The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle of Manila Bay - Jan. 21st, 2003

http://www.homeofheroes.com/wallofhonor/spanish_am/03_manila.html ^

[SAMWolf]

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Battle of Manila Bay
Birth of the Modern US Navy

If the prospects for war with Spain had been a foregone conclusion for months, so too was the predicted outcome of such a conflict. The Spanish fleet, while still large, was an aging fleet that no longer reflected the luster and might that had made the terms "Spanish" and "Armada" synonymous. Despite the fact that many ships of the enemy fleet were constructed of steel, as were the newer warships of the U.S. Navy, they were no match for the modern guns of the American sailors. Author Sherwood Anderson had his own unique perspective of America's coming battles with Spain. He said it would be "Like robbing an old gypsy woman in a vacant lot at night after a fair."

Upon receiving orders to proceed, Admiral George Dewey set his own fleet on a course towards Luzon, departing Mirs Bay in China on April 27th. His flagship was the first class protected cruiser U.S.S. Olympia, followed by three second class cruisers Baltimore, Raleigh and Boston, the gunboats Petrel and Concord, the revenue cutter Hugh MuCulloch, and two transports Nanshan and Zafiro.

The three-day run across the South China Sea was made, as one Naval lieutenant later reported, "As directly and with as little attempted concealment as if on a peace mission. Lights were carried at night and elecric signals freely exchanged; but gruesome preparations were going on within each ship. Anchor chains were hung about exposed gun positions and wound around ammunition hoists; splinter nets were spread under boats; bulkheads, gratings and wooden chests were thrown overboard; furniture was struck below protective decks; surgical instruments were overhauled and hundreds of yards of bandaging disinfected. The sea was strewn for fifty leagues with jettisoned woodwork unfit to carry into battle." (Lt. John Ellicott)

Once his fleet had put to sea, Admiral Dewey ordered the men to muster on each ship to hear a reading of the proclamation issued five days earlier by General Basilio Augustin Davila, the Spanish governor-general of the Philippine Islands. In that proclamation Davila asserted that, "The North American people...have exhausted our patience and provoked war...with their acts of treachery. "A squadron manned by foreigners, possessing neither instruction nor discipline, is preparing to come to this archipelago with the ruffianly intention of robbing us of all that means life, honor and liberty. Pretending to be inspired by a courage of which they are incapable, the North American (U.S.) seamen undertake as an enterprise capable of realization, the substitution of Protestantism for the Catholic religion you profess, to treat you as tribes refractory to civilization, to take possession of your riches as if they were unacquainted with the rights of property, and to kidnap those persons whom they consider useful to man their ships or to be exploited in agriculture or industrial labor."

When the entire text of General Basilio's March 23rd proclamation had been read, the officers of each American ship informed the crew that their destination was the Philippine Islands to "capture or destroy the Spanish fleet." The cheers of the sailors and Marines echoed across the South China Sea as the United States Navy prepared for its first major foreign test as a world power.

As morning dawned on April 30th, Admiral Dewey's fleet sighted the coastline of the largest of the Philippine islands, Luzon. The United States Navy had finally arrived, prepared for war. First however, they had to locate the enemy fleet. Spanish Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasaron was no novice at sea, and among the more than 700 islands of the archipelago there were literally thousands of small coves that would hide his vessels.



The logical location for finding the enemy would be somewhere in the vicinity of Manila Bay, a large inlet near the Philippine capital city, midway on the western coast of Luzon. Arriving at Luzon eighty miles north of Manila Bay, Dewey dispatched his warships Boston and Concord to reconnoiter the smaller bays and inlets as the remaining seven vessels slowly continued southward towards Manila Bay.

The Boston and Concord found no sign of the enemy fleet, then proceeded to enter Subic Bay at the northwest edge of the Bataan peninsula. Again they found no sign of the enemy vessels, and turned to rejoin the fleet. As they departed the bay they met the Baltimore, recently dispatched ahead of the rest of Dewey's warships to meet them. (Had the reconnaissance occurred one day earlier, the Boston and Concord would have steamed directly into the Spanish fleet. Within the previous 24 hours Admiral Montojo had sailed his warships out of Subic Bay after a 4-day stay, opting to enter the shelter of the larger Manila Bay.) As the sun began to set on the evening of April 30th, Admiral Dewey's full fleet of 7 warships and 2 transports had marshaled outside Subic. He ordered the commanding officers of each ship to join him on the flag ship Olympia, where he outlined his plans. For the men of the United States Navy, it would be a long night.

Manila Bay is a large inlet on the western coast of Luzon, nearly twenty miles wide and twenty miles deep. Entrance to the bay is only achieved through a narrow passageway less than ten miles across, and broken up by the tadpole shaped fortress island of Corregidor, and the smaller islands of Caballo and El Fraile. At the north end of the entrance is the Bataan Peninsula and the city of Mariveles. With heavy guns placed on fortifications at Mariveles and Corregidor, and with additional batteries on the two smaller islands and the southern tip of the entrance, an enemy attempting to enter Manila Bay would be subject to an intense cross-fire from at least five batteries. At the north end of a small peninsula just southwest of the capitol city sat the Cavite arsenal, as well as additional fortifications on Sangley Point. Admiral Montojo chose to anchor his ten warships and their transports just outside the city of Manila, knowing that before an enemy could attack him, they would first have to run the gauntlet of shore batteries at the harbor's entrance. Scattered throughout the smaller coves and river inlets to the harbor he had another 20 or more small river boats. It was a perfect place to hide or, should an enemy dare to run the gauntlet, to stand and fight.



Aboard the Olympia, Admiral Dewey was planning to do just that. As the ship's band played "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight," the American commander explained his order of battle. The young moon would provide just enough light for the lead ship to spot the island of Corregidor and the entrance to Manila Bay. By midnight however, the moon would set to provide a darkened passage for his fleet as they ran the enemy gauntlet. If all went well, when morning dawned, he would find and destroy the Spanish fleet.

At 7:30 that evening, the commanders each having returned to their respective warships, Admiral Dewey began leading the convoy towards Manila Bay in his flagship. Cruising at 8 knots, strung out behind him at intervals of 400 yards, was a single line of American Naval power: Baltimore, Raleigh, Petrel, Concord, Boston, McCulloch, Zafiro, and Nanshan...in that order. Each ship traveled under complete blackout conditions, save for a single light aft. Even that light was shielded so as to be hid from the periphery. Only the ship directly behind could see its faint glow, as the silent warships crept in a single line towards the battlefield.

At 10:40 the lights of the enemy encampment at Corregidor came into view, and the men of the American war ships were ordered to stand by their guns. Within the half hour the "Olympia" entered the Boca Grand, the larger of two channels entering Manila Bay. In the darkness the dull, gray ships silently crept forward, young and untested soldiers crouching in hushed anxiety near their guns. None would sleep on this night.

By 11:30 the fleet was committed to its dangerous course when the night was lit by a rocket from Corregidor. Young sailors held their breath as they awaited the crash of enemy guns that was destined to follow. None came. The American fleet had not yet been spotted and slowly continued onward. A short time later the lights at Corregidor, Caballo Island and on the San Nicolas Banks were extinguished for the night.



