1769 Napoleon Bonaparte - Emperor of France, born on the island of Corsica. He expanded the French Empire until curbed by an allied coalition which sent him into exile to the island of Elba. He returned to fight again, this time at Waterloo, which led to his final exile on the remote south Atlantic island of St. Helena
1771 Sir Walter Scott - Scottish novelist, poet, historian and biographer (Ivanhoe, The Talisman, The Heart of Midlothian, Rob Roy, Waverley, The Lady of the Lake) He became one of the most popular writers of his time, and is credited with inventing the genre of historical novel
1803 Sir James Douglas - Canadian fur trader and statesman who was known as The Father of British Columbia
1879 Ethel Barrymore - Actress (None But the Lonely Heart, The Farmer's Daughter, Pinky) She was a member of the Barrymore acting dynasty
1887 Edna Ferber Author (So Big, Show Boat, Oklahoma in Cimarron, Saratoga Trunk, Alaska in Ice Palace, Texas in Giant) and playwright, with George Kaufman (The Royal Family, Dinner at Eight, Stage Door, The Land is Bright, Bravo) She was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan
1904 George Klein Canadian engineer who designed a wheelchair for quadriplegics and a surgical staple gun. In 1951 he invented the STEM flat rollout antenna that was used ten years later on Canada's first satellite, Alouette I, and became standard equipment on spacecraft. Near the end of his career he developed the gear system for the Space Shuttle's remote arm, the Canadarm
1904 Bil Baird - Puppeteer with Bil Baird Puppets (Life with Snarky Parker)
1909 Hugo Winterhalter - Orchestra leader (Canadian Sunset, Rhapsody in Blue)
1912 Dame Wendy Hiller British actress (Separate Tables, A Man for All Seasons, Pygmalion, The Elephant Man, David Copperfield)
1912 Julia Child - Chef, author (Mastering the Art of French Cooking, The French Chef Cookbook, From Julia Child's Kitchen, In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs, Julia's Kitchen Wisdom) and TV host. (The French Chef, Dinner with Julia). During World War II, she worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a government intelligence agency and the forerunner of the CIA. She was stationed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and China. At the end of the war, she married her colleague, Paul Child. Growing up in a well-to-do family, she hadnt learned to cook until she was in her thirties. In 1948 her husband was assigned to the US Embassy in Paris and while there, Julia attended the world-famous Cordon Bleu cooking school, beginning a forty-year career promoting fine cuisine in her down-home trademark style. Julia received Frances highest honour, the Legion d'Honneur, in November 2000. US President George W. Bush honoured her with a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003. Her custom-designed kitchen - including small utensils, personal cookbooks and six-burner Garland commercial range - is on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
1923 Rose Marie Comedienne and actress (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Hollywood Squares, The Doris Day Show, My Sister Eileen)
1924 Robert Bolt British playwright (A Man for All Seasons, Lawrence of Arabia)
1925 Mike Connors - Actor (Mannix, Tightrope, Today's F.B.I., Sudden Fear)
1925 Oscar Peterson Canadian composer, bandleader and jazz pianist (Canadiana Suite, Night Train, Hallelujah Time) He was born in Montr้al, Qu้bec, started performing on local radio at age 15, and played with various dance bands before making his solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 1949. Known for his dazzling solo technique, he has recorded over 90 albums, and has appeared on many others with Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young to name but a few
1931 Janice Rule - Actress (American Flyers, L.A. Bad, Invitation to a Gunfighter, The Life You Save)
1933 Bobby Helms - Singer (My Special Angel, Jingle Bell Rock, Fraulein)
1935 Abby Dalton - Actress (Falcon Crest, Barney Miller, The Joey Bishop Show)
1936 Pat Priest - Actress (The Munsters) She is the daughter of former US Treasurer, Ivy Baker Priest, whose signature appeared on US currency from 1953 to 1961. She also appeared in the Perry Mason episodes The Case of the Crafty Kidnapper, and The Case of the Tandem Target
1942 Peter York Drummer with the Spencer Davis Group (Gimme Some Lovin', Keep on Runnin', Somebody Help Me)
1944 Linda Ellerbee US journalist (Our World) and author (And So It Goes)
1945 Nigel Terry British actor (Excalibur, Malice Aforethought, Troy, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Lion in Winter) He played Harold Latimer in The Greek Interpreter episode of the 1968 Sherlock Holmes series with Peter Cushing
1948 Patsy Gallant Canadian singer (From New York to LA, Sugar Daddy, Michel)
1950 Princess Anne, the Princess Royal Daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip
1950 Tess Harper - Actress (Tender Mercies, Flashpoint, Kentucky Woman, Christie, No Country for Old Men, The Man in the Moon, The Jackal)
1957 Zeljko Ivanek Slovenian-born actor (The Event, 24, Donnie Brasco, Hannibal, Live Free or Die Hard, Damages, Big Love, Heroes, Oz, Black Hawk Down, Homicide: Life on the Street, Madam Secretary)
