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Edmund

September 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day, Uncategorized /
  • 48 BC – Pompey is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy upon arriving in Egypt.
  • 235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He is exiled to the mines of Sardinia, along with Hippolytus of Rome.
  • 351 – Constantius II defeats the usurper Magnentius.
  • 365 – Roman usurper Procopius bribes two legions passing by Constantinople, and proclaims himself emperor.
  • 935 – Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia is murdered by a group of nobles led by his brother Boleslaus I, who succeeds him.
  • 995 – Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia, kills most members of the rival Slavník dynasty.
  • 1066 – William the Conqueror lands in England, beginning the Norman conquest.
  • 1106 – King Henry I of England defeats his brother, Robert Curthose.
  • 1238 – King James I of Aragon conquers Valencia from the Moors. Shortly thereafter, he proclaims himself king of Valencia.
  • 1322 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf.
  • 1538 – Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Navy scores a decisive victory over a Holy League fleet in the Battle of Preveza.
  • 1542 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo of Portugal arrives at what is now San Diego, California.
  • 1779 – American Revolution: Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.
  • 1781 – American Revolution: American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown.
  • 1787 – The Congress of the Confederation votes to send the newly-written United States Constitution to the state legislatures for approval.
  • 1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is drafted. It will be made public on 13 October.
  • 1844 – Oscar I of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
  • 1867 – Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, having also been the capital of Ontario’s predecessors since 1796.
  • 1868 – The Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France.
  • 1871 – The Brazilian Parliament passes a law that frees all children thereafter born to slaves, and all government-owned slaves.
  • 1889 – The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter.
  • 1892 – The first night game for American football takes place in a contest between Wyoming Seminary and Mansfield State Normal.
  • 1893 – Foundation of the Portuguese football club FC Porto.
  • 1901 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas kill more than forty American soldiers while losing 28 of their own.
  • 1912 – The Ulster Covenant is signed by some 500,000 Ulster Protestant Unionists in opposition to the Third Irish Home Rule Bill.
  • 1912 – Corporal Frank S. Scott of the United States Army becomes the first enlisted man to die in an airplane crash.
  • 1918 – World War I: The Fifth Battle of Ypres begins.
  • 1919 – Race riots begin in Omaha, Nebraska.
  • 1924 – The first aerial circumnavigation is completed by a team from the US Army.
  • 1928 – Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.
  • 1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland.
  • 1939 – World War II: The siege of Warsaw comes to an end.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Drama uprising against the Bulgarian occupation in northern Greece begins.
  • 1941 – Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat .400 or better.
  • 1944 – World War II: Soviet Army troops liberate Klooga concentration camp in Estonia.
  • 1951 – CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later.
  • 1961 – A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.
  • 1970 – Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser dies of a heart attack in Cairo.
  • 1971 – The Parliament of the UK passes the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, banning the medicinal use of cannabis.
  • 1973 – The ITT Building in New York City is bombed in protest at ITT’s alleged involvement in the coup d’état in Chile.
  • 1975 – The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London.
  • 1986 – The Democratic Progressive Party becomes the first opposition party in Taiwan.
  • 1991 – The Strategic Air Command stands down from alert all ICBMs scheduled for deactivation under START I, as well as its strategic bomber force.
  • 1992 – A Pakistan International Airlines flight crashes into a hill in Nepal, killing all 167 passengers and crew.
  • 1994 – The cruise ferry MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.
  • 1995 – Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of the Comoros in a coup.
  • 1995 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat sign the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
  • 2000 – Al-Aqsa Intifada: Ariel Sharon visits Al-Aqsa Mosque known to Jews as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
  • 2008 – Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid-fuel ground-launched vehicle to put a payload into orbit.
  • 2009 – The military junta leading Guinea attacks a protest rally, killing or wounding 1400 people.
  • 2012 – Somali and African Union forces launch a coordinated assault on the Somali port of Kismayo to take back the city from al-Shabaab militants.
  • 2014 – The 2014 Hong Kong protests begin in response to restrictive political reforms imposed by the NPC in Beijing.
  • 2016 – The 2016 South Australian blackout occurs, lasting up to three days in some areas.
  • 2018 – The 7.5 Mw 2018 Sulawesi earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami, leaves 4,340 dead and 10,679 injured.
  • 2018 – On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the international project Tree of Peace was established (September, 28). One of the trees was planted personally by Zuzana Čaputová, President of the Slovak Republic.

