Mancomunitat de Catalunya

The Mancomunitat de Catalunya was an institution that grouped the four Catalan 'diputacions', (or province administrations) created the 6 April of 1914, while the process for its creation futile starts to the 1911. The Spanish Parliament approved it with very much cutted competences, however the senate never did it. In 18 December of 1913 the king signed the law granting the right of provincial associations. It was formed by the federation of the four Catalan regional governments, in a long historical demand of Catalans. Even though it had to have purely administrative functions, and its competences did not go beyond those of the provincial regional governments, it acquired a great political importance: it represented the first recognition on the part of the Spanish state of the personality and of the unit of Catalonia from the year 1714. Its first President was Enric Prat de la Riba and afterwards the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, both of the Lliga Regionalista, and carried out an important task of infrastructures creation of ways and ports, hydraulic works, railways, telephones, charity and health. Also it undertook initiatives for increasing the agricultural and forest yields introducing technological improvements, of services and educational and promoted the technological education necessary for the Catalan industry. It created and consolidated a set of cultural and scientific institutions in order to give greater prestige to the language and the Catalan culture, like the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (Institute of Catalan Studies), the Biblioteca de Catalunya (Library of Catalonia), the Escola Industrial (Industrial School), the Escola Superior de Belles Arts (Superior School of Fine Arts), the Escola Superior de Belles Arts (Superior School of High Commercial Studies) or the Escola del Treball (School of the Work). Prat de la Riba also created, the Escola de l'Administració Local (School of Local Administration), from where a body of Catalan civil servants had to appear. Another important milestone of the Mancomunitat was the promotion of the work of Pompeu Fabra, who normalized the Catalan language.