Midnight and total darkness fell over the passageway, and then came the first sounds of enemy fire. At last the shore batteries had detected the passage of the American battleships, and shells began to rain over the convoy. The first rounds came from the south shore near Punta Restinga, followed by the shells from the batteries at Caballo and El Fraile. The Raleigh and Concord briefly returned fire, but the Americans quickly noted that the enemy shells were falling far over their heads. In the darkness the ships were still nearly invisible as they ran the gauntlet.

Shortly after four o'clock on the morning of May 1st, the Olympia was well into the harbor, the other American ships behind her and prepared for battle. Skill and daring had enabled the 9 vessels to negotiate the passageway, thought to have been mined and directly under the shore batteries of the enemy, to find and sink the Spanish fleet. Twenty miles distant Admiral Dewey could see the lights of Manila. In front of the capitol city in a line northward from Sangley Point was anchored ten warships of Admiral Montojo. Concealment was no longer important, the Spanish now knew the Americans had arrived. Admiral Dewey's flagship became a beacon of flashing signal lights as he organized his ships for the battle that would come with dawn.

It was not until two o'clock in the morning that Admiral Montojo had been awakened to be informed that the Americans had entered the bay. He was stunned. The thought that the American commander would make the three-day trip from China and, on his first night upon arrival and without reconnaissance, dare to run the batteries and probable mine fields to enter Manila Bay in the dead of night, had never crossed his mind. Be that as it may, the Americans had arrived, and Montojo ordered his ships to raise steam. All his officers who had gone ashore to be with their families were awakened and called back to their ships.

At 4:00 A.M. coffee was served to the officers and men of Admiral Dewey's fleet. Three vessels of the reserve squadron were sent northward to lay to, while Dewey's remaining six ships continued their course towards Manila. At 5:05 A.M. the Stars and Stripes were unfurled from each of the war ships and Dewey gave the command to "Prepare for general action." Ten minutes later the enemy shore batteries at Sangley Point opened fire. The American ships returned fire, then turned towards the ships of Admiral Montojo.



Within minutes the early morning air was filled with the thunder of heavy guns, and geysers of water shooting heavenward as the enemy shells began falling around the American ships. Dressed in his crisp white Naval dress uniform, Admiral George Dewey stood on the bridge of his flagship "Olympia". In the preceding hours he had done the unthinkable, navigating the Boca Grand to find and meet the enemy. As the smell of smoke filled the air and the shells of the enemy erupted around his fleet, Dewey led the way into battle. At 5:40 A.M. he turned to the Captain Charles V. Gridley of his flagship, the USS Olympia and said:

"You may fire when ready."

[SAMWolf]

May 1, 1898 - Manila Bay

The Spanish fleet was anchored in what was almost an east-to-west line across the bay as Captain Gridley made his first broadside run on the enemy battleships. From the bridge, Admiral Dewey personally directed the entire battle, most of which lasted only two hours. As the Olympia opened fire at 5:41 A.M., it steamed westward across the line of enemy ships. Three shore batteries at Manila opened fire on the American ships, sustaining fire for the period. Most of the rounds sailed harmlessly past Dewey's fleet to fall into the waters of the bay. Meanwhile Admiral Montojo's aging warships faced a deadly fusillade from the Olympia and the five American ships strung out behind it, the Baltimore, Raleigh, Petrel, Concord, and Boston.

The starboard batteries of the American ships pounded the port sides of the Spanish fleet with devastating effect as they made the first pass. From a distance of from 2,000 to 5,000 yards the combat was furious, but most of the return fire from Admiral Montojo's ships fell short of the Americans. Two Spanish torpedo boats broke from the anchored enemy vessels to approach the Olympia. One was quickly sunk, the other damaged beyond further effort and had to be subsequently beached.

The first pass left many of the ten Spanish warships badly damaged and the smoke from the fires caused by the battle hung low over the bay. Reaching the westward end of the line, at 6:40 Dewey ordered his line of warships to turn and pass broadside once again, this time attacking from west to east. Again the heavy guns of the US Navy rained death and destruction on the Spanish. Five times in all, three to the west and twice to the east, Admiral Dewey's ships made runs on the enemy.



At 7:00 A.M. Admiral Montojo's flagship, Reina Cristina tried desperately to leave the line and engage the Americans at short range. A galling fire from the Olympia turned her back, heavily damaged and fires erupting in several places. At least one 8-inch shell pierced the Reina Cristina and her fate was quickly sealed. The Admiral's flag was transferred to the nearby Isla de Cuba.

By 7:35 all ten ships of the Spanish fleet were almost totally in ruin and fires burned in many places across the bay. Admiral Dewey received a report, which later proved to be erroneous, that only 15 rounds of ammunition per gun remained for his 5-inch rapid fire battery. After less than two hours of battle, he called a cease-fire and pulled his ships back to regroup and redistribute ammunition. It also afforded his crew opportunity to have breakfast.

During the lull in the battle of Manila Bay, the captains of the ships of the US Navy took stock of their own damages, then made their reports to Dewey on the Olympia. Amazingly, considering the ferocity of the battle, casualties had been light...only three of the six battleships bore any scars. The bridge of the Olympia where Admiral Dewey directed the battle had been peppered with fragments of a bursting shell, Another shell struck the starboard side of the flagship while another had cut the signal halyards from the flag lieutenant's hand. The Boston had taken a direct hit near the water line on the port side aft, setting fire in the officers quarters. The fire had been quickly extinguished however, and the Boston was capable of continued battle. The Baltimore had survived all five passes on the Spanish fleet directly behind the flagship, and had taken the most damage. Five times the enemy shells had struck the large second-class cruiser, seven men and two officers receiving minor wounds from shrapnel. They were the only Americans wounded in the course of the entire battle.



Despite the five direct hits, not counting a sixth that had cut a hole in the Stars and Stripes that flew from its mast, compared to the burning and sinking wreckage of the Spanish ships, Baltimore had been fortunate indeed. The only American craft to sink had been the Baltimore's two quarter-boats, blown to pieces by the blasts of the Baltimore's own guns and subsequently cut loose to add to the wreckage in Manila Bay.

During this lull in the battle, Admiral Dewey sent a warning to the Governor-General in Havana, where the three shore batteries had maintained a steady fire on his fleet. Unless the guns were silenced, the American warships would begin shelling the city. The devastation of the US Navy's guns already apparent in the bay, Manila's Governor-General took heed of this warning and the firing from the shore batteries at Havana ended.

By 11:16 A.M. Admiral Dewey had regrouped his fleet, received reports from his captains, and determined that the earlier report on the shortage of ammunition was in error. A second time he turned his warships towards the enemy fleet, this time to finish the job. There wasn't much to finish. The Reina Cristina and one of the enemy gunboats were burning beyond hope. (Admiral Montojo later estimated his flagship had taken seventy hits before the transfer of his flag to the Isla de Cuba.) The Spanish cruiser Castilla had taken heavy fire in the first five passes and, during the lull before the second assault commenced, had been destroyed by an explosion within, presumably caused when onboard fires reached the ship's magazines. The Don Juan de Austria, Isla de Cuba, and Isla de Luzon had also taken heavy fire, rupturing the sea valves and causing many of the crew to abandon ship. In the "mop-up" operation, only Don Antonio de Ulloa remained in any semblance of fighting order. Despite Admiral Montojo's final desperate order to "scuttle and abandon", the commander of Ulloa remained with his ship at anchor just inside Sangley Point. As the Brooklyn moved past Sangley Point, the sailors of Ulloa opened fire, a last valiant effort by the crew of a doomed enemy ship.