Births on September 28

  • 551 BC – Confucius, Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. (d. 479 BC)
  • 616 – Javanshir, King of Caucasian Albania (d. 680)
  • 1494 – Agnolo Firenzuola, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1545)
  • 1555 – Henri de La Tour d’Auvergne, Marshal of France (d. 1623)
  • 1573 – Théodore de Mayerne, Swiss physician (d. 1654)
  • 1605 – Ismaël Bullialdus, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1694)
  • 1681 – Johann Mattheson, German composer, lexicographer, and diplomat (d. 1764)
  • 1705 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1774)
  • 1705 – Johann Peter Kellner, German organist and composer (d. 1772)
  • 1735 – Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1811)
  • 1746 – William Jones, English-Welsh philologist and scholar (d. 1794)
  • 1765 – Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (d. 1814)
  • 1803 – Prosper Mérimée, French archaeologist, historian, and author (d. 1870)
  • 1809 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (d. 1899)
  • 1819 – Narcís Monturiol, Spanish engineer and publisher (d. 1885)
  • 1821 – Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, American minister and politician (d. 1874)
  • 1823 – Alexandre Cabanel, French painter and educator (d. 1889)
  • 1824 – Francis Turner Palgrave, English poet and critic (d. 1897)
  • 1836 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber, invented the ballcock (d. 1910)
  • 1838 – Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian national saint (d. 1918)
  • 1841 – Georges Clemenceau, French journalist, physician, and politician, 85th Prime Minister of France (d. 1929)
  • 1844 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
  • 1852 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
  • 1852 – Isis Pogson, British astronomer and meteorologist (d. 1945)
  • 1856 – Kate Douglas Wiggin, American author and educator (d. 1923)
  • 1860 – Paul Ulrich Villard, French chemist and physicist (d. 1934)
  • 1861 – Amélie of Orléans, queen consort of Portugal (d. 1951)
  • 1867 – Hiranuma Kiichirō, Japanese lawyer and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1952)
  • 1867 – James Edwin Campbell, American poet, editor, short story writer and educator (d. 1896)
  • 1868 – Evelyn Beatrice Hall, English writer best known for her biography of Voltaire, and wrote under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre (d. 1956)
  • 1877 – Albert Young, American boxer and promoter (d. 1940)
  • 1878 – Joseph Ruddy, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1962)
  • 1870 – Florent Schmitt, French composer and critic (d. 1958)
  • 1881 – Pedro de Cordoba, American actor (d. 1950)
  • 1882 – Mart Saar, Estonian organist and composer (d. 1963)
  • 1885 – Emil Väre, Finnish wrestler, coach, and referee (d. 1974)
  • 1887 – Avery Brundage, American businessman, 5th President of the International Olympic Committee (d. 1975)
  • 1889 – Jack Fournier, American baseball player and coach (d. 1973)
  • 1890 – Florence Violet McKenzie, Australian electrical engineer (d. 1982)
  • 1892 – Elmer Rice, American playwright (d. 1967)
  • 1893 – Hilda Geiringer, Austrian mathematician (d. 1973)
  • 1893 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 1984)
  • 1898 – Carl Clauberg, German Nazi physician (d. 1957)
  • 1900 – Isabel Pell, American socialite, fought as part of the French Resistance during WWII (d. 1951)
  • 1901 – William S. Paley, American broadcaster, founded CBS (d. 1990)
  • 1901 – Ed Sullivan, American television host (d. 1974)
  • 1903 – Haywood S. Hansell, American general (d. 1988)
  • 1905 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (d. 2005)
  • 1907 – Heikki Savolainen, Finnish gymnast and physician (d. 1997)
  • 1907 – Bhagat Singh, Indian activist (d. 1931)
  • 1909 – Al Capp, American author and illustrator (d. 1979)
  • 1910 – Diosdado Macapagal, Filipino lawyer and politician, 9th President of the Philippines (d. 1997)
  • 1910 – Wenceslao Vinzons, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 1942)
  • 1913 – Warja Honegger-Lavater, Swiss illustrator (d. 2007)
  • 1913 – Alice Marble, American tennis player (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American refugee and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1915 – Ethel Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
  • 1916 – Peter Finch, English-Australian actor (d. 1977)
  • 1916 – Olga Lepeshinskaya, Ukrainian-Russian ballerina and educator (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Ángel Labruna, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
  • 1918 – Arnold Stang, American actor (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Doris Singleton, American actress (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Larry Munson, American sportscaster (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Tuli Kupferberg, American singer, poet, and writer (d. 2010)
  • 1923 – John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch, Scottish captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Selkirkshire (d. 2007)
  • 1923 – William Windom, American actor (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Rudolf Barshai, Russian-Swiss viola player and conductor (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – Marcello Mastroianni, Italian-French actor and singer (d. 1996)
  • 1925 – Seymour Cray, American computer scientist, founded the CRAY Computer Company (d. 1996)
