Today in history...
Apr 16 1943
Chemist Albert Hofmann inadvertently experiences the world's first acid trip when a tiny quantity of lysergic acid diethylamide accidently seeps through the skin of his finger. After leaving work early, he went home and settled into "a not unpleasant intoxicated condition." Then he had solid two hours of visual hallucinations: "I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors." It will be another three days before Hofmann gets up the courage to swallow 250 micrograms and ride his bicycle home.
Apr 16 1947
552 people are killed in Texas City, TX when 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer aboard the S.S. Grandcamp suddenly explodes. The blast generates a 2,000-foot mushroom cloud and is heard 160 miles away, leading some witnesses to believe that they had just been hit by a Russian A-bomb. 3,000 people suffer injuries and perhaps 200 more are unaccounted for. One-third of Texas City is decimated, twenty blocks of the waterfront are obliterated, and windows more than ten miles away are shattered.
Apr 16 1953
President Eisenhower addresses the nation concerning the relative priorities of "guns" versus "butter." In a fair fight, we'd have to bet on the guns.
Apr 16 1966
Alongside FBI officials, New York district attorney G. Gordon Liddy arrests Timothy Leary for possession of marijuana after raiding his Millbrook estate. The Supreme Court later rules this bust unconstitutional.
Apr 16 1995
Marlon Brando's daughter Cheyenne hangs herself in Tahiti.
Apr 16 2007
At around 7 AM, Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui shoots dead two students in a neighboring dorm. Two hours later, he chains shut the doors of the engineering building and goes on a forty-minute killing spree, murdering 30 students and teachers and wounding several others before committing suicide. He had spent the interval fedexing a press kit to NBC News.
Birthdays today...
778 – King Louis the Pious (d. 840)
1319 – King John II of France (d. 1364)
1495 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (d. 1557)
1646 – Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (d. 1708)
1660 – Hans Sloane, British collector and physician (d. 1753)
1661 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, British poet and statesman (d. 1715)
1682 – John Hadley, British inventor (d. 1744)
1693 – Anne Sophie Reventlow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1743)
1728 – Joseph Black, Scottish chemist (d. 1799)
1738 – Henry Clinton, British general (d. 1795)
1755 – Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
1800 – George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (d. 1888)
1821 – Ford Madox Brown, English painter (d. 1893)
1823 – Ferdinand Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)
1827 – Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (d. 1879)
1844 – Anatole France, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
1847 – Hans Auer, Swiss architect, (d. 1906)
1848 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Social Reformer of Andhra Pradesh, India (d. 1919)
1859 – Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (d. 1924)
1865 – Henry George Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
1866 – José de Diego, Puerto Rico statesman and journalist (d. 1918)
1867 – Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1912)
1871 – John Millington Synge, Irish writer (d. 1909)
1878 – Tip Foster, English cricketer (d. 1914)
1886 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, writer, songwriter, composer, and film producer (d. 1977)
1895 – Robert Dean Frisbie, American writer (d. 1948)
1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian poet and essayist (d. 1963)
1899 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist (d. 1988)
1904 – Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian actress (d. 1983)
1905 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
1907 – August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal (d. 1947)
1907 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, French-Canadian inventor and businessman (Bombardier Inc.) (d. 1964)
1910 – Berton Roueché, American medical writer, The New Yorker magazine staff writer (d. 1994)
1912 – Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)
1912 – Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (d. 1997)
1915 – Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright (d. 1997)
1917 – Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
1918 – Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (d. 2002)
1918 – Joan Alexander, American actress
1918 – Dick Gibson, British racing driver
1919 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer
1919 – Tom Willmore, English geometer (d. 2005)
1921 – Peter Ustinov, English actor (d. 2004)
1922 – Kingsley Amis, English author (d. 1995)
1924 – John Harvey-Jones, Industrialist (d. 2008)
1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)
1924 – Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (d. 1976)
1927 – Edie Adams, American actress (d. 2008)
1927 – Pope Benedict XVI
1927 – Peter Mark Richman, American actor
1928 – "Night Train" Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
1929 – Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
1929 – Ed Townsend, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)
1930 – Herbie Mann, American jazz flute player (d. 2003)
1933 – Joan Bakewell, British broadcaster
1935 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet
1935 – Bobby Vinton, American singer
1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician
1938 – Rich Rollins, American baseballer
1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)
1939 – Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor (d. 2008.)