The Brooklyn returned fire, joined shortly thereafter by the Olympia. Passing to the other side of the point, the Raleigh joined in the swan song of the Spanish Armada, catching the Ulloa in a crossfire that destroyed her within minutes. Meanwhile the rest of Dewey's warships cruised past to train their guns on the arsenal at Cavite. Within half an hour the five Spanish flags were lowered at the Spanish Naval base, to be replaced by a white flag of surrender.

By 12:40 Admiral Dewey anchored his valiant fleet abreast of the city of Manila. In seven hours the untested sailors and Marines of the United States had survived their first engagement. In those seven hours they had destroyed virtually every ship of Spain's Pacific Fleet, ten huge warships now exploding, burning, or sinking. A squadron annihilated, the American forces had also captured an enemy navy yard and more than 400 enemy lay dead or wounded. For the Americans, not a single ship was disabled, not a life lost. (The only casualty of the day was the the death of the engineer of the McCulloch, a victim of heat stroke.)


Wreck of the Spanish cruiser Castilla off Cavite, shortly after the battle. In the background are (left-to-right): USS Olympia, USS Baltimore, USS Raleigh and two merchant ships.

Spanish ships destroyed: Reina Christina, Castilla, Velasco, Don Juan de Austria, Don Antonio De Ulloa, Isla de Cuba, Isla de Luzon, Elcano, General Lezo, Marquis del Duero, Argos

[SAMWolf]

The Battle of Manila bay is considered by many to be the birth of the modern United States Navy. It was indeed, a great source of pride for all citizens of the United States, the first GOOD news since the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine. As could be expected, reports of the unbelievable victory in Havana made for pages of ink in the American newspapers. Admiral Dewey and Captain Gridley became instant heroes, Dewey's initial order, "You may fire when ready" the new buzz word of the times.

Admiral Montojo would not be so fortunate. Upon return to Spain he was court-martialed and cashiered.

There were many other heroes on that first day of the Spanish-American war, untested young sailors who stood in the face of violent enemy fire to courageously do their duty. Even among the ranks of the enemy, one could not overlook the valiant last stand, when all hope was gone, of the captain and crew of the Don Antonio de Ulloa. In Captain Gridley's report he stated, Every officer and man did his whole duty there is only room for general praise." The captain of the Olympia paid further tribute in his report to 3 clerks who, in time of combat, voluntarily took up battle stations. He also gave a good report of a reporter from the New York Herald, along for the story, who "served as a volunteer aid to the commander in chief and rendered invaluable assistance in carrying messages and in keeping an accurate account of the battle."

Other officers similarly reported on the courage and tenacity of the men under their command. The heroism of Franz Anton Itrich, Chief Carpenter's Mate on the U.S.S. Petrel was recognized in a single, simple sentence..."Serving in the presence of the enemy, Itrich displayed heroism during the action." That description was far too brief to truly preserve for future generation the courage of this American sailor.

Born in Germany, Itrich was one of the many immigrants who chose to serve his adopted country in the latter part of the 19th century. During the 7-hour battle of Manila Bay, Itrich's ship the Petrel gave a solid accounting of itself. Itrich himself performed his duties coolly and professionally.

When the battle had ended and Admiral Dewey withdrew his ships to anchor abreast of Manila, the entire bay was awash with flaming wreckage and debris. Many of the Spanish ships, though reduced to hulks of twisted metal, still drifted dangerously on the swells of the bay. Of additional concern were the smaller gunboats, perhaps as many as twenty, hidden in the shallow coves and river inlets that spilled into Manila Bay. As the victorious fleet was pulled together to accept the the glorious moment of surrender at Manila, Admiral Dewey instructed Commander Wood of the Petrel to conduct the final sweep and destruction of the remnants of the Spanish fleet.



It was Franz Itrich who volunteered for the dangerous task. Captain Wood dispatched a whale boat with Itrich and seven men to board those enemy vessels still afloat and destroy them.

Slowly, carefully, Franz Itrich had his men row their small boat to each of the still burning enemy vessels. Itrich himself personally boarded each ship, braving flames and explosions to determine the best places both fore and aft to spread the fires that would send the floundering death-traps to the bottom of the bay. In each boarding there was always the potential for harm to himself from the flames and secondary explosions, perhaps even a very real danger of a one-on-one confrontation with an enemy who had remained behind or was wounded and unable to abandon ship. The cool, thorough manner in which Itrich completed his job resulted in the final destruction of Don Juan de Austria, Isla de Cuba, Isla de Luzon, Marquis del Duero, and Velasco. Upon boarding the transport Manila, Itrich found it to carry 350 tons of coal, 35 head of cattle, 45 barrels of wine, and a large supply of light artillery ammunition. Using good judgment, Itrich chose to spare this ship, which was later converted to an American gunboat.

For his service that day, Franz Itrich was commended by his captain, promoted to Carpenter, and given a gratuity of $100 from the Navy department. His actions were preserved for future generations in that one, simple sentence ....

Serving in the presence of the enemy, Itrich displayed heroism during the action."

They were the explanation for an even more prestigious recognition. Franz Anton Itrich became the first American to earn the Medal of Honor in the Spanish-American War.

[SAMWolf]

'You may fire when ready'

-- Admiral Dewey
to Captain Charles V. Gridley of the USS Olympia

[SAMWolf]

Thanks, Doughty!

[SAMWolf]

[Soaring Feather]

bump for a later read

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Olympia (C-6)

Olympia class protected cruiser
Displacement: 5,586 t.
Length: 344’1”
Beam: 53’
Draft: 21’6”
Speed: 20 k.
Complement: 411
Armament: 4 8”; 10 5”; 4 6-pdrs.; 6 1-pdrs.; 6 18” torpedo tubes

USS OLYMPIA (C-6) was laid down 17 June 1891 by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif.; launched 5 November 1892 sponsored by Miss Ann B. Dickie; and commissioned 5 February 1895, Captain John J. Read in command.

OLYMPIA departed Mare Island 25 August 1895 to join the Asiatic Fleet as flagship. For three years she cruised the Far East, visiting Japan, China, and the Philippines. With Captain Charles V. Gridley in command, she flew the flag of Commodore George Dewey from 3 January 1898. That winter, she lay at Hong Kong with the fleet, awaiting orders should war with Spain break out. On 25 April, the day the war was declared, the squadron moved to Mirs Bay, China. Two days later came the message which led to Dewey's immortal victory at Manila Bay.

Ships darkened, the fleet safely passed the harbor defenses, and engaged the enemy off Manila at daybreak 1 May. Dewey remembered, “At 5:40, when we were within a distance of 5,000 yards, I turned to Captain Gridley and said, ‘You may fire when you are ready, Gridley’.... The very first gun to speak was an 8 inch ... of the OLYMPIA ...." By noon, Spain's Asian fleet had been destroyed with OLYMPIA playing the leading role. The battle was pivotal in the history of the Far East, and thus of the world.

OLYMPIA took part in the blockade and capture of the city of Manila and covered the Army in repelling insurgent attacks until she returned to the China coast 20 May 1899. Next month she was underway for Suez, the Mediterranean, and Boston, which she reached 10 October. She decommissioned there 8 November 1899.