Catalonia

:There is a separate article on the historic territory of Catalonia. :For the part of historical Catalonia which is now part of France, see Northern Catalonia. Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya; Spanish: Cataluña; Aranese: Catalonha) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities that constitute Spain. Its territory corresponds to most of the historic territory of the former Principality of Catalonia. The autonomous community of Catalonia covers an area of 31,950 km² with an official population of 6.8 million (2004). Immigrants represent 6.8 % of total population. Catalonia was officially recognised as a nationality in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy enacted in 1979 pursuant to the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Official languages are Catalan, Castilian (also known as Spanish), and (in Val d'Aran) Aranese.
Administration and Government of Catalonia
The Generalitat is the institution of government in Catalonia. It consists of a Parliament, a President and an Executive Council. [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/generalitat/index.jsp] The Parliament of Catalonia has 135 seats and serves as the legislative body of government.[http://www.parlament-cat.net/portal/page?_pageid=34,33596&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL] The President and the Executive Council serve as the executive authority and are elected by the Parliament. The Government of Catalonia comprises 16 departments or ministries. [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/departaments.jsp] See comarques of Catalonia for the official division in comarca (roughly equivalent to counties), used by the Generalitat. Local administration consists also of municipalities. Catalonia is divided in four provinces: Barcelona, Girona (Gerona in Spanish), Lleida (Lérida in Spanish, Lhèida in Aranese), Tarragona.Tarragona
Restoration of Catalan self-government
After Franco's death (1975) and the adoption of a democratic constitution in Spain (1978), Catalonia recovered its autonomous status (lost with the fall of the Second Spanish Republic at the conclusion of the Spanish Civil War in 1939). With a few exceptions, most of the justice system is administered by national judicial institutions. The legal system is common to all Spanish territories except for the civil law, which is regulated and administered independently within Catalonia [http://civil.udg.es/normacivil/catalunya.htm]. Catalan civil law regulates an ombudsman (Síndic de Greuges) [http://www.sindicgreugescat.org] to handle problems that may arise between private citizens or organizations and the Generalitat or other local governments. The region has gradually achieved a greater degree of autonomy since 1979. After the Navarre and the Basque Country regions, Catalonia has the greatest level of self-government in Spain. The Generalitat holds exclusive jurisdiction in various matters of culture, environment, communications, transportation, commerce, public safety and local governments. [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/generalitat/competencies/exclusives.jsp] In many aspects relating to education, health and justice, the region shares jurisdiction with the Spanish government. [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/generalitat/competencies/concurrents.jsp] One good example of Catalonia's degree of autonomy is its own police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra (literally 'squad lads'), which is currently in the process of taking over most of the role within Catalonia of the Guardia Civil and Policía Nacional, which are under the authority of the Spanish national government. However, even at the end of the transition process in 2008 [http://www.gencat.net/mossos/cme/desplegapdf/despleg.pdf], the Spanish government will keep a few agents in the region for matters relating to terrorism and immigration. Like the Mossos d'Esquadra, national police forces are under the authority of the government of Catalonia [http://www.gencat.net/mossos/cme/organitzacio/contingutpdf/FuncPGME.pdf]. As an autonomous community of Spain, Catalonia has no official status or recognition at an international level. However, as the region has progressively gained a greater degree of autonomy in recent years, the Catalan Government has opened some representative offices overseas. Most of these carry out limited functions such as the promotion of Catalan culture, trade and foreign investment, and even the contracting of foreign labour (with a view to easing problems with illegal immigration). [http://www.copca.com][http://www.cidem.com/cidem/cat/elcidem/info/cidem_en.jsp][http://www.copec.es/][http://nosaltres.vilaweb.com/info/vilaweb/vilaweb.generar_directori?p_idint=670561]
Language
Catalonia is the original heartland of Catalan, and remains the most important and largest territory where the language is spoken. Catalan is one of the two official languages of Catalonia, as laid down in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/cat/generalitat/estatut/index.jsp]: the other is Castilian (Spanish), which is the majority language throughout Spain (its official status confirmed by the 1978 Spanish Constitution). Catalonia has regulated its institutions and their various competences within the framework provided by the Spanish constitution in the "Sau Statute." The similarity of Spanish and Catalan eases bilingualism, but they are certainly not dialects of a single language. Catalan is regarded by most linguists as being an Ibero-Romance language (the group that includes Spanish), but it has many features of Gallo-Romance languages such as French. Occitan, in its Aranese variety (a dialect of Gascon) is official and subject to special protection in the Val d'Aran (Aran Valley), which is notable, as this small region of 7,000 is the only place where Occitan (spoken mainly in France and some Italian valleys) has full official status.
Literacy
According to the 2001 Linguistic Census [http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/socio/docs/censling2001.pdf], about 5,900,000 people in Catalonia, nearly 95% of residents, understand the Catalan language. The percentage of people aged two and older who can speak, read and write Catalan is as follows:
Over the last 20 years, knowledge of Catalan has advanced significantly in all these areas, with the ability to write it having experienced the most pronounced increase, from 31.6% of the population in 1986 to 49.8% in 2001. By age groups, those between 10 and 29 have the higher level of Catalan-language literacy (e.g., 98.2% aged 10–14 understand it, and 85.2% can write it); this is attributed to these individuals having received their full education in Catalan. Geographically, Catalan is most understood in northwest Catalonia (Alt Pirineu, Val d'Aran), at 97.4%, followed by south and western Catalonia, whereas Barcelona's metropolitan area sees the lowest knowledge, at 93.8%. The situation is analogous for written-language skills, with central Catalonia scoring the highest percentages (61.4%), and Barcelona the lowest (46.4%). Barcelona is one of the centres of the Spanish book industry in Spanish and the main one for Catalan-language publishing.
Social Use
According to a study carried out in 2003 by the Generalitat de Catalunya [http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/socio/docs/usos2003.pdf], Catalan is used by 50.1% of the population in everyday situations. Significantly, over 55% of respondents use Spanish to address their parents (versus 42% who choose Catalan). This is attributed to massive immigration from southern Spain from the second half of the 20th century until the 1980s, as a consequence of which many Catalans have one or both parents from outside Catalonia. However, a majority (52.6%) use Catalan with their children (42.3% Spanish). This can be attributed to some Spanish-speaking citizens shifting from their mother tongue to Catalan at home. Outside the family, 48.6% of the population indicate that they address strangers exclusively or preferentially in Catalan, while the proportion of those who use Spanish is 41.7%. 8.6% claim to use both equally. See Catalan language for further information.
Aranese
According to the 2001 Aranese Linguistic Census [http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/aran/docs/a_aran_cens.pdf], knowledge of Aranese in the Occitan-speaking territory of Aran is as follows:
Comparing to previous data from 1996, the number of those able to understand Aranese has declined slightly (90.5% in 1996), while at the same time there has been a marginal increase in the number of those able to write it (24.97% in 1996). By age groups, the largest percentage of those with knowledge of Aranese is in the 15-19 and 65-69 groups (both above 96%), while those aged 30-34 score lowest (just over 80%). Literacy is higher in the 10-19 group with over 88% declaring themselves able to read, and 76% able to write Aranese. Those over 80 are the least literate, with only about 1.5% of them being able to write the language. According to their place of origin, it is significant to note that in the Val d'Aran those born outside Spain outnumber Spaniards born outside Aran and Catalonia in the active use of Aranese (17% of non-Spaniards can write Aranese, while the percentage for Spaniards excluding Catalans is 10%). Aranese]
Politics of Catalonia
:See also Politics of Catalonia The first Catalan constitutions are of the Corts of Barcelona from 1283. The last ones were promulgated by the court of 1702. The compilations of the constitutions and other rights of Catalonia followed the Roman tradition of the Codex. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Catalonia was one of the main centres of Spanish industrialisation. The struggle between the Barcelonese conservative bourgeoisie and the working class, often immigrants from the rest of Spain, dominated Catalan politics. Catalan nationalist and federalist movements arose in the nineteenth century, and when the Second Republic was declared in 1931, Catalonia became an autonomous region. Following the fall of the Second Republic after the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, the authoritarian dictatorship of General Francisco Franco annulled Catalonia's autonomy statute and prohibited any official promotion or recognition of the Catalan language (although its private everday use was never proscribed). During the last decade of Franco's rule, there was a resurgence of nationalist sentiment in Catalonia as in the other 'historic' region of the Basque provinces. Following Franco's death in 1975 and the restoration of full democracy by 1978, Catalonia regained its status as an autonomous region within Spain. The Catalan nationalist leader Jordi Pujol came to power in the first regional elections in 1980 and his two-party coalition, Convergence and Unity (Convergència i Unió or CiU), won successive elections for 23 years. Terra Lliure ("Free Land"), which was essentially a terrorist group, sought to achieve independence through violence against Spanish interests and the wider population, but it never achieved the infamy or reach of the Basque terrorist organisatoin ETA, and disbanded after negotiations with the national government. Following the 1996 national elections in Spain, and despite his long track-record as a Catalan nationalist (especially during the Franco era), Pujol surprised many by lending CiU's support to the minority government formed by the conservative - and essentially centralist - People's Party (Partido Popular or PP) led by José María Aznar. Some nationalist factions became increasingly dissatisfied with Pujol's rule, especially the ERC. At the same time, the Party of Catalan Socialists (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya or PSC), a sister-party of Spain's main socialist party (Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol or PSOE) based in the industrial heartland of Barcelona, began to enjoy renewed electoral popularity. One of the 'fault-lines' in contemporary Catalan politics arises from the fact that Barcelona, with its strong metropolitan economy, continues to attract migrants from all over Spain and Latin America. As a result, Spanish remains the language spoken by the majority of Barcelona's inhabitants, particularly in working-class areas. By contrast, Catalan remains the predominant language in middle-class and upper-class urban areas, as well as among the region's rural population. The PSC has to some extent become the party of those who resent the dominance of middle-class Catalan nationalists over Barcelona. In any case, while Catalan has undoubtedly experienced a spectacular revival since the death of Franco, the dominant presence of Spanish-speakers will continue to make universal or exclusive use of Catalan unlikely. Recently there has been an influx of African and East European immigrants, but this has not yet influenced the political scene, even though the demographic impact of immigration can clearly be seen on the streets. At the regional elections held on November 16 2003, at which Pujol retired, the combined parties of the left defeated the CiU for the first time and Pasqual Maragall i Mira became President of the Generalitat. Maragall's Socialists, however, actually lost seats: the big winners were the Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya or ERC), which favours full Catalan independence, and the Greens. While PSC mantains the post of President of the Generalitat (Maragall), ERC nominates the conseller primer (prime minister) — currently, Bargalló. Maragall's government is a somewhat uneasy coalition between the PSC, the ERC, and the ICV.
Current political issues
Unlike the autonomous communities of Navarre and the Basque Country, Catalonia lacks its own fiscal system; thus the economic financing of the regional administration depends almost entirely on funds raised by national-government taxation and budgeted to Catalonia. This has become a mainstream issue, particularly as the the proposed reform of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy is currently the subject of intense political debate at regional and national level. From an economic perspective, the regional government aims to achieve a high degree of fiscal autonomy (based on the argument that the region pays in more to the national Spanish coffers than it receives). There is currently (Autumn 2005) a raging political controversy in Spain as a result of the Catalan parliament's proposed draft of a replacement Autonomy Statute (supported by some 90% of the parliament's elected deputies) which seeks to define Catalonia as a 'nation'[http://www.gencat.net/nouestatut/]. The polemic centres on the politically sensitive issue of whether such a definition (though already implicit in the constitutional reference to the historic "nationalites" of Spain) can be said to harbour separatist overtones contrary to Article 2 of Spain's 1978 Constitution, that states "the indissoluble unity of Spain."
Parties

