# Historical events that took place on your birthday... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973 "2005-06-05T04:16:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/1 "2005-06-05T04:16:03Z")
…besides the fact that you were born 🙂 Mine: Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431 ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/2 "2005-06-05T04:34:58Z")
I was born the same day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/3 "2005-06-05T04:39:01Z")
**Dogzilla** , same year and everything? ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/4 "2005-06-05T04:43:12Z")
The Treaty of Ghent was signed and officially ended the War of 1812. The KKK was founded in 1865. President Bush (Sr.) pardoned five Congress officials who were indicted (some convicted) in 1992 on the Iran-Contra scandal. ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/5 "2005-06-05T05:08:28Z")
I was born exactly 21 years after the Hindenburg crashed and burned. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/6 "2005-06-05T05:29:47Z")
Here’s a bunch of stuff gleaned from various websites for my birthday:[ul] [li]John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Lee Morris escaped from Alcatraz (1962)[/li][li]John Wayne died (1979)[/li][li]Gov. George Wallace confronted federal troops at the University of Alabama in an effort to defy a federal court order to allow two blacks to enroll at the school (1963)[/li][li]77 people died when a race car crashed into the crowd at Le Mans (1955)[/li][li]Captain James Cook’s ship _Endeavour_ ran aground on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (1770)[/li][li]Henry VIII married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (1509)[/li][li]The Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence from Britain (1776)[/li][li]Timothy McVeigh executed (2001)[/li][/ul] There were a bunch of other famous and semi-famous people born on my birthday, including Jacques Cousteau and, amusingly enough, Vince Lombardi and Joe Montana. None of these occurred in the exact year that i was born, which was 1969. I can’t seem to find very anything very exciting that happened on the actual day of my birth. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/7 "2005-06-05T05:30:10Z")
I was born on the 50th anniversary of the Mickey Mouse comis strip’s first appearance. On my 22nd birthday, President Bush choked on a pretzel and fainted. I share my birthday with such interesting people as Orlando Bloom, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Patrick Dempsey, and (drumroll please) William Hung. My birthday is also St. Knut’s day in Scandaninavia. It’s the 20th day of Christmas and apparently the last day of Christmas. It’s the day to take down the tree and to eat the candy and cookies that were on the tree. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/8 "2005-06-05T05:43:29Z")
Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Arbela in 331 BC. Ford introduced the Model T in 1908. The George Washington Bridge opened in 1931. Walt Disney World opened in 1971. I share my birthday with Jimmy Carter, Julie Andrews, Vladimir Horowitz, Bonnie Parker, Walter Matthau, William Renquist, George Peppard, Randy Quaid and Mark McGwire. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/9 "2005-06-05T06:13:37Z")
I share my birthday with James Dean, Lana Turner, Jack Lemmon, Ted Koppel and wait for it. . .Gary Coleman. Jefferson Davis was selected as president of the Confederacy. The Nasdaq was born. Disney’s California Adventure opened on my 20th birthday. My FiL deserves an honorable mention: he was born August 6th, 1945. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/10 "2005-06-05T06:25:06Z")
My birthday is a national holiday in France - Bastille Day! ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/11 "2005-06-05T06:31:38Z")
I love Wikipedia: 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. 1771 - Spain cedes Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands to England. 1824 - Ashantis crush British forces in the Gold Coast. 1840 - British colonists reach New Zealand. 1863 - The January Uprising broke out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement was to regain Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth from occupation of Russia. 1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: Zulu troops massacre British troops at the Battle of Isandlwana. 1889 - Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, DC. 1899 - Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation. 1901 - Edward VII becomes King after his mother, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, dies. 1905 - ‘Bloody Sunday’ in St. Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution. 1917 - World War I: President Woodrow Wilson calls for “peace without victory” in Europe. 1924 - Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister. 1931 - Sir Isaac Isaacs sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia. 1941 - World War II: The United Kingdom captures Tobruk from Nazi forces. 1944 - World War II: Allies begin Operation Shingle (an assault on Anzio, Italy). 1947 - KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood, California. 1947 - Paul Ramadier becomes Prime Minister of France. 1952 - The first commercial jet plane, the BOAC’s Comet, is put into service. 1953 - The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, opens on Broadway. 1957 - Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula. 1957 - The New York City “Mad Bomber,” George P. Metesky, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and is charged with planting more than 30 bombs. 1962 - The Organization of American States (OAS) suspends Cuba’s membership. 