# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/61 "2005-06-06T14:15:59Z")
The day I was born is the day Rosa Parks refused to get up from her bus seat. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/62 "2005-06-06T15:09:18Z")
From a quick google the following events from history happened on my birthday. Thomas Jefferson’s “Monticello” construction began, 1769 Underground Railroad was established, 1838 Texas seceded from the Union, 1861 More recently. The Columbia space shuttle disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/63 "2005-06-06T16:30:38Z")
Well, let’s see what the crystal ball shows for December 19 (I’m not bothering with births and deaths). Hmm, there’s a ton; let’s cut a short list: 1732 Benjamin Franklin (under the name Richard Saunders) begins publication of “Poor Richard’s Almanack” 1776 Thomas Paine published his 1st “American Crisis” essay, in which he wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls” 1777 Washington settles his troops at Valley Forge PA for the winter 1843 Charles Dickens publishes “A Christmas Carol” in England 1918 Robert Ripley began his “Believe It or Not” column (New York Globe) 1950 General Eisenhower named NATO commander 1950 Tibet’s Dalai Lama flees Chinese invasion 1972 Apollo 17 (last of Apollo Moon landing series) returns to Earth 1985 Mary Lund is 1st woman to receive a Jarvik VII artificial heart ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/64 "2005-06-06T16:34:43Z")
My mom’s birthday is June 14th, Flag Day here in the States. When I was young, she used to tell me that everyone flew their flags just for her! I, of course, believed her. Hey, she was my _ **mom** _! ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/65 "2005-06-06T18:34:13Z")
Some guy named Jesus was born on my birthday. He always gets top billing. ---
**Author:** ![serious\_lark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@serious\_lark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/serious_lark)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/66 "2005-06-06T19:45:43Z")
On February 1 : 1788 - Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet patent the steamboat. 1790 - In New York City the Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time. 1793 - France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. 1796 - The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York. 1814 - Mayon Volcano, in the Philippines, erupts, killing around 1,200 people; most devastating eruption of Mayon Volcano. 1861 - American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States. 1884 - Edition one of the Oxford English Dictionary is published. 1893 - Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio (West Orange, New Jersey). 1896 - The opera La bohème premieres (Turin). 1908 - King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luis Filipe are killed in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon. 1913 - New York City’s Grand Central Terminal opens as the world’s largest train station. 1918 - Russia adopts the Gregorian Calendar. 1919 - The first Miss America is crowned (New York City). 1920 - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begin operations. 1924 - United Kingdom recognizes USSR. 1929 - Frenchman Charles Rigoulet is the first weightlifter to lift over 400 pounds (181 kg) in the “clean and jerk” method. 1946 - Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General. 1958 - Merger of Egypt and Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961. 1974 - Kuala Lumpur declared a Federal Territory. 1979 - Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter. 1979 - Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back into Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile. 1982 - Senegal and Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia. 1992 - The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case. 1994 - In Portland, Oregon Tonya Harding’s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty for his role in attacking figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas upon reentry killing all seven astronauts onboard. Births include : Louis St. Laurent (12th Prime Minister of Canada), Clark Gable, Boris Yeltsin, Don Everly, Terry Jones, Bill Mumy, Brandon Lee, Princess Stephanie of Monaco, and Pauly Shore. Deaths include: Charles IV of France, Pope Alexander VIII, and Mary Shelley. This list is courtesy of Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/67 "2005-06-06T20:06:45Z")
**MerryMagdalen** We share a birthday! Us and Dwight Schultz. ---
**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 6, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/68 "2005-06-06T20:33:52Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > You were born in 1431?! When 574 years old you reach, look as good you will not! ---
**Author:** ![TwoOnSunday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@TwoOnSunday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoOnSunday)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/69 "2005-06-06T20:52:14Z")
1865 General Lee surrenders to General Grant and the U.S. “War Between the States” is effectively over. \*\*\*That is, obviously, not my birth year 🙂 Dennis Quaid was also born on April 9th…can we say “HOT!” ---
