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John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American capitalist most known for his role in the early petroleum industry and the founding of Standard Oil (ExxonMobil is the largest of its descendants). Through a number of widely-criticized business tactics, Rockefeller built Standard Oil into the largest oil refining business in the world, and was for a time himself the richest man in the United States—adjusting for inflation, some have measured him as the richest human being ever. [http://www.askmen.com/toys/top_10/11b_top_10_list.html] Much of this wealth was then given away, resulting in his legacy as a great philanthropist.
John Davison Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York, the second of the six children to William Avery Rockefeller (November 13, 1810 - May 11, 1906) and his wife Eliza Davison (September 12, 1813 - March 28, 1889). When he was a boy, his family moved to Moravia and later to Owego, New York. In 1853 his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where the family bought a house in Strongsville, near Cleveland, and John entered Central High School in Cleveland. While he was a student he rented a room in the city and joined the Erie Street Baptist Church, which later became the Euclid Avenue Baptist Church. Active in its affairs, he became a trustee of the church at the age of 21.
He left high school in 1855 to take a business course at Folsom Mercantile College. He completed the six month course in three months, and after looking for a job for six weeks, he was employed as assistant bookkeeper by Hewitt & Tuttle, a small firm of commission merchants and produce shippers. Rockefeller was not paid until after he had worked there three months, when Hewitt gave him $50 (3.57 a week) and told him that his salary was being increased to $25 a month. A few months later he became the cashier and bookkeeper.
In 1858 he went into the produce commission business. His firm, Clark & Rockefeller, invested in an oil refinery with chemist Samuel Andrews in 1863, and in 1865 Rockefeller sold out his share to his partner Clark, paid $72,500 for a larger share in another refinery, and formed the partnership of Rockefeller & Andrews.
At about the same time Rockefeller's brother, William, started another refinery. In 1867 Rockefeller & Andrews absorbed this business, and Henry M. Flagler joined the partnership, forming Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler. In 1870 the two Rockefellers, Andrews, Flagler, and a silent partner, Stephen V. Harkness, formed the Standard Oil Company, with John D. Rockefeller as president.
Standard Oil
In the early 1870s, Charles Pratt and Henry H. Rogers, two of the early pioneers of the emerging U.S. petroleum industry, became involved in conflicts with the infamous South Improvement Company, which was basically a scheme to obtain favorable net rates from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and other railroads through a secret system of rebates. Rockefeller and the South Improvement Company scheme outraged independent oil producers in western Pennsylvania and refineries there and afar alike.
The opposition to the South Improvement Company scheme among the New York refiners was led by Rogers. The New York interests formed an association, and about the middle of March, 1872, sent a committee of three independents. They managed to forge an agreement with the PRR and other railroads whose leaders eventually agreed to open rates to all and promised to end their shady dealings with South Improvement. The oil men were most exultant, but their joy was to be short-lived, for Rockefeller had already begun forming his Standard Oil organization and was busy trying another approach, which included frequently buying up opposing interests. With Standard Oil's rebate system, competing refiners found it extremely difficult to compete. So Standard oil gave them two choices; either to sell their company to Standard Oil, or to be forced out of business by the rebate system. This business practice made Standard Oil many enemies in the years to come.
Rockefeller approached Charles Pratt with his plans of cooperation and consolidation. Pratt talked it over with Rogers, and they decided that the combination would benefit them. Rogers formulated terms, which guaranteed financial security and jobs for Pratt and himself. John D. Rockefeller quietly accepted the offer on Rogers' exact terms. Charles Pratt and Company (including Astral Oil) became one of the important formerly independent refiners to join Rockefeller's organization in 1874. Pratt's son, Charles Millard Pratt (1858-1913) became Secretary of Standard Oil. Henry H. Rogers became one of Rockefeller's key men.
Monopoly
Standard Oil gradually gained virtual control of oil production in America. Its business methods, which brought immense wealth to the ownership, were widely and severely criticized. Its growth increased further in 1882, when separate companies were organized in each state; and in later years, as the first great American trust, the Standard Oil Company was hotly attacked during the anti-trust movement, especially after the publication of the 1904 book The History of the Standard Oil Company, by Ida Tarbell, whose father had been driven out of business by Rockefeller's business arrangement with the South Improvement Company.
Rockefeller himself retired from active business in 1895, though he retained his title as president until 1911. At one time he had large iron interests, including mines and ore-carrying ships, on Lake Superior. He sold those to U.S. Steel. He also played a key role in the Chase Manhattan Bank, as did some of his descendents. By 1901, he was worth about $900 million and is believed to have been the world's richest man at the time. His net worth when adjusted for inflation would put him in the top twenty modern-day billionaires; however, when adjusted for the size of the United States economy in his day, his net worth would dwarf that of any of today's billionaires. In 2001, it was estimated that in contemporary money Rockefeller would be worth $200 billion. Jay Gould once said a man of John D. Rockefeller's immense business knowledge was born once every 500 years.
