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January 1st |
The first civilian flight took off from London's Heathrow Airport. |
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January 5th |
American actress, Diane Keaton, was born in Los Angeles, California. |
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January 6th |
English musician, Syd Barrett, was born in Cambridge, England. He is best remembered as having been one of the founding members of the music band, Pink Floyd. |
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January 17th |
The first session of the UN Security Council was held. |
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January 19th |
American country singer and actress, Dolly Parton, was born in Tennessee. She was born into a very poor family and later rose to become one of the most celebrated country music singers in the United States. |
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January 20th |
American film director, David Lynch, was born in Montana. He is one of the most controversial as well as critically acclaimed directors of the American filmmaking industry. His unique style has generated a cult type following of his creations. |
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February 14th |
The Bank of England was nationalized. It had been founded in 1694 by Scottish, William Paterson. |
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February 14th |
American actor, Gregory Hines, was born in New York City. He is most remembered for his extraordinary talent in tap dancing. |
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February 24th |
Juan Peron was elected to the position of president in Argentina. Overall he was elected three times as president of Argentina and along with his wife Eva (Known also as Evita) was one of the most beloved figures of Argentinean political life throughout the 20th century. |
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March 2nd |
Ho Chi Minh became the President of North Vietnam. |
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March 4th |
The first ever Frank Sinatra album, was released by Columbia Records. The album was called "The Voice Of Frank Sinatra". |
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March 5th |
The term "Iron Curtain" was first used by Winston Churchill during a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. |
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March 6th |
British musician, David Gilmour, was born in Cambridge, England. He is best known as a member of the band Pink Floyd. |
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March 12th |
American singer and actress, Liza Minnelli, was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli. |
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April 12th |
Syria gained its independence. It had been under French rule since 1920. |
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April 18th |
The League of Nations was officially dissolved and all its activities were transfered to the newly formed United Nations. |
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April 19th |
British actor, Tim Curry, was born in the town of Warrington, England. He became famous after his role in the hit comedy-horror movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, in 1975. |
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April 25th |
Russian politician, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, was born in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan. |
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June 2nd |
After a referendum, Italy abolished monarchy and established itself as a republic. After the referendum the king of Italy, Umberto II di Savoia, was exiled. |
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June 6th |
The Basketball Association of America was formed in New York City. Today its mostly known simply as the NBA. |
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June 14th |
American businessman, Donald Trump, was born in New York City. He is one of the most famous American entrepreneurs of the 20th and 21st century. |
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June 15th |
Greek singer, Demis Roussos, was born in Alexandria, Egypt to expatriate Greeks. He was one of the passengers of TWA Flight 847 that was hijacked on June 14, 1985. |
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June 18th |
Italian football coach, Fabio Capello, was born in San Canzian d'Isonzo. He is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in professional football. |
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July 4th |
The Philippines were granted full independence by the United States, after 381 years of colonial rule. |
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July 5th |
The bikini swimsuit was first introduced in Paris, France. It was named after Bikini Atoll, the site of nuclear weapon tests, on the reasoning that the excitement it would create would be like a nuclear explosion. |
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July 6th |
American politician, George W. Bush, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He was elected as the 43rd President of the United States and was inaugurated on January 20, 2001. He was re-elected in 2004. |
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July 6th |
American actor, Sylvester Stallone, was born in Hell's Kitchen New York. Stallone's father was an immigrant from Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily while his mother was American. He is most known for his numerous and hugely successful action films. |
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July 15th |
Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, was born in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. He is the current ruler of the Sultanate and is one of the richest men in the world. |
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July 21st |
American lawyer, Kenneth Starr, was born in Texas. He became known worldwide for his report, the Starr Report, which led to US president Bill Clinton's impeachment on charges arising from the Monica Lewinsky scandal. |
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July 22nd |
The King David Hotel in Jerusalem, which housed the headquarters of the British civil and military administration, was bombed by members of the 'Igrun', killing 90 people. Igrun was a militant Zionist group that operated in Palestine from 1931 to 1948. |
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July 25th |
The first ever underwater nuclear detonation test took place near the Bikibi islands in the Pacific Ocean. The retired aircraft carrier, USS Saratoga, was sunk as part of the test. The Bikini Atoll was the site of more than 20 hydrogen and nuclear bomb tests for the American military. |
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July 27th |
American writer, Gertrude Stein, died at the age of 72 in France. She was one of the figureheads of modern art and literature in the 20th century. |
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August 3rd |
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded. |
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August 3rd |
British politician, Jack Straw, was born. |
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August 18th |
More than 50 bathers were killed when a series of mines exploded near the Vergarolla beach, Croatia. |
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September 5th |
Singer, Freddie Mercury, was born in Zanzibar. He died from AIDS in November 1991, greatly increasing public awareness of the disease. |
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September 15th |
American actor, Tommy Lee Jones, was born in San Saba, Texas. He attended Harvard University on a scholarship, and was roommates with former Vice President Al Gore and fellow actor John Lithgow. |
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September 15th |
American film director, Oliver Stone, was born in New York City. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War. His blockbuster movie, Platoon, is supposedly a semi-autobiographical film about his experiences during the war. |
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September 18th |
Joe Louis knocked out Tami Mauriello in 1 round of boxing for the heavyweight boxing title. |
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September 20th |
The first Cannes Film Festival was held. The idea behind the festival sprang in 1938, when the fascist governments of Germany and Italy directly influenced the selection of films in the Venice Film Festival. The festival was scheduled to premiere in September 1939, but it was postponed when the Second World War began. |
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October 1st |
The Nuremberg Trials come to a close with the sentencing of Nazi war criminals. The validity of the court has been questioned numerous times as the defendants were not allowed to appeal the decisions nor affect the selection of judges. It has also been argue that since the judges were appointed by the victors of the war they were not impartial and thus cannot be considered as a court in the true sense of the word. |
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October 9th |
Prime Minister of Turkey, Tansu Ciller, was born in Istanbul. She was Turkey's first and only so far (2006) female prime minister. |
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October 15th |
During the course of the Nuremberg Trials, Nazi second in Command, Hermann Goring, poisoned himself with a cyanide pill the night before his execution. |
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October 31st |
Northern Irish actor, Stephen Rea, was born in Belfast. He is arguably the most famous actor hailing form Northern Ireland, having participated in such hit movies as The Crying Game and Michael Collins. |
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November 19th |
The countries of Sweden, Afghanistan and Iceland were admitted to the United Nations. |
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December 2nd |
Italian fashion designer, Gianni Versace, was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy. He was widely considered as one of the most talented designers of the late 20th century. |
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December 5th |
Spanish tenor, Jose Carreras, was born in Barcelona. He is considered as one of the best operatic tenor of the 20th century. |
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December 12th |
Brazilian racing driver, Emerson Fittipaldi, was born in Sao Paulo. He was a successful race driver, who won the Formula One world championship as well as the Indianapolis 500. |
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December 14th |
The United Nations General Assembly voted to establish its headquarters in the city of New York. |
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December 18th |
American film director, Steven Spielberg, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His first major success came with his second movie, Jaws, which actually broke box office records at the time. He is considered as one of the most successful directors of all time. |
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December 18th |
South African, Steve Biko, was born in King Williams Town, South Africa. He was one of the most influential and outspoken anti-apartheid activists in the history of South Africa. In 1977 he was arrested and presumably killed by the police. |
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December 30th |
American singer, Patti Smith, was born in Chicago, Illinois. |
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December 31st |
After a proclamation by United States president, Harry Truman, World War II officially came to an end. |