

Sir Paul McCartney sues Sony 

over Beatles songs

Image copyrightAFP/GETTY

It could become one of the most important legal battles in music - Sir Paul McCartney is suing Sony over control of The Beatles' back catalogue.

The star has gone to a US court, seeking to regain the publishing rights to 267 of the band's classic songs.

He's been trying to get them back since the 1980s, when Michael Jackson famously out-bid him for the rights. 

Jackson's debt-ridden estate sold the songs to Sony last year, along with others including New York, New York.

Sir Paul's legal case, filed in a Manhattan court on Wednesday, is over what is known as copyright termination - the right of authors to reclaim ownership of their works from music publishers after a specific length of time has passed.

It was part of the US 1976 Copyright Act and, in recent years, performers like Prince, Billy Joel and Blondie have used it to regain control of their work.

However, Duran Duran recently lost a similar case - when the British High Court ruled that the contracts they signed in the UK took precedence over their rights in the US.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Under UK law, music publishing companies can control the copyright until 70 years after the artist's death.

Sir Paul is worried that Sony/ATV Music Publishing will use Duran Duran's loss to challenge his attempts to obtain The Beatles' back catalogue.

With his legal action, Sir Paul is trying to ensure Sony does not stand in his way by accusing him of a breach of contract or publishing agreement.

"Rather than provide clear assurances to Paul McCartney that defendants will not challenge his exercise of his termination rights, defendants are clearly reserving their rights pending the final outcome of the Duran Duran litigation," said the legal papers filed on his behalf.

The papers state that Sir Paul wants "quiet, unclouded title to his rights". Sony/ATV said it was "disappointed" by the lawsuit, calling it "both unnecessary and premature". 

Unlike Duran Duran, Sir Paul has filed his legal case in America, and the verdict could have major ramifications for other British artists.

'Highest respect'

Songs in the Lennon-McCartney catalogue, composed between September 1962 and June 1971, become eligible for copyright termination in the US after 56 years.

The first will be Love Me Do, which could revert to Sir Paul in 2018 - but others, including Come Together and Get Back, are not due to become available until 2025.

The star started sending notices to Sony/ATV in 2008, stating his desire to reclaim the copyright, the legal papers said. 

His lawyers have repeatedly asked Sony/ATV to acknowledge his rights to terminate copyright - but the company has declined to do so, it continued.

He is seeking a declaration from the court that he can reclaim his songs, as well as legal fees.

In a statement, the music publisher said it had "the highest respect for Sir Paul McCartney with whom we have enjoyed a long and mutually rewarding relationship with respect to the treasured Lennon and McCartney song catalogue". 

It added: "We have collaborated closely with both Sir Paul and the late John Lennon's Estate for decades to protect, preserve and promote the catalogue's long-term value." 

Lennon's share in The Beatles' songs will not return to his estate because Yoko Ono sold the rights to his music to Sony/ATV Music in 2009, with those rights lasting the entire copyright's lifetime (70 years).