On May 15, 1911, the Supreme Court of the United States held that Standard Oil, which held 64% market share, was a monopoly and ordered it to be broken up, resulting in the creation of approximately 37 new companies, including Continental Oil, which became Conoco; Standard of California, which became Chevron; Standard of New Jersey, which became Esso, and later, Exxon; Standard of New York, which became Mobil; and Standard of Ohio, which became Sohio. Rockefeller himself owned stock in all of them.
Private life
Rockefeller married Laura Celestia ("Cettie") Spelman (1839-1915), on September 8, 1864 in Cleveland. The couple had five children; four daughters and a son. The oldest daughter, Bessie (1866-1906), married Charles Strong. The second daughter, Alice (1869-1870), died in infancy. Alta (1871-1962), married E. Parmalee Prentice, and the youngest daugter, Edith (1872-1932), married Harold Fowler McCormick. The only son, John D., Jr. (1874-1960), inherited much of the family fortune and continued his father's philanthropic work.
Rockefeller died on the morning of May 23, 1937, at the Casements, his home in Ormond Beach, Florida. The next day all Standard oil companies all over the world stopped work for 5 minutes to honor his memory. He was 97 years old and was buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, the city he and his family considered home. After his father's death, his son John D. Rockefeller Jr. retained the (Jr) in his name, often saying there was only one John D. Rockefeller.
Legacy
While he had always given money to charities in accordance with his strong Baptist beliefs, his public reputation while he was active in business was strongly negative. On March 3, 1910 Rockefeller announced his retirement from managing his businesses and devoted his attention to philanthropy. By the time of his death he had given away an estimated $500 million (well over $5 billion in today's dollars), and his public image had become better. He was particularly notable as one of the earliest and largest private benefactors of scientific medical research. He founded the University of Chicago in 1890, the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller University) in New York City in 1901, the General Education Board in 1902, the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913, and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial in 1918, as well as giving large gifts to other institutions. His gift of $5 million dollars helped found the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Very late in life Rockefeller's publicists called him "The Man Who Gave Away Shiny New Dimes". He reportedly gave away about $10,000 worth of dimes before his death. People such as Harvey Firestone and president Hoover are said to be among those people who received them.
Rockefeller's image was sullied once again in 1914 because of the Ludlow Massacre. The massacre happened when men paid for by the Rockefeller-controlled Colorado Fuel & Iron company set fire to the tents, and burned to death, two women and eleven children who had peripheral involvement to a miner's strike going on in Ludlow, Colorado.
Rockefeller also made huge gifts to members of his family in the last decades of his life, especially to his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and his descendents remained among the richest and most influential families in the United States throughout the 20th century. At Rockefeller's death in 1937, his personal holdings consisted of only a small fraction of the wealth accumulated over his lifetime.
Rockefeller's grandson, Nelson Rockefeller, was Vice President of the United States under Gerald Ford. Another grandson, Winthrop Rockefeller, served as Governor of Arkansas. His great-grandson, Jay Rockefeller (John D. Rockefeller IV), served as governor of West Virginia, and is currently a member of the U.S. Senate.
John D. Rockerduck, a Walt Disney Company character who is popular in Europe, is named after him, because of all of his good deeds. An example is his habit of giving away shiny new dimes to others on the street.
The Rockefeller family was one of the benefactors who funded the reconstruction effort in France after the First World War. As a consequence, Rockefeller (along with the Rothschilds) was considered in that country the canonical billionaire, and was used in comparisons as synonymous with extreme wealth (this usage somewhat receded now).
See also
- List of America's richest people
Additional reading
- Chernow, Ron. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. New York: Random House, 1998. ISBN 0679438084.
- Burton W. Folsom, Jr., The Myth of the Robber Barons, Young America.
- The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy by Charles R. Morris Publisher: Times Books 2005 ISBN: 0805075992
External links
- [http://www.history.rochester.edu/fuels/tarbell/MAIN.HTM The History of the Standard Oil Company, by Ida Tarbell, full text, HTML]
- [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/timeline/ Timeline of the Rockefeller family history since his birth]
- [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~4fathers/Rockefellow/pafg08.htm#95 A genealogy of his family]
- [http://www.rootdig.com/john_rockefeller.html John D. Rockefeller in United States Census Records]
- [http://www.micheloud.com/FXM/SO/index.htm Illustrated article about John D Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company]
Rockefeller, John D.
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ja:ジョン・D・ロックフェラー
July 8July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 176 days remaining.
Events
- 1099 - First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders mock them.
- 1283 - Battle of Malta
- 1497 - Vasco da Gama sets sail on first direct European voyage to India.
- 1663 - Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.
- 1680 - The first confirmed tornado in America kills a servant at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1709 - Battle of Poltava: Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at Poltava thus effectively ending Sweden's role as a major power in Europe.
- 1716 - Battle of Dynekilen
- 1758 - French and Indian War: French forces hold Fort Carillon against British at Ticonderoga, New York.