- CiU — Convergència i Unió (Convergence and Unity) - federation
- CDC — Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (Democratic Convergence of Catalonia)
- UDC — Unió Democràtica de Catalunya (Democratic Union of Catalonia)
- ERC — Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia)
- ICV-EUiA — Iniciativa per Catalunya-Verds – Esquerra Unida i Alternativa (Green Initiative for Catalonia-Left United Alternative)
- PP — Partit Popular (People's Party)
- PSC-PSOE — Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya-Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Socialist Party of Catalonia-Spanish Socialist Workers' Party)
Summary of votes and seats
Votes and seats are compared with those won at the 1999 election. Voters: 5,307,837 Voting: 3,319,276 62.5% Invalid votes: 8,793 00.3% Valid votes: 3,310,483 99.7% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Party Votes % Seats ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Convergència i Unió 1,024,425 30.9 (-06.8) 46 (-10) Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya 544,324 16.4 (+07.7) 23 (+11) Iniciativa Verds-Esquerra Alternativa 241,163 07.3 (+04.8) 9 (+06) Partit Popular 393,499 11.9 (+02.4) 15 (+03) Partit Socialista de Catalunya 1,031,454 31.2 (-06.6) 42 (-10) Others 75,618 02.3 - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 3,310,483 135 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geography
:See also :Category:Geography of Catalonia The Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia borders on Comunidad Valenciana to the south, Aragon to the west, France and Andorra to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east and southeast. Mountains:
- Catalan Pyrenees: Val d'Aran in the north face, Pica d'Estats 3141 m., Puigmal 2911 m., Cerdagne depression, Perthus pass (near the ancient Roman road).
- Catalan Litoral mountains: Montseny, Montserrat, Montsant.
- Iberic system: Maestrat. Montserrat Major rivers:
- Fluvià
- Ter
- Llobregat
- Foix
- Francolí
- Gaià
- Ebre and its tributaries: Noguera, Segre, Valira.
Environmental Policy
Awareness of environmental problems tends to be much lower in Catalonia (and in Spain as a whole) than in northern Europe. CO₂ emissions in Catalonia have increased by 40% since 1992 and 60% of the region's electricity comes from aging nuclear power stations (a figure exceeded in Europe only by France and Lithuania). Despite Catalonia's change of government in 2004 from a conservative CiU/PP alliance to a "red/green" tripartite coalition of PSC, ERC, and ICV parties, there is little evidence of greater concern for the environment. The ICV was put in charge of the Ministry of the Environment but has largely continued the outgoing administration's environmentally-unfriendly policies. The Ministry's decision to build the controversial Bracons tunnel through an area of outstanding natural beauty, and a scheme to site an incinerator burning 90,000 metric tonnes of industrial waste [http://www.valldelges.net/en] in a heavily-populated valley are just two cases in point. Although Catalonia participates in many international environmental forums, the political will to pursue "green" polices is generally lacking. This may be explained by the greater acceptance of political corruption found in southern Europe, the fragility of public institutions, and a lack of genuine commitment to grass-roots democracy.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Catalonia
There are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Catalonia:
- Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
- "La Patum" of Berga (2005)
- Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, Tarragona
- Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí
- Parc Güell, Barcelona
- Palau Güell, Barcelona
- Casa Milà, Barcelona
- Poblet Monastery, Poblet, Tarragona province
- Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona
- Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona
See also

- .cat
- Barcelona
- Catalan Countries
- Cuisine of Catalonia
- Education in Catalonia
- Famous Catalan People
- Flags of non-sovereign nations
- History of Catalonia
- Principality of Catalonia
External links

- [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/catalunya/laclau/english/index.jsp The key to Catalonia]: Site of the Generalitat de Catalunya
- [http://www.idescat.es/idescat_ang.htm Statistical information from Idescat (Catalan Institute of Statistics)]
- [http://www.lodgephoto.com/galleries/spain/ Photographs of Catalonia including Barcelona, Girona, Besalu] and surrounding countryside
- [http://flickr.com/groups/catalunya/ Catalunya images at flickr.com]
- [http://www.catalanencyclopaedia.com/ Catalan Hyperencyclopaedia]: Encyclopaedia with information about Catalonia in English
- News media in English
- [http://www.barcelonareporter.com/ Barcelona Reporter]: news and views from the Catalan capital
- [http://www.cataloniatoday.info/ Catalonia Today] - Catalan newspaper in English Category:Catalonia Category:Catalan Countries Category:Autonomous communities of Spain Category:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of Europe Category:European countries zh-min-nan:Catalunya ko:카탈루냐 지방 ja:カタルーニャ州 simple:Catalonia

6 April

April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). There are 269 days remaining.