**Author:** ![TwoOnSunday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@TwoOnSunday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoOnSunday)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/70 "2005-06-06T20:54:24Z")
And are you going to start complaining about how you get screwed out of gifts as my friend does E V E R Y Y E A R? It’s just a device to get more gifts. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/71 "2005-06-06T20:59:55Z")
> [@](#): > > 2003 - In Sturgis, Michigan, seven men place signs around town reading “All your base are belong to us,” based on the popular mistranslation from the Japanese video game Zero Wing. YES! Score! 🆒 And I share a birthday with Lee Sung-Hi? April Fools Day seriously rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/72 "2005-06-06T22:55:21Z")
People…I _loooove_ all this crazy coinky-dinky juxtaposition of famous and not-so-famous events that can all happen on an average day in history. What a piece of work is man. **_TIME…MARCHES ON!_/** ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/73 "2005-06-06T23:06:38Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Well, let’s see what the crystal ball shows for December 19 (I’m not bothering with births and deaths). I got two. Al Kaline of the Yankees and **Mama Doug** (both in the same year, too). Congrats. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/74 "2005-06-06T23:08:30Z")
Yankees? I meant **TIGERS,** of course. And to think I lived in Metro Detroit for 8 years. **Sheesh.** :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![TheOnlySaneOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@TheOnlySaneOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOnlySaneOne)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/75 "2005-06-07T02:47:14Z")
Shakespeare invaded Poland in 1939. … Wait, Hitler! I mean Hitler! 😃 ---
**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 7, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/76 "2005-06-07T03:15:26Z")
Prefontaine (distance runner) died on the exact year I was born ---
**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 7, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/77 "2005-06-07T03:16:56Z")
…duh…the exact _day_ of the exact year… ---
**Author:** ![Cherry2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cherry2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cherry2000)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/78 "2005-06-07T04:04:16Z")
> [@Ravenous Lady](#): > > When I saw the Jacques Cousteau I realized we’re birthday buddies. Next Saturday right? Happy early Birthday **mhendo**. Count me in for the thrid person with a June 11th b-day. We’re gonna need a bigger cake. 😉 ---
**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 7, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/79 "2005-06-07T04:19:52Z")
> [@Ravenous Lady](#): > > When I saw the Jacques Cousteau I realized we’re birthday buddies. Next Saturday right? Happy early Birthday **mhendo**. Cheers. Same to you, and to **Cherry2000**. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973/80 "2005-06-07T05:37:34Z")
August 30: 1862 – (American Civil War) Union forces lose Second Battle of Bull Run to Confederate troops, who refer to the skirmish as Second Battle of Manassas 1941 – (Second World War) Siege of Leningrad begins (the city is now known as St. Petersburg, its traditional name, and was Petrograd for a time) 1945 – British Crown Colony of Hong Kong liberated from Japan as World War II winds down (53 years later, Hong Kong would be returned to China upon expiration of 88-year lease) 1953 – Hotline between USA and USSR becomes operative (38 years later, USSR would cease to exist) 1967 – Thurgood Marshall becomes first Negro/black/African-American justice of United States Supreme Court 1991 – Azerbaijan declares independence from USSR (also known as Soviet Union, which would linger an additional four months) 1993 – _Late Show with David Letterman_ debuts on CBS, following Dave’s departure from NBC (mentioned in a previous post to this thread) a few months earlier 1999 – Former Portuguese Timor secedes from Indonesia in referendum in which it declares independence as the Republic of East Timor Births: 1748 – Painter Jacques-Louis David 1797 – Writer Mary Shelley (_Frankenstein_) 1871 – Ernest Rutherford, New Zealander who won 1937 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1893 – Huey “The Kingfish” Long, governor of Louisiana who served as the model for Willie Stark in Robert Penn Warren’s novel _All the King’s Men_ 1908 – Fred MacMurray, actor who played father of titular _My Three Sons_ in long-running TV sitcom 1918 – Ted Williams, last major-league baseball player to hit .400 or better for a full season 1943 – Both Olympic skiing champ Jean-Claude Killy and underground cartoonist R. Crumb 1959 – Both **Sternvogel** and Aussie footballer Mark “Jacko” Jackson, the latter of whom is remembered by USA residents for his battery commercials (“The Energizer! It’ll surprise ya! Oi!”) 1972 – Cameron Diaz, one of film’s _Charlie’s Angels_ Deaths: Perhaps the least distinguished day of any in this category – biggest name on _Wikipedia_’s list is probably Charles Bronson, an actor who passed away in 2003. Check [the source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_30) to see just how slim the pickin’s are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-that-took-place-on-your-birthday/306973.md?page=5)