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Eugene Meyer

Eugene Meyer

Eugene Isaac Meyer (October 31, 1875 – July 17, 1959) was an American financier, public official, and newspaper publisher. He is best remembered as the father of Katharine Graham. Born in Los Angeles, California, he was the son of Marc Eugene and Harriet (Newmark) Meyer. He grew up in San Francisco, California and attended college across the bay at the University of California, but he dropped out after one year and later enrolled at Yale University. He received his A.B. in 1895. After college, Meyer went to work for Lazard Freres--his father was a partner there--but quit in 1901 after four years and struck out on his own. He was a successful investor and speculator and owned a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. He married Agnes Elizabeth Ernst in 1910; they had five children. By 1915, when he was forty, he was worth $40 million. Meyer went to Washington, D.C. during the First World War as a "dollar a year man" for Woodrow Wilson, becoming the head of the War Finance Corporation and served there long after the end of hostilities. President Calvin Coolidge named him as chairman of the Federal Farm Loan Board in 1927 and Herbert Hoover promoted him to chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in 1930. He served in that capacity from September 16, 1930 to May 10, 1933. Meyer strongly supported government relief to combat the Great Depression taking on an additional post as chief of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Hoover's unsuccessful attempt to aid the accompany by providing loans to businesses. Upon Franklin D. Roosevelt's inauguration in 1933, he resigned his government posts. Months later in 1933 he bought The Washington Post at a bankruptcy auction, the paper having been ruined by its spendthrift socialite owner, Ned McLean. Over the next twenty years, Meyer spent millions of dollars of his own money to keep the money-losing paper in business, while focusing on improving its quality; by the 1950s, it was finally consistently profitable and was increasingly recognized for good reporting and important editorials. As publisher, Meyer occasionally contributed to stories: his friendship with the British Ambassador, Lord Lothian, lead to a Washington Post scoop on reporting of Edward VIII's relationship with Wallis Simpson. After World War II, Harry Truman named Meyer, then 70 years old, to be the first head of the World Bank in June 1946. Meyer appointed his son-in-law, Philip Graham, as publisher. Meyer returned to the Post, however, after only six months with the World Bank, becoming Chairman of the Washington Post Company until his death in Washington in 1959.

Bibliography


- Agnes E. Meyer. Out of These Roots. 1959.
- Merlo J. Pusey. Euguene Meyer. 1974.
- Katharine Graham. Personal History. 1997

External links


- [http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/EXTARCHIVES/0,,contentMDK:20487099~pagePK:36726~piPK:437378~theSitePK:29506,00.html Biography of Eugene Meyer (website)] Meyer, Eugene Meyer, Eugene Meyer, Eugene Meyer, Eugene Meyer, Eugene Meyer, Eugene

October 31

October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October.

Events


- 475 - Romulus Augustus was proclaimed Roman Emperor.
- 1517 - Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church.
- 1587 - Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.
- 1822 - Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempted to dissolve the Mexican Empire.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.
- 1863 - The Maori Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
- 1864 - Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
- 1892 - Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- 1912 - The Musketeers of Pig Alley, directed by D.W. Griffith, debuts as the first gangster film.
- 1912 - Dominican Republic becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1917 - World War I: Battle of Beersheba - "last successful cavalry charge in history"
- 1922 - Benito Mussolini becomes the youngest Premier in the history of Italy.
- 1923 - 160 consecutive days of 100 degrees at Marble Bar, Australia begins.
- 1926 - Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured.
- 1936 - The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.
- 1938 - Great Depression: In an effort to try restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public.
- 1940 - World War II: Battle of Britain ends - The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Great Britain.
- 1941 - After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore.
- 1941 - World War II: The destroyer USS Reuben James is torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 United States Navy sailors.
- 1941 - American photographer Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico that would become one of the most famous images in the history of photography.
- 1954 - Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
- 1956 - Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
- 1961 - In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Lenin's Tomb.
- 1968 - Vietnam War October surprise:Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.
- 1981 - Lily and James Potter from the Harry Potter novels were killed by Lord Voldemort.
- 1984 - Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards (riots soon broke out in New Delhi and nearly 2,000 innocent Sikhs were killed).
- 1986 - The 5th congress of the Communist Party of Sweden is inaugurated. During the course of the congress the party name is changed to the Solidarity Party and the party ceases to be a communist party.
- 1994 - An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing all 68 on board.
- 1996 - A Brazilian TAM Fokker-100 crashes into several houses in São Paulo, Brazil killing 98 including 2 on the ground.
- 1996 - Jean Chrétien becomes UN special envoy to the African Great Lakes.
- 1997 - 19-year-old British au pair Louise Woodward, convicted by a Cambridge, Massachusetts, jury of second-degree murder the day before, is sentenced to life in prison.
- 1998 - Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
- 1999 - EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board.
- 1999 - Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church leaders sign the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, ending a centuries-old doctrinal dispute over the nature of faith and salvation.
- 2000 - A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 operating as Flight 006 collides with construction equipment upon takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan killing 79 passengers and 4 crew members
- 2000 - A chartered Antonov AN-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50
- 2000 - The last Multics machine was shut down.
- 2002 - A federal grand jury in Houston formally indicted former Enron Corp. chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.
- 2003 - A bankruptcy court approves MCI's reorganization plans, essentially clearing the telecommunications company to exit bankruptcy.
- 2003 - Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia after 22 years in power.
- 2005 - President George W. Bush nominates Appeals court judge Samuel Alito to join the Supreme Court of the United States.
- 2005 - BSkyB starts broadcasting Sky Three on Sky, ntl and Freeview throughout the United Kingdom.
- 2005 - Theo Epstein, the general manager of the Boston Red Sox who helped the team win its first World Series in 86 years, unexpectedly quit during contract negotiations.
- 2005 After 40 years Britanina Airwyas ceases to exist, It is integrated into Tohmsonfly