Recommissioning in January 1902, OLYMPIA joined the North Atlantic Squadron, serving first as flagship for the Caribbean Division. In the next four years, she roved the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, protecting American citizens and interests from danger in the political strife and turmoil troubling this period. She was off Panama (December 1903-March 1904), Tangiers (June 1904), Smyrna, Turkey (August 1904), and Santo Domingo (May-December 1905), on the alert for any threat.

For six years, beginning 2 April 1906, OLYMPIA was out of commission first at Norfolk, then at Annapolis, recommissioning three summers for midshipmen training cruises (15 May-26 August 1907; l June-1 September 1908; 14 May-28 August 1909). She arrived Charleston, S. C. 6 March 1912, to serve as barracks ship for the reserve torpedo group.

As war came closer to the United States, OLYMPIA recommissioned in late 1916 and became flagship, Patrol Force Atlantic Fleet, 13 April 1917. She patrolled off Nova Scotia and escorted convoys before departing Charleston 28 April 1918 for Murmansk, Russia. There on 24 May 1918, she joined an allied force during the crisis brought on by Russia's revolution and her peace treaty with Germany. OLYMPIA landed sailors to garrison Murmansk, and contributed others to the Allied expedition on Archangel.

At war's end she sailed for Portsmouth, England, and then the Mediterranean. She cruised principally in the Adriatic from 21 January to 25 October 1919, policing the Dalmation coast which was wracked with turmoil in the wake of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On 18 August, she sailed for the Black Sea to aid refugees before returning to the Adriatic 19 September. On 23 September, she sent a landing party ashore at Trau to prevent a clash between Yugoslavs and Italians.

Returning to Charleston 24 November 1919, OLYMPIA prepared for further Adriatic duty, departing New York 14 February 1920. Home again at Philadelphia 25 May 1921, she became flagship of the Train, Atlantic Fleet, the next month. She took part that July in the Army-Navy experiments which sank ex-German warships FRANKFURT and OSTFRIESLAND off the Virginia Capes.

On 3 October 1921, OLYMPIA departed Philadelphia for LeHavre to bring the remains of the Unknown Soldier home for interment in Arlington National Cemetery. The cruiser sailed for home 25 October 1921, escorted by a group of French destroyers for the first leg of the passage. At the mouth of the Potomac on 9 November, NORTH DAKOTA (BB-29) and BERNADOU (DD-163) joined her as she stood up to the Washington Navy Yard. There, with full and somber military honors, the body was piped over the side, OLYMPIA firing a last salute.

After training midshipmen in the summer of 1922, OLYMPIA decommissioned at Philadelphia 9 December 1922. She was reclassified IX-40 on 30 June 1931. The Navy's oldest steel ship still afloat is preserved as a shrine at Philadelphia by the Cruiser OLYMPIA Association, to which title was transferred 11 September 1957. In 1996, Independence Seaport Museum assumed responsibility for maintaining the vessel. USS OLYMPIA is a National Historic Landmark and the triple expansion engines are National Historic Engineering Landmarks.

[Fiddlstix]

