Johannes Itten

Johannes Itten (November 11, 1888 - May 27, 1967) was a Swiss painter, designer teacher, writer and theorist associated with the Bauhaus school.

Life and Work

Born in Südern-Linden, Switzerland, he had a Friedrich Froebel influenced education and was initially a teacher where he was exposed to the ideas of psychoanalysis. He later enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Geneva but then returned to Berne, after being unimpressed with the educators there. He then received some teaching from Eugène Gilliard, who was an abstract painter. From 1919-1922, Itten taught at the Bauhaus, developing the so-called preliminary course which was to teach students the basics of material characteristics, composition, and colour. Itten began his preliminary course with sessions of meditation, as he was very interested in eastern religion, often wearing robes to class. He later published a book - The Art of Color- which describes these ideas as a furthering of Adolf Hozel's colour wheel. Itten's colour wheel went on to include 12 colours. After falling out with Walter Gropius, he resigned from the Bauhaus School. His works exploring the use and composition of colour resemble the square op-art canvases of artists such as Josef Albers, Max Bill and Bridget Riley, and the expressionist works of Wassily Kandinsky.

Books

- The Art of Color: The Subjective Experience and Objective Rationale of Color
- Design and Form: The Basic Course at the Bauhaus and Later, Revised Edition
- The Color Star

External link

- [http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/itten_johannes.html Johannes Itten at Artcyclopedia] - a list of galleries and online museum sites. Itten, Johannes Itten, Johannes Itten, Johannes Itten, Johannes Itten, Johannes ja:ヨハネス・イッテン

November 11

November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining.

Events

- 1215 - The Fourth Lateran Council meets, adopting the doctrine of transubstantiation, meaning that bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ.
- 1620 - In what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod, the Mayflower Compact is signed on the Mayflower, establishing the basic laws for the Plymouth Colony.
- 1634 - Following pressure from Anglican bishop John Atherton, the Irish House of Commons passes "An Act for the Punishment for the Vice of Buggery" (anal sex).
- 1675 - Gottfried Leibniz demonstrated integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = f(x) function.
- 1675 -Guru Gobind Singh becomes the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs.
- 1831 - In Jerusalem, Virginia, Nat Turner is hanged after inciting a violent slave uprising.
- 1839 - The Virginia Military Institute is founded in Lexington, Virginia.
- 1834 - Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling was first published.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea - Union General William Tecumseh Sherman begins burning Atlanta, Georgia to the ground in preparation for his march south.
- 1865 - Treaty of Sinchula is signed in which Bhutan ceded the areas east of the Teesta River to the British East India Company.
- 1874 - Gamma Phi Beta sorority is founded at Syracuse University.
- 1880 - Australian bushranger and bank robber Ned Kelly is hanged in Melbourne.
- 1887 - Anarchist Haymarket Martyrs August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer and George Engel are executed.
- 1887 - Construction of the Manchester Ship Canal starts at Eastham.
- 1889 - Washington is admitted as the 42nd U.S. state.
- 1911 - Many cities in the midwest broke their record highs and lows on the same day as a strong cold front rolls through. (see The 11/11/11 cold wave).
- 1918 - World War I ends: Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside of Compiègne in France. The war officially stops at 11:00.
- 1918 - Józef Piłsudski comes to Warsaw and assumes supreme military power in Poland. Poland regains its independence.
- 1918 - Emperor Charles I of Austria abdicates.
- 1919 - The Centralia Massacre in Centralia, Washington results the deaths of four members of the American Legion and the lynching of a local leader of the IWW.
- 1921 - The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by US President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery.
- 1923 - First try for a putsch by Hitler in Munich (Germany).
- 1930 - Patent number US1781541 was awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd for their invention, the Einstein refrigerator.
- 1933 - Dust Bowl: In South Dakota, a very strong dust storm strips topsoil from desiccated farmlands.
- 1940 - World War II: Battle of Taranto - The Royal Navy launches the first aircraft carrier strike in history, on the Italian fleet at Taranto.
- 1940 - The German cruiser Atlantis captures top secret British mail, and sends it to Japan.
- 1940 - Armistice Day Blizzard: An unexpected blizzard kills 144 in U.S. Midwest.
- 1942 - Road to Morocco, starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour, premieres.
- 1962 - Kuwait's National Assembly ratifies the Constitution of Kuwait.
- 1965 - Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) was declared independent by the white minority regime of Ian Smith.
- 1966 - NASA launches spaceship Gemini 12.
- 1967 - Vietnam War: In a propaganda ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, three American prisoners of war are released by the Viet Cong and turned over to "new left" antiwar activist Tom Hayden.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: Operation Commando Hunt initiated. The goal was to interdict men and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through Laos into South Vietnam.
- 1968 - A second republic is declared in the Maldives.
- 1969 - Jim Morrison (The Doors) is arrested by the FBI after repeatedly prodding a stewardess.
- 1972 - Vietnam War: Vietnamization - The United States Army turns over the massive Long Binh military base to South Vietnam.
- 1975 - Angola becomes independent from Portugal.
- 1975 - Australian constitutional crisis of 1975: Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismisses the government of Gough Whitlam and commissions Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister, and announces a general election to be held in early December.
- 1978 - Maumoon Abdul Gayoom succeeded Ibrahim Nasir as the president of the Republic of Maldives. He has since been re-elected for six consecutive 5-year terms.
- A renovated Hollywood Sign is unveiled, replacing the older version that was built in 1923.
- 1986 - Sperry Rand and Burroughs merge to form Unisys, becoming the second largest computer company.
- 1988 - In Sacramento, California, police find a body buried in the lawn of 60-year-old boardinghouse landlady Dorothea Puente .
- 1989 - Fall of the Berlin Wall.
- 1992 - The Church of England votes to allow women to become priests.
- 1993 - Australian Prime minister P. J. Keating makes a famous speech at the dedication of the tomb and the burial of the unknown Australian soldier
- 1997 - Mary McAleese inaugurated the eighth President of Ireland.
- 1997 - Marianne Biancuzzo is charged for drowning her newborn baby in a toilet and hiding the remains in a coffee can in Tucson, Arizona.
- 1999 - A six-storey apartment block collapses in Foggia, Italy, killing 62.
- 2000 - In Kaprun, Austria, 155 skiers and snowboarders die when a cable car catches fire in an alpine tunnel.
- 2004 - New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior dedicated at the National War Memorial, Wellington
- Yasser Arafat is confirmed dead by the the Palestine Liberation Organization, of unidentified causes. Mahmoud Abbas is elected chairman of the PLO minutes later.
- Official Guided by Voices Day in San Diego, California.
- Mary McAleese inaugurated for a second term as President of Ireland.
- 2005 - David Irving, a British Nazi sympathizer and historian, is arrested in Austria on a 1989 warrant for offenses related to Holocaust denial.

