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Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

This article is about the politician, Joseph Kennedy, Sr.; For the baseball player, see Joe Kennedy. Larger Version Joseph "Joe" Patrick Kennedy, Sr. (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was a prominent United States businessman and political figure, the father of President John F. Kennedy and the patriarch of the Kennedy political family.

Background and early career

Joseph was born in Boston, the son of Patrick J. Kennedy, a successful businessman and Irish Catholic community leader. Kennedy was born into a highly sectarian environment where Irish Catholics saw themselves as the victims of Yankee exclusion. Many were active in the Democratic Party, including Patrick and numerous relatives. Patrick Kennedy's home was a prosperous and comfortable one, thanks to his successful liquor business and an influential role in local politics. At the city's most prestigious public high school, Boston Latin School, Joe was a below average scholar but was popular among his classmates, winning election as class president and playing on the school baseball team. Kennedy, like several older relatives, attended Harvard College where he focused on becoming a social leader, working energetically to gain admittance to the prestigious Hasty Pudding Club. After graduating from Harvard in 1912, his first job was a state-employed bank examiner. In that role, he learned that a certain bank was trying to take over the smaller Columbia Trust Bank, in which his father was a minority shareholder. Borrowing $45,000 he bought control and at age 25, he became the youngest bank president in the country. In 1912 he married Rose Fitzgerald, the daughter of John F. Fitzgerald, the Democrat mayor of Boston and probably the most recognized politician in the city. Kennedy emerged as a highly successful entrepreneur with an eye for value. For example he turned a handsome profit from ownership of Old Colony Realty Associates, Inc., which bought distressed real estate. During the World War he was supervisor of a major shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts where he oversaw the production of transports and warships. The job brought him into contact with the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the early 1920s, Joseph acquired two movie studios and personally produced several films, he then sold the companies to the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). He was romantically linked to Gloria Swanson during 1929 and 1930, during which time he poured large sums of money into Gloria Productions Limited, a film company which Swanson had just started.

Building tremendous wealth

Wall Street

In 1919, he joined the prominent stock brokerage firm of Hayden, Stone and Co. where he became an expert in dealing in the unregulated stock market of the day. In 1923 he set up his own investment company and became a multi-millionaire during the bull market of the 1920s. David Kennedy, author of "Freedom From Fear," describes the Wall Street of the Kennedy era: "(It) was a strikingly information-starved environment. Many firms whose securities were publicly traded published no regular reports or issued reports whose data were so arbitrarily selected and capriciously audited as to be worse than useless. It was this circumstance that had conferred such awesome power on a handful of investment bankers like J.P. Morgan, because they commanded a virtual monopoly of the information necessary for making sound financial decisions. Especially in the secondary markets, where reliable information was all but impossible for the average investor to come by, opportunities abounded for insider manipulation and wildcat speculation."

The Crash

Kennedy formed alliances with several other Irish-Catholic money men, including Charles E. Mitchell, Mike Meehan and Bernard Smith. He helped establish the Libby-Owens-Ford stock pool, an arrangement in which Kennedy and colleagues created an artificial scarcity of Libby-Owens-Ford stock to drive up the value of their own holdings in the stock. Using inside information, and the public's lack of knowledge, a pool operator would bribe journalists to present that information in the most advantageous manner. The stocks would then change in price up or down depending on the position favoured by the pool. This conduct is now illegal as both insider trading and market-manipulation. Some attribute these market manipulations as being in part responsible for the Stock Market Crash of 1929 which some say triggered the worldwide Great Depression. In any event, Kennedy got out of the market in 1928, long before the Crash locking in multi-million dollar profits. Indeed when the 1929 crash did come, he made money due to his short positions.

Liquor Importing, Movie Production, Property

During Prohibition, Kennedy's company Somerset Importers became the exclusive American agent for Gordon's Dry Gin and Dewar's Scotch which was only allowed to be imported during Prohibition for medicinal purposes. Anticipating the end of Prohibition (not difficult to do as it slowly passed through the required number of states) he assembled a very large inventory of stock that he sold for a profit of millions of dollars when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. He invested this money in residential and commercial real estate, the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and Hialeah Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. Kennedy made a huge amount from reorganizing and refinancing several Hollywood studios. Some speculated he enjoyed the industry because of the attractive women involved in it. Film production in the U.S. was a lot more decentralized than it is today, with many different movie studios producing film product. One small studio was FBO, the Film Booking Office of America, which specialized in Westerns produced cheaply. Its owner was in financial trouble and asked Kennedy to help find a new owner. Kennedy liked the business so much he formed his own group of investors to buy it for $1.5 million. He then moved to Hollywood in March 1926 to focus on running the studio. Movie studios were then permitted to own exhibition companies and often found it necessary to get their films on the big screen. With that in mind, in a hostile buyout he acquired the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Theaters Corporation (KAO) which had more than seven hundred vaudeville and movie theaters across the United States . He later acquired another production studio Pathe Exchange, owned by ther French giant, Pathé. In October 1928, he formally merged his film companies FBO and KAO to form Radio-Keith-Orpheum and made a large amount of money in the process. Kennedy knew how to play hardball. Keen to buy Pantages Theater chain which had sixty-three stong performer theaters, Kennedy made an offer of $8 million. It was declined. Joe then stopped distributing his movies to Pantages. Still Alexander Pantages declined to sell. When Pantages was charged and tried with rape though, his reputation took a battering and he accepted Kennedy's revised offer of $3.5 million. It is estimated that Kennedy made over $5 million from his investments in Hollywood.