  • 1925 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (d. 1991)
  • 1925 – Martin David Kruskal, American physicist and mathematician (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Jerry Clower, American soldier, comedian, and author (d. 1998)
  • 1928 – Koko Taylor, American singer (d. 2009)
  • 1929 – Lata Mangeshkar, Indian playback singer and composer
  • 1930 – Tommy Collins, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1930 – Immanuel Wallerstein, American sociologist, author, and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Jeremy Isaacs, Scottish screenwriter and producer
  • 1932 – Víctor Jara, Chilean singer-songwriter, poet, and director (d. 1973)
  • 1933 – Joe Benton, English soldier and politician
  • 1933 – Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor and educator (d. 2006)
  • 1933 – Johnny “Country” Mathis, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1934 – Brigitte Bardot, French actress
  • 1935 – Bruce Crampton, Australian golfer
  • 1935 – David Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick, English diplomat, British Permanent Representative to the United Nations
  • 1935 – Ronald Lacey, English actor (d. 1991)
  • 1936 – Emmett Chapman, American guitarist, invented the Chapman Stick
  • 1936 – Eddie Lumsden, Australian rugby league player (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Robert Wolders, Dutch television actor (d. 2018)
  • 1937 – Alice Mahon, English trade union leader and politician
  • 1937 – Glenn Sutton, American country music songwriter and record producer (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – Stuart Kauffman, American biologist and academic
  • 1941 – David Lewis, American philosopher and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1941 – Edmund Stoiber, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Bavaria
  • 1942 – Pierre Clémenti, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1942 – Edward “Little Buster” Forehand, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1943 – Warren Lieberfarb, American businessman
  • 1943 – George W. S. Trow, American novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 2006)
  • 1943 – Nick St. Nicholas, German-Canadian bass player
  • 1944 – Richie Karl, American golfer
  • 1944 – Marcia Muller, American journalist and author
  • 1945 – Marielle Goitschel, French skier
  • 1945 – Manolis Rasoulis, Greek singer-songwriter and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1945 – Fusako Shigenobu, Japanese activist, founded the Japanese Red Army
  • 1946 – Tom Bower, English journalist and author
  • 1946 – Majid Khan, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
  • 1947 – Bob Carr, Australian journalist and politician, 37th Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1947 – Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi politician, 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
  • 1947 – Jon Snow, English journalist and academic
  • 1947 – Rhonda Hughes, American mathematician and academic
  • 1949 – Jim Henshaw, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1950 – Paul Burgess, English drummer
  • 1950 – Christina Hoff Sommers, American author and philosopher
  • 1950 – John Sayles, American novelist, director, and screenwriter
  • 1951 – Jim Diamond, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2015)
  • 1952 – Christopher Buckley, American satirical novelist
  • 1952 – Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1952 – Sylvia Kristel, Dutch model and actress (d. 2012)
  • 1952 – Andy Ward, English drummer
  • 1953 – Otmar Hasler, Liechtensteiner educator and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
  • 1954 – Steve Largent, American football player and politician
  • 1954 – George Lynch, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1954 – John Scott, English rugby player
  • 1954 – Margot Wallström, Swedish politician and diplomat, 42nd Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • 1955 – Stéphane Dion, Canadian sociologist and politician, 15th Canadian Minister of the Environment
  • 1955 – Mercy Manci, Xhosa sangoma and HIV activist from South Africa
  • 1955 – Kenny Kirkland, American pianist (d. 1998)
  • 1956 – Martha Isabel Fandiño Pinilla, Colombian-Italian mathematician and author
  • 1957 – Bill Cassidy, American politician and physician
  • 1959 – Ron Fellows, Canadian race car driver
  • 1959 – Laura Bruce, American artist
  • 1960 – Gary Ayres, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1960 – Tom Byrum, American golfer
  • 1960 – Frank Hammerschlag, German footballer and manager
  • 1960 – Gus Logie, Trinidadian cricketer
  • 1960 – Kamlesh Patel, Baron Patel of Bradford, English politician
  • 1960 – Jennifer Rush, American singer-songwriter
  • 1960 – Socrates Villegas, Filipino archbishop
  • 1961 – Helen Grant, English lawyer and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
  • 1961 – Gregory Jbara, American actor and singer
  • 1961 – Quentin Kawānanakoa, American lawyer and politician
  • 1961 – Anne White, American tennis player
  • 1962 – Grant Fuhr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1962 – Laurie Rinker, American golfer
  • 1962 – Dietmar Schacht, German footballer and manager
  • 1962 – Chuck Taylor, American journalist
  • 1963 – Steve Blackman, American wrestler and martial artist
  • 1963 – Érik Comas, French race car driver
  • 1963 – Greg Weisman, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Claudio Borghi, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Gregor Fisken, Scottish race car driver