Births

- 1050 - Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1106)
- 1154 - King Sancho I of Portugal (d. 1212)
- 1155 - King Alfonso VIII of Castile (d. 1214)
- 1220 - Alphonse of Toulouse, son of Louis VIII of France (d. 1271)
- 1493 - Paracelsus, doctor († 1541)
- 1493 - Bernardo Tasso, Italian poet (d. 1569)
- 1599 - Prince Octavio Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi, Austrian field marshal (d. 1656)
- 1633 - George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, British statesman (d. 1695)
- 1668 - Johann Albert Fabricius, German classical scholar and bibliographer (d. 1736)
- 1743 - Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish naturalist (d. 1828)
- 1744 - Abigail Adams, First Lady of the United States (d. 1818)
- 1748 - King Charles IV of Spain (d. 1819)
- 1764 - Barbara Juliana, Baroness von Krüdener, Russian writer (d. 1824)
- 1791 - Josef Munzinger, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 1855)
- 1792 - Mary Anne Evans, English wife of Benjamin Disraeli (d. 1872)
- 1821 - Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist (d. 1881)
- 1828 - Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji, Hindu saint (d. 1963)
- 1852 - Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Austro-Hungarian field marshal (d. 1925)
- 1863 - Paul Signac, French painter (d. 1935)
- 1864 - Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1921)
- 1869 - King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (d. 1947)
- 1882 - King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden (d. 1973)
- 1885 - George Patton, American general (d. 1945)
- 1887 - Roland Young, American actor (d. 1953)
- 1889 - Clifton Webb, American actor (d. 1966)
- 1891 - Rabbit Maranville, baseball player (d. 1954)
- 1897 - Lucky Luciano, American gangster (d. 1962)
- 1898 - Rene Clair, French film dirctor (d.
- 1899 - Pat O'Brien, American film actor (d. 1983)
- 1900 - Halina Konopacka, Polish athlete (d. 1989)
- 1901 - F. Van Wyck Mason, American author (d. 1978)
- 1903 - Sam Spiegel, Austrian-born film producer (d. 1985)
- 1904 - Alger Hiss, American government official and spy (d. 1994)
- 1904 - J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (d. 1960)
- 1909 - Robert Ryan, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1912 - Thomas C. Mann, American diplomat
- 1914 - Howard Fast, American author (d. 2003)
- 1914 - Henry Wade, American lawyer (d. 2001)
- 1915 - William Proxmire, U.S. Senator
- 1918 - Stubby Kaye, American comic actor (d. 1997)
- 1919 - Martin Balsam, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1919 - Kalle Päätalo, Finnish novelist (d. 2000)
- 1920 - Roy Jenkins, British politician (d. 2003)
- 1922 - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., American novelist
- 1925 - June Whitfield, British comedienne
- 1925 - Jonathan Winters, American comedian and actor
- 1927 - Mose Allison, American musician
- 1928 - LaVern Baker, American singer (d. 1997)
- 1928 - Carlos Fuentes, Mexican writer
- 1928 - Mircea Mureşan, Romanian film director
- 1929 - Hans Magnus Enzensberger, German writer
- 1938 - Ants Antson, Estonian speed skater
- 1939 - Denise Alexander, American actress
- 1940 - Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator
- 1943 - Doug Frost, Australian swimming coach
- 1944 - Jesse Colin Young, American musician (The Youngbloods)
- 1945 - Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua
- 1950 - Mircea Dinescu, Romanian poet
- 1953 - Marshall Crenshaw, American musician
- 1954 - Meindert Zwaagstra, American patriot
- 1959 - Lee Haney, American bodybuilder
- 1960 - Peter Parros, American actor
- 1960 - Stanley Tucci, American actor and film director
- 1961 - Corinne Hermès, French singer
- 1962 - Demi Moore, American actress
- 1962 - James Morrison, Australian musician
- 1964 - Judith Edelman, American musician
- 1964 - Calista Flockhart, American actress
- 1966 - Alison Doody, Irish actress
- 1967 - Gil de Ferran, Brazilian race car driver
- 1969 - Carson Kressley, American fashion expert
- 1973 - Jason White, American musician (Green Day)
- 1974 - Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor
- 1977 - Ben Hollioake, English cricketer (d. 2002)
- 1979 - Alexandra Noemi Oana Iftode, Romanian "Steaua Bucuresti" Team Manager
- 1981 - Natalie Glebova, Russian-Canadian beauty queen
- 1985 - Kalan Porter, Canadian singer
- 1988 - Daniel Wood, English cricketer