Births


- 1291 - Philippe de Vitry, French composer (d. 1361)
- 1345 - King Fernando I of Portugal (d. 1383)
- 1391 - King Duarte of Portugal (d. 1438)
- 1424 - King Wladislaus III of Poland (d. 1444)
- 1538 - Caesar Baronius, Italian cardinal and historian (d. 1607)
- 1599 - Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English statesman and writer (d. 1680)
- 1620 - John Evelyn, English diarist (d. 1706)
- 1622 - Pierre Paul Puget, French artist (d. 1694)
- 1632 - (baptism) Johannes Vermeer, Flemish painter (d. 1675)
- 1636 - Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1679)
- 1705 - Pope Clement XIV (d. 1774)
- 1711 - Laura Bassi, Italian scholar (d. 1778)
- 1724 - Christopher Anstey, English writer (d. 1805)
- 1795 - John Keats, British poet (d. 1821)
- 1815 - Karl Weierstraß, German mathematician (d. 1897)
- 1831 - Paolo Mantegazza, Italian neurologist (d. 1910)
- 1835 - Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
- 1860 - Juliette Low, American founder of the Girl Scouts
- 1875 - Eugene Meyer, American businessman and newspaper publisher (d. 1954)
- 1887 - Chiang Kai-shek, Nationalist Chinese leader (d. 1975)
- 1892 - Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player (d. 1946)
- 1895 - Basil Liddell Hart, British military historian (d. 1970)
- 1896 - Ethel Waters, American singer and actress (d. 1977)
- 1912 - Dale Evans, American singer and actress (d. 2001)
- 1917 - Thomas Hill, Canadian actor
- 1918 - Ian Stevenson, American parapsychologist
- 1920 - Dick Francis, Welsh novelist
- 1920 - Helmut Newton, German photographer (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Fritz Walter, German footballer
- 1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1922 - Illinois Jacquet, American saxophonist (d. 2004)
- 1922 - King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
- 1925 - John Anthony Pople, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1927 - Lee Grant, American actress
- 1928 - Cleo Moore, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1929 - Eddie Charlton, Australian snooker player (d. 1994)
- 1930 - Michael Collins, astronaut
- 1931 - Dan Rather, American television journalist
- 1936 - Michael Landon, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1937 - Tom Paxton, American singer
- 1939 - Ron Rifkin, American actor
- 1944 - Kinky Friedman, American musician and novelist
- 1945 - Brian Doyle-Murray, American comedian and actor
- 1946 - Stephen Rea, Irish actor
- 1946 - Norman Lovett, British actor
- 1947 - Deidre Hall, American actress
- 1947 - Frank Shorter, American runner
- 1950 - John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)
- 1950 - Jane Pauley, American news anchor
- 1953 - Michael J. Anderson, American actor
- 1958 - Jeannie Longo, French cyclist
- 1959 - Neal Stephenson, American author
- 1961 - Peter Jackson, New Zealand film director
- 1961 - Larry Mullen, Irish drummer (U2)
- 1961 - Alonzo Babers, American runner
- 1961 - Kate Campbell, American musician
- 1963 - Dunga, Brazilian footballer
- 1963 - Fred McGriff, baseball player
- 1963 - Rob Schneider, American actor
- 1964 - Marco van Basten, Dutch football player
- 1965 - Annabella Lwin, British singer (Bow Wow Wow)
- 1966 - Adam Horovitz, American singer (Beastie Boys)
- 1968 - Antonio Davis, American basketball player
- 1968 - Vanilla Ice, American rapper
- 1970 - Linn Berggren, Swedish singer (Ace of Base)
- 1970 - Rogers Stevens, American guitarist (Blind Melon)
- 1971 - Alphonso Ford, American basketball player (d. 2004)
- 1971 - Ian Walker, English footballer
- 1972 - Shaun Bartlett, South African footballer
- 1974 - Muzzy Izzet, Turkish footballer
- 1980 - Eddie Kaye Thomas, American actor
- 1981 - Irina Denezhkina, Russian writer
- 1981 - Frank Iero, American guitarist (My Chemical Romance)
- 1986 - Christie Hayes, Australian actress