  • 1964 – Janeane Garofalo, American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Paul Jewell, English footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Mārtiņš Roze, Latvian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1966 – Scott Adams, American football player (d. 2013)
  • 1966 – Maria Canals-Barrera, Cuban-American actress
  • 1966 – Puri Jagannadh, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Mira Sorvino, American actress
  • 1967 – Moon Zappa, American actress and author
  • 1968 – Francois Botha, South African boxer and mixed martial artist
  • 1968 – Mika Häkkinen, Finnish race car driver
  • 1968 – Trish Keenan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
  • 1968 – Sean Levert, American R&B singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1968 – Rob Moroso, American race car driver (d. 1990)
  • 1968 – Naomi Watts, English-Australian actress and producer
  • 1969 – Kerri Chandler, electronic music producer and DJ
  • 1969 – Marcel Dost, Dutch decathlete
  • 1969 – Ben Greenman, American journalist and author
  • 1969 – Piper Kerman, American author and memoirist
  • 1969 – Éric Lapointe, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1969 – Sascha Maassen, German race car driver
  • 1969 – Angus Robertson, Scottish politician
  • 1969 – Nico Vaesen, Belgian footballer
  • 1970 – Kimiko Date-Krumm, Japanese tennis player
  • 1970 – Mike DeJean, American baseball player
  • 1970 – Gualter Salles, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1971 – Joseph Arthur, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1971 – George Eustice, English lawyer and politician
  • 1971 – Braam van Straaten, South African rugby player
  • 1971 – Alan Wright, English footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Dita Von Teese, American model and dancer
  • 1973 – Brian Rafalski, American ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Marco Di Loreto, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Mariya Kiselyova, Russian swimmer
  • 1974 – Joonas Kolkka, Finnish footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Shane Webcke, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1975 – Stuart Clark, Australian cricketer and manager
  • 1975 – Isamu Jordan, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1975 – Lenny Krayzelburg, Russian-American swimmer
  • 1976 – Fedor Emelianenko, Russian mixed martial artist and politician
  • 1977 – Ireneusz Marcinkowski, Polish footballer
  • 1977 – Pak Se-ri, South Korean golfer
  • 1977 – Young Jeezy, American rapper
  • 1978 – Ben Edmondson, Australian cricketer
  • 1979 – Bam Margera, American skateboarder, actor, and stuntman
  • 1979 – Taki Tsan, American-Greek rapper and producer
  • 1980 – Marlon Parmer, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Greg Anderson, American pianist and composer
  • 1981 – Willy Caballero, Argentine footballer
  • 1981 – José Calderón, Spanish basketball player
  • 1981 – Jorge Guagua, Ecuadorian footballer
  • 1981 – Iracema Trevisan, Brazilian bass player
  • 1982 – Aleksandr Anyukov, Russian footballer
  • 1982 – Abhinav Bindra, Indian target shooter
  • 1982 – Ray Emery, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2018)
  • 1982 – Ranbir Kapoor, Indian actor and director
  • 1982 – Nolwenn Leroy, French singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1982 – Emeka Okafor, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Dustin Penner, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Aivar Rehemaa, Estonian skier
  • 1982 – Anderson Varejão, Brazilian basketball player
  • 1982 – St. Vincent, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1983 – Stefan Moore, English footballer
  • 1983 – John Schwalger, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1984 – Jenny Omnichord, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Luke Pomersbach, Australian cricketer
  • 1984 – Naim Terbunja, Kosovan-Swedish boxer
  • 1984 – Melody Thornton, American singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1984 – Mathieu Valbuena, French footballer
  • 1984 – Ryan Zimmerman, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Shindong, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1985 – Alina Ibragimova, Russian-English violinist
  • 1986 – Andrés Guardado, Mexican footballer
  • 1986 – Meskerem Legesse, Ethiopian runner (d. 2013)
  • 1986 – Dominic Waters, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Pierre Becken, German footballer
  • 1987 – Gary Deegan, Irish footballer
  • 1987 – Hilary Duff, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1987 – Chloë Hanslip, English violinist
  • 1987 – Viktoria Leks, Estonian high jumper
  • 1988 – Marin Čilić, Croatian tennis player
  • 1988 – Esmée Denters, Dutch singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Aleks Vrteski, Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Worakls, French DJ and electronic musician
  • 1989 – Çağla Büyükakçay, Turkish tennis player
  • 1989 – Darius Johnson-Odom, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Mark Randall, English footballer
  • 1990 – Phoenix Battye, Australian rugby player
  • 1992 – Khem Birch, Canadian professional basketball player
  • 1992 – Adam Thompson, English-Northern Irish footballer
  • 1992 – Kōko Tsurumi, Japanese gymnast
  • 1993 – Jodie Williams, English sprinter
  • 1995 – Jason Williams, English footballer