- 1760 - French and Indian War: Battle of the Ristigouche - British defeat French forces in last naval battle in New France.
- 1775 - The Olive Branch Petition is adopted by the Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies.
- 1776 - The Liberty Bell was rung to summon citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the reading of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress.
- 1822 - Chippewas turn over huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.
- 1859 - King Charles XV / Carl IV accedes to the throne of Sweden-Norway.
- 1889 - The first issue of the Wall Street Journal is published.
- 1889 - At the last championship bare-knuckle boxing match, John L. Sullivan defeats Jake Kilrain after 75 rounds.
- 1892 - St. John's, Newfoundland was devastated in the Great Fire of 1892.
- 1896 - William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1932 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, bottoming out at 41.22.
- 1933 - The Pittsburgh Steelers are found by Arthur Joseph Rooney. The team is the 5th oldest in the NFL.
- 1947 - Reports are broadcast that a UFO has crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
- 1966 - King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi was deposed by his son Prince Charles Ndizi.
- 1969 - IBM CICS is made generally available for the 360 mainframe computer.
- 1980 - State of Origin, Rugby League is born.
- 1982 - Senegalese Trotskyist political party LCT is legally recognized.
- 1990 - At 12:34:56 (both AM and PM) the time and date by US reckoning was 12:34:56 7/8/90.
- 1992 - Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe Helsinki Summit creates the office of High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM).
- 1997 - Mayo Clinic researchers warn that the dieting-drug "fen-phen" can cause severe heart and lung damage.
- 1997 - NATO invites the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to join the alliance in 1999.
- 1999 - Allen Lee Davis is executed by electrocution by the state of Florida. That is the last use of the Electric Chair for capital punishment in Florida.
- 2000 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in J.K. Rowling's hugely popular Harry Potter series, is published.
Births
- 1528 - Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (d. 1580)
- 1545 - Prince Don Carlos of Spain (d. 1568)
- 1593 - Artemisia Gentileschi, Italian painter (d. 1653)
- 1621 - Jean de la Fontaine, French writer (d. 1695)
- 1760 - Christian Kramp, French mathematician (d. 1826)
- 1766 - Dominique Jean Larrey, French surgeon (d. 1842)
- 1819 - Francis Leopold McClintock, British naval officer and explorer (d. 1907)
- 1836 - Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (d. 1914)
- 1838 - Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, German inventor (d. 1917)
- 1839 - John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1937)
- 1851 - Arthur Evans, English archaeologist (d. 1941)
- 1867 - Käthe Kollwitz, German painter and graphic artist (d. 1945)
- 1878 - Jimmy Quinn, Scottish footballer (d. 1945)
- 1882 - Percy Grainger, Australian composer (d. 1961)
- 1885 - Ernst Bloch, German philosopher (d. 1977)
- 1892 - Richard Aldington, English poet (d. 1962)
- 1895 - Igor Tamm, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
- 1904 - Henri Cartan, French mathematician
- 1906 - Philip Johnson, American architect (d. 2005)
- 1908 - Louis Jordan, American singer and saxophonist (d. 1975)
- 1908 - Nelson A. Rockefeller, Vice President of the United States (d. 1979)
- 1914 - Jyoti Basu, Indian politician
- 1914 - Billy Eckstine, American jazz singer and bandleader (d. 1993)
- 1918 - Craig Stevens, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1919 - Walter Scheel, German politician
- 1923 - Harrison Dillard, American athlete
- 1926 - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-born psychiatrist (d. 2004)
- 1932 - Jerry Vale, American singer
- 1933 - Marty Feldman, English comedian and actor (d. 1982)
- 1935 - Steve Lawrence, American entertainer and singer
- 1935 - Vitali Sevastyanov, cosmonaut
- 1941 - Dario Gradi, Italian-born football manager
- 1942 - Phil Gramm, American politician
- 1945 - Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 1947 - Kim Darby, American actress
- 1951 - Anjelica Huston, American actress
- 1958 - Kevin Bacon, American actor
- 1961 - Toby Keith, American singer
- 1968 - Billy Crudup, American actor
- 1970 - Beck, American singer
- 1972 - Saurav Ganguly, Indian cricketer
- 1975 - Kathleen Robertson, Canadian actress
- 1976 - Talal El Karkouri, Moroccan footballer
- 1977 - Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player
- 1980 - Robbie Keane, Irish footballer
- 1981 - Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
- 1982 - Hakim Warrick, American basketball player
- 1984 - Alexis Dziena, American actress
Deaths
- 810 - Pepin, King of Italy (b. 773)
- 975 - King Edgar of England
- 1153 - Pope Eugene III
- 1538 - Diego de Almagro, Spanish explorer (b. 1475)
- 1623 - Pope Gregory XV (b. 1554)
- 1689 - Edward Wooster, English Connecticut pioneer (b. 1622)
- 1695 - Christiaan Huygens, Dutch scientist (b. 1629)
- 1716 - Robert South, English churchman (b. 1634)
- 1721 - Elihu Yale, American benefactor of Yale University (b. 1649)
- 1726 - John Ker, Scottish spy (b. 1673)
- 1822 - Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (b. 1792)
