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January
20th |
Greek businessman, Aristotle Onassis, was born in Smyrna. He was born to a middle-class Greek family. He was one of the most famous shipping magnates of all time. |
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February
7th |
Soviet aviation pioneer, Oleg Antonov, was born in Troitske, Russia. He was one of the leading Soviet aircraft designers and the founder of the Antonov ASTC company, which manufactured the Antonov planes. |
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February
28th |
American gangster, Bugsy Siegel, was born in New York. He was a childhood friend of gangster Meyer Lansky and a close associate of mob boss Charles 'Lucky' Luciano. He is also credited as the man who pioneered the development of Las Vegas as the gambling capital of the United States. |
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March
6th |
American comedian, Lou Costello, was born in New Jersey. He was most known for being part of the highly successful comedy show, Abbott and Costello. |
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March
10th |
During the course of the Philippine-American war, American troops massacred approximately 600 men, women and children who had taken refuge within a crater in the Philippines. |
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March
15th |
The Rolls-Royce company was founded. |
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April
7th |
The Vesuvius volcano erupted, causing severe devastation on the city of Naples. Over 100 people died. |
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April
18th |
An earthquake, estimated at a magnitude of around 7.8 Richter, struck the city of San Francisco, California. Most of the city was destroyed and several thousands of people died as a result of the earthquake and the large scale fires that ensued afterwards. |
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May
22nd |
The first intercalated Summer Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. Although today the IOC does not recognize them as part of the official Olympic Games they were the games that kept the Olympics alive, as the 1904 Paris and the 1908 Rome games were a failure. |
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June
22nd |
Austrian-born director, Billy Wilder, was born in Sucha Beskidzka. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age. Among the classics he produced are The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959). |
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July
1st |
American cosmetics entrepreneur, Estee Lauder, was born in Queens, New York. She was the founder of Estee Lauder Companies, Inc, one of the world's largest suppliers of cosmetic products. |
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July
7th |
American baseball player, Leroy 'Satchel' Paige, was born in Mobile, Alabama. He is widely considered as one of the greatest pitchers of all time. |
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August
5th |
American director, John Huston, was born in Nevada, Missouri. He was one of the most celebrated directors of the mid 20th century. |
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August
26th |
Polish born doctor, Albert Sabin, was born in Bialystok, Poland. In 1921 he emigrated to America with his family where he trained in internal medicine, pathology and surgery. He is best-known for having developed the oral vaccine for polio (Poliomyelitis). |
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August
27th |
American serial killer, Ed Gein, was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He was one of the most notorious serial murderers in United States history, although he was found not guilty by reasons of insanity and was hospitalized for the rest of his life. His grave and tombstone has been the target of constant vandalizing by people acquiring souvenirs. |
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September
18th |
A typhoon caused the death of approximately 10,000 people in Hong Kong. |
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October
22nd |
French painter, Paul Cezanne, died at the age of 67. He is considered as one of the most important post-Impressionism painter and considered by many as the father of Cubism. |
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October
30th |
Italian race car driver, Giuseppe Farina, was born in Turin. He was a famous Italian race driver and the first ever Formula One World Champion driving for the Alfa Romeo team. |
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November
17th |
Japanese automobile pioneer, Soichiro Honda, was born in Hamamatsu. He was the founder of the Honda Motors company. |
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December
19th |
Premier of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, was born in Kamenskoye, Ukraine. He was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until his death in 1982. |