Deaths

- 397 - Martin of Tours, French saint
- 537 - Pope Silverius, saint
- 1028 - Constantine VIII of the Byzantine Empire (b. 960)
- 1285 - King Peter III of Aragon (b. 1239)
- 1623 - Philippe de Mornay, French writer (b. 1549)
- 1686 - Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, French general (b. 1621)
- 1986 - Otto von Guericke, German scientist, inventor, and politician (b. 1602)
- 1831 - Nat Turner, American slave rebel (b. 1800)
- 1855 - Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (b. 1813)
- 1880 - Ned Kelly, Australian bushranger (hanged)
- 1880 - Lucretia Mott, American feminist and abolitionist (b. 1793)
- 1884 - Alfred Brehm German zoologist (b. 1827)
- 1887 - Haymarket martyrs:
- 1887 - George Engel (b. 1836)
- 1887 - Adolph Fischer (b. 1858)
- 1887 - Albert Parsons (b. 1848)
- 1887 - August Spies (b. 1855)
- 1917 - Liliuokalani of Hawaii, Queen of Hawaii (b. 1838)
- 1931 - Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese industrialist (b. 1840)
- 1939 - Jan Opletal, czech student, victim of nazi violence in Prague
- 1945 - Jerome David Kern, American composer (b. 1885)
- 1969 - Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883)
- 1973 - David "Stringbean" Akeman, American banjo player (b. 1915)
- 1973 - Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
- 1974 - Alfonso Leng, Chilean composer (b. 1894)
- 1975 - Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian geneticist (b. 1900)
- 1976 - Alexander Calder, American artist (b. 1898)
- 1977 - Greta Keller, Vienna-born cabaret singer and actress (b. 1903)
- 1979 - Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-born composer (b. 1894)
- 1997 - Rodney Milburn, American athlete (b. 1950)
- 1999 - Mary Kay Bergman, American voice actress (b. 1961)
- 1999 - Jacobo Timmerman, Argentine writer and journalist (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1929)
- 2005- Lord Lichfield, British photographer
- 2005 - Peter Drucker, American management theorist (b. 1909)

Holidays and observances

- R.C. Saints - Martin of Tours
- Opening of carnival season in Germany ("Karneval"/"Fasching" on 11-11, at 11:11), the Netherlands, and other countries
- Also see November 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Angola - Independence Day (1975)
- Colombia - Independence of Cartagena, from the Spanish Army in (1918)
- Poland - Independence Day (1918)
- South Korea - Pepero Day
- United States - Veterans Day (Formerly "Armistice Day")
- Armistice Day in France and Belgium: end of World War I (1918)
- Lacplesis' Day (1919) in Latvia: the official date for commemoration of Latvian soldiers, who had died for the country's freedom.
- Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, including United Kingdom and Canada

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/11 BBC: On This Day] ---- November 10 - November 12 - October 11 - December 11 -- listing of all days ko:11월 11일 ms:11 November ja:11月11日 simple:November 11 th:11 พฤศจิกายน

1888

1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). In Germany, 1888 is known as the 1888 Year of Three Emperors.