Public service

Joseph's first active involvement in a national political campaign occurred during Franklin D. Roosevelt's bid for the Presidency. He donated, loaned, and raised a substantial amount of money for FDR's presidential campaign. President Roosevelt rewarded him, with an appointment as the inaugural Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Even Joseph's critics acknowledge the reforming work he performed as SEC Chairman. His knowledge of the financial markets equipped him to identify areas requiring the attention of regulators. One of the crucial reforms was the requirement for companies to regularly lodge financial statements with the SEC which broke what some saw as an information monopoly maintained by the Morgan banking family. After serving in this post for several years, he resigned in 1935. President Roosevelt then asked him to chair the Maritime Commission. During the Spanish Civil War Kennedy's helped persuade President Roosevelt to stay out of the conflict arguing that the American Catholic community sympathized with the forces of Francisco Franco. Kennedy's opponents claim he circulated fabricated charges of atrocities against the Church in Spain on the part of the Spanish loyalists.

Appeasement

In 1938, he was appointed as the United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James's (United Kingdom). Kennedy, of Irish descent, hugely enjoyed his leadership position in London society, which stood in stark contrast to his outsider status in Boston. He rejected the warnings by Winston Churchill that Nazi Germany posed a looming threat, and supported Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement in order to stave off a second world war that would be more horrible than the first. He resigned from office in 1940 after being recalled as he publicly disagreed with Roosevelt's policy of indecision, prior to the Attack on Pearl Harbor, on involving the USA in the Second World War. Regardless, Kennedy was active in rallying Irish Democrats to Roosevelt's reelection. While his own ambitions for the White House seemed impossible to realize, he held out great hope for his eldest son Joseph Jr. to gain the presidency. However, Joe Jr. was killed undertaking a high-risk bombing raid over Germany. Kennedy then turned his attention to grooming the second son, John F. Kennedy. Indeed he won in the 1960 elections. Joe Kennedy was always a controversial figure among Democrats because of his opposition to Roosevelt but support for Joseph McCarthy. Therefore he operated in the background. He did play a vital role in fundraising and in managing parts of the campaign, such as the West Virginia primary.

Stroke and retirement

On December 19, 1961, Kennedy suffered a disabling stroke which made movement and communication extremely difficult and limited until his death. JFK's assassination in 1963 made Kennedy reluctant to support his other son Robert F. Kennedy's bid to become the Democratic nominee for the presidency in the 1968 elections. His fears came to pass when Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Robert in 1968 while on the campaign trail. Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. died on November 18, 1969. Joseph Kennedy expanded the Kennedy Compound, which continues as a major center of family get-togethers.

See also


- Kennedy family
- List of descendants of Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
- Kennedy Curse
- List of well-known U.S. presidential relatives

Further reading


- Amanda Smith, ed. Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy (2002)
- Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga (1987)
- Thomas Maier, The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings (2003)
- Kessler, Ronald, The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded, Warner , 1996, ISBN 0446603848
- Ted Schwarz, "Joseph P. Kennedy" 2003, ISBN 0-471-17681-8

External links


- [http://www.ytedk.com/jfk.htm Joe Kennedy's Political Influence]
- [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kennedys/peopleevents/p_joe.html The Kennedys - PBS Special]
- [http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2003/nf20030529_7026.htm Kennedy's Legacy at the SEC] Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P. I Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P. I Kennedy, Joseph P., Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr.

Baseball

Baseball is a team sport, a bat-and-ball game, in which a hard, fist-sized ball is thrown by a defensive player called a pitcher from a pitcher's mound 60 1/2 feet away, to an offensive player called a batter, who stands at a plate (called home base) and attempts to hit it with a tapered, cylindrical, smooth stick called a bat. The ball itself is also called a baseball. Scoring is accomplished by the batter running and touching a series of four markers on the ground called bases without being tagged by a player with a ball or being forced out for some other reason. Baseball is sometimes called hardball to differentiate it from the closely related sport of softball and other similar games. similar games.]] similar games" can be seen lurking on the right side of this picture]] Baseball is popular in the Americas and East Asia. In Japan, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Panama, Venezuela, South Korea, and Taiwan, it is one of the most popular sports by any measurement. In the United States, baseball has long been regarded as more than just a "major sport" - it is the national pastime and Major League Baseball has been given a unique monopoly status by the U.S. Congress; the total attendance for Major League games is roughly equal to that of all other American professional team sports combined. Among American television viewers, however, baseball has been surpassed in popularity (in terms of television ratings) by American football. Although three of the four most popular sports in North America are ball games (baseball, basketball and American football), baseball's popularity grew so great that the word "ballgame" in the United States almost always refers to a game of baseball, and "ballpark" to a baseball field.

Introduction

Gameplay

A simplified version of the rules of baseball is at simplified baseball rules. Also visit [http://www.mlb.com www.mlb.com], the official web site of Major League Baseball in the United States, where you can view clips of baseball being played.