Deaths


- 1147 - Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, English politician
- 1214 - Leonora of England, queen of Alfonso VIII of Castile (b. 1162)
- 1448 - John VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1390)
- 1517 - Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (b. 1472)
- 1659 - John Bradshaw, English judge (b. 1602)
- 1723 - Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1642)
- 1732 - Victor Amadeus II of Savoy (b. 1666)
- 1733 - Eberhard IV Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1676)
- 1744 - Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (b. 1694)
- 1765 - Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, English military leader (b. 1721)
- 1768 - Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (b. 1690)
- 1860 - Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, British admiral (b. 1775)
- 1879 - Jacob Abbott, American author (b. 1803)
- 1916 - Charles Taze Russell, American founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses (b. 1852)
- 1926 - Harry Houdini, Hungarian-born magician (b. 1874)
- 1939 - Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist (b. 1884)
- 1943 - Max Reinhardt, German film director (b. 1873)
- 1983 - George Halas, American football player, coach, and team owner (b. 1895)
- 1984 - Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (b. 1917)
- 1985 - Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor (b. 1913)
- 1986 - Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist and chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1896)
- 1987 - Joseph Campbell, American author and expert on mythology (b. 1904)
- 1988 - John Houseman, Romanian-born actor and director (b. 1902)
- 1991 - Joseph Papp, American theatrical producer (b. 1921)
- 1993 - Federico Fellini, Italian director (b. 1920)
- 1993 - River Phoenix, American actor (drug overdose) (b. 1970)
- 1995 - Rosalind Cash, American actress (b. 1938)
- 1999 - Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (b. 1975)
- 2000 - Ring Lardner, Jr., American screenwriter (b. 1915)
- 2002 - Lionel Poilâne, French baker and entrepreneur (b. 1945)
- 2003 - Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Indian singer (b. 1908)
- 2003 - Dharmsamrat Paramhans Swami Madhavananda, Indian guru (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Richard Neustadt, American political historian (b. 1919)
- 2005 - Mary Wimbush, English actress (b. 1924)
- 2005 - John "Beatz" Holohan, American drummer (Bayside) (b. 1974)

Holidays and observances


- R.C. Saints - October 31 is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints:
  - St. Antoninus
  - St. Arnulf
  - St. Bega
  - St. Notburga
  - St. Quentin
  - St Urban
  - St. Wolfgang
- Also see October 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Protestant Church - Reformation Day: Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the Wittenberg church on this day in 1517
- October 31st is Halloween; also see Samhain (an approximate date)
- Cornwall - Allantide
- Wikipedia - Wikipedia:Tim Starling Day
- Paganism and Celts - Samhain
- October 31st is Nevada Day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/31 BBC: On This Day] ---- October 30 - November 1 - September 30 - November 30 -- listing of all days ko:10월 31일 ms:31 Oktober ja:10月31日 simple:October 31 th:31 ตุลาคม

1875

1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). In the ISO 8601 calendar, 1875 is defined as the year the Convention du Mètre was originally signed, by way of a reference year.

Events

January - April


- January 12 - Kwang-su becomes emperor of China.
- February 27 - Newton Booth, 11th Governor of California resigns, having been elected Senator. Lieutenant Governor of California Romualdo Pacheco becomes acting Governor. He is later replaced by elected governor William Irwin.
- March 3 - The first performance of Bizet’s Carmen at the Opéra Comique, Paris
- March 3 - The first organized indoor game of ice hockey was played between two pick-up teams at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal.

May - August


- May 7 - SS Schiller wrecks on rocks off the Isles of Scilly.
- May 17 - Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby.
- May 20 - Convention du Mètre signed in Paris.
- August 25 - Captain Matthew Webb becomes the first person to swim the English Channel.

September - December


- September 1 - A murder conviction effectively forces the violent Irish anti-owner coal miners, the "Molly Maguires", to disband.
- November 9 - Indian Wars: In Washington, D.C., Indian Inspector E.C. Watkins issues a report stating that hundreds of Sioux and Cheyenne associated with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse are hostile to the United States (the Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought in Montana the next year).
- November 16 - Battle at Gundet - Abyssinean emperor Yohannes beats Egyptians
- December 4 - Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison and flees to Cuba, then Spain.

Unknown date


- Wimbledon: Henry Cavendish Jones convinced the "All England Croquet Club" to replace a croquet court with a lawn tennis court.
- Treaty of Saint Petersburg is signed between Japan and Russia.
- Tong wars begin in San Francisco
- The Theosophical Society was founded in New York by Helena Blavatsky, H. S. Olcott, W. Q. Judge, and others.
- The Arya Samaj was founded in Mumbai by Swami Dayananda.

Births

January


- January 5 - James Stuart Blackton, American film producer (d. 1941)
- January 7 - Thomas J. Hicks, American runner (d. 1963)
- January 9 - Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American sculptor and socialite (d. 1942)
- January 11 - Reinhold Glière, Russian composer (d. 1956)
- January 14 - Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian physician, philosopher, and musician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1965)
- January 15 - Tom Burke, American runner (d. 1929)
- January 22 - D. W. Griffith, American film director (d. 1948)

February


- February 2 - Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (d. 1962)
- February 21 - Jeanne Calment, Oldest person in recorded history (d. 1997)

March


- March 7 - Maurice Ravel, French composer (d. 1937)
- March 26 - Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea (d. 1965)
- March 30 - Jonathan Campbell, American film pioneer (d. 1942)

April


- April 1 - Edgar Wallace, English writer (d. 1932)
- April 2 - Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940)
- April 4 - Pierre Monteux, French conductor (d. 1964)
- April 5 - Mistinguett, French singer (d. 1956)
- April 8 - King Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
- April 15 - James J. Jeffries, American boxer (d. 1953)