Events

- January 3 - 91cm telescope first used at Lick Observatory
- January 12 - Blizzards in Dakota and Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska and Texas - 235 dead, many of which were children on their way home from school
- January 24 - Jacob L. Wortman patents the typewriter ribbon.
- January 26 - Australia celebrates the first centennary of European settlement.
- January 27 - In Washington, DC the National Geographic Society is founded.
- March 11 - The "Great Blizzard of '88" begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.
- March 22 - The Football League is formed
- April 11 - The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is inaugurated.
- May 13 - Brazil abolishes slavery.
- May 28 - Celtic played their first official match against Rangers and won 5-2
- June 3 - "Kingdom of Sedang" formed in modern-day Vietnam
- June 19 - In Chicago, Illinois, Republican Convention opens at Auditorium Building. General Benjamin Harrison & Levi Morton will win the nominations.
- July 27 - British parliament passes an act that permits bicycles on road on condition that they are equipped with a bell that should be rung while on the carriageway. The law is abolished 1930
- August 7 - The body of Martha Tabram was found, a possible murder victim of Jack the Ripper
- August 31 - Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is perhaps the first of Jack the Ripper's victims.
- September 4 - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film.
- September 6 - Charles Turner becomes the first bowler to take 250 wickets in an English season - a feat since accomplished only by Tom Richardson (twice), J.T. Hearne, Wilfred Rhodes (twice) and Tich Freeman (six times).
- September 8 - In London, the body of Annie Chapman is found. She is generally considered the second victim of Jack the Ripper.
- September 8 - In England the first 6 Football League matches ever were played.
- September 30 - In London, the bodies of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes are found. They are generally considered Jack the Ripper's third and fourth victim respectively.
- October 9 - The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public.
- November 6 - U.S. presidential election, 1888: Democrat incumbent Grover Cleveland wins the overall popular vote, but is voted out of office because he loses in the Electoral College to Republican challenger Benjamin Harrison.
- November 9 - In London the body of Mary Jane Kelly is found. She is typically considered the fifth and last of Jack the Ripper's victims. A number of similar murders actually follow, but police attribute them to copycat killers.
- Gramophone patented by Emile Berliner
- Annie Besant organizes a match girl strike
- John Robert Gregg first published Gregg Shorthand
- Slavery abolished in Brazil
- Sarawak and Borneo become British protectorates
- Susan B. Anthony organizes a congress for women's rights in Washington DC
- National library in Athens, Greece
- First railways in China
- Kodak camera increases the popularity of photography as a hobby.
- The first recorded film, Roundhay Garden Scene, is made in Roundhay in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The film is two seconds (4 frames) in length.
- First sightings of the dolphin Pelorus Jack in Cook Strait, New Zealand

Births

January-March

- January 1 - Victor Goldschmidt, Swiss geochemist (d. 1947)
- January 8 - Matt Moore, Irish-born actor (d. 1960)
- January 24 - Vicki Baum, Austrian writer (d. 1960)
- Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer (d. 1958)
- February 2 - Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)
- February 17 - Otto Stern, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
- February 19 - José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian writer (d. 1928)
- February 20 - Georges Bernanos, French writer (d. 1948)
- February 25 - John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State (d. 1959)
- February 27 - Lotte Lehmann, German singer (d. 1976)
- March 1 - Ewart Astill, English cricketer (Leicestershire) (d. 1948)
- March 4 - Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
- March 10 - Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (d. 1966)
- March 12 - Vaslav Nijinsky, Ukrainian ballet dancer (d. 1950)
- March 17 - Frank Buck, big game hunter (d. 1950)
- March 26 - Elsa Brändström, Russian nurse (d. 1948)

April-June

- April 4 - Tris Speaker, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1958)
- April 6 - Hans Richter, German filmmaker (d. 1976)
- April 18 - Duffy Lewis, Major League Baseball player (d. 1979)
- April 26 - Anita Loos, American writer (d. 1981)
- April 27 - Florence La Badie, Canadian actress (d. 1917)
- May 10 - Karl Barth, Protestant theologian (d. 1968)
- Max Steiner, Austrian-American composer (d. 1971)
- May 11 - Irving Berlin, American composer (d. 1989)
- May 17 - Tich Freeman, English cricketer (d. 1965)
- May 23 - Zack Wheat, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1972)
- May 25 - Miles Malleson, English actor (d. 1969)
- May 27 - Louis Durey, French composer (d. 1979)
- June 3 - Tom Brown, American jazz musician (d. 1958)
- June 6 - Pete Wendling, American composer, pianist, and piano roll recording artist (d. 1974)
- June 9 - Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, Australian illustrator (d. 1960)
- June 13 - Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese writer (d. 1935)
- June 24 - Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect (d. 1964)

July-October

- July 5 - Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1963)
- July 10 - Giorgio Chirico, Italian painter (d. 1978)
- July 16 - Frits Zernike, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
- July 17 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
- July 22 - Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1973)
- July 23 - Raymond Chandler, American novelist (d. 1959)
- August 14 - John Logie Baird, Scottish inventor (d. 1946)
- August 16 - Armand J. Piron, American jazz musician (d. 1943)
- September 5 - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, President of India (d. 1975)
- September 6 - Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., American politician (d. 1969)
- September 12 - Maurice Chevalier, French singer and actor (d. 1972)
- September 16 - Frans Eemil Sillanpää, Finnish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
- September 26 - J. Frank Dobie, American folklorist and journalist (d. 1964)
- September 26 - T. S. Eliot, American-born writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- October 6 - Roland Garros, French pilot (d. 1918)
- October 7 - Henry A. Wallace, Vice President of the United States (d. 1965)
- October 8 - Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist (d. 1964)
- October 9 - Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, Russian politician (d. 1938)
- October 16 - Eugene O'Neill, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1953)
- October 16 - Paul Popenoe, American eugenicist (d. 1979)