Events

- 648 BC - Earliest solar eclipse recorded by the Ancient Greeks.
- 402 - Stilicho stymies the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia
- 1320 - The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
- 1327 - The poet Petrarch first saw his idealized love Laura in the church of Saint Claire in Avignon.
- 1652 - Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp at the Cape of Good Hope, which will eventually develop into Cape Town.
- 1782 - Rama I succeeds King Taksin of Thailand, who was overthrown in a coup d'état.
- 1808 - John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company.
- 1830 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is formed by Joseph Smith, Jr. at Fayette, New York.
- 1832 - Indian Wars: Black Hawk War begins - The Sauk warrior Black Hawk enters into war with the United States.
- 1841 - John Tyler is inaugurated as the 10th President of the United States.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh begins - In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston at Shiloh.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Sayler's Creek - Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia.
- 1869 - Celluloid is patented.
- 1886 - Vancouver, British Columbia is incorporated as a city.
- 1895 - Oscar Wilde is arrested after losing a libel case against the John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry.
- 1896 - In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games after 1,500 years after being banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.
- 1893 - Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
- 1903 - The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) began, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Israel and the west.
- 1909 - Robert Peary allegedly reaches the North Pole.
- 1911 - Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, Leader of the Malësori Albanians raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro for the first time after Gjergj Kastrioti (Skenderbeg).
- 1917 - World War I: United States declares war on Germany (see [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_declares_war_on_Germany Wilson's address to Congress]).
- 1926 - Walter Varney Airlines makes first commercial flight from Pasco, Washington, to Elko, Nevada. Varney is the root company of United Airlines.
- 1930 - Gandhi raised a lump of mud and salt (some say just a pinch, some say just a grain) and declared, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." Thus he started Salt Satyagraha.
- 1930 - Hostess Twinkies are invented.
- 1930 - Will Rogers starts broadcasting The Will Rogers Program on radio.
- 1931 - Little Orphan Annie debuts on the Blue Network of NBC.
- 1936 - Tupelo-Gainesville Outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
- 1941 - World War II: Operation Castigo begins - Germany invades Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Greece.
- 1965 - Early Bird, the first communications satellite to be placed in synchronous orbit, is launched.
- 1968 - In London, United Kingdom, Massiel wins the thirteenth Eurovision Song Contest for Spain singing "La, la, la."
- 1970 - Four California Highway Patrol officers die in one of the worst cop killings in the CHP's history; this is known as the Newhall Incident.
- 1972 - Vietnam War: Easter Offensive - The first day of clear weather in three days allows American forces to start sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
- 1973 - Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
- 1974 - The California Jam Rock concert begins.
- 1974 - In Brighton, United Kingdom, ABBA wins the nineteenth Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden singing "Waterloo."
- 1984 - Members of Cameroon's Republican Guard from country's northern region attack various government buildings in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
- 1987 - Sugar Ray Leonard takes the middleweight boxing title from Marvin Hagler.
- 1993 - Russian nuclear accident at Tomsk 7.
- 1994 - The Rwandan Genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down by extremists.
- 1998 - Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of hitting India.
- 1998 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 49.82 to close at 9,033.23 -- its first-ever close above 9,000.
- 2001 - Miller Park opens in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- 2004 - Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president to be peacefully removed from the post by impeachment.

Births

- 1483 - Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
- 1651 - André Dacier, French classical scholar (d. 1722)
- 1664 - Arvid Horn, Swedish statesman (d. 1742)
- 1671 - Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet (d. 1741)
- 1725 - Pasquale Paoli, Corsican patriot and military leader (d. 1807)
- 1812 - Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (d. 1870)
- 1815 - Robert Volkmann, German composer (d. 1883)
- 1818 - Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian poet (d. 1870)
- 1820 - Nadar, French photographer (d. 1910)
- 1823 - Joseph Medill, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)
- 1826 - Gustave Moreau, French painter (d. 1898)
- 1866 - Butch Cassidy, American outlaw (d. 1909)
- 1878 - Erich Mühsam, German author (d. 1934)
- 1884 - Walter Huston, Canadian-born actor (d. 1950)
- 1890 - Anthony Fokker, Dutch designer of aircraft (d. 1939)
- 1892 - Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American industrialist (d. 1981)
- 1892 - Lowell Thomas, American travel writer (d. 1981)
- 1902 - Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (d. 1989)
- 1903 - Mickey Cochrane, baseball player (d. 1962)
- 1903 - Doc Edgerton, American electrical engineer (d. 1990)
- 1911 - Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1979)
- 1920 - Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss-American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1926 - Sergio Franchi, Italian-born singer and actor (d. 1990)
- 1926 - Gil Kane, Latvian-born cartoonist (d. 2000)
- 1926 - Ian Paisley, British politician
- 1927 - Gerry Mulligan, American musician (d. 1996)
- 1928 - James D. Watson, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1929 - André Previn, German-born composer and conductor
- 1931 - Ivan Dixon, American actor and director
- 1933 - Roy Goode, British lawyer
- 1934 - Anton Geesink, Dutch judoka
- 1937 - Merle Haggard, American musician
- 1937 - Billy Dee Williams, American actor
- 1938 - Paul Daniels, English magician
- 1938 - Roy Thinnes, American actor
- 1941 - Phil Austin, American comedian
- 1941 - Zamfir, Romanian musician
- 1942 - Barry Levinson, American film producer and director
- 1944 - Felicity Palmer, English soprano
- 1947 - John Ratzenberger, American actor
- 1949 - Horst Ludwig Störmer, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1951 - Bert Blyleven, Dutch Major League Baseball player
- 1952 - Udo Dirkschneider, German singer (Accept and U.D.O.)
- 1952 - Marilu Henner, American actress
- 1954 - Thom Bray, American actor
- 1955 - Michael Rooker, American actor
- 1965 - Frank Black, American singer and songwriter (Pixies)
- 1969 - Bison Dele, American basketball player (disappeared 2002)
- 1969 - Ari Meyers, Puerto Rican actress
- 1970 - Olaf Kölzig, South African hockey player
- 1973 - Rie Miyazawa, Japanese actress and singer
- 1975 - Zach Braff, American actor
- 1976 - Candace Cameron, American actress

