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Umberto Nobile

Umberto Nobile

Umberto Nobile (January 21, 1885 – July 30, 1978) was an Italian aeronautical engineer and Arctic explorer. Nobile is notable for having piloted the airship Norge that was the first aircraft both to reach the North Pole, and to cross the polar ice cap between Europe and America.

Early Career

He was on born in Lauro, Italy (near Salerno). Nobile graduated from the University of Naples with degrees in both electrical and industral engineering. In 1906 he began work with the Italian state railways, where he worked on electrification of the rail system. In 1911 his interests turned to the field of aeronautical engineering and he enrolled in a one year course offered by the Italian Army. Nobile had always been fascinated by the work of airship pioneers such as Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin. When Italy entered World War One in 1915, the then 29 year old attempted three times to enlist but was rejected as physically unfit for service. The Italian military had used airships as early as 1912, during the Italo-Turkish War for bombing and reconaissance. Nobile worked on airship construction and design during the war. Italy built about 20 M-class semi-rigid airships with a bomb load of 1000kg which it used for bombing and anti-shipping missions. Other smaller airships – some of them British built – were also used, but none of Nobile's designs flew until after the war. In July 1918, Nobile began a business partnership with the engineers Giuseppe Valle, Benedetto Croce, and Celestine Usuelli which they called the Aeronautical Construction Factory. During this period he also lectured at the University of Naples, obtained his test pilots license and wrote the textbook Elementi di Aerodynamica (Elements of Aerodynamics). He became convinced that medium sized, semi-rigid airships were superior to non-rigid and rigid designs. The company's first project was the Airship T-34, which was designed for a trans-Atlantic crossing. When the British R34 crossed the Atlantic in 1919, the airship was sold first to the Italian military and then the US Army where it was comissioned as the Roma. The deteriorating political situation and threats to nationalise his company convinced Nobile to go to the US in 1922 to work as a consultant for Goodyear in Akron, Ohio. He returned to Italy in 1923 and began construction of a new airship, the N-1. However he was immediately enveloped in a storm of political intrigue, stage-managed by personal enemies and business competitors who used the newly emerged Fascist government to harass and intimidate Nobile and those associated with his company. The main antagonists seem to have been General Arturo Crocco, an airship manufacturer and General Italo Balbo, chief of the general staff and heavier-than-air proponent.

Polar Expeditions

In 1925 Nobile became involved in planning a Polar flight with Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and American millionaire/explorer Lincoln Ellsworth. The pair had previously flown to within 150 miles of the North Pole in two amphibious aircraft, but been trapped on the ice for 30 days after a forced landing. After a series of test flights, the N-1 was handed over on March 29 1926 and re-christened Norge (Norway). On April 14 the airship left for Ny-Ålesund (Kings Bay), Spitsbergen via a stop in Leningrad. On May 9, the expedition members were dismayed by a report that Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett had reached the Pole before them (this claim has long since been proven false). On May 11, 1926, the expedition left for the Pole. They flew over the Pole and landed in Teller, Alaska two days later, strong winds having made a return to Norway impossible. This "Rome to Nome" flight resulted in controversy between Nobile and Amundsen as to who deserved the credit for the expedition — Nobile, the pilot, or Amundsen, the expedition leader. The controversy was worsened by Nobile's Fascist enemies at home, who trumpeted the genius of Italian engineering and ordered Nobile on a speaking tour of the US, further alienating Amundsen and the Norwegians. Despite the controversy, Nobile continued to have good relations with other polar scientists and started planning a new expedition, this time under Italian control. Nobile's company managed to sell an N-class airship to Japan, however political interference in his business led to constant threats and intimidation of staff. Publicly, Nobile's popularity meant he was, for the moment, safe from direct attack. When the plans were announced, Italo Balbo is reputed to have said "Let him go, for he cannot possibly come back to bother us anymore". The N-class airship Italia was slowly completed and equipped for Polar flight during 1927-28. Part of the difficulty was the raising of private funding for the expedition, the Italian government limiting its direct participation to sending the aging steamer Città di Milano as a support vessel to Spitsbergen, under the command of the incompetent Giuseppe Romagna. After two preliminary flights from Ny-Ålesund (Kings Bay), the flight to the North Pole began on May 23, 1928, but ended in a crash on the ice on May 25, close to 81° 14' latitude north, 28° 14' longitude east. The drifting sea ice later took the survivors towards Foyn and Broch islands. Incompetence on the part of Captain Romagna meant that the survivors' distress signals were not picked up for several weeks, and despite the presence of Italian ski-troops on board in case of just such an emergency, no effort was made by the Italian authorities to mount a search, let alone a rescue effort. Thus it was left to the international community, and in particular Norway, Sweden and Finland to begin the first polar air rescue effort. Several privately owned ships which had been chartered by polar scientists and explorers also participated. Even Amundsen forgot his past differences, but went missing when his overloaded seaplane disappeared en route to the search headquarters. After a month of privation, the first rescue plane, a Swedish airforce Fokker ski plane, piloted by Lieutenant Einar Lundborg landed near the crash site. Nobile had prepared a detailed evacuation plan, with the most seriously wounded men at the top of the list. However Lundborg, possibly on orders from his superiors, but also possibly on orders from the Italian government, refused to take anyone but Nobile, arguing that he was desperately needed to co-ordinate the rescue operations. Nobile was reluctantly airlifted to Ryss Island, base camp of Swedish and Finnish air rescue efforts. However, when Lundborg returned to pick up a second survivor he crashed his plane on landing and became trapped with the others. Eventually, Nobile reached the Città di Milano where he was dismayed at the incompetence he found. His attempts to co-ordinate the international rescue effort were blocked, and when he threatened to leave he was placed under virtual arrest by Captain Romagna. His telegrams to the survivors still on the ice, as well as to various people involved in the rescue, were heavily censored, and he was forced to sign a communique implying cowardice for being the first to be evacuated. Eventually the rest of his crew were rescued by the Soviet icebreaker Krasin. Nobile wanted to continue the search for 6 crew who were swept away in the envelope of the airship when it crashed, but he was ordered back to Rome with the others, in a locked train. Two hundred thousand cheering Italians met Nobile and his crew on arrival in Rome. This show of popularity was unexpected by Nobile's enemies, who had been seeding the foreign and domestic press with accusations against him, probably to whitewash over their own incompetence in the rescue effort. During an interview with Benito Mussolini he offended the dictator by detailing his grievances at length, thus sealing his fate. The patently rigged official inquiry blamed Nobile for the disaster and, accused of abandoning his men, he spent the rest of his life defending his actions. However the complex conditions that led to the crash cannot rest solely on the shoulders of Nobile. Horrendous climatic conditions, equipment failure, and poor decision making all played a part. After resigning in public protest from the Italian air force (further angering Mussolini) in March 1929, Nobile faced a further trial with the death of his wife in 1930.