May


- May 11 - Harriet Quimby, American pilot (d. 1912)
- May 12 - Krishna Chandra Bhattacharya, Indian philosopher (d. 1949)

June


- June 6 - Thomas Mann, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
- June 12 - Sam De Grasse, Canadian actor (d. 1953)
- June 24 - Diedrich Westermann, German linguist (d. 1956)
- June 28 - Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician (d. 1941)

July


- July 26 - Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1961)
- July 26 - Antonio Machado, Spanish poet (d. 1939)

August


- August 15 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English composer (d. 1912)
- August 21 - Winnifred Eaton, Canadian author (d. 1954)
- August 27 - Katharine McCormick, American suffragist (d. 1967)

September


- September 1 - Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (d. 1950)

October


- October 1 - Eugeen Van Mieghem, Belgian painter (d. 1930)
- October 12 - Aleister Crowley, British occultist (d. 1947)
- October 23 - Gilbert N. Lewis, American chemist (d. 1946)

December


- December 4 - Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet (d. 1926)
- December 5 - Arthur Currie, Canadian military leader (d. 1933)
- December 19 - Mileva Maric, Albert Einstein's first wife (d. 1948)
- December 25 - Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Austrian Catholic cardinal (d. 1955)

Deaths


- January 23 - Charles Kingsley, English writer (b. 1819)
- February 22 - Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, French painter (b. 1796)
- February 22 - Sir Charles Lyell, British geologist (b. 1797)
- March 1 - Tristan Corbière, French poet (b. 1845)
- May 17 - John C. Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States (b. 1821)
- June 3 - Georges Bizet, French composer (b. 1836)
- June 4 - Eduard Mörike, German poet (b. 1804)
- June 25- Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (b. 1796)
- July 30 - George Pickett, American Confederate General (b. 1825)
- July 31 - Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
- August 4 - Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (b. 1805)
- August 10 - Karl Andree, German geographer (b. 1808)
- August 17 - Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist (b. 1827)
- September 22 - Charles Bianconi, Italian-Irish entrepreneur (b. 1786)
- October 10 - Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Russian writer (b. 1817)
- October 12 - Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French sculptor and painter (b. 1827)
- November 22 - Henry Wilson, Vice President of the United States (b. 1812)
- November 24 - William Backhouse Astor, Sr., American businessman (b. 1792) Category:1875 ko:1875년 ms:1875 simple:1875 th:พ.ศ. 2418

July 17

July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 167 days remaining.

Events


- 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa, executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world.
- 1203 - Fourth Crusade captures Constantinople by assault; the Byzantine emperor Alexius III Angelus flees from his capital into exile.
- 1453 - Hundred Years' War: The French under Jean Bureau utterly defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the Battle of Castillon at Gascony
- 1762 - Catherine II becomes tzar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia.
- 1771 - Massacre at Bloody Falls: Chipewyan chief Matonabbee traveling as the guide to Samuel Hearne on his arctic overland journey, massacre a group of unsuspecting Inuit.
- 1791 - Massacre at the Champ de Mars, Paris, during the French Revolution. 1200-1500 people were killed, including women and children.
- 1815 - Napoleonic Wars: In France, Napoleon surrenders at Rochefort, Charente-Maritime to British forces.
- 1816 - The French passenger ship Medusa runs aground off the coast of Senegal. Klondike gold rush begins when first successful prospectors arrive in Seattle, Washington, USA.
- 1898 - Spanish-American War: Battle of Santiago Bay - Troops under United States General William R. Shafter take the city of Santiago de Cuba from the Spanish.
- 1899 - NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.
- 1917 - King George V of the United Kingdom issues a Proclamation stating that the male line descendants of the British royal family will bear the surname Windsor.
- 1933 - After successful crossing of the Atlantic ocean, in Europe under mysterious reasons crashes the Lithuanian research aircraft Lituanica.
- 1936 - Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently-elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the Spanish civil war.
- 1944 - Port Chicago disaster: Near the San Francisco Bay, two ships laden with ammunition for the war explode in Port Chicago, California killing 232.
- 1944 - World War II: The largest convoy of the war embarks from Halifax, Nova Scotia under Royal Canadian Navy protection.
- 1945 - World War II: Potsdam Conference - At Potsdam, the three main Allied leaders begin their final summit of the war. The meeting will end on August 2.
- 1955 - Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California.
- 1962 - Nuclear testing: The "Small Boy" test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site.
- 1975 - Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations.
- 1975 - History of East Timor: East Timor was annexed, and became the 27th province of Indonesia.
- 1979 - Nicaraguan president General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami.
- 1981 - Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: Two skywalks filled with people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri collapse into a crowded atrium lobby killing 114.
- 1984 - Laurent Fabius becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1987 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 2,500 mark for the first time at 2510.04.
- 1995 - The Midwestern heat wave in the United States reaches its peak. Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, among other cities, set all-time high temperature records. The heat claims over 400 lives on this day alone.
- 1995 - The Nasdaq stock index closes above the 1,000 mark for the first time.
- 1996 - Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound Boeing 747 carrying TWA flight 800 explodes, killing all 230 on board.
- 1997 - The F.W. Woolworth Company closes after 117 years in business.
- 1998 - In St. Petersburg, Nicholas II of Russia and his family are buried in St. Catherine Chapel 80 years after he and his family were killed by Bolsheviks.
- 1998 - A tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake destroys 10 villages in Papua New Guinea killing an estimated 1,500, leaving 2,000 more unaccounted for and thousands more homeless.
- 1998 - Biologists report in the journal Science how they sequenced the genome of the bacterium that causes syphilis, Treponema pallidum.