1968 Debra Messing Actress (Will & Grace, Along Came Polly, The Mothman Prophecies, Jesus, Prey, Ned and Stacey, Smash, The Mysteries of Laura)
1970 Anthony Anderson Actor (Law & Order, The Departed, Me Myself & Irene, Transformers, The Shield)
1972 Ben Affleck - Actor (Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love, Armageddon, Changing Lanes, The Company Men, The Sum of All Fears)
1984 Quinton Aaron Actor (The Blind Side)
Died this Day
1057 MacBeth King of Scotland. He was killed at the Battle of Lumphanan, by Malcolm Canmore, whose father, King Duncan I, was murdered by MacBeth 17 years earlier. Malcolm Canmore was crowned Malcolm III in 1058. MacBeth was buried on the island of Iona. MacBeth was a grandson of King Kenneth II and also had a claim to the throne through his wife, Gruoch, who was the granddaughter of Kenneth III, the Scottish king who had been overthrown by Duncan's predecessor King Malcolm II. Under King Duncan, MacBeth was governor of the Scottish province of Moray and a trusted military commander. However, he opposed Duncan's ties to the Saxons in the South, and he rose in rebellion. On August 14th, 1040, MacBeth killed Duncan in a battle near Elgin, and he was crowned king of Scotland in his place. In 1054, after 14 years of rule, King MacBeth suffered a major military defeat at the Battle of Dunsinane against Siward, the Earl of Northumbria. Siward was acting on behalf of Malcolm Canmore, Duncan's son. Malcolm then gained control of the southern part of Scotland and spent the next three years pursuing MacBeth, who fled to the north
1935 Will Rogers, age 55 - US humorist and actor (Happy Days, A Connecticut Yankee, Ambassador Bill) He was famous for his homespun wit, and began his career with a rope-twirling and lassoing act in a Wild West show. Rogers declined a nomination as governor of Oklahoma but later served as mayor of Beverly Hills. He died in a plane crash with Wiley Post
1935 Wiley Post, age 35 US aviator who was the first to fly solo around the world in 1931. He and his passenger, Will Rogers were killed when their plane crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska
On this Day
1812 The first European steam passage service was announced, between Glasgow and Greenock, Scotland
1842 The first regular British detective force was formed. This division of the Metropolitan Police, at first called the Detective Department, assumed the name Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 1878
1843 The Tivoli Pleasure Gardens were opened in Copenhagen
1866 The Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons received a charter
1899 Henry Ford resigned as chief engineer at the main Detroit Edison Company plant in order to concentrate on automobile production
1914 The Panama Canal opened to traffic with the passage of the US vessel Ancon, a cargo and passenger ship. The waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The rush of settlers to California and Oregon in the mid 19th century was the initial impetus of the US desire to build an artificial waterway across Central America. In 1855, the US completed a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama, prompting various parties to propose canal-building plans. The rights were awarded to Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French entrepreneur who had completed the Suez Canal in 1869. Construction on a sea-level canal began in 1881, but inadequate planning, disease among the workers, and financial problems drove Lesseps' company into bankruptcy in 1889. In 1906, US engineers decided on the construction of a lock canal, and the next three years were spent developing construction facilities and eradicating tropical diseases in the area. In 1909, construction proper began. In one of the largest construction projects of all time, US engineers moved nearly 240 million cubic yards of earth and spent close to $400 million in constructing the 40-mile-long canal, or 51 miles long, if the deepened seabed on both ends of the canal is taken into account
1939 The MGM musical, The Wizard of Oz, premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood
1940 The German Luftwaffe suffered its greatest losses for a single day during the 114-day Battle of Britain. Seventy-five of about one-thousand German aircraft raiding Britain were shot down. The Royal Air Force lost about 35 aircraft
1945 World War II gasoline rationing in the US ended
1947 The Indian Independence Bill created the independent nations of India and Pakistan
1969 The Woodstock Music and Art Fair began on a dairy farm in upstate New York. This now legendary rock festival included Janis Joplin, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, and Jefferson Airplane. In the three days it lasted, over 400,000 attended, two children were born, and three people died
1987 Caning was officially banned in Britain, except in independent schools
1998 A car bomb in Omagh, Northern Ireland, killed 29 people and injured 370. It was the single deadliest act of violence in 30 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland
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