Deaths on September 28

  • 48 BC – Pompey, Roman general and politician (b. 106 BC)
  • 782 – Leoba, Anglo-Saxon nun
  • 935 – Wenceslaus I, duke of Bohemia
  • 980 – Minamoto no Hiromasa, Japanese nobleman (b. 918)
  • 1197 – Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1165)
  • 1213 – Gertrude of Merania, queen consort of Hungaria (b. 1185)
  • 1330 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (b. 1292)
  • 1429 – Cymburgis of Masovia, duchess consort of Austria (b. 1394)
  • 1582 – George Buchanan, Scottish historian and scholar (b. 1506)
  • 1596 – Margaret Clifford, countess of Derby (b. 1540)
  • 1618 – Josuah Sylvester, English poet and translator (b. 1563)
  • 1687 – Francis Turretin, Swiss-Italian theologian and academic (b. 1623)
  • 1694 – Gabriel Mouton, French mathematician and theologian (b. 1618)
  • 1702 – Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, French-English lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1640)
  • 1742 – Jean Baptiste Massillon, French bishop (b. 1663)
  • 1829 – Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general and politician (b. 1771)
  • 1844 – Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy, Russian general and politician (b. 1769)
  • 1859 – Carl Ritter, German geographer and academic (b. 1779)
  • 1873 – Émile Gaboriau, French journalist and author (b. 1832)
  • 1891 – Herman Melville, American author and poet (b. 1819)
  • 1895 – Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist (b. 1822)
  • 1899 – Giovanni Segantini, Austrian painter (b. 1858)
  • 1914 – Richard Warren Sears, American businessman, co-founded Sears (b. 1863)
  • 1915 – Saitō Hajime, Japanese samurai (b. 1844)
  • 1918 – Georg Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1858)
  • 1918 – Freddie Stowers, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1896)
  • 1925 – Paul Vermoyal, French actor (b. 1888)
  • 1935 – William Kennedy Dickson, French-Scottish actor, director, and producer, invented the Kinetoscope (b. 1860)
  • 1938 – Charles Duryea, American engineer and businessman, founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (b. 1861)
  • 1943 – Sam Ruben, American chemist and academic (b. 1913)
  • 1943 – Filippo Illuminato, Italian partisan, Gold Medal of Military Valour (b. 1930)
  • 1949 – Archbishop Chrysanthus of Athens (b. 1881)
  • 1953 – Edwin Hubble, American astronomer and scholar (b. 1889)
  • 1956 – William Boeing, American businessman, founded the Boeing Company (b. 1881)
  • 1957 – Luis Cluzeau Mortet, Uruguayan violinist and composer (b. 1888)
  • 1959 – Rudolf Caracciola, German race car driver (b. 1901)
  • 1962 – Roger Nimier, French soldier and author (b. 1925)
  • 1964 – Harpo Marx, American comedian, actor, and singer (b. 1888)
  • 1966 – André Breton, French author and poet (b. 1896)
  • 1970 – John Dos Passos, American novelist, poet, essayist, and playwright (b. 1896)
  • 1970 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (b. 1918)
  • 1978 – Pope John Paul I (b. 1912)
  • 1979 – John Herbert Chapman, Canadian physicist and engineer (b. 1921)
  • 1981 – Rómulo Betancourt, Venezuelan journalist and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1908)
  • 1982 – Mabel Albertson, American actress (b. 1901)
  • 1984 – Cihad Baban, Turkish journalist, author, and politician (b. 1911)
  • 1989 – Ferdinand Marcos, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Philippines (b. 1917)
  • 1990 – Larry O’Brien, American businessman and politician, 57th United States Postmaster General (b. 1917)
  • 1991 – Miles Davis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1926)
  • 1993 – Peter De Vries, American editor and novelist (b. 1910)
  • 1993 – Alexander A. Drabik, American sergeant (b. 1910)
  • 1994 – Urmas Alender, Estonian singer (b. 1953)
  • 1994 – José Francisco Ruiz Massieu, Mexican lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Guerrero (b. 1946)
  • 1994 – Harry Saltzman, Canadian production manager and producer (b. 1915)
  • 1994 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (b. 1917)
  • 1999 – Escott Reid, Canadian academic and diplomat (b. 1905)
  • 2000 – Pierre Trudeau, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Patsy Mink, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2002 – Hartland Molson, Canadian captain and politician (b. 1907)
  • 2003 – Althea Gibson, American tennis player and golfer (b. 1927)
  • 2003 – Elia Kazan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