General structure

simplified baseball rules Baseball is played between two teams of nine players each on a baseball field, usually under the authority of one or more officials, called umpires. There are usually four umpires in major league games; up to six (and as few as one) may officiate depending on the league and the importance of the game. There are four bases. Numbered counter-clockwise, first, second and third bases are cushions (sometimes informally referred to as bags) shaped as 15 in (38 cm) squares which are raised a short distance above the ground; together with home plate, the fourth "base," they form a square with sides of 90 ft (27.4 m) called the diamond. Home base (plate) is a pentagonal rubber slab known as simply home. The field is divided into two main sections: the infield containing the four bases is bounded by the foul line and the grass line (see figure); and the outfield which is the grassed area beyond the infield grass line, between the foul line, and bounded by a wall or fence. The area between the foul lines, including the foul lines (the foul lines are in fair territory), is fair territory, and the area outside the foul lines is foul territory. The game is played in nine innings in which each team gets one turn to bat and try to score runs while the other pitches and defends in the field. In baseball, the defense always has the ball -- a fact that differentiates it from most other team sports. The teams switch every time the defending team gets three players of the batting team out. The winner is the team with the most runs after nine innings. In the case of a tie, additional innings are played until one team comes out ahead. At the start of the game, all nine players of the home team play the field, while players on the visiting team come to bat one at a time. out The basic contest is always between the pitcher for the fielding team, and a batter. The pitcher throws—pitches—the ball towards home plate, where the catcher for the fielding team waits (in a crouched stance) to receive it. Behind the catcher stands the home plate umpire. The batter stands in one of the batter's boxes and tries to hit the ball with a bat. The pitcher must keep one foot in contact with the top or side of the pitcher's rubber—a 24" x 6" (~ 61 cm x 15 cm) plate located atop the pitcher's mound—during the entire pitch, so he can only take one step forward in delivering the ball. The catcher's job is to receive any ball that the batter misses or does not swing at, and to "call" the game by a series of hand movements that signal to the pitcher what pitch to throw and where. If the pitcher disagrees with the call, he will "shake off" the catcher by shaking his head no; he accepts the sign by nodding. The catcher's role becomes more crucial depending on how the game is going, and how the pitcher responds to a given situation. Each pitch begins a new play, which might consist of nothing more than the pitch itself. Each half-inning, the goal of the defending team is to get three members of the other team out. A player who is out must leave the field and wait for his next turn at bat. There are many ways to get batters and baserunners out; some of the most common are catching a batted ball in the air, tag outs, force outs, and strikeouts. After the fielding team has put out three players from the opposing team, that half of the inning is over and the team in the field and the team at bat switch places; there is no upper limit to the number that may bat in rotation before three outs are recorded. Going through the entire order in an inning is referred to as "batting around". It is indicative of a high scoring inning. A complete inning consists of each opposing side having a turn (three outs) on offense. The goal of the team at bat is to score more runs than the opposition; a player may do so only by batting, then becoming a base runner, touching all the bases in order (via one or more plays), and finally touching home plate. To that end, the goal of each batter is to enable baserunners to score or to become a baserunner himself. The batter attempts to hit the ball into fair territory—between the baselines—in such a way that the defending players cannot get them or the baserunners out. In general, the pitcher attempts to prevent this by pitching the ball in such a way that the batter cannot hit it cleanly or, ideally, at all. A baserunner who successfully touches home plate after touching all previous bases in order scores a run. In an enclosed field, a fair ball hit over the fence on the fly is normally an automatic home run, which entitles the batter and all runners to touch all the bases and score. A home run hit with all bases occupied ('bases loaded') is called a grand slam.

Fielding team

See also: Baseball positions | Baseball positioning The team in the field is the defensive team; they attempt to prevent the baserunners from scoring. There are nine defensive positions, however, only two of the positions have a mandatory location (pitcher and catcher), the locations of the other seven fielders is not specified by the rules, except that at the moment the pitch is delivered they must be positioned in fair territory. These fielders often shift their positioning in response to specific batters or game situations, and they may exchange positions with one another at any time. The nine positions are: pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. Scorekeepers label each position with a number starting with the pitcher (1), catcher (2), first baseman (3), second baseman (4), third baseman (5), shortstop (6), left fielder (7), center fielder (8), right fielder (9). This convention was established by Henry Chadwick. The reason the shortstop seems out of order has to do with the way fielders positioned themselves in the early years of the game.

The battery

The battery is composed of the pitcher, who stands on the rubber of the mound, and the catcher, who squats behind home plate. These are the two fielders who always deal directly with the batter on every pitch, hence the term "battery", coined by Henry Chadwick and later reinforced by the implied comparison to artillery fire. The pitcher's main role is to pitch the ball toward home plate with the goal of getting the batter out. Pitchers also play defense by fielding batted balls, covering bases (for a potential tag out or force out on an approaching runner), or backing up throws. The catcher's main role is to receive the pitch if the batter does not hit it. Together with the pitcher and coaches, the catcher plots game strategy by suggesting different pitches and by shifting the starting positions of the other fielders. Catchers are also responsible for defense in the area near home plate.

The infielders

The four infielders are the first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, and third baseman. Originally the first, second and third basemen played very near their respective bases, and the shortstop generally played "in" (hence the term), covering the area between second, third, and the pitchers box, or wherever the game situation required. As the game evolved, the fielding positions changed to the now-familiar "umbrella", with the first and third baseman generally positioned a short distance toward second base from their bases, the second baseman to the right side of second base, and the shortstop playing to the left of second base, as seen from the batter's perspective, filling in the gaps. The first baseman's job consists largely of making force plays at first base on ground balls hit to the other infielders. When an infielder picks up a ball from the ground hit by the batter, he must throw it to the first baseman before the batter gets to the base for the batter to be out. The first baseman also fields balls hit near first base. The first baseman also has to receive throws from the pitcher in order to tag runners out who have reached base safely. The position is less physically challenging than the other positions, but there is still a lot of skill involved. Infielders don't always make good throws to first base, so it is the first baseman's job to field any ball thrown toward him cleanly. Older players who can no longer fulfill the demands of their original positions also often become first basemen. The second baseman covers the area to the right of second base and provides backup for the first baseman in bunt situations. He/She also is a cut-off for the outfield. This is when the outfielder doesn't have to throw the full distance from him/her to the base, but just to the cut-off. The shortstop fills the critical gap between second and third bases—where right-handed batters generally hit ground balls—and also covers second or third base and the near part of left field. This player is also a cut-off for the outfield. This position is the most demanding defensively, so a good shortstop doesn't need to necessarily be a good batter. The third baseman's primary requirement is a strong throwing arm, in order to make the long throw across the infield to the first baseman. Quick reaction time is also important for third basemen, as they tend to see more sharply hit balls than the other infielders.

The outfielders

The three outfielders, left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder, are so named from the catcher's perspective looking out onto the field. The right fielder generally has the strongest arm of all the outfielders due to the need to make throws on runners attempting to take third base. The center fielder has more territory to cover than the corner outfielders, so this player must be quick and agile with a strong arm to throw balls in to the infield; as with the shortstop, teams tend to emphasize defense at this position. Also, the center fielder is considered the outfield leader, and left- and right-fielders often cede to his direction when fielding fly balls. Of all outfielders, the left fielder often has the weakest arm, as they generally do not need to throw the ball as far in order to prevent the advance of any baserunners. The left fielder still requires good fielding and catching skills, and tends to receive more balls than the right fielder due to the fact that right-handed hitters, who are much more common, tend to "pull" the ball into left field. The left fielder also backs up third base on pick-off attempts from the catcher.