Later Career

In 1931 he left to work in the Soviet Union, where he helped with the Soviet semi-rigid airship programme. Details of the Soviet Airship Program remain obscure, but there is an obvious Nobile influence in the design of the airships USSR-V5, and USSR-V6 (Osoaviahim). He was allowed to return to Italy to teach in 1936, before going to the United States in 1939 to teach aeronautics in Lockport, Illinois. Despite his enemy alien status, he was permitted to remain in the US, and only returned home in 1943 because of his children. In 1945 the Italian air force cleared him of all charges and promoted him to rank of major general. He was persuaded to run for parliament, but once elected was smeared as a communist on the basis of 5 years spent working in Russia. He then returned to his beloved University of Naples where he taught until his retirement.

See also


- List of explorers
- List of firsts

External links


- [http://members.tripod.com/90north/nobilenorthpole.htm Umberto Nobile ~ The North Pole Flights] Nobile, Umberto Nobile, Umberto Nobile, Umberto

January 21

January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 344 days remaining (345 in leap years).

Events


- 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade.
- 1276 - Innocent V becomes Pope.
- 1506 - The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards entered the Vatican.
- 1525 - The Swiss Anabaptist Movement was born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manz's mother on Neustadt-Gasse, Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
- 1643 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga.
- 1720 - Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
- 1789 - The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, is printed in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1793 - After being found guilty for treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France is guillotined.
- 1793 - Russia and Prussia partition Poland.
- 1853 - Russell L. Hawes patents the envelope-folding machine.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
- 1864 - The Tauranga Campaign starts during the Maori Wars.
- 1887 - The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is formed.
- 1887 - Brisbane receives a daily rainfall of 465 millimetres - a record for any Australian capital city.
- 1899 - Opel Motors opens for business.
- 1908 - New York City passes a law, the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public only to be vetoed by the mayor.
- 1911 - The first Monte Carlo Rally.
- 1915 - Kiwanis International founded in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1919 - Meeting in the Mansion House Dublin, the Sinn Féin adopts Ireland's first constitution.
- 1924 - Vladimir Lenin dies and Joseph Stalin begins to purge his rivals to clear way for his leadership.
- 1925 - Albania declares itself a republic.
- 1941 - World War II: Australian and British forces attack Tobruk, Libya.
- 1950 - Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
- 1954 - The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, then the First Lady of the United States.
- 1968 - Simon & Garfunkel release the Original Soundtrack to The Graduate, which quickly goes to #1 on the pop charts and which will bring Simon a Grammy for Best Original Score.
- 1969 - An experimental underground nuclear reactor at Lucens Vad, Switzerland, released radiation into a cavern, which was then sealed.
- 1976 - The first commercial service Concorde flight took off.
- 1977 - President Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all Vietnam War draft evaders.
- 1994 - Lorena Bobbitt is found not-guilty by reason of temporary insanity for severing the penis of her husband John Bobbitt.
- 1997 - Newt Gingrich becomes the first leader of the United States House of Representatives to be internally disciplined for ethical misconduct.
- 1999 - War on Drugs: In one of the one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 9,500 pounds (4,300 kg) of cocaine on board.
- 2002 - Canadian Dollar sets all-time low against the US Dollar (US$0.6179).
- 2003 - The terms of Kevin Mitnick's parole allow him to use a computer again.
- 2004 - Canada: The residence of reporter, Juliet O'Neill was searched by the RCMP investigating leaks concerning the deportation of Maher Arar.
- 2004 - NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceased communication with mission control. The problem was with Flash Memory management and fixed remotely from Earth on Feb 6th.
- 2005 - In Belize's capital city, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.