November-December

- November 7 - Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, Indian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
- November 15 - Harald Sverdrup, Norwegian scientist (d. 1957)
- November 23 - Harpo Marx, American comedian (d. 1964)
- November 26 - Francisco Canaro, Uruguayan-born violinist and composer (d. 1964)
- November 30 - Ralph Hartley, American electronics researcher and inventor (d. 1970)
- December 4 - King Alexander of Yugoslavia (d. 1934)
- December 19 - Fritz Reiner, Hungarian conductor (d. 1963)
- December 28 - F.W. Murnau, German film director (d. 1931)

Deaths

- January 19 - Anton de Bary, German biologist (b. 1831)
- January 29 - Edward Lear, British artist and writer (b. 1812)
- February 3 - Henry Maine, British jurist (b. 1822)
- March 6 - Louisa May Alcott, American novelist (b. 1832)
- March 9 - German Emperor Wilhelm I (b. 1797)
- March 12 - Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (b. 1811)
- April 15 - Matthew Arnold, English poet (b. 1822)
- April 15 - Father Damien, Belgian priest (b. 1811)
- June 15 - German Emperor Friedrich III (b. 1840)
- July 20 - Paul Langerhans, German pathologist and biologist (b. 1847)
- August 9 - Charles Cros, French poet (b. 1831)
- August 23 - Philip Henry Gosse, British scientist (b. 1810)
- August 24 - Rudolf Clausius, German physicist, contributions to thermodynamics (b. 1822)
- October 16 - John Wentworth, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1815)
- December 31 - Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi (b. 1808)

Marriages

- January 1 - Elias Disney & Flora Disney
- April 11 - Henry Ford & Clara Jane Bryant
- May 2 - Josephus Daniels & Addie Worth Bagley
- September 5 - Billy Sunday & Helen Amelia Thompson
- September 11 - Robert Homans & Agnes Mary Josephine Mellon
- November 29 - Axel Blixen-Finecke & Bertha Henriette Marie Castenschiold
- December 20 - Charles Urban & Julia Avery Category:1888 ko:1888년 ms:1888 simple:1888 th:พ.ศ. 2431

May 27

May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining.

Events

- 1328 - Philip VI is crowned King of France.
- 1703 - Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.
- 1813 - War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George.
- 1849 - The Great Hall of Euston station, London opened.
- 1860 - Giuseppe Garibaldi begins his attack on Palermo, Sicily, as part of the Italian Unification.
- 1883 - Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia.
- 1895 - Oscar Wilde is sent to prison for sodomy.
- 1896 - The F4-strength St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri and East Saint Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and incurring $2.9 billion in damages (1997USD).
- 1901 - In New Jersey, the Edison Storage Battery Company is founded.
- 1905 - Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins.
- 1907 - A Bubonic plague outbreak begins in San Francisco, California.
- 1919 - The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight.
- 1923 - The first 24 hours of Le Mans race ends.
- 1924 - The Music Corporation of America (MCA) is founded.
- 1927 - The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacturing the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make Ford Model As.
- 1930 - The 1,046 feet (319 meters) tall Chrysler Building in New York (tallest man-made structure at the time) opens to the public.
- 1932 - The Sydney Harbour Bridge opens.
- 1933 - New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
- 1933 - The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon The Three Little Pigs, with its hit song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"
- 1933 - The Century of Progress World's Fair opens in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1935 - New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in the case A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495).
- 1936 - The RMS Queen Mary begins her maiden voyage.
- 1937 - In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County.
- 1939 - DC Comics publishes its second superhero in Detective Comics #27; he is Batman, one of the most topical comic book superheroes of all time.
- 1940 - World War II: 97 out of 99 members of a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are massacred while trying to surrender at Dunkirk. The German commander, Captain Fritz Knochlein, is eventually hanged for war crimes.
- 1941 - World War II: U.S. President Roosevelt proclaims an "unlimited national emergency".
- 1941 - World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic killing 2,300 men.
- 1942 - World War II: Operation Anthropoid - assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague.
- 1960 - In Turkey, General Cemal Gürsel leads a military coup d'état removing President Celal Bayar and the rest of the democratic government.
- 1963 - Folk music singer Bob Dylan releases The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album, which features "Blowin' in the Wind" and several other of his best-known songs.
- 1964 - Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru dies in office.
- 1965 - Vietnam War: United States warships begin bombardments of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam for the first time.
- 1968 - Future U.S. president George W. Bush enlists in the Texas Air National Guard.
- 1974 - Jacques Chirac becomes Prime Minister of France.
- 1980 - The Gwangju Massacre: airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more.
- 1995 - In Charlottesville, Virginia, actor Christopher Reeve is paralyzed from the neck down after falling from his horse in a riding competition.
- 1996 - First Chechnya War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire in the war.
- 1997 - The F5-strength Jarrell Tornado slams into the small town of Jarrell, Texas, killing 27 people.
- 1998 - Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.
- 1999 - The International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.