Defensive strategy

Pitching
catcher Main article: Pitching Effective pitching is vitally important to a baseball team, as pitching is the key for the defensive team to retire batters and to preventing runners from getting on base. A full game usually involves over one hundred pitches thrown by each team. However, most pitchers begin to tire before they reach this point. In previous eras, pitchers would often throw up to four complete games (all nine innings) in a week. With new advances in medical research and thus a better understanding of how the human body functions and tires out, starting pitchers tend to throw fractions of a game (typically 6 or 7 innings depending on their performance) about every five days. Multiple pitchers are often needed in a single game, including the starting pitcher and relief pitcher(s). Pitchers are substituted for one another like any other player (see below), and the rules do not limit the number of pitchers that can be used in a game; the only limiting factor is the size of the squad, naturally. In general, starting pitchers are not used in relief situations except sometimes during the post-season when every game is vital. If a game runs into many extra innings, a team may well empty its bullpen. If it then becomes necessary to use a "position player" as a pitcher, major league teams generally have certain players pre-designated as emergency relief pitchers, to avoid making a mockery of the game. In baseball's early years, squads were smaller, and relief pitchers were relatively uncommon, with the starter normally remaining for the entire game unless he was either thoroughly ineffective or became injured; today, with a much greater emphasis on pitch count (100 being the "magic number" in general), over the course of a single game each team will frequently use from two to five pitchers. In the 2005 ALCS, all four of the Chicago White Sox victories were complete games by the starters, a highly noteworthy event in the modern game. Although a pitcher can only take one step forward while delivering the ball, the pitcher has a great arsenal at his disposal in the variation of location, velocity, movement, and arm location (see types of pitches). Most pitchers attempt to master two or three types of pitches; some pitchers throw up to 6 types of pitches with varying degrees of control. Common pitches include a fastball, which is the ball thrown at just under maximum velocity; a curveball, which is made to curve by rotation imparted by the pitcher; and a change-up, which is a slower version of a fastball. To illustrate pitching strategy, consider the "fastball/change-up" combination: The average major-league pitcher can throw a fast ball around 90 miles per hour (145 km/h), and a few pitchers have even exceeded 100 miles per hour (161 km/h). The change-up is thrown somewhere between 75 to 85 miles per hour (121 to 137 km/h). Since the batter's timing is critical to hitting a pitch, a batter swinging to hit what looks like a fast ball, would be terribly fooled (swing and miss, hopefully) when the pitch turns out to be a much slower change-up. Some pitchers choose to throw using the 'submarine style,' a very efficient sidearm or near-underhand motion. Pitchers with a submarine delivery are often very difficult to hit because of the angle and movement of the ball once released. They cannot generate the amount of power that an overhand delivery can bring, so they depend on placement and keeping the batter "off balance". There are exceptions. Walter Johnson, who threw one of the fastest fast balls in the history of the game, threw sidearm (though not submarine) rather than a normal overhand.
Fielding strategy
Since only the pitcher and catcher location is fixed, the other players on the field move around as needed to defend against scoring a run. Many variations of this are possible, as location depends upon the "situation." "Situation" refers to immediate circumstances of play, and includes: the number of outs, the count (balls and strikes) on the batter, the number and speed of runners, the ability of the fielders, the ability of the pitcher, the type of pitch thrown, the inning, home versus visiting team, and others. As the situation dictates, the fielders move to more strategic locations. Common defensive situations include: playing for the bunt, trying to prevent a stolen base (runner advancing to the next base), moving the defensive to a shallow position to throw out a runner at home, moving fielders to locations where hitters are most likely to hit the ball, etc.

Team at bat

Batters and runners

The ultimate goal of the team at bat is to score runs. To accomplish this feat, the team at bat successively (in an predetermined order called a lineup) sends its nine players to the batter's box (adjacent to home plate) where they become batters. (Each team sets its batting lineup at the beginning of the game. Changes to the lineup are tightly limited by the rules of baseball and must be communicated to the umpires and to the opposing team. See Substitutions below.) A batter's turn at the plate is called a plate appearance. Batters advance to the bases in a variety of ways: hits, walks, hit-by-pitch, and a few others. When the batter hits a fair ball, he must run to first base, and may continue or stop at any base unless he is put out. A successful hit occurs when the batter reaches a base: reaching only first base is a single; reaching second base, a double; third base, a triple; and hit that allows the batter to touch all bases in order on the same play is a home run, whether or not the ball is hit over the fence. Once a runner is held to a base, he may attempt to advance at any time, but is not required to do so unless the batter or another runner displaces him (called a force play). A batter always drops his bat when running the bases —otherwise, the bat would slow him down and also be a danger to fielders. Depending on the way the ball comes off the bat, the play has different names. A batted ball is called a fly ball if it was hit in the air in a way causing the fielder to catch it on its descent. A line drive is like a fly ball, but the ball is hit with such force that its trajectory seems level to the ground. A batted ball which is not hit into the air, and which touches the ground within the infield before it can be caught, is called a ground ball. When a ball is hit outside the foul line, it is a foul ball, requiring the batter and all runners to return to their respecitive bases. Once the batter and any existing runners have all stopped at a base or been put out, the ball is returned to the pitcher, and the next batter comes to the plate. After the opposing team bats in its own order and three more outs are recorded, the first team's batting order will continue again from where it left off. When a runner reaches home plate, he scores a run and is no longer a base runner. He must leave the playing area until his spot in the order comes up again. A runner may only circle the bases once per plate appearance and thus can score no more than a single run.