Births


- 1487 - Ismail I, Shah of Persia (d. 1524)
- 1674 - Isaac Watts, English hymnwriter (d. 1748)
- 1698 - Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician (d. 1759)
- 1831 - Xianfeng, Emperor of China (d. 1861)
- 1839 - Ephraim Shay, American inventor (d. 1916
- 1877 - Ernst von Dohnanyi, Hungarian conductor (d. 1960)
- 1888 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
- 1899 - James Cagney, American actor (d. 1986)
- 1899 - Erle Stanley Gardner, American author (d. 1970)
- 1901 - Bruno Jasieński, Polish poet (d. 1938)
- 1912 - Art Linkletter, Canadian television host
- 1917 - Phyllis Diller, American comedian
- 1918 - Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (d. 2003)
- 1920 - Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish chairman of the International Olympic Committee
- 1920 - Kenneth Wolstenholme, English sports commentator (d. 2002)
- 1921 - František Zvarík, Slovakian actor
- 1928 - Vince Guaraldi, American musician and composer (d. 1976)
- 1935 - Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor
- 1935 - Peter Schickele, American composer, author, and radio host, creator of P.D.Q. Bach
- 1938 - Franz Alt, Austrian-born journalist
- 1941 - Spencer Davis, British singer and guitarist (Spencer Davis Group)
- 1941 - Jürgen Flimm, German theatre director and manager
- 1942 - Tim Brooke-Taylor, English comedian
- 1944 - Carlos Alberto, Brazilian football player
- 1947 - Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
- 1949 - Charlie Steiner, American sports broadcaster
- 1952 - David Hasselhoff, American actor and musician
- 1954 - Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
- 1954 - J. Michael Straczynski, American author
- 1960 - Mark Burnett, English-born television producer
- 1960 - Jan Wouters, Dutch football player and manager
- 1963 - Matti Nykänen, Finnish ski jumper
- 1965 - Craig Morgan, American singer
- 1967 - CJ Marsicano, American musician, writer, and journalist
- 1971 - Cory Doctorow, Canadian author and activist
- 1973 - Eric Moulds, American football player
- 1975 - Konnie Huq, English television presenter

Deaths


- 1070 - Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders (b. 1030)
- 1086 - King Canute IV of Denmark
- 1105 - Rashi, French rabbi and commentator (b. 1040)
- 1453 - John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, English military leader
- 1531 - Hosokawa Takakuni, Japanese military commander (b. 1484)
- 1566 - Bartolomé de Las Casas, Spanish priest (b. 1484)
- 1571 - Georg Fabricius, German poet and historian (b. 1516)
- 1588 - Sinan, Ottoman architect (b. 1489)
- 1645 - Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, Scottish politician
- 1704 - Pierre-Charles Le Sueur, French fur trader and explorer
- 1709 - Robert Bolling, English settler in Virginia (b. 1646)
- 1790 - Adam Smith, Scottish economist and philosopher (b. 1723)
- 1791 - Martin Dobrizhoffer, Austrian Jesuit missionary (b. 1717)
- 1793 - Charlotte Corday, French aristocrat and murderer (b. 1768)
- 1794 - John Roebuck, English inventor (b. 1718)
- 1878 - Aleardo Aleardi, Italian poet (b. 1812)
- 1887 - Dorothea Dix, American social activist (b. 1802)
- 1894 - Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist (b. 1810)
- 1912 - Henri Poincaré, French mathematician (b. 1854)
- 1917 - Hector Malot, French writer (b. 1830)
- 1918 (N.S.) - Family of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (b. 1868)
  - Tsarina Alexandra of Russia (b. 1872)
  - Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1895)
  - Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1897)
  - Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1899)
  - Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1901)
  - Tsarevich Alexei of Russia (b. 1904)
- 1928 - Giovanni Giolitti, Italian statesman (b. 1842)
- 1959 - Billie Holiday, American singer (b. 1915)
- 1959 - Eugene Meyer, American businessman and newspaper publisher (b. 1875)
- 1961 - Ty Cobb, baseball player (b. 1886)
- 1967 - John Coltrane, American musician (b. 1926)
- 1975 - Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian writer and public benefactor (b. 1893)
- 1980 - Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician (b. 1890)
- 1995 - Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1911)
- 2001 - Katharine Graham, American publisher (b. 1917)
- 2003 - David Kelly, Welsh UN weapons inspector (b. 1944)
- 2003 - Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (b. 1914)
- 2004 - Pat Roach, English professional wrestler and actor (b. 1937)
- 2005 - Sir Edward Heath, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
- 2005 - Joe Vialls, Australian writer

Holidays and observances


- Iraq - Ba'ath Revolution Day
- Puerto Rico - Luis Muñoz Rivera's Birthday
- South Korea - Constitution Day
- Various mathematics departments - Yellow Pig's Day
- Kyoto, Japan - Gion Matsuri
- Feast Day of St Cynllo

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/17 BBC: On This Day] ---- July 16 - July 18 - June 16 - August 18 -- listing of all days ko:7월 17일 ms:17 Julai ja:7月17日 simple:July 17 th:17 กรกฎาคม

Katharine Graham

Katharine Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was the head of The Washington Post newspaper for more than two decades, overseeing its most famous period, the Watergate coverage that helped bring down President Richard Nixon. She has been widely described as one of the most powerful American women of the 20th century. Graham was the subject of one of the most famous threats in American journalism history. It occurred in 1972, when Nixon's Attorney General, John Mitchell, warned reporter Carl Bernstein about a forthcoming article: "Katie Graham's gonna get her tit caught in a big fat wringer if that's published."