- 1826 - Luther Martin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States (b. 1748)
- 1850 - Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge (b. 1774)
- 1855 - Sir William Edward Parry, British admiral and Arctic explorer (b. 1790)
- 1859 - King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (b. 1799)
- 1905 - Walter Kittredge, American musician and composer (b. 1834)
- 1917 - Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (b. 1877)
- 1933 - Anthony Hope, British author (b. 1863)
- 1934 - Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer (b. 1848)
- 1939 - Havelock Ellis, British physician and psychologist (b. 1859)
- 1943 - Jean Moulin, French Resistance leader (b. 1899)
- 1950 - Othmar Spann, Austrian philosopher and economist (b. 1878)
- 1957 - Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (b. 1879)
- 1973 - Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer (b. 1877)
- 1979 - Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- 1979 - Robert B. Woodward, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
- 1986 - Skeeter Webb, baseball player (b. 1909)
- 1987 - Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet (b. 1896)
- 1988 - Ray Barbuti, American athlete (b. 1905)
- 1990 - Howard Duff, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1994 - Kim Il Sung, North Korean leader (b. 1912)
- 1999 - Pete Conrad, American astronaut (b. 1930)
- 2001 - John O'Shea, New Zealand film director (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Ward Kimball, American animator (b. 1914)
- 2004 - Paula Danziger, American author (b. 1944)
Holidays and observances
- Feast day of Saint Grimbald
External links
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/8 BBC: On This Day]
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July 7 - July 9 - June 8 - August 8 -- listing of all days
ko:7월 8일
ms:8 Julai
ja:7月8日
simple:July 8
th:8 กรกฎาคม
1839
1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar).
Events
- January 9 - The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process.
- January 19 - British East India Company captures Aden
- January 20 - In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance.
- February 24 - William Otis receives a patent for the steam shovel.
- March 23 - First recorded use of "OK" oll korrect (Boston Morning Post).
- March 26 - The first Henley Royal Regatta is held
- 9 April - The world's first commercial electric telegraph line comes into operation alongside the Great Western Railway line from Paddington station to West Drayton.
- April 19 - The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom.
- June 22 – Louis Daguerre receives patent for his camera (commercially available by September with the prize of 400 Francs)
- July 1 – Slave rebellion of Amistad
- August 8 – The Beta Theta Pi fraternity was founded in Oxford, Ohio
- August 19 – French government gives Louis Daguerre a pension and gives the daguerreotype "for the whole world"
- November 11 - The Virginia Military Institute is founded in Lexington, Virginia.
- November 17 - Giuseppe Verdi's first opera, Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio opens in Milan.
- November 27 - In Boston, Massachusetts, the American Statistical Association is founded
Undated
- Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Mahmud II (1808-1839) to Abd-ul-Mejid (1839-1861)
- In the United States, the first state law permitting women to own property is passed in Jackson, Mississippi.
- The first parallax measurement of the distance to Alpha Centauri is published by Thomas Henderson.
- Excavation on Copan begins
- Half of the Limburg province of Belgium was added to the Netherlands, since 1839 there is a Belgian Limburg and Dutch Limburg.
- Abd al-Kader declares a jihad against the French.
Births
- January 19 - Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
- February 11 - Josiah Willard Gibbs American physicist and chemist (d. 1903)
- February 22 - Francis Pharcellus Church, American editor and publisher (d. 1906)
- March 9 - Phoebe Knapp, American hymnwriter (d. 1908)
- March 21 - Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer (d. 1881)
- April 12 - Nikolai Przhevalsky, Russian explorer (d. 1888)
- July 8 - John Davison Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist (d. 1937)
- July 17 - Ephraim Shay, Inventor (d. 1916, see Shay locomotive)
- December 5 - George Armstrong Custer, American cavalry officer (d. 1876)
Deaths
- April 1 - Benjamin Pierce, U.S. politician (b. 1757)
- April 2 - Hezekiah Niles, American editor and publisher (b. 1777)
- April 11 - John Galt, Scottish novelist (b. 1779)
- May 17 - Archibald Alison, Scottish author (b. 1757)
- August 10 - John St Aubyn, British fossil collector (b. 1758)
- August 22 - Benjamin Lundy, American abolitionist (b. 1789)
- August 28 - William Smith, English geologist and cartographer (b. 1769)
- November 15 - William Murdoch, Scottish inventor (b. 1754)
- December 3 - Frederick VI, King of Denmark, ex-King of Norway (b. 1768)
ko:1839년
ms:1839
th:พ.ศ. 2382
May 23
May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). There are 222 days remaining.
Events
- 1430 - Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne
- 1498 - Girolamo Savonarola is executed on the orders of Pope Alexander VI
- 1533 - The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
- 1541 - Jacques Cartier leaves St-Malo, France on his third voyage.