Deaths

- 1199 - King Richard I of England (killed in battle) (b. 1157)
- 1362 - James I, Count of La Marche, French soldier (b. 1319)
- 1490 - King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
- 1520 - Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483)
- 1528 - Albrecht Dürer, German artist (b. 1471)
- 1551 - Joachim Vadian, Swiss humanist (b. 1484)
- 1571 - John Hamilton, Scottish prelate and politician
- 1590 - Francis Walsingham, English spymaster
- 1605 - John Stow, English historian
- 1655 - David Blondel, French protestant clergyman (b. 1591)
- 1686 - Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English royalist statesman (b. 1614)
- 1707 - Willem van de Velde, the younger, Dutch painter (b. 1633)
- 1755 - Richard Rawlinson, English minister and antiquarian (b. 1690)
- 1829 - Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician (b. 1802)
- 1862 - Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (b. 1803)
- 1883 - Benjamin Raymond, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1801)
- 1906 - Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author (b. 1849)
- 1935 - Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet (b. 1869)
- 1961 - Jules Bordet, Belgian immunologist and microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1870)
- 1963 - Otto Struve, Russian-born astronomer (b. 1897)
- 1970 - Sam Sheppard, American accused murderer (b. 1923)
- 1971 - Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (b. 1882)
- 1974 - Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)
- 1986 - Raimundo Orsi, Argentine-Italian footballer
- 1992 - Isaac Asimov, Russian-born author (b. 1920)
- 1994 - Juvénal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda (b. 1937)
- 1994 - Cyprien Ntaryamira, President of Burundi (b. 1956)
- 1996 - Greer Garson, Irish actress (b. 1904)
- 1998 - Wendy O. Williams, American musician (Plasmatics) (b. 1949)
- 1998 - Tammy Wynette, American musician (b. 1942)
- 2000 - Habib Bourguiba, President of Tunisia (b. 1903)
- 2003 - David Bloom, American reporter (pulmonary embolism) (b. 1963)
- 2003 - Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer (b. 1927)
- 2004 - Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances

- Feast day of St. Sixtus and Marcellinus of Carthage in the Roman Catholic Church.
- The start of the tax year in the United Kingdom (arising from the 11 day correction to March 25 at the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752).
- Tartan Day, a day set aside for the celebration of the Scottish influence on America.
- Community of Christ Birthday, a day of importance to some members of Community of Christ as it is the anniversary of when it was officially organized on April 6 1830CE.

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/6 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.tnl.net/when/4/6 Today in History: April 6] ----- April 5 - April 7 - March 6 - May 6 -- listing of all days ko:4월 6일 ja:4月6日 simple:April 6 th:6 เมษายน

1914

1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. (see link for calendar)

Events

January-April

- January 4 - 77 seal hunters freeze to death on ice near Labrador.
- January 5 - Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day's labor.
- January 10 - Mexican Revolution - Pancho Villa's troops take Ojinaga in the Mexican state of Chihuahua
- February 13 - Copyright: In New York City the ASCAP (for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
- March 1 - The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union.
- March 10 - Suffragette Mary Richardson damages Velasquez painting Rokeby Venus in London’s national gallery with a meat chopper.
- March 16 - Wife of French minister Joseph Caillaux shoots Gaston Calmet, the editor of Le Figaro because he threatened to publish Caillaux's love letters to her during his previous marriage. (She is later acquitted.)
- March 27 - Belgian surgeon A. Hustin makes the first successful blood transfusion, using anticoagulants.
- March 29 - Katherine Routledge and her husband arrive in Easter Island to make the first true study of it (departs August 1915)
- April 14 - The city of Irving, Texas is incorporated.
- April 20 - Colorado coalfield Massacre or Ludlow Massacre. Colorado National guard attacks 1200 tent colony of striking coal miners in Ludlow - 24 people dead.
- April 21 - 3000 US marines land in Vera Cruz, Mexico.
- The American Radio Relay League is founded.