Early life

Graham's father, Eugene Meyer, was a millionaire financier and, subsequently, a government executive, who bought The Washington Post in 1933 at a bankruptcy auction. Graham attended Vassar before transferring to the University of Chicago. She began working for the Post in 1938, after a short period at a San Francisco newspaper. On June 5, 1940, she married Philip Graham, a graduate of Harvard Law School and a clerk for Stanley Reed and later Felix Frankfurter, both of the U.S. Supreme Court. During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a private (1942), rising to the rank of major. She followed him on military assignments to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania up until 1945, when he went to the Pacific theatre as an intelligence officer of the Far East Air Force. Their first baby died at birth. Four children followed: Elizabeth ('Lally') Morris Graham, now Weymouth, born on July 3, 1943; Donald Edward Graham, April 22, 1945; William Welsh Graham (1948), and Stephen Meyer Graham (1952). Graham left the Post in 1945, with the birth of Donald, to raise her family.

Ownership of the Washington Post

Her husband became publisher of the Post in 1946, and continued in that position and then as the head of the Washington Post Company as it expanded into television and purchased Newsweek magazine. When he committed suicide in 1963, she abruptly had to take the newspaper and the company. Despite having little management experience, she was publisher of the newspaper from 1969 to 1979, and chairman of the board from 1973 to 1991. Her son, Donald Graham, was publisher from 1979 to 2000.

Other

Graham is the sister-in-law of Bob Graham, who was Governor of Florida and a long-time U.S. Senator. Her daughter Lally Weymouth is a prominent conservative journalist. In 1997, Graham published her memoirs, Personal History. The book, praised for its honest portrayal of Philip Graham's mental illness as well as her struggles to cope in a male-dominated business world, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998. Graham died in Boise, Idaho at the age of eighty-four following a very bad fall, and her funeral took place at the Washington National Cathedral.

Close ties to power

Despite its Watergate work and publication of the "Pentagon Papers", which damaged the credibility of the Nixon administration, the Post often followed an establishment line. This was a result - and largely a reflection - of the close relations between the Grahams and the nation's elites. In her 1997 autobiography, Graham comments at many points about how close her husband was to politicians of his day (he was instrumental, for example, in getting Lyndon Johnson to be the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee in 1960), and how such personal closeness with politicians later became unacceptable in journalism. In 1988, Graham gave a speech at the CIA's Langley, Virginia headquarters, and told agency leaders: :We live in a dirty and dangerous world. There are some things the general public does not need to know and shouldn't. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows. (source: Regardie's Magazine1/90) [http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1374] Graham, Katharine Meyer Graham, Katharine Meyer Graham, Katharine Meyer Graham, Katharine Graham Graham, Katharine Graham, Katharine

Los Angeles, California

The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish; Los Ángeles, ) also known simply as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the world's most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. It was incorporated as a city in California on April 4, 1850, when the city's population was only 1,610, and is the county seat of Los Angeles County. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 3,694,820, but a May 1, 2005 California Department of Finance estimate shows the city's population at 3,957,875, with the metropolitan area at 17,545,623. The city is also large by geographic standards since it sprawls over more than 465 square miles (1200 square kilometers), making it physically larger than New York City and Chicago. In addition, Los Angeles hosted two Olympic Games (in 1932 and 1984) and is home to world-renowned scientific and cultural institutions. The city is one of the biggest entry points for immigrants to the United States, making it one of the most culturally diverse places in the world. People are attracted to the city for its warm weather, its vibrant lifestyle, its unique energy, and the opportunity to realize the "American Dream."

History

The Los Angeles coastal area was occupied by the Tongva, Chumash, and even earlier Native American peoples for thousands of years. The Spanish arrived in 1542, when Juan Cabrillo visited the area. In 1769, the Spanish returned to California to stay. Father Juan Crespi described a "beautiful river", which the explorers named in Spanish "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula", English: "The Village of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Porciuncula River". The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was founded in 1771, thus establishing a permanent presence in the area and securing Spanish territory. territory On September 4, 1781, settlers from the San Gabriel Mission founded the town and named it after the river, but used a slighly shorter version. The official name was El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles, "The Town of the Queen of the Angels", showing Franciscan affiliation. It remained a small mission and ranch town for decades. Mexican independence from Spain was achieved in the 1820s, but the greatest change took place in present-day Montebello after the Battle of Rio San Gabriel in 1847, which decided the fate of Los Angeles. Yankees gained control after they flooded into California during the Gold Rush and secured the subsequent admission of California into the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a city in 1850. Railroads arrived when the Southern Pacific completed its line to Los Angeles in 1876. Oil was discovered in 1892, and by 1923, Los Angeles was supplying one-quarter of the world's petroleum. Even more important to the city's growth was water. In 1913, William Mulholland completed the aqueduct that assured the city's growth and led to the annexation by the City of Los Angeles, starting in 1915, of dozens of neighboring communities without water supplies of their own. A somewhat fictionalized account of the Owens Valley Water War can be found in the motion picture Chinatown. In the 1920s the motion picture and aviation industries both flocked to Los Angeles and helped to further develop it. The city was the proud host of the 1932 Summer Olympics. World War II brought new growth and prosperity to the city, although many of its Japanese-American residents were transported to internment camps for the duration of the war. This period also saw the arrival of the German exiles, which included such notables as Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht and Lion Feuchtwanger. The postwar years saw an even greater boom as urban sprawl expanded into the San Fernando Valley. The Watts riots in 1965 reminded the country of the deep racial divisions that even the nation's youngest city faced. The XXIII Olympiad was successfully hosted in Los Angeles in 1984. The city was once again tested by the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. A city-wide vote on San Fernando Valley and Hollywood secession was defeated in 2002.