- 1555 - Paul IV becomes Pope.
- 1568 - Netherlands declared independence from Spain.
- 1568 - Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, brother of William I of Orange, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.
- 1609 - Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place.
- 1618 - The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.
- 1701 - After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
- 1788 - South Carolina becomes the 8th U.S. state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1805 - Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in the Cathedral of Milan.
- 1813 - South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator").
- 1844 - Persian Prophet The Báb announces His revelation, founding Bábism.
- 1865 - A parade is held in Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, to celebrate the end of the American Civil War.
- 1873 - The Canadian Parliament establishes the North West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- 1900 - American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney becomes the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor, for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner.
- 1906 - Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
- 1911 - Dedication ceremony for the New York Public Library.
- 1915 - World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1923 - Launch of Belgium's SABENA airline.
- 1929 - The first talking cartoon of Mickey Mouse, The Karnival Kid, was released.
- 1934 - Near their hideout in Black Lake, Louisiana, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are ambushed and shot dead by police.
- 1939 - The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 26 sailors. The remaining 32 crewmen and one passenger are rescued the following day.
- 1945 - Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
- 1949 - The Federal Republic of Germany is established, and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany proclaimed.
- 1958 - Explorer I ceases transmission.
- 1960 - Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion announces that Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann has been captured.
- 1962 - Drilling for the Montreal Metro commences.
- 1967 - Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran and blockades the port of Eilat at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping, laying the foundations for the Six Day War.
- 1969 - Rock band The Who release Tommy, the first rock opera.
- 1977 - Two terrorist actions unfold in The Netherlands: Several dozen hostages are taken onboard a train, and about 100 others (mostly children) are held at a Dutch school. The train siege lasts until June 11.
- 1980 - Australian Oylmpic commitie decides to send a team to Moscow. Despite opposition by P.M Malcom Fraser
- 1985 - U.S. engineer Thomas Patrick Cavanagh is sentenced to life in prison for attempting to sell stealth bomber secrets to the Soviet Union.
- 1995 - Official announcement of the Java programming language.
- 1995 - Oklahoma City bombing: In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, what remains of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building is imploded.
- 1997 - Mohammad Khatami is elected as President of Iran.
- 1998 - The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum, with a high margin of three-fourth 'yes' votes to Northern Ireland.
- 1999 - In Kansas City, Missouri, Owen Hart (playing The Blue Blazer) falls 90 feet to his death while being lowered into a World Wrestling Federation ring.
- 2002 - The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
- 2003 - The euro exceeds its initial trading value as it hits $1.18 for the first time since its introduction in 1999.
- 2003 - 25-year-old Nepalese Sherpa, Pemba Dorjie Sherpa, makes the fastest-ever ascent of Mount Everest, in 12 hours 45 minutes. This is broken by his rival Sherpa Lakpa Gelu only three days later.
- 2004 - Part of Paris Charles De Gaulle International Airport Terminal 2E collapses, killing five people and injuring three others.
Births
- 1052 - King Philip I of France (d. 1108)
- 1100 - Emperor Qinzong of China (d. 1161)
- 1606 - Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish writer (d. 1682)
- 1617 - Elias Ashmole, English antiquarian (d. 1692)
- 1707 - Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist (d. 1778)
- 1718 - William Hunter, Scottish anatomist (d.1783)
- 1729 - Giuseppe Parini, Italian writer (d.1799)
- 1790 - Jules Dumont d'Urville, French explorer (d. 1842)
- 1795 - Charles Barry , English architect (d. 1860)
- 1810 - Margaret Fuller, American journalist and feminist (d. 1850)
- 1820 - James Buchanan Eads, American engineer and inventor (d. 1887)
- 1824 - Ambrose Burnside, American Civil War general (d. 1881)
- 1834 - Carl Heinrich Bloch, Danish painter (d. 1890)
- 1844 - `Abdu'l-Bahá, Persian founder of the Bahá'í Faith (d. 1921)
- 1848 - Otto Lilienthal, German aviation pioneer (d. 1896)
- 1875 - Alfred P. Sloan, American business professor (d. 1966
- 1879 - Dezső Lauber, Hungarian sportsman (d. 1966)
- 1883 - Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (d. 1939)
- 1884 - Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist (d. 1965)
- 1887 - Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1963)
- 1888 - Zack Wheat, baseball player (d. 1972)
- 1890 - Herbert Marshall, English actor (d. 1966)
- 1891 - Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- 1893 - Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1977)
- 1898 - Scott O'Dell, American author (d. 1989)
- 1908 - John Bardeen, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- 1910 - Margaret Wise Brown, American author (d. 1952)
- 1910 - Sir Hugh Casson, British architect and painter (d. 1999)