May-July

- May 9 - J.T. Hearne becomes the first bowler to take 3000 first-class wickets.
- May 14 - Woodrow Wilson signs Mother's Day proclamation.
- May 14 - The Hellenic Holocaust begins in the Ottoman Empire.
- May 25 - The United Kingdom's House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule.
- May 29 - The ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in Gulf of St. Lawrence; 1,024 lives lost. Gulf of St. Lawrence, World War I has now become inevitable]]
- June 1 - Woodrow Wilson's envoy Edward Mandell House meets with Kaiser Wilhelm II.
- June 18 - Constitutionals take San Luis Potos - Venustiano Carranza demands Victoriano Huerta's surrender
- June 23 - Kiel Canal reopened (owing to its having been deepened) by the Kaiser: Visit of the British Fleet under Sir G. Warrender: Kaiser inspects the Dreadnought H.M.S. "King George V".
- June 28 - The assassination in Sarajevo: Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife, the Archduchess Sophie are killed by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
- June 29 - Austria-Hungary: Secretary of the Legation at Belgrade sends despatch to Vienna suggesting Serbian complicity in the crime of Sarajevo.Anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo and throughout Bosnia generally.
- June 30-Great Britain: Addresses in Parliament on the murdered Archduke: Lords Crewe and Lansdowne in House of Lords; Messrs. Asquith and Law in House of Commons.
- July 2 -Announcement that the Kaiser will not attend the Archduke's funeral.
- July 4 - Austria-Hungary: Funeral of the Archduke at Artstetten (50 miles west of Vienna).
- July 5 - Council at Potsdam.
- July 6 - Kaiser leaves Kiel for a cruise in Northern waters.
- July 7 - Austria-Hungary: Council of Ministers, including Ministers for Foreign Affairs and War, Chief of General Staff and Naval Commander-in-Chief: Council lasts from 11.30 a.m. to 6.15 p.m.
- July 8 -Count Tisza makes grave statement in Hungarian Chamber concerning the murder of the Archduke.
- July 9 -The House of Lords completed the recasting of the Amendment Bill(Ireland).Among the Amendments adopted with one excluding the Unionists of the West and South (as well as Ulster )from the jurisdiction of the judiciary appointed by the Home Rule Government;and another withdrawing of the Land Purchase Acts from the conrol of the Irish Parliment. Austria-Hungary.-Emperor recieves report of Austro-Hungarian investigation into the Sarajevo crime.The London Times publishes account of Austro-Hungarian press campaign against Serbians (who are described as "pestilent rats").
- July 10 - Mr.Hartwig,Russian Minister to Serbia, dies suddenly at Austrian Legation in Belegrade.
- July 12 - Demonstrations in Ulster suggesting Civil War.
- July 13 - Reports of a projected Serbian attack upon the Austro-Hungarian Legation at Belegrade.
- July 15 - Victoriano Huerta resigns and leaves for Colón. July 17 he leaves for exile in Spain
- July 18 - The Signal Corps of the United States Army is formed, giving definite status to its air service for the first time.
- July 28 - World War I begins: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia after it fails to meet the conditions of an ultimatum it set on July 23 following the Sarajevo assassination.
- July 31 - French pacifist Jean Jaures is assassinated.

August

- August 1 - Germany declares war on Russia, following Russia's military mobilization in support of Serbia.
- August 2 - German troops occupy Luxembourg.
- August 2 - Secret treaty between Turkey and Germany to secure Turkish neutrality
- August 3 - Germany declares war on Russia's ally France.
- August 4 - German troops invade neutral Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany after the latter fails to respect Belgian neutrality. The United States declares neutrality.
- August 5 - USA and Panama sign the Panama Canal Treaty
- August 15 - The Panama Canal opens to traffic.
- August 15 - Venustiano Carranza's troops under general Alvaro Obregon enter Mexico City
- August 17-September 2 - World War I: Battle of Tannenberg
- August 20 - World War I: German forces occupy Brussels.
- August 23 - Japan declares war on Germany.
- August 26-27 - The Battle of Le Cateau.
- August 28 - The Battle of Helgoland - British cruisers under admiral Beatty sink three German cruisers Battle of Helgoland]]
- August 29-30 - The Battle of St. Quentin.

September-October

- September 1 - St. Petersburg, Russia changes its name to Petrograd.
- September 1 - The last known passenger pigeon dies in the Cincinnati Zoo.
- September 2 - Moronvilliers occupied by the Germans.
- September 3 - Giacomo della Chiesa is elected as the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He becomes pope Benedict XV.
- September 5 - London Agreement - no member of Triple Entente (Britain, France, or Russia) may seek a separate peace with Central Powers.
- September 5 - World War I: First Battle of the Marne begins - Northeast of Paris, the French 6th Army under General Michel-Joseph Maunoury attack German forces who are advancing on the capital. Over 2 million troops will fight in the battle and 100,000 will be killed or wounded in this significant Allied victory.
- September 6 - French and British counterattack at Marne ends German advance on Paris.
- September 13-28 - The First Battle of the Aisne.
- September 17 - Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
- September 26 - The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) established by the Federal Trade Commission Act.
- September 30 - Flying Squadron established to promote temperance movement.
- October 9 - World War I: Siege of Antwerp - Antwerp, Belgium falls to German troops.
- October 13 - Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics 3-1, to win baseball's World Series.
- October 29 - World War I: Ottoman warships shell Russian Black Sea ports: Russia, France, and Britain declare war on November 1-5.

November-December

- November 1 - World War I: Battle of Coronel fought - A Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock is met and defeated by the superior German forces led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee. This is the first British naval defeat of the war.
- November 4 - Britain and France declare war on Turkey.
- November 5 - The United Kingdom annexes Cyprus, and together with France declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
- November 16 - A year after being created by passage of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States officially opens for business.
- November 23 - US troops withdraw from Veracruz. Venustiano Carranza's troops take over and Carranza makes the town his headquarters
- November 28 - World War I: Following a war-induced closure in July, the New York Stock Exchange re-opens for bond trading.
- December 7 - Federation of Oriental Jews founds the Oriental Jewish Community of New York

Unknown dates

- Marcus Garvey in Jamaica founds Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
- First everyday items made of stainless steel come into public circulation.
- French Buddhist Alexandra David-Neel is the first European woman to visit Tibet (in disguise).
- Jehovah's Witnesses claim October of this year to be the end of the Gentile Times and the beginning of Jesus Christ's rule in Heaven.
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returns to India from South Africa to spearhead the Indian independence movement.
- W. H. Carrier patents design of an air conditioner.
- The capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China is moved from Guilin to Nanning.