  • 2003 – George Odlum, Saint Lucian politician and diplomat (b. 1934)
  • 2004 – Geoffrey Beene, American fashion designer (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Constance Baker Motley, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1921)
  • 2007 – René Desmaison, French mountaineer (b. 1930)
  • 2007 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (b. 1913)
  • 2009 – Guillermo Endara, Panamanian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Panama (b. 1936)
  • 2009 – Ulf Larsson, Swedish actor and director (b. 1956)
  • 2010 – Kurt Albert, German mountaineer and photographer (b. 1954)
  • 2010 – Arthur Penn, American director and producer (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Dolores Wilson, American soprano and actress (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Avraham Adan, Israeli general (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Chris Economaki, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Brajesh Mishra, Indian politician and diplomat, 1st Indian National Security Advisor (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – James Emanuel, American-French poet and scholar (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Jonathan Fellows-Smith, South African cricketer and rugby player (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – George Amon Webster, American singer and pianist (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Dannie Abse, Welsh physician, poet, and author (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Joseph H. Alexander, American colonel and historian (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Sheila Faith, English dentist and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Tim Rawlings, English footballer and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Petr Skoumal, Czech pianist and composer (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Alexander Faris, Irish composer and conductor (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Walter Dale Miller, American rancher and politician, 29th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Ignacio Zoco, Spanish footballer (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Agnes Nixon, American television writer and director (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Gary Glasberg, American television writer and producer (b. 1966)
  • 2016 – Shimon Peres, Polish-Israeli statesman and politician, 9th President of Israel (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – Gloria Naylor, American novelist (b. 1950)
  • 2017 – Daniel Pe’er, Israeli television host and newsreader (b. 1943)
  • 2018 – Predrag Ejdus, Serbian actor (b. 1947)
  • 2019 – José José, 71, Mexican singer (El Principe de la Canción or The Prince of Song), pancreas cancer (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances on September 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aaron of Auxerre
    • Annemund
    • Conval
    • Eustochium
    • Exuperius
    • Faustus of Riez
    • John of Dukla
    • Leoba
    • Lorenzo Ruiz
    • Paternus of Auch
    • Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton and Margery Kempe (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Simón de Rojas
    • Wenceslas
    • September 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
  • Czech Statehood Day (Czech Republic)
  • Freedom from Hunger Day
  • International Day for Universal Access to Information
  • National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography (Philippines)
  • Teachers’ Day (Taiwan and Chinese-Filipino schools in the Philippines), ceremonies dedicated to Confucius are also observed.
  • World Rabies Day (International)

September 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day, Uncategorized

History of the USA Converted from Henry William Elson’s History of the United States of America The MacMillan Company, New York, 1904

History, US History /

History of the USA

Converted from Henry William Elson’s
History of the United States of America
The MacMillan Company, New York, 1904

The following ten chapters from the original book by Henry William Elson were transcribed by Kathy Leigh. Thanks to her efforts they are offered here in e-text form for your enjoyment. Note that the table of contents below does not include original pagination or chapters that are not available online. Scholars should reference the text at any major library.