Batting

Main article: Batting (baseball) Batting (baseball) just after swinging at a pitch (photo: Agência Brasil)]] Each plate appearance consists of a series of pitches, in which the pitcher throws the ball towards home plate while a batter is standing in the batter's box. With each pitch, the batter must decide whether or not to swing the bat at the ball in an attempt to hit it. The pitches arrive quickly, so the decision to swing must be made in less than a second, based on whether or not the ball is hittable and in the strike zone, a region defined by the area directly above home plate and between the batter's knees and underarms. In addition to swinging at the ball, a batter who wishes to put the ball in play may hold his bat over home plate and attempt to tap a pitch lightly; this is called a bunt. On any pitch, if the batter swings at the ball and misses, he is charged with a strike. If the batter does not swing, the home plate umpire judges whether or not the ball passed through the strike zone. If the ball passed through the zone, it is ruled a strike; otherwise, it is called a ball. The number of balls and strikes thrown to the current batter is known as the count; the count is always given balls first, then strikes (such as 3-2 or "three and two", which would be 3 balls and 2 strikes). If the batter swings and makes contact with the ball, but does not put it in play in fair territory—a foul ball—he is charged with an additional strike, except when there are already two strikes. Thus, a foul ball with two strikes leaves the count unchanged. (However, a noted exception to this rule is a ball bunted foul with two strikes always counts as a strike.) If a pitch is batted foul or fair and a member of the defensive team is able to catch it, before the ball strikes the ground, the batter is declared out. In the event that a bat contacts the ball, but the ball continues sharply and directly to the catcher's mitt and is caught, it is a foul tip, which is same as an ordinary strike. When three strikes occur on a batter, it is a strikeout and the batter is out except in some circumstances when the pitch is not caught by the catcher (a violation of the third strike rule). If however the catcher drops the third strike, the batter is allowed to attempt to advance to first base.(The catcher can try to get him out.) On the fourth ball the batter becomes a runner, and is entitled to advance to first base without risk of being put out, called a base on balls or a walk (abbreviated BB). If a pitch touches the batter, the umpire can declare a hit by pitch (abbreviated HBP) and the batter is awarded first base, unless the umpire determines that the ball was in the strike zone when it hit the batter, or that the batter did not attempt to avoid being hit.

Base running

Main article: Baserunning Once a batter becomes a runner, he is said to be "on" that base until he attempts to advance to the next base, until he is put out, or until the half-inning ends. Runners on second or third base are considered to be in scoring position since ordinary hits, even singles, will often score them. If a runner approaches a base and that base is already occupied by another runner, the latter has to leave the base. This way one to four players of the offensive team can be on the infield: the batter, and three runners on each base. Consequently a home run hit can count up to four runs (see grand slam). A runner legally touching a base is "safe"—he may not be put out. Runners may attempt to advance from base to base at any time (except during time outs), but must advance on any fair ball that touches the ground. When a ball is hit in the air, a fly ball, and caught by the defending team, runners must return and touch the base they occupied at the time of the pitch—called tagging up—after the ball is caught. Once they do this, they may attempt to advance at their own risk. tagging up Baserunners may attempt to advance, or steal a base, while the pitcher is throwing a pitch. The pitcher, in lieu of delivering the pitch, may try to prevent this by throwing the ball to one of the infielders in order to tag the runner; if successful, it is called a pick-off. If the runner attempts to steal the next base but is tagged out before reaching it safely, he is caught stealing. An illegal attempt by the pitcher to throw a runner out is called a balk, allowing the runners to advance without risk of being put out.

Batting and base running strategy

The goal of each batter is to become a base runner himself (usually by a safe hit or a base on balls), or to help move other base runners along. Batters attempt to "read" pitchers through pre-game preparation by studying the tendencies of pitchers and by talking to other batters that previously faced the pitcher. While batting, batters attempt to "read" pitches by looking for clues that the pitcher or catcher reveal. These clues include movements of the pitchers arms, shoulders, body, etc, and an attempt to "read" the spin of a ball early in the pitch to anticipate its trajectory. Batters also remain keenly aware of the count during their at bat. When the count is in the batter's favor (like 2-0), the batter is more likely to take a risky swing, but when the count is in the pitcher's favor (like 0-2), the batter will take a more conservative swing. In general, base running is a tactical part of the game requiring good judgment by runners (and their coaches) to assess the risk in attempting to advance. During tag plays, a good slide can affect the outcome of the play. Managers will often simultaneously send a runner and require the batter to swing (a hit-and-run play) in an attempt to advance runners. During the course of play many offensive and defensive players run close to each other, and during tag plays, the defensive player must touch the offensive player. Although baseball is considered a non-contact sport; a runner may be allowed to make potentially dangerous contact with a fielder as part of an attempt to reach a base, unless that fielder is fielding a batted ball. (Noted exceptions to the dangerous contact rule are found throughout amateur competions, including youth leagues, high school, and college baseball.) A good slide is often more advantageous than such contact, and "malicious" contact by runners is typically prohibited as offensive interference. The most common occurrence of contact of this nature is at home plate between the runner and the catcher, as the catcher is well padded and locked into position on or near the plate, and the runner will often try to knock the ball out of the catchers hand. Since the catcher is seen (symbolically and literally) as the last line of defense, it seems natural that the more physical play happens here.