- 1910 - Scatman Crothers, American actor and musician (d. 1986)
- 1910 - Artie Shaw, American clarinetist and bandleader (d. 2004)
- 1912 - Jean Françaix, French composer (d. 1997)
- 1912 - John Payne, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1918 - Denis Compton, English cricketer (d. 1997)
- 1919 - Betty Garrett, American actress and dancer
- 1920 - Helen O'Connell, American singer (d. 1993)
- 1921 - James Blish, American author (d. 1975)
- 1921 - Humphrey Lyttelton, British musician
- 1925 - Joshua Lederberg, American molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1928 - Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
- 1931 - Barbara Barrie, American actress
- 1933 - Joan Collins, English actress
- 1934 - Dr. Robert Moog, American inventor
- 1936 - Charles Kimbrough, American actor
- 1939 - Reinhard Hauff, German film director
- 1943 - John Newcombe, Australian tennis player
- 1945 - Padmarajan, Indian film director (d. 1991)
- 1946 - Frederik de Groot, Dutch actor
- 1951 - Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
- 1952 - Anne-Marie David, French singer
- 1952 - Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer
- 1956 - Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician
- 1956 - Buck Showalter, baseball player and manager
- 1958 - Mitch Albom, American writer
- 1958 - Drew Carey, American actor and comedian
- 1961 - Karen Duffy, American actress
- 1963 - Wally Dallenbach Jr., American race car driver and announcer
- 1964 - Allan Kayser, American actor
- 1967 - Phil Selway, English drummer (Radiohead)
- 1972 - Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
- 1974 - Ken Jennings, American game show contestant
- 1974 - Jewel, American singer
- 1974 - Monica Naranjo, Spanish singer
- 1977 - Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
- 1981 - Beanus McLure, Australian filmmaker
- 1982 - Malene Mortensen, Danish singer
- 1984 - Adam Wylie, American actor
Deaths
- 1125 - Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1081)
- 1304 - Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
- 1498 - Girolamo Savonarola, Italian religious reformer and ruler of Florence (b. 1452)
- 1523 - Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shogun (b. 1466)
- 1524 - Ismail I, Shah of Persia (b. 1487)
- 1662 - John Gauden, English bishop and writer (b. 1605)
- 1670 - Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)
- 1691 - Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (b. 1622)
- 1701 - Captain Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645)
- 1752 - William Bradford, British-born printer (b. 1663)
- 1754 - John Wood, the Elder, English architect (b. 1704)
- 1783 - James Otis, American lawyer and patriot (b. 1725)
- 1786 - Móric Beňovský, Slovak explorer
- 1825 - Ras Gugsa of Yejju, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia
- 1841 - Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765)
- 1855 - Charles Robert Malden, English explorer (b. 1797)
- 1857 - Augustin Louis Cauchy, French mathematician
- 1868 - Kit Carson, American trapper, scout, and Indian agent (b. 1809)
- 1886 - Leopold von Ranke, German historian (b. 1795)
- 1893 - Anton von Schmerling, Austrian statesman (b. 1805)
- 1895 - Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist and physicist (b. 1798)
- 1906 - Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian writer (b. 1828)
- 1920 - Svetozar Boroević, Austrian field marshal (b. 1856)
- 1933 - Clyde Barrow, American outlaw (b. 1909)
- 1933 - Bonnie Parker, American outlaw (b. 1910)
- 1937 - John D. Rockefeller, American entrepreneur (b. 1839)
- 1945 - Heinrich Himmler, Nazi official (b. 1900)
- 1965 - Earl Webb, baseball player (b. 1897)
- 1966 - Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (b. 1902)
- 1975 - Moms Mabley, American comedienne (b. 1894)
- 1981 - George Jessel, American actor (b. 1898)
- 1986 - Sterling Hayden, American actor (b. 1916)
- 1989 - Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian theatre director (b. 1915)
- 1991 - Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
- 1992 - Giovanni Falcone, Italian judge (b. 1939)
- 1999 - Owen Hart, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1965)
- 2002 - Sam Snead, American golfer (b. 1912)
Holidays and observances
- Bahá'í Faith: Declaration of the Báb
- World Turtle Day
External links
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/23 BBC: On This Day]
----
May 22 - May 24 - April 23 - June 23 – listing of all days
ko:5월 23일
ms:23 Mei
ja:5月23日
simple:May 23
th:23 พฤษภาคม
1937
1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar).
Events
January
- January 1 - Anastasio Somoza becomes President of Nicaragua
- January 11 - The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States.
- January 19 - Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
- January 23 - In Moscow, 17 leading Communists go on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime and assassinate its leaders.
- January 31 - Ohio river floods
- January 31 - 31 people executed in the Soviet Union for "Trotskyism"
February
- February 5 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes a plan to enlarge the Supreme Court of the United States.
- February 8 - Falangist troops take Málaga
- February 11 - A sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognises the United Automobile Workers Union
- February 16 - Wallace H. Carothers receives a patent for nylon.
- February 19 - During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa Ahmed, Ethiopia, two Eritrean nationalists attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades. The Italian security guard fire into the crowd of Ethiopian onlookers, and over the passing weeks indiscriminately slaughter native Ethiopians in reprisal.