Births


- 1738 - Ethan Allen, American patriot (d. 1789)
- 1804 - Eliza Roxcy Snow, American poet (d. 1887)
- 1824 - Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, American Confederate Army general (d. 1863)
- 1829 - King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway (d. 1907)
- 1848 - Henri Duparc, French composer (d. 1933)
- 1855 - John Moses Browning, American inventor (d. 1926)
- 1867 - Ludwig Thoma, German writer (d. 1921)
- 1867 - Maxime Weygand, French general (d. 1965)
- 1883 - Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet (d. 1929)
- 1884 - Roger Baldwin, American social activist (d. 1981)
- 1885 - Umberto Nobile, Italian politician and airship designer (d. 1978)
- 1895 - Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish couturier (d. 1972)
- 1905 - Christian Dior, French fashion designer (d. 1957)
- 1905 - Karl Wallenda, German acrobat (d. 1978)
- 1912 - Konrad Emil Bloch, German-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 2000)
- 1921 - Howard Unruh, American mass murderer
- 1922 - Paul Scofield, English actor
- 1924 - Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1926 - Steve Reeves, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1936 - Koji Hashimoto, Japanese film director (d. 2005)
- 1938 - Altair Gomes de Figueiredo, Brazilian football player
- 1939 - Wolfman Jack, disk jockey and actor (d. 1995)
- 1940 - Jack Nicklaus, American golfer
- 1941 - Plácido Domingo, Spanish-born tenor
- 1941 - Richie Havens, American musician
- 1942 - Mac Davis, American musician
- 1942 - Edwin Starr, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1946 - Johnny Oates, baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
- 1950 - Billy Ocean, West Indian musician
- 1953 - Paul Allen, American entrepreneur
- 1955 - Jeff Koons, American artist
- 1956 - Robby Benson, American actor
- 1956 - Geena Davis, American actress
- 1962 - Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
- 1963 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-born basketball player
- 1963 - Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player
- 1965 - Jam Master Jay, American disc jockey (d. 2002)
- 1968 - Charlotte Ross, American actress
- 1971 - Alan McManus, Scottish snooker player
- 1975 - Nicky Butt, English footballer
- 1976 - Emma Bunton, English singer (Spice Girls)
- 1977 - Philip Neville, English footballer
- 1979 - Brian O'Driscoll, Irish rugby player
- 1981 - Dany Heatley, German hockey player

Deaths


- 304 - Saint Agnes (martyred)
- 1118 - Pope Paschal II
- 1519 - Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Spanish explorer
- 1527 - Juan de Grijalva, Spanish conquistador
- 1546 - Azai Sukemasa, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1491)
- 1609 - Joseph Justus Scaliger, French protestant scholar (b. 1540)
- 1638 - Ignazio Donati, Italian composer
- 1683 - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, British politican (b. 1621)
- 1699 - Obadiah Walker, English writer (b. 1616)
- 1706 - Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)
- 1710 - Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic (b. 1638)
- 1722 - Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English supporter of William III of England (b. 1661)
- 1731 - Thomas Woolston, English theologian (b. 1669)
- 1766 - James Quin, English actor (b. 1693)
- 1773 - Alexis Piron, French writer (b. 1689)
- 1774 - Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1717)
- 1793 - King Louis XVI of France (executed) (b. 1754)
- 1795 - Samuel Wallis, English navigator
- 1831 - Achim von Arnim, German poet (b. 1781)
- 1851 - Albert Lortzing, German composer (b. 1801)
- 1870 - Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (b. 1812)
- 1872 - Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (b. 1791)
- 1881 - Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1802)
- 1891 - Calixa Lavallée, Canadian composer (b. 1842)
- 1901 - Elisha Gray, American inventor (b. 1835)
- 1914 - Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian artist (b. 1857)
- 1919 - Gojong of Joseon, Emperor of Korea (b. 1852)
- 1924 - Vladimir Lenin, Russian Revolutionary (b. 1870)
- 1926 - Camillo Golgi, Italian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1843)
- 1928 - George Goethals, American army engineer (b. 1858)
- 1931 - Felix Blumenfeld, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1863)
- 1932 - Giles Lytton Strachey British writer (b. 1880)
- 1933 - George A. Moore, Irish novelist (b. 1852)
- 1948 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (b. 1876)
- 1950 - George Orwell, British writer (b. 1903)
- 1955 - Archie Hahn, American athlete (b. 1880)
- 1959 - Cecil B. DeMille, American director (b. 1881)
- 1959 - Carl Switzer, American actor (b. 1927)
- 1961 - Blaise Cendrars, Swiss writer (b. 1887)
- 1967 - Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1984 - Jackie Wilson, American musician (b. 1934)
- 1985 - James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)
- 1987 - Charles Goodell, American politician (b. 1926)
- 1989 - Billy Tipton, American musician (b. 1914)
- 1993 - Charlie Gehringer, baseball player (b. 1903)
- 1997 - Colonel Tom Parker, American manager of Elvis Presley (b. 1909)
- 1998 - Jack Lord, American actor (b. 1920)
- 1999 - Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
- 2001 - Byron De La Beckwith, American white supremacist (b. 1921)
- 2001 - Chung Ju-yung, Korean industrialist (b. 1915)
- 2002 - Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
- 2004 - Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Parveen Babi, Indian actress (b. 1955)
- 2005 - John L. Hess, American journalist (b. 1917)
- 2005 - Theun de Vries, Dutch writer (b. 1907)