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[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on January 21:
1338 Charles V (the Wise) king of France (1364-80)
1571 John I Pontanus physicist/historian (Amsterdam)
1659 Adriaen van der Werff Dutch portrait painter/engraver/architect
1735 Johann Gottfried Eckard composer
1743 John Fitch inventor (had a working steamboat years before Fulton)
1746 Johann H Pestalozzi Zurich Switzerland, educator (Leonard & Gertrude)
1751 Josephus Andreas Fodor composer
1759 Johan Valckenaer Dutch politician/patriot
1762 Giuseppe Antonio Silvani composer
1771 Arnold A Buyskes Dutch Vice-Admiral/colonial director
1775 Manuel Garcia composer
1792 Tsjalling Hiddes Halbertsma Fries story teller (Rhymes & Tales)
1796 John Gelinde van Blom Frisian notary/author
1801 Ramon Vilanova y Barrera composer
1813 John C Frémont [Pathfinder], map maker/explorer (western US)/Governor (AZ)
1814 Thomas Attwood Walmisley composer
1815 Horace Wells dentist (pioneered use of medical anesthesia)
1821 John Cabell Breckinridge (D) 14th US Vice Pressident (1857-61)/Major-General (Confederacy)
1823 Alexandre Edouard Goria composer
1824 Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson Lieutenant-General 2nd Corps (ANV, Confederacy)
1829 Oscar II Frederik King of Sweden (1872-1907)/Norway (-1905)/poet
1833 Norman Willis union leader (Britain's Trades Union Congress)
1840 Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake pioneer English woman physician
1848 Henri Duparc French composer
1855 John M Browning US, weapons manufacturer
1859 Antoni Wincenty Rutkowski composer
1865 Heinrich E Albers-Schönberg German röntgenologist
1867 James Marcus actor (Eagle, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Lone Avenger)
1867 Maxime Weygand French General/Governor-General (Algeria)
1867 Willem C Royaards Dutch theater director (Summer Games)
1872 Jonkhr Frans Beelaerts van Blokland Dutch foreign minister
1875 John Lindworsky German jesuit/psychologist (Der Wille)
1875 Paul E Kahle Germany, professor of oriental studies
1878 Egon Friedell Austria, journalist/actor/writer (Der Partylowe)
1883 Olav Aukrust Norway, poet
1884 Katie Sandwina Germany, legendary woman weight-lifter
1884 Roger Nash Baldwin founder (American Civil Liberties Union)
1885 Umberto Nobile Italian General
1886 Gustaaf Sap Belgian minister of Finance/Economy
1887 Alfred Henry Ackley composer
1887 Wolfgang Köhler German/US Gestalt psychologist (Mentality of Apes)
1889 Bert Collins cricketer (Aussie batsman in the post WWI years)
1889 Pitirim A Sorokin Russian/US sociologist (Social mobility)
1891 Francisco Lazaro Portuguese runner
1891 Nikolay Semyonovich Golovanov composer
1891 Timothy Mather Spelman composer
1897 J Carrol Naish New York City NY, actor (Charlie Chan-Adventures of Charlie Chan)
1898 John George Syria, actor (Kolb-Adventures of Fu Manchu)
1898 Avery Claflin composer
1904 Richard P Blackmur Massachusetts, critic/poet (Anni Mirabiles, Good European)
1904 Joseph Ford McGuinn Brooklyn NY, actor (Dick Tracy's G-Men)
1905 Christian Dior Normandy France, fashion designer (long-skirted look)
1906 Fred Fehl Austrian/US Broadway photographer
1906 John Putz journalist
1908 Bengt Strömgren Göteborg Sweden, astrophysicist (studied gas cloud)
1909 Todor Skalovski composer
1910 Patsy Kelly Brooklyn NY, actress (Cowboy & the Lady)
1910 Lord Cayzer British financier/Schweppes magnate/multi-millionaire
1911 Stanley William Reed cineaste
1912 Konrad Bloch Germany, biochemist (studied cholesterol-Nobel 1964)
1915 Alan Hewitt New York City NY, actor (Detective Brennan-My Favorite Martian)
1917 Rohan Butler historian
1918 Geoffrey Dawes physiologist
1919 Jinx Falkenburg Barcelona Spain, actress (Masquerade Party)
1920 Donald Cuthbert Coleman economic historian
1920 Errol Walton Barrow PM of Barbados (DLP) (1966-76, 1986-87)
1920 Torsten Nilsson composer
1921 Barney Clark 1st to receive a permanent artificial heart
1921 John Doucette Brockton MA, actor (Lock Up, Big Town)
1921 Todor Popov composer
1922 Jean P Vroom Dutch sculptor
1922 Paul Scofield Hurst England, actor (Man for All Seasons, Train)
1923 Judith Merril [Josephine Juliet Grossman], sci-fi writer
1924 Benny Hill Southampton England, comedian (Benny Hill Show)
1924 Telly [Aristotle] Savalas Garden City Long Island NY, actor (Acapulco, Kojak)
1925 Lola Flores Cadiz Spain, singer/actress (Kuma Ching, Faraona)
1925 Oswald "Ossie" Stevens Nock railway writer
1926 Paul Burke New Orleans LA, actor (Neal-Dynasty)
1926 Franco Evangelisti Italian composer
1926 Raf Reymen Flemish actor
1926 Steve Reeves Glasgow MT, actor (Hercules, Hercules Unchained)
1930 Valentin Ignatyevich Filatyev Russia, cosmonaut
1932 Boris Shakhlin Russia, gymnast (Olympics-gold-1956-60-64)
1933 Itzhak Fuks Israeli El Al captain, crashed in Amsterdam
1933 William Wrigley III chewing gum mogul (Wrigleys)
1935 Ann Wedgeworth Abilene TX, actress (Tiger's Tale, Men's Club, Bogie)
1939 Mary Ellen McAnally Illinois, poet (Dance of the Zygotes)
1939 Wolfman Jack [Bob Smith], Brooklyn NY, DJ (Midnight Special)
1940 Jack Nicklaus Columbus OH, golfer (Player of Year 1967,72,73,75,76)
1940 Marquis of Tavistock English large landowner/multi-millionaire
1941 Placido Domingo Madrid Spain, opera tenor (Pinkerton-Madame Butterfly)
1941 Richie Havens Brooklyn NY, folk singer (Here Comes the Sun)
1941 Edwin Starr [Charles Hatcher], US singer (War)
1942 Mac Davis Lubbock TX, singer/actor (Mac Davis Show, North Dallas 40)
1944 John Kenneth Tavener composer
1944 Neely Bruce composer
1945 Andrew Stein president of NYC council (D)
1945 Chris Britton rocker (Troggs-Rock & Roll Goldmine)
1946 Vincent Placoly Martinique, writer (L'eau-de-mort guildive)
1947 Jill Eikenberry New Haven CT, actress (Ann Kelsey-LA Law, Manhattan Project)
1947 Jimmy Ibbotson Penn, country singer (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
1950 Billy Ocean [Leslie S Charles], Trinidad, singer (Suddenly, Caribbean Queen)
1950 Joseph R Tanner Danville IL, astronaut (STS 66, 82, sk 97)
1950 Richie Ranno rocker
1953 Fausto Bara Mexico, actor (Gaucho-Renegades)
1955 Peter Fleming New Jersey, tennis player (US Open Doubles 1979, 81, 83)
1955 Robby Benson Dallas TX, actor (One on One, Running Brave, ChosenIce Castles, Beauty and the Beast)
1956 Bob Brill New York City NY, drummer (Berlin-You Take My Breath Away)
1957 Geena (Virginia) Davis Wareham MA, actress (Beetlejuice, The Fly)
1957 Jacob Green NFL defensive end (Seattle Seahawk)
1957 Shaukat Dukanwala cricketer (Baroda off-spinner, UAE World Cup 1996)
1958 Miguel Alejandro New York City NY, actor (Popi)
1961 Sherry Ramsay Stauton VA, actress (Trish Mason-As the World Turns)
1961 Gabrielle Carteris Phoenix AZ, actress (Andrea-Beverly Hills 90210)
1963 Cindy Schreyer Forest Park GA, LPGA golfer (1993 Sun-Times Challenge)
1963 Detlef Schrempf Germany, NBA forward (Mavericks, Pacers, Supersonics)
1963 Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon Nigeria, NBA center (Rockets, Olympics-gold-96)
1963 Jessie Hester NFL player (St Louis Rams)
1965 Brian Bradley Kitchener, NHL center (Tampa Bay Lightning)
1965 Cordell Crockett rocker (Ugly Kid Joe-Mad Man, Too Bad)
1965 Eric Moore NFL tackle (Cleveland Browns)
1965 Tania Abitbol Madrid Spain, LPGA golfer (1994 US Women's Open-4th)
1966 Chris Hammond US baseball pitcher (Florida Marlins)
1966 Katrine Michaelsen Gentokte Denmark, Miss Denmark (1984)
1967 Ulf Stenlund Sweden, tennis star
1968 Charlotte Ross Chicago, actress (Eve-Days of Our Lives)
1968 Tom Urbani Santa Cruz CA, pitcher (St Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers)
1969 Ashley Sheppard NFL linebacker (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1969 Matt Willig NFL tackle/guard (Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets)
1969 Rusty Greer Fort Rucker AL, outfielder (Texas Rangers)
1969 Ted Long CFL slot back (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
1970 Brennan Little St Thomas Ontario, golfer (1994 Western States mini-tour)
1970 Ian Salisbury cricketer (Sussex & England leg-spinner 1992-96)
1971 Doug Edwards NBA forward (Vancouver Grizzlies)
1971 Doug Weight Warren MI, NHL center (Edmonton Oilers, Team USA 98)
1971 Tommy Puett Gary IN, actor (Tyler-Life Goes On, America's Top 10)
1972 Alan Benes Evansville IN, pitcher (St Louis Cardinals)
1972 Howard Nathan NBA guard (Atlanta Hawks)
1972 Shelley Looney ice hockey forward (USA, Olympics-98)
1973 Bubba Miller corner (Philadelphia Eagles)
1973 Grady Jackson defensive tackle (Oakland Raiders)
1973 Jamal Cox WLAF linebacker (Rhein Fire)
1974 Jerald Sowell fullback (New York Jets)
1974 Jerry Wunsch tackle (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1974 Orpheus Roye defensive end (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1975 Anette Oldenborg Miss Denmark-Universe (1996)
1975 Faghma Absalom Miss Namibia-Universe (1996)
1975 Willem Korsten Dutch soccer player (Vitesse)
1976 Amanda Little Miss Texas-USA (1997, top 6)
1976 Emma Lee Bunton "Baby Spice", Finchley London, vocalist (Spice Girls)
1976 Lynn Thomas Newport News VA, playmate (May 1997)
1979 Kelly Gaudet Miss Florida Teen-USA (1996)
1980 Aubrie Rippner Los Angeles CA, tennis star (1995 USTA National Girls 18)