- February 21 - Initial flight of the first successful flying car, Waldo Waterman's Arrowbile; the League of Nations Non-Intervention Committee ban on foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War.
March
- March - The first issue of the comic book Detective Comics is published in the United States. Twenty-seven issues later, Detective Comics would introduce Batman. The comic would go on to become the longest continually-published comic magazine in American history; it is still published as of 2005.
- March 10 - The Encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge of pope Pius XI is published in Nazi Germany
- March 18 - The New London School explosion kills three hundred.
- March 26 - In Crystal City, Texas spinach growers erect a statue of the cartoon character Popeye.
- March 26 - William Henry Hastie becomes the first African-American appointed to federal judgeship.
April
- April 1 - Aden becomes a British crown colony.
- April 17 - Release of the animated short Porky's Duck Hunt, directed by Tex Avery for the Merrie Melodies series, featuring the debut of Daffy Duck.
- April 26 - Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
- April 26 - In his report of the Falangist attack on Guernica, British journalist George Steer reports that he had found German bomb casing; that means that Luftwaffe planes were connected with the attack
May
Luftwaffe, with their daughters Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret.]]
- May 1 - General strike in Paris, France
- May 6 - In United States, the German airship Hindenburg bursts into flame when mooring to a mast in Lakehurst.
- May 7 - Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion Fighter Group, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes arrive in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces.
- May 12 - Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth takes place at Westminster Abbey, London.
- May 21 - As one of the reprisals for the attempted assassination of Italian viceroy Rodolfo Graziani, a detachment of Italian troops massacre the entire community of Debre Libanos. 297 monks and 23 laymen are killed.
- May 27 - In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushes a button in Washington, DC signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge.
- May - Dáil Éireann passes the Executive Authority (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 which retrospectively abolishes the office of Governor-General of the Irish Free State. The abolition is retrospectively dated to December 1936.
June
- June 8 - First total solar eclipse to exceed 7 minutes of totality in over 800 years; visible in the Pacific and Peru.
- June 14 - Pennsylvania becomes the first (and only) of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday.
- June 21 - Coalition government of Leon Blum resigns in France.
- June/July - Dáil Éireann debates and passes the draft new constitution of Éire, to be called Bunreacht na hÉireann. The new constitution is then submitted for public approval by plebiscite.
July
- July 1 - Gestapo arrests priest Martin Niemöller.
- July 1 - In a referendum the people of the Irish Free State accept the new Constitution by 685,105 votes to 527,945.
- July 2 - Amelia Earhart disappears
- July 5 - Highest recorded temperature in Canada, at Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan: 45 °C.
- July 7 - Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Lugou Bridge - Japanese forces invade China.
- July 21 - Eamon de Valera elected president of Eire
- July 22 - New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
- July 24 - Alabama drops rape charges against the so-called "Scottsboro Boys."
- July 28 - IRA attempts bombing assassination against King George VI in Belfast.
August
- August 6 - Falangist artillery bombards Madrid.
September
- September 5 - Spanish Civil War: The fall of Llanes.
- September 16 - birth of Keith Bosley, broadcaster (retired), poet and translator.
- September 21 - George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London published the first edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
- September 25 - Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Pingxingguan.
October
- October 1 - Marijuana Tax Act in USA.
- October 3 - Japanese troops advance toward Nanking.
- October 5 - Roosevelt "Quarantine the Aggressors" speech at Chicago
- October 21 - The whole Spanish northern seaboard in the Falangists' hands.
- October 21 - Roberto Ortiz elected president of Argentina.
- October 27 - Spanish Civil War - Republican forces in Gijon, Spain, set fire to petrol reserves before they retreat before the advancing Falangists.
November
- November 5 Spanish Civil War - Massacre of Republican supporters in Piedrafita de Babia, near León. Possibly 35,000 executed.
- November 5 - World War II: In the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler holds a secret meeting and states his plans for acquiring "living space" for the German people.
- November 9 - Japanese troops take Shanghai.
December
- December 3 - The Dandy, the world's longest running comic, was first published.
- December 12 - Panay incident
- December 13 - Battle of Nanjing ends and the Nanjing Massacre begins. Japanese troops would slaughter over 250,000 civilians and prisoners over three months.
- December 27 - Mae West performance gets her banned from NBC Radio
- December 29 - New Irish Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann comes into force. The Irish Free State becomes Éire. Eamon de Valera becomes the first Taoiseach (prime minister) of the new state. A Presidential Commission (made up the Irish Chief Justice, the Speaker of Dáil Éireann and the President of the High Court) assumes the powers of the new presidency of Ireland pending the election of the first president in June 1938.
- December - The Marijuana Tax Act is signed, ending the US hemp industry just as it was about to benefit from a mechanised brake and compete with cotton and wood pulp.
Unknown dates
- Japan invades Manchuria. (Some consider this the start of World War II. Most historians disagree).
- New Irish constitution bans divorce.