Holidays and observances


- Catholicism - Feast day of Saint Agnes
- Mauritius - Thaipoosam Cavadee
- National Hugging Day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/21 BBC: On This Day] ---- January 20 - January 22 - December 21 - February 21 — listing of all days ko:1월 21일 ms:21 Januari ja:1月21日 simple:January 21 th:21 มกราคม

1885

1885 is a common year starting on Thursday.

Events

January


- January 4 - The first successful appendectomy is performed by Dr. William W. Grant on Mary Gartside.
- January 20 - L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
- January 26 - Troops loyal to the Mahdi conquer Khartoum

February


- February 5 - King Léopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State as a personal possession.
- February 9 - The first Japanese arrive in Hawaii.
- February 18 - Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published for the first time.
- February 21 - US president Chester A. Arthur dedicates the Washington Monument
- February 23 - British executioner fails to hang John Lee, sentenced of the murder of Emma Keyse. Sentence is commuted to life imprisonment
- February 26 - Final Act of the Berlin Conference regulates European colonisation and trade in Africa.

March


- March-May - North-West Rebellion took place and was put down in Canada.
- March 3 - A subsidiary of the American Bell Telephone Company, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), is incorporated in New York.
- March 4 - Grover Cleveland replaces Chester A. Arthur as President of the United States.
- March 14 - W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's The Mikado opens at the Savoy Theatre.
- March 26 - The Times reports that "A lady well-known in literary and scientific circles" has been cremated by the Cremation Society in Woking, Surrey. Jeannette C. Pickersgill was the first person to be officially cremated in the United Kingdom
- March 30 - Pandjeh Incident - Russian force routs Afghan troops and drive them across the Pul-iKhishti bridge
- March 31 - The United Kingdom establishes a protectorate over Bechuanaland.

May


- May 2
  - Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
  - Cree and Assiniboine warriors won the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
  - The Congo Free State is established by King Léopold II of Belgium.
- May 9-12 - Canadian government forces inflict decisive defeat on Métis rebels at the Battle of Batoche.

June


- June 17 - The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
- June 24 - Randolph Churchill becomes Secretary of State for India

July


- July 6 - Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies. The patient is Joseph Meister; a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
- July 20 - Professional football legalized in Britain

September


- September 2 - In Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 white miners attack their Chinese coworkers, killing 28, wounding 15, and forcing several hundred more out of town.
- September 6 - Eastern Rumelia declares its union with Bulgaria. The Unification of Bulgaria is accomplished.
- September 18 - Union of Eastern Rumelia with Bulgaria proclaimed at Plovdiv.
- September 30 - A British force abolishes the Boer republic of Stellaland and adds it to British Bechuanaland.

November


- November 7 - Canadian Pacific Railway finished: In Craigellachie, British Columbia, construction ends on a railway extending across Canada. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald considered the project to be vital to Canada.
- November 11 - George S. Patton, Jr. Born in San Gabriel, California.
- November 14-28 - Serbo-Bulgarian War: Serbia declares war against Bulgaria but is defeated in Battle of Slivnitsa on November 17-19.
- November 16 - Canadian rebel leader of the Métis, Louis Riel is executed for high treason.

December


- December 1 - The US Patent Office acknowledges this date as the day Dr Pepper was served for the very first time; the exact date of Dr Pepper's invention is unknown.
- December 28 - 72 Indian lawyers, academicians and journalists gather in Bombay to form the Congress Party

Unknown Dates


- Creation of the first genuine bicycle, the Rover, by John K Starley.
- John Boyd Dunlop invents the pneumatic tire.
- Cholera epidemic in Spain – one of the victims is the king Alfonso XII
- Third Burmese War begins
- Sitting Bull joins Buffalo Bill
- Nikola Tesla sells a number of his patents to George Westinghouse
- William Stanley, Jr. builds the first practical alternating current transformer device, the induction coil.
- Local anesthetic
- First skyscraper – Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois, USA (10 floors)
- Bicycle Playing Cards first produced