Births

- 1332 - Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian historian (d. 1406)
- 1519 - Girolamo Mei, Italian humanist historian (d. 1594)
- 1576 - Caspar Schoppe, German scholar (d. 1649)
- 1623 - William Petty, English scientist and philosopher (d. 1687)
- 1626 - William II, Prince of Orange (d. 1650)
- 1651 - Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de Noailles, French cardinal (d. 1729)
- 1652 - Liselotte von der Pfalz, Duchess of Orléans (d. 1722)
- 1738 - Nathaniel Gorham, American politician (d. 1796)
- 1756 - King Maximilian I of Bavaria (d. 1825)
- 1794 - Cornelius Vanderbilt, American entrepreneur (d. 1877)
- 1819 - Julia Ward Howe, American composer (d. 1910)
- 1836 - Jay Gould, American financier (d. 1892)
- 1837 - Wild Bill Hickok, American gunfighter (d. 1876)
- 1864 - Ante Trumbić, Croatian politician (d. 1938)
- 1867 - Arnold Bennett, British novelist (d. 1931)
- 1871 - Georges Rouault, French painter and graphic artist (d. 1958)
- 1877 - Isadora Duncan, American dancer (d. 1927)
- 1884 - Max Brod, Austrian author (d. 1968)
- 1888 - Louis Durey, French composer (d. 1979)
- 1894 - Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French writer (d. 1961)
- 1894 - Dashiell Hammett, American author (d. 1961)
- 1897 - John Cockcroft, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
- 1904 - Chuhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (b. 1997)
- 1907 - Rachel Carson, American ecologist (d. 1964)
- 1911 - Hubert H. Humphrey, Vice President of the United States (d. 1978)
- 1911 - Teddy Kollek, Mayor of Jerusalem
- 1911 - Vincent Price, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1912 - John Cheever, American author (d. 1982)
- 1912 - Sam Snead, American golfer (d. 2002)
- 1913 - Wols, German painter
- 1915 - Herman Wouk, American writer
- 1917 - Yasuhiro Nakasone, Prime Minister of Japan
- 1922 - Christopher Lee, English actor
- 1923 - Henry Kissinger, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1923 - Sumner Redstone, American entrepreneur
- 1925 - Tony Hillerman, American writer
- 1930 - John Barth, American novelist
- 1933 - Ted Rogers, Canadian entrepreneur
- 1934 - Harlan Ellison, American author
- 1935 - Lee Meriwether, American beauty queen and actress
- 1936 - Louis Gossett Jr., American actor
- 1937 - Allan Carr, American film producer and writer (d. 1999)
- 1943 - Cilla Black, English singer
- 1943 - Bruce Weitz, American actor
- 1945 - Bruce Cockburn, Canadian musician
- 1946 - Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish musician (d. 2005)
- 1947 - Branko Oblak, Slovenian football player
- 1955 - Eric Bischoff, American professional wrestling personality
- 1957 - Siouxsie Sioux, English musician (Siouxsie and the Banshees )
- 1958 - Neil Finn, New Zealand singer and songwriter
- 1958 - Linnea Quigley, American actress
- 1961 - Peri Gilpin, American actress
- 1964 - Adam Carolla, American comedian and radio/television personality
- 1968 - Jeff Bagwell, baseball player
- 1968 - Frank Thomas, baseball player
- 1970 - Tim Farron, British politician
- 1970 - Joseph Fiennes, English actor
- 1971 - Paul Bettany, English actor
- 1971 - Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1974 - Derek Webb, American singer and songwriter (Caedmon's Call)
- 1974 - Danny Wuerffel, American football player
- 1975 - Andre 3000, American musician (OutKast)
- 1975 - Jamie Oliver, British chef and television personality