1940 – Margrethe II of Denmark, queen regnant
1940 – Benoît Bouchard, French-Canadian politician
1942 – Sir Frank Williams, English F1 constructor and team principal (WilliamsF1)
1942 – Jim Lonborg, American baseball player
1943 – Ruth Madoc, British actress
1943 – Dave Peverett, English musician (Foghat, Savoy Brown) (d. 2000)
1944 – Richard Bradshaw British opera conductor
1945 – Tom Allen, American politician
1946 – Margot Adler, American journalist
1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
1947 – Gerry Rafferty, British musician and songwriter
1948 – Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant
1949 – Melody Patterson, American actress
1950 – David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
1951 – Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer and photographer
1951 – Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer
1951 – Mordechai Ben David, Jewish singer
1952 – Bill Belichick, American football coach
1952 – Michel Blanc, French actor
1952 – Billy West, American voice actor
1953 – Peter Garrett, Australian singer (Midnight Oil) and politician
1953 – J. Neil Schulman, American writer
1954 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
1954 – John Bowe, Australian racing driver
1955 – Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
1955 – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
1956 – David McDowell Brown, American astronaut (d. 2003)
1956 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
1959 – Scott McKinsey, American television director
1959 – Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
1960 – Rafael Benítez, Spanish football manager
1960 – Pierre Littbarski, German footballer
1960 – Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
1961 – Doris Dragović, Croatian singer
1962 – Ian MacKaye, American musician, (Fugazi and Minor Threat)
1963 – Jimmy Osmond, American pop singer (The Osmonds)
1963 – Salim Malik, Pakistani cricket player
1964 – Dave Pirner, American rock singer (Soul Asylum)
1964 – David Kohan, American television producer
1965 – Jon Cryer, American actor
1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor
1965 – Michael Wong Man Tak, Hong Kong actor and director
1968 – Vickie Guerrero, WWE professional wrestling personality
1969 – Fernando Viña, American Baseball Player
1970 – Walt Williams, American basketball player
1971 – Peter Billingsley, American actor
1971 – Selena Quintanilla,Mexican American singer (d. 1995)
1971 – Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor
1971 – Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver
1972 – Conchita Martinez, Spanish tennis player
1973 – Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer
1973 – Aliaune Thiam Akon, American singer and song writer
1974 – Mat Devine, American singer (Kill Hannah)
1974 – Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress, singer and director
1974 – Valarie Rae Miller, American actress
1975 – Sean Maher, American actor
1975 – Nick Pickard, British actor
1976 – Lukas Haas, American actor
1976 – Dan Kellner, American fencer
1976 – Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress
1977 – Akon, American singer.
1977 – Alek Wek, Sudanese supermodel
1977 – Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
1978 – Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer
1978 – Lara Dutta, Indian actress
1979 – Christijan Albers, Dutch Formula One driver
1979 – Sixto Peralta, Argentine footballer
1980 – Paul London, American professional wrestler
1982 – Boris Diaw, French basketball player
1982 – Barry Jones, Scottish magician
1982 – Jonathan Vilma, American football player
1982 – Gina Carano, American Mixed Martial Arts fighter.