Ongoing events

- World War I (1914-1918)
- Assyrian Genocide (1914-(1922)
- Mexican Revolution

Births

January-February

- January 1 - Noor Inayat Khan, World War II heroine (d. 1944)
- January 4 - Jane Wyman, American actress
- January 5 - George Reeves, American actor (d. 1959)
- January 6 - Danny Thomas, American singer, actor, and comedian (d. 1991)
- January 14 - Harold Russell, Canadian actor (d. 2002)
- January 15 - Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, English historian (d. 2003)
- January 17 - William Stafford, Aerican poet and pacifist (d. 1993)
- January 18 - Arno Schmidt, German author (d. 1979)
- January 30 - John Ireland, Canadian-born actor (d. 1992)
- January 30 - David Wayne, American actor (d. 1995)
- January 31 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (d. 1994)
- February 4 - Alfred Andersch, German writer (d. 1980)
- February 4 - Ida Lupino, English actress, director, and writer (d. 1995)
- February 5 - William S. Burroughs, American author (d. 1997)
- February 5 - Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1998)
- February 6 - Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor (d. 2005)
- February 9 - Ernest Tubb, American singer (d. 1984)
- February 11 - Matt Dennis, American singer (d. 2002)
- February 12 - Tex Beneke, American musician and band leader (d. 2000)
- February 19 - Jacques Dufilho, French comedian and actor (d. 2005)
- February 22 - Renato Dulbecco, Italian-born virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- February 23 - Theofiel Middelkamp, Dutch cyclist (d. 2005)
- February 24 - Zachary Scott, American actor (d. 1965)

March-April

- March 1 - Ralph Ellison, American writer (d. 1994)
- March 2 - Martin Ritt, American director (d. 1990)
- March 6 - Kiril Kondrashin, Russian conductor (d. 1981)
- March 8 - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (d.1987)
- March 13 - Edward O'Hare, American pilot (d. 1943)
- March 14 - Bill Owen, English actor (d. 1999)
- March 17 - Sammy Baugh, American football player
- March 19 - Jay Berwanger, American football player (d. 2002)
- March 25 - Norman Borlaug, American agricultural scientist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- March 26 - William Westmoreland, U.S. general (d. 2005)
- March 28 - Edmund Muskie, American politician (d. 1996)
- March 30 - Sonny Boy Williamson, American musician (d. 1948)
- March 31 - Octavio Paz, Mexican diplomat and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- April 2 - Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
- April 4 - Marguerite Duras, French author and director (d. 1996)
- April 4 - Frances Langford, American singer and actress (d. 2005)
- April 11 - Robert Stanfield, Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2003)
- April 22 - Jan de Hartog, Dutch writer (d. 2002)
- April 25 - Ross Lockridge, Jr., American writer (d. 1948)
- April 26 - Bernard Malamud, American author (d. 1986)
- April 26 - Lilian Rolfe, French-born World War II heroine (d. 1945)

May-June

- May - Arnold Gerschwiler, Swiss figure skating trainer (d. 2003)
- May 8 - Romain Gary, Russian-born writer and diplomat (d. 1980)
- May 9 - Hank Snow, Canadian country musician (d. 1999)
- May 12 - Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet (d. 1993)
- May 12 - Howard K. Smith, American journalist (d. 2002)
- May 13 - Joe Louis, American boxer (d. 1981)
- May 18 - Boris Christoff, Bulgarian opera singer (d. 1993)
- May 19 - Go Seigen, Japanese go player
- May 19 - Max Perutz, Austrian-born molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (d. 2002)
- May 22 - Vance Packard, American author (d. 1996)
- May 22 - Sun Ra, American musician (d. 1993)
- May 28 - W. G. G. Duncan Smith, British World War II pilot (d. 1996)
- June 3 - Roy Glenn, American actor (d. 1971)
- June 15 - Yuri Andropov, Soviet politician (d. 1984)
- June 19 - Alan Cranston, U.S. Senator (d. 2000)
- June 19 - Harry Lauter, American actor (d. 1990)
- June 21 - William Vickrey, Canadian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
- June 29 - Rafael Kubelik, Czech-born conductor (d. 1996)

July-September

- July 2 - Frederick Fennell, American conductor (d. 2004)
- July 8 - Sarah P. Harkness, American architect.
- July 15 - Hammond Innes, English author (d. 1998)
- July 19 - John Kenneth Macalister, Canadian World War II hero (d. 1944)
- July 19 - Marius Russo, baseball player (d. 2005)
- July 10 - Joe Shuster, Canadian-born comic book creator, Co-creator of Superman (d. 1992)
- July 30 - Lord Killanin, Irish president of the International Olympic Committee (d. 1999)
- August 2 - Beatrice Straight, American actress (d. 2001)
- August 9 - Tove Jansson, Finnish author (d. 2001)
- August 10 - Jeff Corey, American actor (d. 2002)
- August 15 - Paul Rand, American graphic designer (d. 1996)
- August 17 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1988)
- August 17 - Gabrielle Weidner, Belgian World War II heroine (d. 1945)
- August 26 - Julio Cortázar, Argentine writer (d. 1984)
- September 5 - Sor Isolina Ferré, Puerto Rican Catholic nun (d. 2000)
- September 10 - Robert Wise, American film producer (d. 2005)
- September 11 - Sidney Hart, British trade unionist and religious administrator (d. 2005)
- September 12 - Desmond Llewelyn, Welsh actor (d. 1999)
- September 12 - Janusz Zurakowski, Polish-born pilot (d. 2004)
- September 14 - Clayton Moore, American actor (d. 1999)
- September 15 - Creighton Williams Abrams, U.S. general (d. 1974)
- September 15 - Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentinian writer (d. 1999)
- September 16 - Allen Funt, American television show host (d. 1999)
- September 23 - Bethsabée de Rothschild, English philanthropist and patron of dance (d. 1999)