Deaths

- 366 - Procopius, Roman usurper (executed)
- 866 - Ordoño I, King of Asturias
- 927 - Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria
- 1444 - John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English military leader (b. 1404)
- 1508 - Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1452)
- 1525 - Thomas Muentzer, German rebel leader
- 1541 - Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury (executed) (b. 1473)
- 1564 - John Calvin, French religious reformer (b. 1509)
- 1610 - François Ravaillac, French assassin of Henry IV of France (b. 1578)
- 1661 - Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, Scottish religious dissident (executed) (b. 1607)
- 1675 - Gaspard Dughet, French painter (b. 1613)
- 1690 - Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer (b. 1626)
- 1702 - Dominique Bouhours, French critic (b. 1628)
- 1707 - Marquise de Montespan, French mistress of Louis XIV of France (b. 1641)
- 1781 - Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist (b. 1716)
- 1797 - François-Noël Babeuf, French revolutionary and early socialist (b. 1760)
- 1831 - Jedediah Smith, American explorer (b. 1799)
- 1840 - Nicolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1782)
- 1910 - Robert Koch, German physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1843)
- 1926 - Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet (b. 1904)
- 1960 - James Montgomery Flagg, American illustrator (b. 1877)
- 1964 - Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian politician (b. 1889)
- 1986 - Isma'il Raji' al-Faruqi, Palestinian-born philosopher and comparative religion scholar (b. 1921)
- 1987 - John Howard Northrop, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1989 - Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet (b. 1907)
- 1991 - Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist (b. 1904)
- 1992 - Uncle Charlie Osborne, fiddler (b. 1890)
- 1993 - Mary Philbin, American actress (b. 1903
- 1993 - Werner Stocker, German actor (b. 1955)
- 2000 - Crawford Murray MacLehose of Beoch, British Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1917)
- 2000 - Maurice Richard, Canadian hockey player (b. 1921)
- 2001 - Ramon Bieri, American actor (b. 1929)
- 2003 - Luciano Berio, Italian composer (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

- Lag Ba'omer in Judaism (2005)
- Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
- Venerable Bede
- Julius
- Pope John I
- Hildebert
- Bruno, Bishop of Würzburg
- Eutropius

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/27 BBC: On This Day] ---- May 26 - May 28 - April 27 - June 27 – listing of all days ko:5월 27일 ms:27 Mei ja:5月27日 simple:May 27 th:27 พฤษภาคม

Swiss

The Swiss Confederation or Switzerland (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica) is a landlocked federal republic in Europe, bordering Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. The country has a strong tradition of political and military neutrality, but also of international cooperation, and is home to many international organisations. Confoederatio Helvetica is the Latin official name. The use of Latin avoids having to choose one of the four official languages. The abbreviation (CH) is similarly used; for example, it is used as Switzerland's ccTLD, .ch. The Latin title Confoederatio Helvetica means Helvetic Confederation. The titles commonly used in French, Italian and Romansh translate as Swiss Confederation, while the German name of Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft translates roughly as "Swiss Oath Fellowship" or "Swiss Commonwealth of the Covenant".

History

Switzerland is a federation of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history of confederacy that goes back more than 700 years, arguably putting them among the world's oldest surviving republics. According to the popular legend, in 1291, representatives of the three forest cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden signed the Federal Charter. The charter united the involved parties in the struggle against foreign rule by the Habsburgs, who then held the German imperial throne of the Holy Roman Empire. At the Battle of Morgarten on November 15, 1315, the Swiss defeated the Habsburg army and secured quasi-independence as the Swiss Confederation. The authenticity of the Federal Charter is disputed, with many historians agreeing that it is in fact a forgery of the 14th century. By 1353, the three original cantons had been joined by the cantons of Glarus and Zug and the city states of Lucerne, Zürich and Berne, forming the "Old Federation" of eight states that persisted during much of the 15th century (although Zürich was expelled from the confederation during the 1440s due to a territorial conflict) and led to a significant increase of power and wealth of the federation, in particular due to the victories over Charles the Bold of Burgundy during the 1470s, and the success of the Swiss mercenaries. The traditional listing order of the cantons of Switzerland reflects this state, listing the eight "Old Cantons" first, with the city states preceding the founding cantons, followed by cantons that joined the federation after 1481, in historical order. The Swiss victory in a war against the Swabian League in 1499 amounted to de facto independence from the Holy Roman Empire. In 1506, Pope Julius II engaged the Swiss Guard that continues to serve the Vatican to the present day. The expansion of the federation, and the reputation of invincibility acquired during the earlier wars, suffered a first setback in 1515 with the Swiss defeat in the Battle of Marignano. The success of Zwingli's Reformation in some cantons led to inter-cantonal wars in 1529 and 1531 (Kappeler Kriege). The conflict between Catholic and Protestant cantons persisted, erupting in further violence at the battles of Villmergen in 1656 and 1712. 1712] Under the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, European countries recognised Switzerland's independence from the Holy Roman Empire and its neutrality (ancien régime). In 1798, the armies of the French Revolution conquered Switzerland and imposed a new unified constitution. This centralised the government of the country and effectively abolished the cantons. The new regime was known as the Helvetic Republic and was highly unpopular. It had been imposed by a foreign invading army, had destroyed centuries of tradition, including the right to worship, and had made Switzerland nothing more than a French satellite state. Uprisings were common and only the presence of French troops kept them from succeeding. The brutal French suppression of the Nidwalden revolt in September was especially infamous. When war broke out between France and other countries Switzerland found itself being invaded by other outside forces from Austria and Russia. The Swiss were divided mainly between "Republicans" who were in favour of a centralised government, and "Federalists" who wanted to restore autonomy to the cantons. The violent conflict between both sides was never-ending. In Paris in 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte organised a meeting of the leading Swiss politicians from both sides. The result was the Act of Mediation which largely restored Swiss autonomy and introduced a Confederation of 19 Cantons. From then on much of Swiss politics would be about preserving the cantons' right to self-rule and the need for a central government. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 fully re-established Swiss independence and the European powers agreed to permanently recognise the Swiss neutrality. At this time, the territory of Switzerland was increased for the last time, by the new cantons of Valais, Neuchatel and Geneva. In 1847, a civil war broke out between the Catholic and the Protestant cantons (Sonderbundskrieg). Its immediate cause was a 'special treaty' (Sonderbund) of the Catholic cantons. The war lasted for less than a month, causing fewer than 100 casualties. Apart from small riots, this was the latest armed conflict on Swiss territory. As a consequence of the civil war, Switzerland adopted a federal constitution in 1848, amending it extensively in 1874 and establishing federal responsibility for defence, trade, and legal matters. In 1891, the constitution was revised with unusually strong elements of direct democracy, which remains unique even today. Since then, continued political, economic, and social improvement has characterised Swiss history. In 1920, Switzerland joined the League of Nations, and in 1963 the Council of Europe. Switzerland proclaimed neutrality in World War I and was not involved militarily in the conflict. Neutrality was again proclaimed in World War II, and although a German intervention was both planned and anticipated, it ultimately didn't occur. The massive mobilisation of Swiss armed forces under the leadership of General Henri Guisan is often cited as a decisive factor that the German invasion was never initiated. Modern historical findings, such as the research done by the Bergier commission, indicate that another major factor was the continued trade by Swiss banks with Nazi Germany. Bergier commission Women were granted the right to vote in the first cantons in 1959, at the federal level in 1971, in the last canton, Appenzell Innerrhoden, only in 1990. In 1979, parts of the canton of Berne attained independence, forming the new canton of Jura. On April 18, 1999 the Swiss population and the cantons voted in favour of a completely revised federal constitution. In 2002 Switzerland became a full member of the United Nations, leaving the Vatican as the last widely recognised state without full UN membership. Switzerland is not a member state of the EU but applied for membership therein in May 1992. Switzerland has not advanced this application since the rejection, by referendum, of the European Economic Area in December 1992. However, Swiss law is gradually being adjusted to that of the EU and the government has signed a number of bilateral agreements with the European Union. Switzerland (together with Liechtenstein) has been surrounded by the EU since Austria's membership in 1995. On June 5, 2005, Swiss voters agreed, by a 55% majority, to join the Schengen treaty, a result that was welcomed by EU commentators as a sign of goodwill by a Switzerland that is traditionally perceived as isolationist.