1963 - Elysée treaty between France and Germany. 1964 - Mumbai’s lowest ever temperature recorded (7.4°C). 1967 - Simon & Garfunkel perform live at Philharmonic Hall in the Lincoln Center, New York City. The recording is not released until 16 July 2002. 1968 - Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, debuts on NBC. 1973 - The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decision in Roe vs. Wade striking down state laws restricting abortion during the first six months of pregnancy. 1973 - A chartered Boeing 707 exploded in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria killing 176. 1973 - George Foreman breaks Joe Frazier’s professional career undefeated heavyweight world boxing champion status. 1980 - Andrei Sakharov is arrested in Moscow. 1983 - Björn Borg retires from tennis after winning five consecutive Wimbledon championships. 1984 - The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with the famous television commercial “1984”. 1987 - Pennsylvania politician R. Budd Dwyer commits suicide on national television. 1990 - Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet worm. 1992 - Rebel forces occupy Zaire’s national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government’s resignation. 1992 - Dr. Roberta Bondar becomes the first Canadian woman in space. 1995 - Israeli-Palestinian conflict: In central Israel, two suicide bombers from the Gaza Strip blow themselves-up at a military transit point killing 19 Israelis. 1997 - Madeleine Albright becomes the first female secretary of state after confirmation by the United States Senate. 1998 - Suspected Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski pleads guilty and accepts a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. 2001 - Four of the Texas 7 are caught at a convenience store in Woodland Park, Colorado and a fifth killed himself inside a motor home. 2002 - AOL Time Warner brings a federal suit against Microsoft alleging that the market for AOL’s Netscape Navigator Internet browser was harmed when Microsoft started to give away a competing browser. 2002 - Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in American history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 2003 - The Netherlands vote for a new parliament after the previous had only been into power for 86 days. 2003 - Last successful contact with the spacecraft Pioneer 10, one of the most distant man-made objects. Tripler And Lyndon B. Johnson died on my birthday, in 1974. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/12 "2005-06-05T06:32:22Z")
Ones that interest me… 1547 Ivan IV the Terrible (17) crowns himself first tsar of Russia 1581 English parliament passes laws against Catholicism 1765 Charles Messier catalogs M41 (galactic cluster in Canis Major) 1920 The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution takes effect, banning the sale of beer and distilled spirits. 1920 First assembly of League of Nations (Paris) 1939 Comic strip “Superman” debuts 1957 Cavern Club (home of Beatles’ first appearance) opens on Mathew Street in England 1963 Khrushchev claims to have a 100-megaton nuclear bomb 1980 Paul McCartney jailed in Tokyo for 10 days on marijuana possession 1989 USSR announces plan for 2-year manned mission to Mars 1991 The Persian Gulf War began with the allied bombing of Baghdad. President Bush drew the largest TV audience in history with an address to the nation on the commencement of hostilities against Iraq. 1997 A bomb exploded at an Atlanta building housing an abortion clinic. An hour later, after investigators and others had come to the scene, a second bomb went off, injuring six people. 2004 NASA announced plans to cancel further space shuttle missions to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, an act that would condemn the Hubble to mechanical failure in the next two years. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/13 "2005-06-05T06:38:15Z")
Princess Diana was buried on my 21st birthday. Mother Teresa died that same day. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/14 "2005-06-05T07:10:47Z")
In various years, Malcolm X, Ho Chi Minh, Pete Townshend, Lorraine Hansberry, and Kevin Garnett were born. Nathaniel Hawthorne, T.E. Lawrence, and Ogden Nash died. **1588 Spanish Armada sets sail for Lisbon, bound to England** Wonder how that turned out? Must’ve gone well if they named an SUV after it. **1643 Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut & New Harbor form United Colonies of New England** Red Sox Curse goes into effect. **1662 Uniformity Act of England goes into effect** So _that’s_ why the English are all the same! **1780 About midday, near-total darkness descends on much of New England to this day its cause is still unexplained** Probably a harbinger of my birth. **1792 Russian army enters Poland** …for neither the first nor the last time. **1848 México gives Texas to US, ending the war** Widely considered the most devastating wartime gift since the Trojan Horse. **1864 Last engagement in series of battles known as Spotsylvania** …won by Moose and Squirrel. **1892 National Society of Colonial Dames of America founded** Ring-a-ding-ding. **1905 Tom Jenkins beats Frank Gotcha for heavyweight wrestling champion** Yells “Gotcha, ya!” **1929 Cloudburst causes stampede in Yankee Stadium; 2 people crushed to death** …by Babe Ruth, in a tawdry affair that had nothing to do with the cloudburst or the stampede. **1950 New York Times reports of world’s smallest & dumbest mechanical brain** …which immediately gets a job editing the _New York Post_. **1958 Premiere of Harold Pinter’s “Birthday Party” in London** Not for me, although that might be the most fun birthday I ever get. **1960 Juan Marichal debuts as San Fransisco Giant pitcher, beats Phillies on 1 hitter** …and he hit that guy himself, with a bat! **1991 Willy T Ribbs becomes 1st black driver to make Indianapolis 500** …and is immediately pulled over by the police and asked to show proof that he owns the car. **1992 27th Amendment ratified, prohibits Congress from raising its salary** …fortunately, Congress finds many other ways to whore itself out. **1992 Vice President Dan Quayle sites Murphy Brown as a poor example of family values** Quayle’s private papers indicate he meant to say “Jackson Browne.” **1995 World’s youngest doctor, Balamurali Ambati, 17, graduates Mount Sinai** His mother, 31, is very proud. **2161 Syzygy: 8 of 9 planets aligned on same side of sun** Now that I’d like to see. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/15 "2005-06-05T07:37:28Z")