Geography and climate

Geography

2002 According to the United States Census Bureau,the city has a total area of 1,290.6 km² (498.3 mi²). 1,214.9 km² (469.1 mi²) of it is land and 75.7 km² (29.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.86% water. The extreme north-south distance is 44 miles (71 km), the extreme east-west distance is 29 miles (47 km), and the length of the city boundary is 342 miles (550 km). The land area is the 9th largest in the Lower-48th of United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). The highest point in Los Angeles is Sister Elsie Peak (5,080 feet) at the far reaches of the northeastern San Fernando Valley, part of Mt. Lukens. The Los Angeles River is a short, largely seasonal river flowing through the city, with headwaters in San Fernando Valley. Its length is almost entirely lined in concrete. The Los Angeles area is remarkably rich in native plant species. With its beaches, dunes, wetlands, hills, mountains, and rivers, the area contains a number of important biological communities. The largest area is coastal sage scrub, which covers the hillsides in combustible chaparral. Native plants include: California poppy, matilija poppy, toyon, coast live oak, giant wild rye grass, and hundreds of others. Unfortunately, many native species are so rare as to be endangered, such as the Los Angeles sunflower. There are many exotic flowers and flowering trees that are blooming year-round, with subtle colors, including the jacaranda, hibiscus, phlox, bougainvillea, coral tree blossoms and bird of paradise. If there were no city here, flower-growing could still flourish as an industry, as it does in Lompoc. Wisteria has been known to grow to house-lot size, and in Descanso Gardens there are forests of camellia trees. Orchids require special attention in this Mediterranean climate.

Cityscape

Mediterranean climate Mediterranean climate The city is divided into many neighborhoods. Most of the neighborhood names come from farm towns that were annexed by the growing city, physical terrain features, major streets, or subdivision names coined by enterprising developers. These divisions have no legal status but are of significance to residents for cultural and financial reasons. Signs have been placed on major thoroughfares designating some of the communities, a practice going back decades. (The "neighborhood councils" of Los Angeles began in 1999 and often follow different borders).

Climate

Mediterranean climate The city is situated in a Mediterranean climate or subtropical zone, experiencing mild, wet winters and warm to hot, dry summers. Onshore breezes keep the beach communities of Los Angeles and San Diego cooler in summer and warmer in winter than those further inland. Temperatures in the summer can get well over 90 °F (32 °C) and smog can become a problem. Average Summer day time highs are 85 °F (29 °C), with overnight lows of 66 °F (18 °C). Winter day time high temperatures get up to around 67 °F (19 °C, with overnight lows of 48 °F (8 °C) and rain is a possibility. Generally the weather is warm and dry in all seasons, with 325 days of sunshine a year. The median temperature in January is 58.3 °F (14.6 °C) and 74.3 °F (23.5 °C) in July. The highest temperature recorded within city borders was 116.0 °F (46.7 °C) at Canoga Park in 1985; the lowest temperature recorded was 18.0°F (−7.8 °C) in 1989, also at Canoga Park. The highest temperature ever recorded for Downtown Los Angeles was 112.0 °F (44.4 °C) on June 26 1990, and the lowest temperature ever recorded was 28.0 °F (−2.2 °C) on January 4 1949. Accumulating snowfall is a once in a lifetime event. There has been three recorded instances of snowfall in the city; two inches (5 cm) of snow fell in 1932 and the last snowfall occurred in 1949. Rain occurs mainly in the winter and spring months (February being the wettest month) with great variations in storm severity year by year. Los Angeles averages 13-16 inches (330 to 410 mm) of rain per year.

Pollution

1949Due to the city's geography as well as the population's heavy reliance on automobiles as a major form of transportation, the city suffers from severe air pollution in the form of smog. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley hold in the fumes from automobiles, diesel trucks, shipping, and locomotive engines, as well as manufacturing and other sources. In addition, the groundwater is increasingly threatened by MTBE from gas stations and perchlorate from rocket fuel. Some consider urban sprawl to be a result of the city's transportation system. Light pollution is also a problem.