1983 – Cat Osterman, American softball pitcher
1983 – George Patis, Greek badminton player
1983 – Marié Digby, American Singer
1984 – Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author
1984 – Noah Fleiss, American actor
1984 – Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater
1985 – Mark Baker, Welsh author and historian
1985 – Luol Deng, British-Sudanese basketball player
1985 – Benjamín Rojas, Argentine actor and singer
1986 – Paul di Resta, British racing driver
1986 – Neil Haskell, Finalist of SYTYCD Season 3
1987 – Aaron Lennon, English footballer
1990 – Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
1992 – Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg, Prince of Luxembourg
1993 – Mirai Nagasu, American Figure Skater
1994 – Liliana Mumy, American actress
2008 – Princess Eléonore of Belgium, Belgian princess
Famous deaths...
69 – Otho, Roman Emperor (b. 32)
665 – Fructuosus of Braga
744 – al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph
924 – Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy
1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Russian prince (b. 1050)
1118 – Adelaide del Vasto, wife of Roger II of Sicily
1198 – Duke Frederick I of Austria
1645 – Tobias Hume, English composer
1687 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1628)
1689 – Aphra Behn, English dramatist (b. 1640)
1783 – Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (b. 1719)
1788 – Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)
1828 – Francisco de Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)
1846 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian composer (b. 1763)
1850 – Marie Tussaud, founder of the Madame Tussauds wax museum (b. 1761)
1859 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
1879 – Bernadette Soubirous, Saint of the Roman Catholic Church and visionary of Lourdes, France during 1858 (b. January 7, 1844)
1888 – Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist (b. 1845)
1899 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino poet and revolutionary (b. 1875)
1904 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (b. 1888)
1904 – Samuel Smiles, Scottish writer and reformer (b. 1812)
1914 – George William Hill, American astronomer (b. 1838)
1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1841)
1928 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founder of Henri Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
1930 – José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, political philosopher and activist (b. 1894)
1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
1946 – Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)
1947 – Rudolf Höß, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1900)
1955 – David Kirkwood, Scottish labor leader (b. 1872)
1958 – Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)
1968 – Edna Ferber, American author (b. 1885)
1970 – Richard Neutra, American architect (b. 1892)
1972 – Kawabata Yasunari, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
1973 – Nino Bravo, Spanish singer (b. 1944)
1978 – Lucius Clay, American general (b. 1897)
1985 – Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
1991 – David Lean, British film director (b. 1908)
1992 – Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
1992 – Andy Russell, American singer (b. 1919)
1994 – Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1913)
1995 – Arthur English, English actor and comedian (b. 1919)
1995 – Iqbal Masih, Pakistani child slave labourer, activist (b. 1982)
1996 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1909)
1997 – Doris Angleton, American socialite (b. 1951)
1997 – Roland Topor, French illustrator (b. 1938)
1998 – Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
1998 – Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (b. 1920)
1999 – Skip Spence, Canadian-born guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane) (b. 1946)
2001 – Alec Stock, English football manager (b. 1917)
2002 – Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur (b. 1927)
2002 – Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
2002 – Billy Ayre, English footballer and manager (b. 1952)
2003 – Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)
2003 – Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)
2005 – Kay Walsh, British actress (b. 1911)
2005 – Kim Mu-saeng, South Korean actor (b. 1943)
2005 – Marla Ruzicka, American humanitarian worker and peace activist (b. 1976)
2006 – Francisco Adam, Portuguese actor and model (b. 1983)
2007 – Gaetan Duchesne, Canadian hockey player (b. 1962)
2007 – Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer and first Brazilian woman to compete in the Olympic Games (b. 1915)
2007 – Seung-Hui Cho, Korean murderer (b. 1984), see List of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre
2007 – Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, American instructor of French (b. 1958)
2007 – Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
2007 – Liviu Librescu, American Jewish-Romanian professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics (b. 1930)
2007 – G. V. Loganathan, Indian American professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (b. 1954)
2007 – Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
2008 – Edward Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
2008 – Joseph Solman, American painter (b. 1909)
Holidays and observances...
Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.
Have a great Thursday.
~Brian