Innings and determining a winner

An inning consists of each team having one turn in the field and one turn to hit, with the visiting team batting before the home team. A standard game lasts nine innings, although some leagues (such as high school baseball) use seven-inning games. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. If the home team is ahead after eight-and-a-half innings have been played, it is declared the winner, and the last half-inning is not played. If the home team is trailing or tied in the last inning and they score to take the lead, the game ends as soon as the winning run touches home plate; however, if the last batter hits a home run to win the game, he and any runners on base are all permitted to score. If both teams have scored the same number of runs at the end of a regular-length game, a tie is avoided by the addition of extra innings. As many innings as necessary are played until one team has the lead at the end of an inning. Thus, the home team always has a chance to respond if the visiting team scores in the top half of the inning; this gives the home team a small tactical advantage. In theory, a baseball game could go on forever; in practice, however, they eventually end. In Major League Baseball the longest game played was a 26-inning affair between the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves on May 1, 1920. The game ended in a 1-1 tie called on account of darkness. In Major League Baseball, games end with tie scores only because conditions have made it impossible to continue play. A tie game does not count as an official game in the standings unless it is finished later or replayed; however, individual player statistics from tie games are counted. Inclement weather may also shorten games, but at least five innings must be played for the game to be considered official; four-and-a-half innings are enough if the home team is ahead. Previously, curfews and the absence of adequate lighting caused more ties and shortened games. In Japanese baseball, if the score remains tied after nine innings, up to three extra innings may be played before the game is called a tie. Some youth or amateur leagues will end a game early if one team is ahead by ten or more runs, a practice known as the "mercy rule" or "slaughter rule". Rarely, a game can also be won or lost by forfeit. There is a short break between each half-inning during which the new defensive team takes the field and the pitcher warms up. Traditionally, the break between the top half and the bottom half of the seventh inning is known as the seventh-inning stretch. During the "stretch," fans often sing the chorus of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," although, since the attacks of 9-11, "God Bless America" has become common.

Substitutions

Each team is allowed to substitute for any player at any time, but no player, once removed from the game, may return. A batter who replaces another batter is referred to as a pinch hitter; similarly, a pinch runner may be used as a replacement for a baserunner. Any replacement is a permanent substitution; the replaced player may not return to the game. It is common for a pitcher to pitch for several innings and then be removed in favor of a relief pitcher. Because pitching is a specialized skill, most pitchers are relatively poor hitters; it is common to substitute for a pitcher when he is due to bat. This pinch hitter is typically then replaced by a relief pitcher when the team returns to the field on defense, but more complicated substitutions are possible, most notably the double switch. Many amateur leagues allow a starting player who was removed to return to the game in the same position in the batting order under a re-entry rule. Youth leagues often allow free and open substitution to encourage player participation. Most leagues, notably Major League Baseball's American League, allow a designated hitter, a player whose sole purpose is to hit when it would normally be the pitcher's turn. This is not considered a substitution but rather a position, albeit a purely offensive one. A designated hitter does not play in the field on defense and may remain in the game regardless of changes in pitchers.

Rosters

Main article: Major League Baseball transactions During the course of a game, each baseball team has players that are an active part of the game, called "in the game," and players that are not, called "on the bench." The players on the bench are needed in case of injuries and to make strategic pitching, fielding, and batting substitutions. To keep the game fair, each team is limited to a fixed number of players. That number is dictated by the rules of the game, see Major League Baseball transactions for those limitations.

Other personnel

Each team is run by a manager, whose primary responsibility during the game is to assign players to fielding positions, determine the lineup, deciding how to substitute players, and, most importantly, choosing the course of strategy throughout the game. Managers are also assisted by coaches in helping players to develop their skills. When a team is at-bat, they will position a coach or manager in each coach's box referred to as the first and third base coaches. These coaches must help the players decide whether they should try to run to the next base; also, the coaches will signal plays to the batter and runners. Baseball is unique in that the manager and coaches all wear numbered uniforms similar to those of the players. Any baseball game involves one or more umpires, who make rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike zone, and call each pitch a ball or a strike. Additional umpires may be stationed near the bases, thus making it easier to see plays in the field. In Major League Baseball, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In the all-star game and playoffs, six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along either foul line. Another notable role in baseball is that of the official scorer. The results of baseball games are summarized in tables called box scores. The scorer is responsible for a number of judgments that go into the boxscore. For example, if a batted ball is misplayed by a fielder, the scorer may choose to charge the fielder with an error instead of crediting the batter with a hit. Within certain guidelines, the scorer also determines which pitchers are credited with winning and losing the game, and whether a relief pitcher will be awarded a hold or save, specific situations in which a relief pitcher keeps a lead intact for his team.

Baseball's unique style

Baseball is unique among American sports in several ways. This uniqueness is a large part of its longstanding appeal and strong association with the American psyche. Although the following elements all contribute to baseball's uniqueness in American culture, they are all shared by its cousin game cricket. In many Commonwealth nations, cricket and the culture surrounding it hold a similar place and affection to baseball's role in American culture.

Time element

American football, basketball, ice hockey and soccer all use a clock, and games often end by a team killing the clock rather than competing directly against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock; a team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time. In recent decades, observers have criticized professional baseball for the length of its games, with some justification as the time required to play a baseball game has increased steadily through the years. One hundred years ago, games typically took an hour and a half to play; in 2004, the average major league baseball game lasted 2 hours and 47 minutes. This is due to longer commercial breaks, increased offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play. In response, Major League Baseball has instructed umpires to be more strict in enforcing speed-up rules and the size of the strike zone. Although the official rules specify that when the bases are empty, the pitcher should deliver the ball within 20 seconds of receiving it (with the penalty of a ball called if he fails to do so), this rule is rarely, if ever, enforced.

Individual and team

Baseball is fundamentally a team sport—even two or three Hall of Fame-caliber players are no guarantee of a pennant—yet it places individual players under great pressure and scrutiny. The pitcher must make good pitches or risk losing the game; the hitter has a mere fraction of a second to decide what pitch has been thrown and whether or not to swing at it. While their respective managers and/or coaches can sometimes signal players regarding the strategies the manager wants to employ, no one can help the pitcher while he pitches or the hitter while he bats. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder, as the last line of defense, makes the lone decision to try to catch it or play it on the bounce. Baseball history is full of heroes and goats—men who in the heat of the moment (the "clutch") distinguished themselves with a timely hit or catch, or an untimely strikeout or error.