Births


- January 6 - Florence Turner, American actress (d. 1946)
- January 8 - John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1945)
- January 11 - Alice Paul, American women's rights activist (d. 1977)
- January 21 - Umberto Nobile, Italian politician and airship designer (d. 1978)
- January 27 - Jerome Kern, American composer (d. 1945)
- January 27 - Eduard Künnecke, German composer (d. 1953)
- January 29 - Leadbelly, American musician (d. 1949)
- February 7 - Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)
- February 9 - Alban Berg, Austrian composer (d. 1935)
- February 13 - Bess Truman, First Lady of the United States (d. 1982)
- February 15 - Princess Alice of Battenberg (d. 1969)
- February 21 - Sacha Guitry, Russian-born dramatist, writer, director, and actor (d. 1957)
- February 24 - Chester Nimitz, U.S. admiral (d. 1966)
- February 24 - Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish writer and painter (d. 1939)
- March 6 - Ring Lardner, American writer (d. 1933)
- March 11 - Sir Malcolm Campbell, English land and water racer (d. 1948)
- March 14 - Raoul Lufbery, World War I American pilot (d. 1918)
- March 31 - Pascin, Bulgarian painter (d. 1930)
- April 1 - Wallace Beery, American actor (d. 1949)
- April 3 - Allan Dwan, Canadian-born film director (d. 1981)
- April 4 - Arthur Murray, American dancer (d. 1991)
- May 2 - Hedda Hopper, American columnist (d. 1966)
- May 7 - George 'Gabby' Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
- May 14 - Otto Klemperer, German conductor (d. 1973)
- May 21 - Oscar A.C. Lund, Swedish film actor, director, and writer (d. 1963)
- May 22 - Toyoda Soemu, Japanese admiral (d. 1957)
- June 9 - John Edensor Littlewood, British mathematician (d. 1977)
- June 14 - E. L. Grant Watson, writer, anthropologist, and biologist (d. 1970)
- June 22 - Milan Vidmar, Slovenian electrical engineer and chess player (d. 1962)
- July 4 - Louis B. Mayer, American film producer (d. 1957)
- July 14 - King Sisavang Vong, King of Laos (d. 1959)
- July 28 - Monte Attell, American boxer (d. 1960)
- August 1 - George de Hevesy, Hungarian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
- September 11 - D.H. Lawrence, English author (d. 1930)
- September 22 - Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1951)
- October 3 - Sophie Treadwell, American playwright and journalist

July 30

July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining.

Events


- 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague.
- 1608 - At Ticonderoga (now Crown Point, New York), Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs. This was to set the tone for French-Iroquois relations for the next one hundred years.
- 1619 - In Jamestown, Virginia, the first representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convenes for the first time.
- 1629 - An earthquake in Naples, Italy kills 10,000 people.
- 1729 - Baltimore, Maryland is founded.
- 1733 - First Freemasons lodge opened in what will become the United States.
- 1825 - Malden Island discovered.
- 1863 - Indian Wars: Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone tribe signs the Treaty of Box Elder, promising to stop harassing the emigrant trails in southern Idaho and northern Utah.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of the Crater - Union forces attempt to break Confederate lines by exploding a large bomb under their trenches.
- 1930 - In Montevideo, Uruguay win the first Football World Cup.
- 1932 - The 1932 Summer Olympics open in Los Angeles, California.
- 1945 - World War II: A Japanese submarine sinks the USS Indianapolis, killing 883 seamen in the worst single loss in the history of the United States Navy.
- 1953 - Rikidōzan holds a ceremony announcing the establishment of the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance.
- 1956 - A Joint Resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing "In God We Trust" as the U.S. national motto.
- 1965 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
- 1966 - At Wembley Stadium, host England wins the Football World Cup, beating Germany 4 to 2.
- 1969 - Vietnam War: US President Richard M. Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and meets with President Nguyen Van Thieu and with US military commanders.
- 1970 - Powder Ridge Rock Festival
- 1971 - Apollo program: Apollo 15 lands on the Moon.
- 1971 - An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 and a Japanese Air Force F-86 collide over Morioka, Japan killing 162
- 1974 - Watergate Scandal: US President Richard M. Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the United States Supreme Court.
- 1975 - Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m..
- 1980 - Vanuatu gains independence.
- 1990 - The first Saturn automobile rolls off the assembly line.
- 1997 - A double suicide bombing kills 14 people in Jerusalem,Israel.
- 2002 - Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie is the first woman to dunk in a basketball game.
- 2002- The accounting law refered to as "The Sarbanes Oxley Act" was signed into law by United States President George W. Bush
- 2003 - In Mexico, the last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.
- 2004 - A gas explosion kills 16 people in Belgium.