Seismic activity

Like most areas of California, Los Angeles is subject to frequent earthquakes, due to the close proximity of the San Andreas Fault, as well as the smaller San Jacinto Fault and Banning Fault, in southern California. Most earthquakes are relatively minor, however, throughout history there are several major earthquakes. The most recent was the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which was centered in the northern San Fernando Valley. Coming less than two years after the L.A. riots, the Northridge earthquake was a severe emotional shock to Southern Californians, in addition to causing physical damage worth billions of dollars. Other major earthquakes include the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake and the 1971 Sylmar earthquake.

People and culture

Demographics

Sylmar earthquake

Census 2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,694,820 people, 1,275,412 households, and 798,407 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,041.3/km² (7,876.8/mi²). There were 1,337,706 housing units at an average density of 1,101.1/km² (2,851.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.93% White, 11.24% African American, 0.80% Native American, 15.89% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 25.70% from other races, and 5.18% from two or more races. 46.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race and 29.75% White, not of Latino/Hispanic origins. There were 1,275,412 households of which 33.5% had children under 18, 41.9% were married couples, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 28.5% of households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size 3.56. The age distribution was: 26.6% under 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males. The median income for a household was $36,687, and for a family was $39,942. Males had a median income of $31,880, females $30,197. The per capita income was $20,671. 22.1% of the population and 18.3% of families were below the poverty line. 30.3% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those aged 65 or older were below the poverty line.

Other demographics

Of 2,182,114 native people, 1,485,576 were born in California, 663,746 were born in a different state of the United States of America, and 31,792 were born in a United States territory (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas). Of 1,512,720 foreign born people, 100,252 were born in Europe, 376,767 were born in Asia, 20,730 were born in Africa, 4,104 were born in Oceania, 996,996 were born in Latin America, and 13,859 were born in Northern America. Of such foreign-born people, 569,771 entered between 1990 to March 2000. 509,841 are naturalized citizens and 1,002,879 are not citizens. The people of Los Angeles are known as Angelenos. L.A. can truly be described as a "world city" (Alpha World City) — that is, it has one of the largest and most diverse populations of any municipality anywhere. The Hispanic and Asian American populations are growing particularly quickly — the Asian American population is the second largest of any city in the U.S. Los Angeles hosts the largest populations of Armenians, Cambodians, Filipino, Guatemalans, Israelis, Koreans, Salvadorans, Thais, Mexicans, and Hungarians outside of their respective countries. Los Angeles is also home to the largest populations of Japanese and Persians (Iranians) living in the U.S., and has one of the largest Native American populations in the country. L.A. is home to people from more than 140 countries, who speak at least 224 different languages. Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Koreatown, Little India (Artesia), Little Armenia, Thai Town, Historic Filipinotown and Little Ethiopia give testimony to the polyglot character of Los Angeles.

Crime

The COMPSTAT unit of the Los Angeles Police Department tabulates Part I offenses (violent and property crimes) committed in the city. Los Angeles has been experiencing significant decline in Part I offenses since the mid 1990s hitting a record low in 2004. Criminality peaked in 1992 with 72,667 recorded acts of violence (1,096 homicides) and 245,129 recorded property crimes. In 2004, there were 31,245 recorded violent crimes of which 518 were homicides. The distribution of homicides in the city is uneven with nearly half of such crimes occurring in the four stations of the South Bureau of the LAPD encompassing South Los Angeles and the Harbor area. A further quarter occur in the areas covered by the Central Bureau which covers Downtown and its environs. Property crimes were three times more common than violent crimes; 90,374 were recorded in 2004. When compared to other large cities, Los Angeles fares relatively well with a total crime index lower than San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston. Many movies and songs about Los Angeles depict the notion that the city is home to a large number of gangsters and professional criminals. According to a May 2001 Drug Threat Assessment by the National Drug Intelligence Center [http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs0/668/overview.htm], Los Angeles County is home to 152,000 gang members organized into 1,350 gangs. In Los Angeles, car chases happen more often than in most other major cities (sometimes several per week). The city's complex freeway system allows for lengthier pursuits, which may take them throughout the city. Other common crimes include: car-to-car shootings (see road rage), drive-by shootings, thrill killings, hit-and-run accidents, and carjackings. Numerous instances of all these crimes are documented on the LAPD press release Web site [http://www.lapdonline.org/portal/generic.php?page=/press_releases/press_releases.php]. One interesting example is a report on ten freeway shootings within two months [http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4449599/detail.html]. Also, Los Angeles has been a popular setting for several crime-based video games, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (which features Los Santos, a city largely based on the Los Angeles metropolitan area) and True Crime: Streets of LA (which takes place in a close replica of the Los Angeles area).

Arts and entertainment

True Crime: Streets of LA Los Angeles is sometimes considered the entertainment capital of the world. It shares the title of the cultural capital of the United States with New York City. Its largest entertainment industry is film production, but it is an important center for music, art, and architecture as well. As a major global metropolis, Los Angeles has evolved a unique culture and that is well-portrayed in popular media and is sometimes idealized as highly desirable. However, this culture has also inspired criticism that it is not really a unique culture, although most believe the contrary. Residents of the city of Los Angeles are served by the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and its branch locations. Residents of the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and various cities within the county are served by the County of Los Angeles Public Library The LAPL is funded by voter-approved bond and tax levy packages. The Main Library is located in downtown Los Angeles and has been recognized as a National Historic Site.

Media

The major daily newspaper in the area is T