- First science fiction convention in Leeds, United Kingdom.
- Italy joins Antikomintern Pact.
- The National House Builders Registration Council (now the NHBC) was formed in the United Kingdom.
- Donald Goines (1937 - 1973)
- Jimmie Angel lands his plane on top of Devil's Mountain however the plane gets damaged and he has to trek through the rainforest for help.
Ongoing events
- Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
- Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
- Harlem Renaissance (1920-1940) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Renaissance]
Births
January
- January 1 - Anne Aubrey, British actor
- January 4 - Dyan Cannon, Ameircan actress
- January 6 - Underwood Dudley, American mathematician
- January 8 - Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer
- January 14 - Ken Higgs, English cricketer
- January 15 - Margaret O'Brien, American actress
- January 18 - John Hume, Irish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- January 27 - John Ogdon, English pianist (d. 1989)
- January 30 - Vanessa Redgrave, English actress
- January 30 - Boris Spassky, Russian chess player
- January 31 - Suzanne Pleshette, Amrican actress
- January 31 - Philip Glass, American composer
February
- February 1 - Garrett Morris, American comedian
- February 1 - Don Everly, American musician
- February 2 - Tom Smothers, American musician and comedian
- February 2 - Magic Sam, American musician (d. 1969)
- February 8 - Manfred Krug, German actor and singer
- February 11 - Bill Lawry, Australian cricketer
- February 12 - Charles Dumas, American athlete
- February 20 - Robert Huber, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- February 20 - Roger Penske, American race car driver
- February 20 - Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress
- February 21 - King Harald V of Norway
- February 25 - Tom Courtenay, English actor
March
- March 2 - Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algerian president
- March 4 - Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricket captains
- March 6 - Valentina Tereshkova, cosmonaut
- March 9 - Mickey Gilly, American musician
- March 17 - Rudy Ray Moore, American comedian
- March 20 - Jerry Reed, American musician
- March 22 - Armin Hary, German athlete
- March 23 - Craig Breedlove, American race car driver
- March 30 - Warren Beatty, American actor and director
April
- April 5 - Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State
- April 6 - Merle Haggard, American musician
- April 6 - Billy Dee Williams, American actor
- April 10 - Bella Akhmadulina, Russian poet
- April 16 - Joseph Whipp, American actor
- April 22 - Jack Nicholson, American actor
- April 29 - Jill Paton Walsh, English novelist
May
- May 1 - Una Stubbs, British actor
- May 8 - Thomas Pynchon, American writer
- May 6 - Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, American boxer
- May 12 - George Carlin, American comedian
- May 13 - Roch Carrier, Canadian writer
- May 13 - Roger Zelazny, American writer (d. 1995)
- May 15 - Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State
- May 15 - Trini López, American musician
- May 17 - Hazel R. O'Leary, U.S. Secretary of Energy
- May 18 - Brooks Robinson, baseball player
- May 18 - Jacques Santer, Luxembourg politician, President of the European Council
June
- June 1 - Morgan Freeman, American actor
- June 3 - Solomon P. Ortiz, U.S. Congressman from Texas
- June 7 - Neemi Järvi, Estonian conductor
- June 9 - Harald Rosenthal, German biologist
- June 11 - Robin Warren, Australian pathologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- June 18 - Wray Carlton, American football player
- June 18 - Vitali Zholobov, cosmonaut
- June 23 - Martti Ahtisaari, President of Finland
- June 25 - Keizo Obuchi, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2000)
- June 26 - Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- June 28 - Ron Luciano, baseball umpire and writer (d. 1995)
July
- July 6 - Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian pianist
- July 6 - Ned Beatty, American actor
- July 7 - Tung Chee-Hwa, Hong Kong administrator
- July 9 - David Hockney, English-born artist
- July 12 - Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister of France
- July 12 - Bill Cosby, American actor and comedian
- July 14 - Yoshiro Mori, Japanese politician
- July 18 - Roald Hoffmann, Polish-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 29 - Daniel McFadden, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
August
- August 4 - David Bedford, American musician
- August 5 - Herb Brooks, American hockey coach (d. 2003)
- August 8 - Dustin Hoffman, American actor
- August 18 - Robert Redford, American actor
- August 18 - Willie Rushton, English comedian and cartoonist (d. 1996)
- August 21 - Donald Dewar, First Minister of Scotland (d. 2000)
- August 29 - James Florio, Governor of New Jersey
September
- September 4 - Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer
- September 15 - Robert Lucas, Jr., American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- September 15 - Fernando de la Rúa, President of Argentina
- September 19 - Abner Haynes, American football player
- September 28 - Rod Roddy, American television announcer (d. 2003)
October
- October 2 - Johnnie Cochran, American attorney (d. 2005)
- October 5 - Barry Switzer, American football coach
- October 10 - Bobby Charlton, English footballer
November
- November 8 - Paul Mackintosh Foot, British journalist
- November 15 - Yaphet Kotto, American actor
- November 17 - Peter Cook, English comedian and writer
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