Politics

Schengen treaty]] The bicameral Swiss parliament, the Federal Assembly, is the primary seat of power, apart from the Federal Council. Both houses, the Council of States and the National Council, have equal powers in all respects, including the right to introduce legislation. Under the 1999 constitution, cantons hold all powers not specifically delegated to the federation. The 46 members of the Council of States (two from each canton and one from former half cantons) are directly elected in each canton, whereas the 200 members of the National Council are elected directly under a system of proportional representation. Members of both houses serve for 4 years. Through referenda citizens may challenge any law voted by federal parliament and through initiatives introduce amendments to the federal constitution, making Switzerland a semi-direct democracy. The top executive body and collective Head of State is the Federal Council, a collegial body of seven members. Although the constitution provides that the Assembly elects and supervises the members of the Council, the latter (and its administration) has gradually assumed a pre-eminent role in directing the legislative process as well as executing federal laws. The President of the Confederation is elected from the seven to assume special representative functions for a one-year term. From 1959 to December 2003, the four major parties were represented in the Federal Council according to the "magic formula", proportional to their representation in federal parliament: 2 Christian Democrats (CVP/PDC), 2 from the Social Democrats (SPS/PSS), 2 Free Democrats (FDP/PRD), and 1 from the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC). This traditional distribution of seats, however, is not backed up by any law, and in the 2003 elections to the Federal Council the CVP/PDC lost their second seat to the SVP/UDC. The function of the Federal Supreme Court is to hear appeals of cantonal courts or the administrative rulings of the federal administration. The judges are elected by the Federal Assembly for six-year terms. See also: International relations of Switzerland

Direct democracy

Switzerland features a system of government not seen at the national level on any other place on earth: Direct democracy. Any citizen may challenge a law that has been passed by parliament. If he is able to gather 50,000 signatures against the law within 100 days, a national vote has to be scheduled where voters decide by a simple majority whether to accept or reject the law. Also, any citizen may seek a decision on an amendment they want to make to the constitution. For such an amendment initiative to be organised, the signatures of 100,000 voters must be collected within 18 months. Such a popular initiative may be formulated as a general proposal or - much more often - be put forward as a precise new text whose wording can no longer be changed by parliament and the government. After a successful vote gathering, the federal council may create a counterproposal to the proposed amendment and put it to vote on the same day. Such counterproposals are usually a compromise between the status quo and the wording of the initiative. Voters will again decide in a national vote whether to accept the initiative ame