Strategy and goals

Baseball certainly requires skill and athleticism, but also has a depth of strategy and anticipation which often goes unrecognized by those less familiar with the sport. Pitchers develop strategies on how to pitch to the batter by studying the batter's previous plate appearances throughout the year. Pitchers will vary their approach with each time they see the same batter. Defensive players are positioned based on statistics about where the batter is likely to hit the ball and what specific type of pitches will be thrown. Hitters are given signals about coordinated plays the manager is calling (e.g. a hit and run or sacrifice bunt), and sometimes are explicitly instructed not to swing (to "take"). Pitchers are sometimes given signals to throw a specific pitch, or even to avoid pitching to the batter at all (e.g. an intentional base on balls or a pitchout.) The goals of a team vary across scope, from individual pitch to the season. Teams develop a strategy to match this varying scope. They have a broad set of goals for the season, but more specific strategies for the early part of the season, varying that by the team and even by home games vs. away games. Meanwhile, they have very specific strategies for a single game and even down to the inning, the players who are due to bat, including the next pitch.

The uniqueness of each baseball park

intentional base on balls Cubs - Cardinals game at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois.]] Main article: Baseball parks Unlike the majority of sports, baseball parks do not have to follow a strict set of guidelines. With the exception of the strict rules on the dimensions of the infield, discussed above, the [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/official_rules/foreword.jsp official rules] simply state that fields built after June 1, 1958 must have a minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 (121 m) feet to center. This rule (a footnote to official rule 1.04) was passed specifically in response to the setup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which had a reported left field distance of 251 feet (77 m), 1 foot (0.3 m) over the bare minimum required by the rules. However, major league teams often skirt this rule. For example, Minute Maid Park's left field is only 315 feet (96 m), and with a fence much lower than the famous "Green Monster" at Fenway Park. And there are no rules at all regulating the height of "fences, stands or other obstructions", other than the assumption that they exist. Because of this flexibility, there are all sorts of variations in parks, from different lengths to the fences to uneven playing surfaces to massive or minimal amounts of foul territory, all of which affect the nature of the game at those ballparks.

Statistics

Main article: Baseball statistics As with many sports, and perhaps even more so, statistics are very important to baseball. Statistics have been kept for the Major Leagues since their creation, and presumably statistics were around even before that. General managers, baseball scouts, managers, and players alike study player statistics to help them choose various strategies to best help their team. Traditionally, statistics like batting average for batters—the number of hits divided by the number of at bats—and earned run average—approximately the number of runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings—have governed the statistical world of baseball. However, the advent of sabermetrics has brought an onslaught of new statistics that perhaps better gauge a player's performance and contributions to his team from year to year. Some sabermetrics have entered the mainstream baseball statistic world. On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a somewhat complicated formula that gauges a hitter's performance better than batting average. It combines the hitter's on base percentage—hits plus walks plus hit by pitches divided by plate appearances—with their slugging percentage—total bases divided by at bats. Walks plus hits per inning pitched (or WHIP) gives a good representation of a pitcher's abilities; it is calculated exactly as its name suggests. Also important are more specific statistics for a certain situation. For example, a certain hitter's ability to hit left-handed pitchers might cause his manager to give him more chances to face lefties. Some hitters hit better with runners in scoring position, so an opposing manager, knowing this statistic, might elect to intentionally walk him in order to face a poorer hitter.

History

intentionally walk Main article: History of Baseball Baseball is thought to be a direct descendant of cricket, rounders, and town ball (which was much like rounders), though the game's true origins are uncertain. The earliest known mention of the sport is in a 1791 Pittsfield, Massachusetts (United States), town bylaw banning the playing of it within 80 yards of the town meeting house. Another early mention of the game can be found in an 1886 edition of Sporting Life magazine, in a letter from Dr. Adam Ford of Denver, Colorado, formerly of St. Marys, Ontario, Canada, who details a base ball game played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada, on June 4, 1838 -- Militia Muster Day. Alexander Cartwright had a hand in compiling and publishing an early list of rules in 1845 (the so-called "Knickerbocker Rules") to meet the demands of the already popular sport, and today's rules of baseball have evolved from them. Professional baseball began in the United States around 1865, and the National League was founded in 1876 as the first true major league, quickly producing famous players such as Honus Wagner. Several other major leagues formed and failed, but the American League, established in 1901 as a major league and originating from the minor Western League (1893), did succeed. While rivals who fought for the best players, the two major leagues began playing a World Series in 1903. Compared to modern times, games in the early part of the 20th century were lower scoring and pitchers were more successful. The "inside game", whose nature was to "scratch for runs", was played rather more violently and aggressively than it is today. Ty Cobb said of his era especially, "Baseball is a war!" This period, which has since become known as the "dead-ball era", ended in the 1920s with several rule changes that gave advantages to hitters and the rise of the legendary baseball player Babe Ruth, who showed the world what power hitting could produce and thus changed the nature of the game. During the first half of the 20th century, a "gentlemen's agreement" in the form of the baseball color line effectively barred African-American players from the major leagues (though not Native Americans, oddly enough), resulting in the formation of several Negro Leagues. Finally in 1947, Major League Baseball's color barrier was broken when Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers. Although it was not instantaneous, baseball has since become fully integrated. Baseball has often been a barometer of the fabled American "melting pot", as immigrants from different regions have tried to "make good" in various areas including sports. In the 19th century, baseball was populated with many players of Irish or German extraction. A number of Native Americans had successful careers especially in the early 1900s. Italians and Poles appeared on many rosters during the 1920s and 1930s. Black Americans came on strong starting in the late 1940s after the barriers had been lifted, and continue to form a significant contingent. By the 1960s, Hispanics had started to make the scene, and had become a dominant force by the 1990s. In the 21st century, East Asians have been appearing in increasing numbers. The middle of the century led major league baseball to the West of the United States and also became a time when pitchers dominated. Scoring became so low in the American League, due to pitching dominance, that the designated hitter was introduced; this rule now constitutes the primary difference between the two leagues. Despite the popularity of baseball, and the attendant high salaries relative to those of average Americans, the players have become unsatisfied from time to time, as they believed the owners had too much control—a stance that many baseball fans found objectionable. Various job actions have occurred throughout the game's history. Players on specific teams occasionally attempted strikes, but usually came back when their jobs were sufficiently threatened. The throwing of the 1919 World Series, "The Black Sox scandal", was in some sense a "strike" or at least a rebellion by the ballplayers against a perceived stingy owner. But the strict rules of baseball contracts tended to keep the players "in line" in general. This began to change in the 1960s when former Steelworkers Union president Marvin Miller became the Baseball Players Union president. The union became much stronger than it had been previously, especially when the reserve clause was effectively nullified in the mid-1970s. A series of strikes and lockouts began in baseball, affecting portions of the 1972 and 1981 seasons and culminating in the infamous strike of 1994 that led to the cancellation of the World Series and carried over into 1995 before it was finally settled. The players typically always got what they demanded, but the popularity of baseball diminished greatly as a result of the players' actions, and fans were slow to return. Cal Ripken's record-breaking 2131st consecutive game in 1995 was a feel-good moment that helped boost interest in the sport. The great home run race of 1998 between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa really turned things around, captivating fans all summer. As with other times when adversity threatened the game, positive on-field events had triggered a renewed surge in baseball's popularity in America. Professional baseball leagues began to form in countries outside of America in the 1920s and 1930s, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Japan (1936), and Australia (1934). Today, Venezuela (1945), the whole of Europe (1953), Italy (1948), Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990), and mainland China (2003) all have professional leagues as well. Competition between national teams, such as in the World Baseball Classic and the Olympic baseball tournament, has been administered by the International Baseball Federation since its formation in 1938. As of 2004, this organization has 112 member countries. The 117th meeting of the International Olympic Committee, held in Singapore in July 2005, voted not to hold baseball and softball tournaments at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, but they will remain an Olympic sport during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, and will be put to vote again for each succeeding Summer Olympics. The elimination of baseball and softball from the 2012 Olympic program enabled the IOC to consider adding two other sports to the program instead, but no other sport received a majority of votes favoring its inclusion.