Births


- 1470 - Hongzhi, Emperor of China (d. 1505)
- 1549 - Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1609)
- 1641 - Regnier de Graaf, Dutch physician and anatomist (d. 1673)
- 1818 - Emily Brontë, English novelist (d. 1848)
- 1855 - Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, German industrialist (d. 1919)
- 1857 - Thorstein Veblen, American economist (d. 1929)
- 1863 - Henry Ford, American industrialist (d. 1947)
- 1889 - Franz Masereel, Belgian painter and graphic artist (d. 1972)
- 1889 - Vladimir Zworykin, Russian physicist and inventor (d. 1982)
- 1890 - Casey Stengel, baseball player and manager (d. 1975)
- 1898 - Henry Moore, English sculptor (d. 1986)
- 1904 - Salvador Novo, Mexican writer and poet (d. 1974)
- 1909 - C. Northcote Parkinson, British historian and writer (d. 1993)
- 1910 - Edgar de Evia, American mountain climber (d. 2003)
- 1914 - Lord Killanin, Irish International Olympic Committee president (d. 1999)
- 1916 - Dick Wilson, American actor
- 1919 - Berniece Baker Miracle, half-sister of Marilyn Monroe.
- 1921 - Grant Johannesen, American pianist (d. 2005)
- 1930 - Thomas Sowell, American economist
- 1934 - Bud Selig, baseball team owner and commissioner
- 1936 - Buddy Guy, American guitarist and singer
- 1939 - Peter Bogdanovich, American film director
- 1941 - Paul Anka, Canadian singer and composer
- 1945 - David Sanborn, American musician
- 1946 - Neil Bonnett, American race car driver (d. 1994)
- 1947 - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-born actor and Governor of California
- 1947 - William Atherton, American actor
- 1948 - Jean Reno, Moroccan-born French actor
- 1950 - Frank Stallone, American singer and actor
- 1956 - Delta Burke, American actress
- 1956 - Anita Hill, American author
- 1957 - Nery Pumpido, Argentine football goalkeeper
- 1958 - Kate Bush, British musician
- 1960 - Richard Linklater, American director
- 1961 - Laurence Fishburne, American actor
- 1962 - Alton Brown, American television host
- 1963 - Lisa Kudrow, American actress
- 1964 - Vivica A. Fox, American actress
- 1968 - Robert Korzeniowski, Polish athlete
- 1970 - Christopher Nolan, British film director
- 1971 - Tom Green, Canadian comedian and actor
- 1971 - Christine Taylor, American actress
- 1974 - Hilary Swank, American actress
- 1974 - Radostin Kishishev, Bulgarian footballer
- 1975 - Graham Nicholls, British artist
- 1981 - Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer
- 1985 - Daniel Fredheim Holm, Norwegian footballer

Deaths


- 578 - Jacob Baradaeus, Bishop of Edessa
- 1540 - Thomas Abel, English priest (martyred)
- 1540 - Robert Barnes, English churchman (martyred) (b. 1495)
- 1550 - Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician (b. 1505)
- 1652 - Charles Amédée de Savoie, 6th Duc de Nemours, French soldier (b. 1624)
- 1680 - Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory, Irish naval commander (b. 1634)
- 1683 - Maria Theresa of Spain, queen of Louis XIV of France (b. 1638)
- 1691 - Daniel Georg Morhof, German writer and scholar (b. 1639)
- 1715 - Nahum Tate, Irish poet (b. 1652)
- 1718 - William Penn, English founder of the Province of Pennsylvania (b. 1644)
- 1771 - Thomas Gray, English poet and letter-writer (b. 1716)
- 1875 - George Pickett, American Confederate general (b. 1825)
- 1898 - Otto von Bismarck, German chancellor (b. 1815)
- 1900 - Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1844)
- 1912 - Emperor Meiji, Japanese emperor (b. 1852
- 1918 - Joyce Kilmer, American poet (b. 1886)
- 1947 - Joseph Cook, sixth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1860)
- 1971 - Kenneth Slessor, Australian poet (b. 1901)
- 1983 - Lynn Fontanne, English actress (b. 1887)
- 1985 - Julia Hall Bowman Robinson, American mathematician (b. 1919)
- 1989 - Lane Frost, American bull rider (b. 1963)
- 1996 - Claudette Colbert, French-American actress (b. 1903)
- 1997 - Bao Dai, Emperor of Vietnam (b. 1913)
- 2003 - Sam Phillips, American record producer (b. 1923)
- 2005 - John Garang, rebel leader and Vice President of Sudan (helicopter crash) (b. 1945)

Holidays and observances


- Vanuatu - Independence Day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/30 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050730.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- July 29 - July 31 - June 30 - August 30 -- listing of all days ko:7월 30일 ms:30 Julai ja:7月30日 simple:July 30 th:30 กรกฎาคม

1978

1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar).

Events

January


- January 1 - The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law.
- January 1 - Air India's Boeing 747 explodes near Bombay - 213 dead.
- January 4 - Referendum in Chile supports policies of Augusto Pinochet.
- January 6 - The Hungarian Holy Crown (also known as Stephen of Hungary Crown) returned to Hungary from the United States where it was held after World War II.
- January 7 - Emilio Palma is born in Antarctica, making his birth the southernmost in history.
- January 10 - Assassination of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, who had criticized the Nicaraguan government. Riots erupt against Somoza's government.
- January 18 - The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
- January 19 - Federal Appeals Court Judge William H. Webster appointed as Director of the FBI.
- January 22 - Ethiopia announces the ambassador of West Germany as Persona non grata.
- January 23 - Sweden becomes the first nation to ban aerosol sprays that are thought to damage earth's protective ozone layer.
- January 24 - Soviet satellite Cosmos 954 burns in Earth atmosphere and its debris is scattered over Canadian Northwest Territories
- January 28 - Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento", is arrested
- January 30 - Blizzards in the USA kill 90.