Well, I Googled my birthdate, October 5, 1942, and except for my arrival it was a fairly slow news day. American planes (size, type and range unspecified) from the carrier U.S.S. Hornet attacked Japanese vessels (size, type and heading unspecified) off Bougainville “with little success.” Also in that day U.S. Marines (one of whom was my uncle Vern) were dug in on Guadalcanal, where Japanese reinforcements had been landed the previous night under cover of darkness. In the good old U S of A the Saint Louis Cardinals beat the New York Yankees in the fifth and final game of the 1942 World Series by a score of 4-2. After losing the first game of the series on September 30, the Cardinals rallied to whip the Yankees in four straight. I share my birthday (October 5) with: President Chester A. Arthur - 1830 Larry Fine (three stooges) - 1902 Glynis Johns (British actress) - 1923 Karen Allen - 1951 Bob Geldof - 1954 Kate Winslet - 1975 ---
**Author:** ![Low\_Key\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@Low\_Key\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Low_Key_1)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/16 "2005-06-05T07:43:05Z")
The smiley was invented on Sept. 19, 1982. 🙂 (a good first time for using the smiley here, I suppose) And here is the [cite](http://www.authentichistory.com/documents/1980s/smiley/) just in case you don’t believe me. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/17 "2005-06-05T07:48:43Z")
I was born on September 11. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/18 "2005-06-05T08:59:22Z")
on my birthday in: 1653, oliver cromwell disbanded the british parliament 1862, first pastuerization tests by pastuer & bernard 1918, the “red baron” shoots down his last two planes before being shot down & killed the next day 1968, pierre elliott trudeau begins his first term as prime minister of canada 1972, fifth moon landing 1999, columbine school massacre 2001, quebec city summit of the americas some others born on my birthday: 571, muhammad 1808, napolean iii 1889, adolph hitler 1925, tito puente 1972, carmen electra some who died on my birthday: 1314, pope clement v 1912, bram stoker 1992, benny hill 1999, rick rude ---
**Author:** ![MerryMagdalen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@MerryMagdalen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MerryMagdalen)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/19 "2005-06-05T09:32:58Z")
Using wikipedia: 1642: European discovery of Tasmania. 1859: Publication of The Origin of Species. 1904: First successful Caterpillar track (like you find on tanks and such). 1932: Opening of the FBI crime lab. 1951: Gigi (starring the unknown Audrey Hepburn) opens on Broadway. 1963: Lee Harvey Oswald shot on national TV. 1971: D.B. Cooper hijacks a flight and bails out (not far from where I was born, but not on that day). 1976: The Band gives its last performance (see The Last Waltz.) This was the day I was born. Share a birthday with Spinoza, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Scott Joplin, Dale Carnegie, William F. Buckley Jr., Pete Best, Linda Tripp, Elvis Ramone, and (as I’ve known for years)… Ted Bundy. ---
**Author:** ![Frankenbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Frankenbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenbear)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/20 "2005-06-05T09:33:04Z")
On June 25th: Events: 841 - Battle of Fontenay 1788 - Virginia ratifies the United States Constitution and is admitted as the 10th state of the United States. 1876 - Battle of the Little Big Horn and the death of Colonel George Armstrong Custer. 1938 - Dr. Douglas Hyde is elected the first President of Ireland. 1945 - Seán T. O’Kelly is elected the second President of Ireland. 1950 - The beginning of the Korean War. 1959 - Eamon de Valera is elected the third President of Ireland. 1967 - First global satellite television programme - “Our World” 1973 - Erskine Hamilton Childers is elected the fourth President of Ireland. 1982 - Greece abolishes headshaving of the recruits in the military. 1991 - Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence from Yugoslavia. 1993 - David Letterman airs his last episode of Late Night with David Letterman. 1993 - Kim Campbell is chosen as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and becomes the first female Prime Minister of Canada. 1996 - Khobar Towers bombing leaves 19 U.S. servicemen dead in Saudi Arabia. 1998 - Microsoft Windows 98 is released. 1998 - In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional. 1999 - The American soap opera Another World airs its 8891st and final episode. Births: 1903 - George Orwell 1925 - June Lockhart 1933 - James Meredith 1945 - Carly Simon 1963 - George Michael It’s also National Catfish Day and National Strawberry Parfait Day in the U.S. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973.md?page=2)