---

Deaths which occurred on January 21:
0879 Boudouin with the Iron Arm Earl of Flanders, dies
1118 Paschalis II [Raniero], pope (1099-1118), dies
1596 John Ligarius German theologist/prime minister, dies at 66
1609 Joseph Justus Scaliger French inventor of "Julian Period", dies at 68
1626 John Dowland English musician/lyric poet (In Darkness We Dwell), dies at about 63
1665 Domenico Mazzocchi composer, dies at 72
1665 Pierre de Fermat French mathematician (Fermat theorem), dies at 63
1670 Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan French playwright, dies at 80
1683 Anthony Ashley Cooper 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, dies at 61
1686 Nicolas-François Blondel French architect, dies
1704 Willem B Schepers Dutch merchant/ship owner, dies at about 83
1746 Gottfried Kirkhoff composer, dies at 60
1774 Mustapha III sultan of Turkey (1957-74), dies at 56
1793 Louis XVI French king (1774-93), beheaded by revolutionaries at 38
1815 M Claudius writer, dies at 74
1831 Achim vs Arnim writer, dies at 49
1851 Gustav Albert Lortzing composer, dies at 49
1862 Bozena Nemcová [Barnora Panklová], Czechoslovakian author, dies at 41
1871 John J Rochussen Governor-General of Netherlands-Indies (1845-51), dies at 73
1872 Franz Grillparzer Austrian playwright (Sappho/Libussa), dies at 81
1882 Anton Emil Titl composer, dies at 72
1883 Jacopo Tomadini composer, dies at 62
1884 Auguste Franchomme composer, dies at 75
1888 Stephan Hale Alonzo Marsh composer, dies at 83
1891 Calixa Lavallee composer, dies at 48
1892 John Couch Adams English co-discoverer of Neptune, dies
1894 Guillaume Jean Joseph Nicolas Lekeu composer, dies at 24
1903 Hermanus J A M Schaepman Dutch clergyman/politician, dies at 58
1924 Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin Russian leader, dies of a stroke at 54
1926 Camillo Golgi Italian medical research (malaria, Nobel 1906), dies at 81
1927 Floris H Verster Dutch painter/cartoonist/etcher, dies at 65
1931 Felix Blumenfeld composer, dies at 67
1932 [Giles] Lytton Strachey British biographer/critic, dies at 51
1942 Henryk Opienski Polish composer/musicologist/conductor, dies at 72
1943 Otakar Sini composer, dies at 61
1944 Gustaaf DFL Schamelhout Flemish physician/writer, dies at 74
1944 Heinrich zu Sayn-Wittgenstein German major/pilot, shot down
1948 Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari composer, dies at 72
1950 George Orwell [Eric Arthur Blair] author (Animal Farm, 1984), dies from tuberculosis in London at 46
1954 Billy Jenkins dies at 69
1955 Maarten P Vrij Dutch lawyer/criminologist/High Council, dies at 59
1957 Arthur L Bowley English statistician/economist, dies at 87
1959 Cecil B[lount] de Mille producer (10 Commandments), dies at 77
1959 Lamar Stringfield composer, dies at 61
1961 Blaise Cendrars Swiss/French poet (J'ai tué), dies at 73
1961 John Joseph Becker composer, dies a day before 75th birthday
1962 André Lhote French painter/art historian, dies at 76
1963 Al St John actor (Law & Order, Devil Riders), dies at 70
1963 Franz Jung writer, dies at 74
1964 Joseph Schildkraut actor (Cleopatra, Diary of Anne Frank), dies at 68
1965 Harvey Zorbaugh doctor/TV host (Play the Game), dies at 68
1967 Ann Sheridan actress (Pistols 'n' Petticoats), dies of cancer at 51
1971 Richard B Russell (Senator-D-GA), dies at 73
1974 Jan Arends Dutch poet/author, dies at 48
1974 Ken Viljoen cricketer (played 27 Tests for South Africa 1930-47), dies
1974 Lewis L Strauss head US Atomic Energy Commission (1953-58), dies at 78
1975 Marie Lohr actress (Pygmalion, Small Hotel, Escapade), dies at 84
1977 John Vincent composer, dies at 74
1977 Zoltan Vasarhelyi composer, dies at 76
1981 Allyn Joslyn actor (They Won't Forget, Cafe Society), dies at 79
1984 Jackie Wilson US singer (I Get the Sweetest Feeling), dies at 49
1985 Barbara Cowsill rocker (Cowsills), dies of emphysema
1987 Pieter G Buckinx Flemish writer (7th Day), dies at 83
1988 Abraham Sofaer actor (Naked Jungle, Elephant Walk), dies
1991 Howard "Red" Grange football's galloping ghost, dies at 87
1991 Frank Mitchell actor (Music is Magic, Prairie Gunsmoke), dies
1991 Richard Bolling (Representative-D-MO)/US civil-rights leader, dies at 74
1992 William T "Champion Jack" Dupree US boxer/pianist, dies at 81
1994 Basel al-Assad Syrian President Assad's son, dies in car accident at 31
1995 Flavio "Negao" Pires da Conceicao drug Trafficker, dies at 25
1995 John Halas animator, dies at 82
1995 Philippe Casado Moroccan/French cyclist, dies at 30
1996 Roman Ciesiewicz artist/graphic designer, dies at 65
1996 Sam Green industrialist/inventor, dies at 88
1997 Colonel Tom Parker manager (Elvis Presley), dies at 87
1997 Dennis Main Wilson TV/radio producer, dies at 72
1997 Michael Duane educationalist, dies at 81