February


- February 1 - Film director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
- February 8 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcasted on radio for the first time.
- February 11 - 16 Unification Church couples wed in New York City.
- February 11 - Military mobilization in Somalia due to an apparent Ethiopian attack.
- February 11 - The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.
- February 13 - Hilton bombing: A bomb explodes outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two garbagemen, a policeman and several others. Many believe that ASIO was responsible.
- February 15 - Rhodesia's prime minister Ian Smith and three black leaders agree on the transfer to black majority rule.
- February 15 - Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured in Florida.
- February 16 - The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois).
- February 21 - Electrical workers in Mexico City find an Aztec monolith in the middle of the city.

March


- March 1 - Charlie Chaplin's remains are stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland but are recovered 11 weeks later near Lake Geneva.
- March 1 - Broadway play Timbuktu opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre.
- March 3 - Ethiopia admits that its troops are fighting with the aid Cuban soldiers against Somalian troops in Ogaden.
- March 3 - Rhodesia attacks Zambia.
- March 3 - New York Post publishes an article about David Rorvik's book The Cloning of Man about a supposed cloning of a human being
- March 6 - US porn publisher Larry Flynt is shot and paralysed
- March 11 - Palestinian terrorists on the Tel Aviv Haifa highway kill 34 Israelis.
- March 15 - The United States Senate approves the Panama Canal neutrality treaty; votes to turn the canal over to Panama by the year 2000 on April 18.
- March 16 - Israeli forces invade Lebanon.
- March 16 - Former Italian premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by Red Brigades, who kill five bodyguards; he is found dead on May 9.
- March 17 - The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz runs aground on the coast of Brittany.
- March 18 - Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is sentenced to death by hanging for ordering the assassination of a political opponent.
- March 22 - Karl Wallenda of the Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- March 24 - The tanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two off Brittany spilling 50,000 metric tons of crude oil.
- March 28 - The US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.

April


- April 1 - Dick Smith of Dick Smith Foods tows a fake iceberg to Sydney Harbour.
- April 8 - Regular broadcasts of proceedings in British Parliament start.
- April 16 - In Cologne, 15,000 former members of the resistance movement demonstrate against National Socialism.
- April 18 - The US Senate votes 68-32 to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on December 31 1999.
- April 27 - President of Afghanistan, Daud Khan is killed during a military coup - Mohammed Takain succeeds him.
- April 30 - The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan is proclamed, under pro-communist leader Nur Mohammed Taraki.

May


- May 4 - – Communist activist Henri Curiel is murdered in Paris.
- May 5 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds gets his 3000th major league hit.
- May 8 - Norway opens a natural gas field in the Polar Sea.
- May 9 - In Rome, the body of Aldo Moro, the Italian president of the Christian-Democrats, is found in a parked car.
- May 12-May 13 - Group of mercenaries lead by Bob Denard oust Ali Soilih in the Comoros - 10 local soldiers killed. Denard forms a new government
- May 12 - In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining centre of the province of Shaba. The government of Zaire asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
- May 15 - Students of the University of Teheran riot in Tabriz - an army stops the riot.
- May 17 - Charles Chaplin's coffin is found ten miles from the cemetery it was stolen from, near Lake Geneva.
- May 18 - Soviet dissident Yuri Orlov is sentenced for seven years hard labor for distributing counterrevolutionary material.
- May 18-May 19 - Belgian and French paratroopers fly to Zaire to aid the fight against the rebels.
- May 20 - Mavis Hutchinson, 53, becames the first woman to run across the USA - trek took 69 days.
- May 22 - Exiled leaders Ahmed Abdallah and Mohammed Ahmed return to the Comoros
- May 25 - A bomb explodes in the security section of Northwestern University - security guard is wounded. The first bomb of the Unabomber case.
- May 26 - In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.
- May 29 - Ali Soilih is found dead, allegedly shot when trying to escape

June


- June 6 - Californians in referendum approve Proposition 13 for a nearly 60% slash in property tax revenues.
- June 9 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints extends the priesthood and temple blessings to "all worthy males," ending a general policy of excluding blacks from priesthood and temples since 1849 (see Blacks and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
- June 12 - Serial killer David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam," is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
- June 15 - King Hussein of Jordan marries 26-year-old Lisa Halaby.
- June 19 - Cricketer Ian Botham becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a century and take eight wickets in one innings of a Test match.
- June 19 - Comic Strip Garfield debuts in newspapers.
- June 21 - An outbreak of shooting between Provisional IRA members and the British Army leaves one civilian and three IRA men dead.
- June 22 - Discovery of Charon, a satellite of Pluto, announced.
- June 23 - Josip Broz Tito is named for Yugoslav president for life.
- June 24 - President of Yemen Arab Republic Ahmad al-Ghashmi is killed.
- June 25 - Argentina defeats Netherlands 3-1 after extra time to win the 1978 World Cup.
- June 26 - The bombing of Breton nationalists causes destruction in Versailles.
- June 28 - The Supreme Court of the United States, in the Bakke case, bars quota systems in college admissions but affirms constitutionality of programs giving advantage to minorities.
- June 30 - Ethiopia begin a massive offensive in Eritrea.