Organized leagues

Baseball is played at a number of levels, by amateur and professionals, and by the young an

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

1969

1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday :For other uses, see Number 1969. :For the movie, see 1969 (movie). :For the Velvet Underground live album, see 1969: The Velvet Underground Live.

Events

January


- January 1 - Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch purchases the largest selling British Sunday newspaper The News Of The World
- January 3 - Pele scores his 1000th goal
- January 5 - The Derry Riots leave over 100 people injured
- January 10 - After 147 years, the last issue of the Saturday Evening Post is published
- January 12 - Super Bowl III: the New York Jets defeat the Baltimore Colts
- January 14 - An explosion aboard the USS Enterprise near Hawaii kills 25
- January 15 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5
- January 16 - Ten paintings defaced in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art
- January 16 - Student Jan Palach sets himself on fire in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union. Three days later he dies.
- January 20 - Richard Nixon succeeds Lyndon Johnson as President of the United States of America
- January 24 - Martial Law declared in Madrid, the University is closed and over 300 students are arrested
- January 27 - 14 men, nine of them Jews, were executed in Baghdad for spying for Israel
- January 27 - Reverend Ian Paisley, hardline Protestant leader in Northern Ireland, is jailed for three months for illegal assembly.
- January 30 - The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records. The impromptu concert was broken up by the police

February


- February 1 - Birth, in Paris, France, of Denis Cheyrouze, French media guru.
- February 4 - In Cairo Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestinian Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress and takes command the next day
- February 8 - The last issue of the Saturday Evening Post hits magazine stands
- February 13 - FLQ terrorists bomb the Stock Exchange in Montreal, Quebec
- February 24 - Launch of the Mariner 6 Mars probe
- February 24 - Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (Case against pure speech in schools)
- February 25 - George Jones marries Tammy Wynette

March


- March 1 - Major league baseballer Mickey Mantle announces his retirement.
- March 1 - During a performance at Miami's Dinner Key Auditorium, Jim Morrison of the Doors is arrested for exposing himself during the show. Morrison is officially charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent behavior, open profanity and public drunkenness.
- March 1 - John Kerry officially leaves active duty in Vietnam
- March 2 - In Toulouse, France the first Concorde test flight is conducted
- March 2 - Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River
- March 3 - In a Los Angeles, California court, Sirhan Sirhan admits that he killed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy
- March 3 - Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module
- March 10 - In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. Ray would later retract his guilty plea
- March 13 - Apollo program: Apollo 9 returns safely to Earth after testing the Lunar Module
- March 17 - Golda Meir of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, becomes Prime Minister of Israel
- March 17 - The Longhope lifeboat in Scotland is lost, the entire crew of eight die.
- March 19 - British paratroopers and Marines land on the island of Anguilla.
- March 28 - Dwight D Eisenhower dies after a long illness in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC.

April


- April 1 - The Hawker Siddeley Harrier enters service with the RAF
- April 4 - Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart
- April 13 - Queensland: The final day of the Brisbane Tramways after 84 years of operation.
- April 20 - British troops arrive in Northern Ireland to reinforce the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
- April 22 - Robin Knox-Johnston becomes the first person to sail around the world solo without stopping
- April 28 - General de Gaulle steps down as president of France after having suffered a defeat in a referendum the day before.
- April 29 - First anniversary of the Broadway production of the musical Hair is celebrated with free concert at Wollman Skating Rink

May


- May 10 - Zip to Zap, a harbringer of the Woodstock Concert, ends with dispersal and eviction of youth and young adults at Zap, North Dakota by the National Guard.
- May 10 - The Battle of Dong Ap Bia, also known as the Hamburger Hill, begins in Vietnam War
- May 13 - May 13th Incident: Race riots occur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- May 16 - Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet spaceprobe, lands on Venus
- May 17 - Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins to descend into Venus' atmosphere sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure
- May 17 - Tom McClean completes the first solo transatlantic crossing by a rowboat
- May 18 - Apollo program: Apollo 10 launches
- May 19-20 - French Foreign Legion paratroopers land onto Kolwezi, Zaire, to rescue Europeans in a middle of a civil war
- May 20 - National Guard helicopters spray skin-stinging powder on anti-war protesters in California
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