---

On this day...
1077 German King Heinrich IV petitions Pope Gregory VII for forgiveness
1189 Philip II, Henry II & Richard Lion-Hearted initiate 3rd Crusade
1276 Pierre de Tarantaise elected Pope Innocent V
1324 Zen Buddhist religious debate between Tendai & Shingon
1522 Head inquisitor Adrian Florisz Boeyens elected pope
1542 Parliament passes bill of attainder against Queen Katherine Howard
1604 Tsar Ivan IV defeats the False Dmitri, who claims to be the true tsar
1664 Count Miklós of Zrinyi sets out to battle Turkish invasion army
1677 1st medical publication in America (pamphlet on smallpox), Boston
1732 Russia & Persia sign Treaty of Riascha
1789 1st American novel, WH Brown's "The Power of Sympathy", is published
1793 Prussia & Russia sign partition treaty (Poland divided)
1799 Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination is introduced
1818 Keats writes his poem "On a Lock of Milton's Hair"
1821 Paramaribo Suriname catches fire, 4 die
1824 Ashantees defeat British at Accra, West Africa
1827 Freedom Journal, 1st Black paper, begins publishing
1830 Portsmouth (Ohio) blacks forcibly deported
1846 1st edition of Charles Dickens' "Daily News"
1853 Envelope-folding machine patented by Russell Hawes, Worcester MA
1861 Jefferson Davis of Mississippi & 4 other southern senators resign
1863 City of Dublin leases part of Cattle Market for 100,000 years
1874 Franz Grillparzer's "Libussa" premieres in Vienna
1879 Henrik Ibsen's "Et Dukkehjem" premieres in Copenhagen
1880 1st US sewage disposal system separate from storm drains, Memphis TN
1887 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) forms
1890 1st issue of Propria Cures, Amsterdam student-weekly newspaper
1894 Oscar Fredriksen skates world record 500m in 47.8 seconds
1901 Clyde Fitch's "Climbers" premieres in New York City NY
1903 "Wizard of Oz" premieres in New York City NY
1903 Harry Houdini escapes police station Halvemaansteeg in Amsterdam
1903 International Theater (Majestic, Park) opens at 5 Columbus Circle New York City NY
1904 Leos Janacek's opera "Jenufa" premieres in Brno Czechoslovakia
1907 Kenora Thistles sweep Montana Wanderers in 2 for the Stanley Cup
1908 New York City NY regulation makes it illegal for a woman to smoke in public
1908 August Strindberg's "Spoksonaten" premieres in Stockholm
1910 British-Russian military intervention in Persia
1913 Aristide Briand forms French government
1915 Kiwanis International founded in Detroit
1919 Sinn Fein proclaims parliament of Free Ireland
1922 1st slalom ski race run, Mürren, Switzerland
1925 Albanian parliament announces itself a republic; Ahmed Zogoe President
1926 Belgian parliament accepts Locarno treaties
1927 1st national opera broadcast from a US opera house (Faust, Chicago)
1929 Robert Sherriff's "Journey's End" premieres in London
1932 USSR & Finland stop non-attack treaty
1935 The Wilderness Society founded
1935 WFI-AM in Philadelphia PA merges with WLIT as WFIL (now WEAZ)
1935 Wilderness Society forms
1938 Dutch government starts obligatory unemployment insurance
1939 George Kaufman & Moss Hart's "American Way" premieres in New York City NY
1939 US female Figure Skating championship won by Joan Tozzer
1939 US male Figure Skating championship won by Robin Lee
1940 Foreign correspondents in Netherlands under censorship
1941 1st commercial extraction of magnesium from seawater, Freeport TX
1941 1st anti-Jewish measures in Bulgaria
1941 Australia & Britain attack Tobruk Libya
1941 British communist newspaper "Daily Worker" banned
1942 Bronx magistrate rules all pinball machines illegal
1942 Count Basie records "One O'Clock Jump"
1942 Japanese air raid on Rabaul New Britain
1942 Tito's partisans occupy Foca
1943 Soviet forces reconquer Gumrak airport near Stalingrad
1943 Soviet forces reconquer Worosjilowsk
1943 Vice-Admiral Cunningham appointed British Admiral of fleet
1944 447 German bombers attack London
1944 649 British bombers attack Magdeburg
1945 British troops land on Ramree, near coast of Burma
1946 "Nellie Bly" opens at Adelphi Theater New York City NY for 16 performances
1947 "Sweethearts" opens at Shubert Theater New York City NY for 288 performances
1947 Arthur Honegger's 4th Symphony premieres in Basel
1948 West Indies vs England, Test debut Walcott, Weekes & Jim Laker
1949 1st inaugural parade televised (Harry Truman)
1950 New York jury finds former State Department official Alger Hiss guilty of perjury
1950 "Lend an Ear" closes at National Theater New York City NY after 460 performances
1950 T S Eliot's "Cocktail Party" premieres in New York City NY
1951 Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Tampa Women's Golf Open
1952 Nehru's Congress party wins general election in India
1953 John Foster Dulles appointed as Secretary of State
1954 1st gas turbine automobile exhibited (New York City NY)
1954 1st atomic submarine, USS Nautilus, launched on Thames River, christened by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower
1956 William Shawn succeeds Harold Ross as editor of the New Yorker
1956 "Comedy in Music (Victor Borge)" closes at Golden New York City NY after 849 performances
1957 KSAT TV channel 12 in San Antonio TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
1958 KMOT TV channel 10 in Minot ND (NBC) begins broadcasting
1958 Phillies agree to televise 78 games into New York City NY (doesn't happen)
1960 Little Joe 4 suborbital Mercury test reaches 16 km
1960 Rock falls traps 437 at Coalbrook South Africa, 417 die of methane poisoning
1961 Portuguese rebels seize cruise ship Santa Maria
1961 "Conquering Hero" closes at ANTA Theater New York City NY after 8 performances
1961 KIFI TV channel 8 in Idaho Falls ID (NBC) begins broadcasting
1962 Snow falls in San Francisco
1962 JFK arrives in Uruguay
1962 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Sea Island Women's Golf Invitational
1964 Carl T Rowan named director of US Information Agency
1965 Persians premier Ali Mansoer injured
1966 Beatle George Harrison marries model Patti Boyd
1967 AFL Pro Bowl East beats West 30-23
1967 US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming
1967 US male Figure Skating championship won by Gary Visconti
1968 AFL Pro Bowl East beats West 25-24
1968 NFL Pro Bowl West beats East 38-20
1968 US B-52 bombers with nuclear bomb crashes in Greenland
1969 22nd NHL All-Star Game West beat East 3-3 at Montréal
1971 "Alias Smith & Jones" premieres on ABC TV
1972 Assam's North East Frontier Agency becomes Arunachal Pradesh territory
1972 Manipur, Meghalaya & Tripura become separate states of Indian union
1972 Mizoram, formerly part of Assam, creates an Indian union territory
1972 Belgium government of Eyskens-Cools forms
1973 Leslie Nielsen appears on M*A*S*H in "Ringbanger"
1973 3rd NFL Pro Bowl AFC beats NFC 33-28
1974 Gold hits record $161.31 an ounce in London
1974 Silver hits record $3.97 an ounce in London
1975 28th NHL All-Star Game Wales beat Campbell 7-1 at Montréal
1976 Supersonic Concorde, 1st commercial flights, by Britain & France
1977 President Jimmy Carter pardons almost all Vietnam War draft evaders
1977 Italy legalizes abortion
1978 Bee Gees' "Saturday Night Fever" album goes #1 for 24 weeks
1979 Neptune becomes outermost planet (Pluto moves closer)
1979 Price of gold increases to record $875 troy ounce
1979 Super Bowl XIII Pittsburgh Steelers beat Dallas Cowboys, 35-31 in Miami; Super Bowl MVP Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh, Quarterback
1980 Gold hits record $850 an ounce
1980 Les Henson, Virginia Tech, makes 89' 3" basketball field goal
1981 Bernhard Goetz is assaulted for 1st time on a New York subway train
1981 "Shakespeare's Cabaret" opens at Bijou Theater New York City NY for 54 performances
1982 "Little Me" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater New York City NY for 36 performances
1982 New York Islanders begin then NHL record 15 game winning streak
1983 Reagan certifies El Salvador human-rights abuses have decreased making country eligible for US military aid
1983 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Anthony E Hecht
1984 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
1985 -19ºF (-28ºC), Caesar's Head SC (state record)
1985 -34ºF (-37ºC), Mt Mitchell NC (state record)
1985 Dennis Potvin ties Bobby Orr's career record of 270 NHL goals
1985 Bomb attack on Borobudur temple in Java
1986 100 participate in Nude Olympics race in 38ºF (3ºC), Indiana
1986 Allison J Brown, 17, of Oklahoma, crowned 4th Miss Teen USA
1986 Bomb attack in East-Beirut, 27 killed
1987 Archbishop's envoy Terry Waite disappears in Lebanon
1987 BB King donates his 7,000 record collection to University of Mississippi
1988 US accept immigration of 30,000 US-Vietnamese children
1989 A woman is assaulted & raped in the room of an Oklahoma football player
1989 Wayne Gretzky passes Marcel Dionne to become NHL's 2nd all time scorer
1990 Bob Goodenow succeeds Alan Eagleson as NHL players association executive director
1990 John McEnroe becomes the 1st ever expelled from the Australian Open for throwing a tantrum & swearing at an official
1990 41st NHL All-Star Game Wales beat Campbell 12-7 at Pittsburgh
1990 Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Jamaica Golf Classic
1991 CBS News correspondent Bob Simon captured by Iraqis in Persian Gulf
1993 Johan Koss skates world record 5 km in 6 38.77
1993 Nigerian singer Fela Kuti arrested on suspicion of murder
1994 Dow Jones passes 3900 (record 3,914.20)
1994 Lorena Bobbitt found temporarily insane for chopping off spouse's penis
1995 52th Golden Globes Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks, Jessica Lange, Brad Pitt
1996 53th Golden Globes Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, John Travolta
1996 Karrie Webb wins LPGA HealthSouth Inaugural Golf Tournament
1996 US male Figure Skating championship won by Rudy Galindo
1998 Pope John Paul II visits Cuba