July-August


- July 7 - The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
- July 25 - First human birth, girl Louise Brown, from in vitro fertilization (the test tube baby).
- August 6 - Pope Paul VI dies at age of 80.
- August 7 - United States President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal.
- August 12 - Sino-Japanese relations: The Treaty of Peace and Friendship is signed between Japan and the People's Republic of China.
- August 15 - Foundation of Mirapuri - The City of Peace and Future Man in Europe, Italy.
- August 17 - Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Preque Isle, Maine
- August 19 - Fire in Rex Cinema in Tehran - 477 dead.
- August 20 - Gunmen open fire on an Israeli El Al airline bus in London.
- August 20 - In Abadan, Iran, nearly 400 are killed when Muslim extremist arsonists set fire to a crowded theater.
- August 25 - The Shroud of Turin goes on public display for the first time in 45 years.
- August 25 - US Army sergeant Walter Robinson "walks" across the English Channel in 11 hours 30 minutes using homemade water shoes
- August 26 - Albino Cardinal Luciani succeeds Pope Paul VI as Pope John Paul I.

September-October

Pope John Paul I
- September 1 - Dublin Institute of Technology is established.
- September 5 - Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin peace process at Camp David, Maryland.
- September 8 - Riots in Teheran - Iranian army troops open fire - 122 dead, 4000 wounded.
- September 11 - The tip of an umbrella poisons Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov, probably on orders of Bulgarian intelligence. He dies four days later.
- September 17 - Camp David peace agreement between Israel and Egypt
- September 19 - British Police launch a massive murder hunt when newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater is shot dead after disturbing a burglary.
- September 25 - PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides with a small private airplane and crashes in San Diego, California resulting in the death of 144.
- September 28 - Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days of papacy.
- October 1 - Vietnam attacks Cambodia.
- October 7 - Wranslide in NSW; the Wran government is re-elected with a increased majority.
- October 8 - Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.
- October 10 - US President Jimmy Carter signs a bill into law that authorizes the minting of the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
- October 14 - Daniel arap Moi becomes president of Kenya.
- October 16 - Karol Wojtyła becomes Pope John Paul II.
- October 27 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.

November-December


- November 3 - Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- November 5 - Riots and demonstrations in Teheran - the British embassy is sacked.
- November 7 - Indira Gandhi re-elected to Indian parliament.
- November 17 - The Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS.
- November 18 - Jonestown mass suicide: In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones leads his People's Temple in a mass murder-suicide; 913 die, including 276 children.
- November 19 - The first US Take Back the Night march occurs in San Francisco.
- November 20 - Military coup in Spain fails.
- November 27 - In San Francisco, California, city mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White.
- November 30 - Publication of The Times suspended - industrial relations problems until November 13 1979.
- December 4 - Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein becomes San Francisco, California's first woman mayor (she served until Friday, January 8, 1988).
- December 11 - Lufthansa heist - Six men rob a Lufthansa cargo facility in New York City's Kennedy airport.
- December 11 - Massive anti-Shah demonstration in Iran - 2 million demonstrators.
- December 13 - First Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation.
- December 15 - Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first major American city to go into default since the Great Depression, under the mayoral administration of Dennis Kucinich.
- December 25 - Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.
- December 27 - The Spanish Constitution is approved in referendum officially ending 40 years of military dictatorship.

Unknown dates


- The Hillside Strangler, a stealthy serial killer, is on the prowl in Los Angeles.
- The Usu volcano erupts in Japan.
- Eagles' Hotel California was nominated for a Grammy award.
- Fleetwood Mac's Rumours was nominated for a Grammy award.
- Artificial insulin is invented.
- David Rorvik claims he has participated in a creation of a human clone in his book In His Image.
- Abortion legalized in Italy for first time.
- Acorn Computers Ltd is founded.
- The Honda Prelude, the car which introduced the world to the VTEC engine and 4-wheel steering, begins production. It would continue for many years before it would be discontinued and replaced with the S2000 and Acura RSX.
- Remove Intoxicated Drivers established.
- Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems established to promote temperance.

Births

January-May


- January 1 - Erica Durance, Canadian actress
- January 3 - Alex Leigh, British model
- January 4 - Dwight Freeney, American football player
- January 9 - Chad Johnson, American football player
- January 14 - Shawn Crawford, American runner
- January 28 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
- February 7 - Ashton Kutcher, American actor
- February 14 - Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
- February 15 - Tuan Le, American poker player
- February 20 -