October-December

- October 1 - Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, writer, and Librarian of Congress (d. 2004)
- October 4 - Jim Cairns, Australian politician (d. 2003)
- October 6 - Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer (d. 2002)
- October 10 - Tommy Fine, baseball player (d. 2005)
- October 14 - Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- October 14 - Dick Durrance, American skier (d. 2004)
- October 16 - Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan
- October 17 - Jerry Siegel, American comic book creator, Co-creator of Superman (d. 1996)
- October 21 - Martin Gardner, American writer on mathematics and games
- October 27 - Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet and author (d. 1953)
- October 28 - Jonas Salk, American medical scientist (d. 1995)
- October 28 - Richard Laurence Millington Synge, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
- November 11 - Howard Fast, American novelist and television writer (d. 2003)
- November 13 - Alberto Lattuada, Italian film director (d. 2005)
- November 20 - Charles Berlitz, American author (d. 2003)
- November 25 - Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- December 10 - Dorothy Lamour, American actress (d. 1996)
- December 12 - Patrick O'Brian, British writer (d. 2000)
- December 14 - Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (d. 2003)
- December 24 - Herbert Reinecker, German writer
- December 26 - Richard Widmark, American actor
- December 29 - Billy Tipton, American musician (d. 1989)
- December 30 - Bert Parks, American singer and actor (d. 1992)

Deaths

- January 18 - Georges Picquart, French general and Minister of war (b. 1854)
- February 24 - Joshua Chamberlain, American Civil War general (b. 1828)
- March 1 - Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto (b. 1845)
- March 6 - George Washington Vanderbilt II, American businessman (b. 1862)
- March 16 - Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1843)
- March 19 - Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian volcanologist (b. 1850)
- March 25 - Frédéric Mistral, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1830)
- April 1 - Rube Waddell, baseball player (b. 1876)
- April 2 - Paul von Heyse, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1830)
- April 7 - Ayub Khan, Afghan military leader (b. 1857)
- May 2 - John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, husband of Princess Louise of the United Kingdom (b. 1845)
- June 14 - Adlai E. Stevenson, Vice President of the United States (b. 1835)
- June 21 - Bertha von Suttner, Austrian writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1843)
- June 28 - Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (assassinated) (b. 1873)
- June 28 - Archduchess Sophie Chotek, wife of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (assassinated) (b. 1868)
- July 2 - Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (b. 1836)
- July 31 - Jean Jaurès, French pacifist (assassinated) (b. 1859)
- August 4 - Hubertine Auclert, French feminist (b. 1848)
- August 12 - John Philip Holland, Irish developer of the submarine (b. 1840)
- August 20 - Pope Pius X (b. 1835)
- August 30 - Aleksander Samsonov, Russian general (b. 1859)
- September 3 - Albéric Magnard, French composer (b. 1865)
- September 26 -August Macke, German painter (b. 1887)
- October 10 - King Carol I of Romania (b. 1839)
- November 3 - Georg Trakl, Austrian poet(b. 1887)
- November 11 - A. E. J. Collins, British cricketer and soldier (b. 1885)
- November 14 - Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, British field marshal (b. 1832)
- December 24 - John Muir, American naturalist (b. 1838)

Nobel Prizes

- Physics - Max von Laue
- Chemistry- Theodore William Richards
- Medicine - Robert Bárány
- Literature - not awarded
- Peace - not awarded

Fictional references

- The 2001 animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire takes place in late 1914. Category:1914 ko:1914년 ms:1914 ja:1914年 simple:1914 th:พ.ศ. 2457

Parliament

:This article is about the legislative institution. For alternative meanings, see: Parliament (disambiguation). Parliament (disambiguation).]] A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system derived from that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French parlement, the action of parler (to speak): a parlement is a talk, a discussion, hence a meeting (an assembly, a court) where people discuss matters. While all parliaments are legislatures, not all legislatures are parliaments. The British Parliament is often referred to as the "Mother of Parliaments"—in fact a misquotation of John Bright, who remarked in 1865 that "England is the Mother of Parliaments"—because the British Parliament has been the model for most other parliamentary systems, and its Acts have created many other parliaments. The first English Parliament was formed during the reign of King Henry III in the 13th century. In the United Kingdom, Parliament consists of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarch. The House of Commons is composed of over 600 members who are directly elected by British citizens to represent various cities, communities, and other electoral districts. The party that can win the most seats in the House of Commons forms the government, and the party leader becomes the Prime Minister and head of government. Legislation originates from and is voted on by members of the House of Commons. If passed, it goes to the House of Lords. The House of Lords is a body of long-serving, unelected members: 92 of whom inherit their seats and 574 of whom have been appointed to lifetime seats. The Lords must vote to approve all legislation from the House before it can go before the monarch and receive the formal ratification to become a law (however, under certain circumstances the House of Commons may overrule it using the Parliament Acts). In addition, specific members of the House of Lords act as the ultimate court of appeal in the United Kingdom. In a similar fashion, most other nations with parliaments have to some degree emulated the British, "three-tier" model. Most countries in Europe and the Commonwealth have similarly organized parliaments with a largely ceremonial head of state who formally opens and closes parliament, a large elected lower house and a smaller, upper house. The lower house is almost always the originator of legislation, and the upper house is the body that offers the "second look" and decides whether to veto or approve the bills. This style of two houses is called bicameral; also parliaments with only one house exist (see unicameralism). A parliament's lower house is usually composed of at least 200 members, in countries with populations of over 3 million. The number of seats rarely exceeds 400, even in very large countries. The upper house customarily has anywhere from 20, 50, or 100 seats, but almost always significantly fewer than the lower house. A nation's prime minister ("PM") is almost always the leader of the majority party in the lower house of parliament, but only holds his or her office as long as the "confidence of the house" is maintained. If members of parliament lose faith in the leader for whatever reason, they can often call a vote of no confidence and force the PM to resign. This can be particularly dangerous to a government when the distribution of seats is relatively even, in which case a new election is often called shortly thereafter. Parliaments can be contrasted with congresses in the model of the United States. Typically, congresses do not select or dismiss the head of government, and cannot themselves be dissolved early as is often the case for parliaments.

List of parliaments

:List is not exhaustive

Contemporary national parliaments

- European Parliament
- Pan-African Parliament
- Central Ameri