---

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Dominican Republic : Nuestra Senora de Altagracia Day
US : Martin Luther King Jr Day (1929) - - - - - ( Monday )
Virginia : Lee-Jackson Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Florida : Arbor Day - - - - - ( Friday )
China : Chinese New Year-The Year of the Rat-Sexageney begins (1996/4694)

---

Religious Observances
Baha'i : World Religion Day (Sultan 3)
Christian : Commemoration of St Meinrad
Roman Catholic : Feast of St Meinrad
Roman Catholic, Anglican : Memorial of St Agnes, virgin/martyr at Rome

---

Religious History
1525 History's first Anabaptist baptismal service took place in Zurich, Switzerland, when Conrad Grebel (re-)baptized George Blaurock.
1549 Parliament passed the first of four British Acts of Uniformity, this first requiring the exclusive use of the Book of Common Prayer (later called the First Prayer Book of Edward VI) in all public services of the Anglican Church.
1738 English revivalist George Whitefield wrote in his journal: 'I desire to have no greater portion than the prayers of the poor.'
1772 Pioneer Methodist bishop Frances Asbury wrote in his journal: 'Though a stranger in a strange land, God has taken care of me.'
1986 Charismatic Bible Ministries was founded in Oklahoma. A fraternal fellowship of charismatic organizations, CBM held its first major conference in June 1986 in Tulsa.

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Thought for the day :
" Home to a young boy is merely a filling station. "

[SAMWolf]

Morning Feather

[SAMWolf]

Excellent choice for Classic Warship today, if I must say so myself.

[SAMWolf]

MOrning Fiddlstix. Grabbing a cup as I run out the door.

[SAMWolf]

1939 Wolfman Jack [Bob Smith], Brooklyn NY, DJ (Midnight Special) Growing up with Wolfman Jack!

[Fiddlstix]

MOrning Fiddlstix. Grabbing a cup as I run out the door.

LOL! I know just what you mean
That's the way it is around here most days

[Jen]

PING to the FReeper Foxhole!

(To be removed from this list please send me a BLANK FReepmail with "Remove" in the subject line.)

[Mo1]

---

God Bless This Great Country!
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STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD- It is in the breaking news sidebar!

[Mudboy Slim]

Mornin' AJ...mornin' Sam...MUD

[larryjohnson]

Windy and cold,but I must go out and get supplies for wife's printer. Good mornin from Maine to all you Veterans,Servicemen and women,families ad FRiends.I will include the gym of course on my list of stuff to do.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[Valin]

1824 Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson Lieutenant-General 2nd Corps (ANV, Confederacy)

Thomas Stonewall Jackson was born in Clarksburg, Virginia, on 21st January, 1824. After graduating 17th in his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He served with distinction in the Mexican War and won two brevets. While in Mexico Jackson became a devout Presbyterian. A friend later commented that "he never smoked, he was a strict teetotaler and never touched a card."

In 1851 Jackson was recruited to teach at the Virginia Military Institute. Jackson was a devout Presbyterian. A friend later commented that "he never smoked, he was a strict teetotaler and never touched a card." His students called him Deacon Jackson while others compared him to Oliver Cromwell.

On the outbreak of the American Civil War Jackson was commissioned as colonel and was given the task of organizing volunteers into the new Confederate Army. Promoted to the rank of brigadier general he took part in the first battle at Bull Run (July, 1861) against the Union Army led by Irvin McDowell. The Confederate troops led by Joseph E. Johnston, Jeb Stuart, Jubal Early and Pierre T. Beauregard easily defeated the inexperienced Union troops. It was during this battle that Brigadier General Barnard E. Bee said Jackson's troops stood against the Union forces "like a stone wall". After this he was known as Stonewall Jackson.

By the summer of 1862 the main Union Army under George McClellan were ready to march on Richmond. McClellan and his 115,000 men encountered Confederate Army at Williamsburg on 4th May. McClellan moved his troops into the Shenandoah Valley and along with John C. Fremont, Irvin McDowell and Nathaniel Banks surrounded Jackson and his 17,000 man army.

Jackson was ordered by President Jefferson Davis to try and delay the attack on Richmond. First Jackson attacked John C. Fremont at Cross Keys before turning on Irvin McDowell at Port Republic. Jackson then rushed his troops east to join up with Joseph E. Johnston and the Confederate forces fighting George McClellan in the suburbs the city.

In June, 1862 Major General John Pope was given command of the new Army of Virginia. Pope was instructed to move east to Blue Ridge Mountains towards Charlottesville. It was hoped that this move would help George McClellan by drawing Robert E. Lee away from defending Richmond. Lee's 80,000 troops were now faced with the prospect of fighting two large armies: McClellan (90,000) and Pope (50,000)

Joined by Jackson , the Confederate troops constantly attacked George McClellan and on 27th June they broke through at Gaines Mill. Convinced he was outnumbered, McClellan retreated to James River. Abraham Lincoln, frustrated by McClellan's lack of success, sent in Major General John Pope, but he was easily beaten back by Jackson.

In July, 1862, John Pope decided to try a capture Gordonsville, a railroad junction between Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley. Pope selected Nathaniel Banks to carry out the task. Robert E. Lee considered Gordonsville to be strategically very important and sent Jackson to protect the town. On 9th August, Jackson defeated Banks at Cedar Run. Pope now ordered George McClellan army based at Harrison's Landing to join the campaign to take the railroad junction. When Lee heard this news he brought together all the troops he had available to Gordonsville.

On 29th August, troops led by Jackson and James Longstreet, attacked Pope's Union Army at Manassas, close to where the first battle of Bull Run had been fought. Pope and his army was forced to retreat across Bull Run. The Confederate Army pursued the Army of Virginia until they reached Chantilly on 1st September.

The following month George McClellan faced Jackson again at Antietam. On 17th September, McClellan and Major General Ambrose Burnside attacked with over 75,300 troops against 37,330 Confederate soldiers. Lee held out until Ambrose Hill and reinforcements arrived. It was the most costly day of the war with the Union Army having 2,108 killed, 9,549 wounded and 753 missing. The Confederates, who were now have serious difficulty replacing losses, had 2,700 killed, 9,024 wounded and 2,000 missing.

Jackson also led his men at Fredericksburg (November/December, 1862) and Chancellorsville (May 1863). However, after returning from the battlefield he was accidentally shot by one of his own men. Jackson's left arm was successfully amputated but he developed pneumonia and he died at Guinea Station on 10th May, 1863.
For more
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWstonewall.htm