E-Text Table of Contents

History of the USA Converted from Henry William Elson’s History of the United States of America The MacMillan Company, New York, 1904 Read More »

History, US History

100 MCQs About World History

English, History, MCQs / Q&A, World /

100 MCQs About World History

1. What is the oldest daily newspaper in England? – The Times

2. Which two American states joined the union in 1959? – Alaska and Hawaii

3. Which American President ordered the dropping of the first atomic bomb? – Harry S Truman

4. In which century did King George IV rule Great Britain? – 18th

5. After which famous person in history was the teddy bear named? – Theodore Roosevelt

6. What was the name given to the trials of 24 Nazi leaders for war crimes in 1945? – The Nuremberg Trials

7. In what century was the Taj Mahal built? – 17th

8. Which gangster said ‘I’ve been accused of every death except the casualty list of the World War’? – Al Capone

9. In what year was Prince William born? – 1982

10. The word ‘book’ originates from the middle English word ‘bok’ meaning which type of
tree? – Beech

11. Richard Byrd is credited with having been the first person to fly over what particular spot
in the world? – The North Pole

12. Why don’t the restaurants ‘Palm Court’, ‘Cafe Parisien’ and ‘Verandah’ exist anymore? – They were on the Titanic

13. What city was the capital of Poland between 1320 and 1611? – Krakow

14. Who was the first President of America? – George Washington

15. Which American President served only 31 days? – William Harrison

16. When the first World War broke out which three countries made up the Triple Entente? –
France, England and Russia

17. What is Adam’s ale or Adam’s wine? – Water

18. Who were the mother and father of Elizabeth I? – Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII

19. Which British Prime Minister resigned because of the Suez crisis? – Anthoney Eden

20. For what was Rosa Parks arrested in 1955, leading to the biggest US Civil Rights
movement? – Refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white man

21. John Major became a member of Parliament in 1979 for which town, north of London? –
Huntingdon

22. Which American President was shot in 1901 and died 8 days later? – McKinley

23. The Battle of Bosworth in 1485 was the last battle of which series of wars? – The Wars Of The Roses

24. The explorer Sir Edmund Hillary was from which country? – New Zealand

25. The popular British pub name ‘The Royal Oak’ is named after which King? – Charles II (he hid in an oak tree to escape enemies)

26. Collectively, by what name are Carole Richardson, Patrick Armstrong, Paul Hill and Gerard Conlon better known? – The Guildford Four

27. In which century was the world’s first public railway opened? – 19th

28. The invention of what in 1867, made Alfred Nobel famous? – Dynamite

29. What was King William II killed by? An arrow, the plague or old age? – An Arrow

30. In Greek mythology, who was the goddess of marriage, women and childbirth? – Hera

31. In what year did Margaret Thatcher become Prime Minister? – 1979

32. In what year was London due to host the Olympic Games, but couldn’t because of the Second World War? – 1944

33. On March 3rd, 1991, who was severly beaten by Los Angeles police officers causing public outcry? – Rodney King

34. Which king was the target of the Gunpowder plot of 1605? – James I

35. What alloy was the most important metal for tools and weapons between the years 4000
and 2000 B.C.? – Bronze

36. In which year did Tony Blair first become British Prime Minister? – 1997

37. Who was the first US President to meet with a reigning British monarch? – Woodrow Wilson

38. In which month in 1914, did Britain declare war on Germany? – August

39. Thomas Chippendale was best known for making and designing what in the 18th century? – Furniture

40. What historic event does the nursery rhyme ‘Ring-a-ring of roses’ commemorate? – The Great Plague

41. In which year did colour TV transmissions begin in Britain? – 1969

42. As at the year 2001, who has been the tallest American President? – Abraham Lincoln

43. Which famous London department store opened on 15th March, 1909? – Selfridges

44. Which of the following occurred most recently? The Iron Age or The Bronze Age? – Iron Age

45. Who is the only American President to have served non-consecutive terms in office? – Grover Cleveland

46. In which country did the cloning of Dolly the sheep take place? – Scotland

47. Who ordered the beheading of Mary Queen Of Scots? – Queen Elizabeth I

48. Which English queen was married to Lord Guildford Dudley? – Lady Jane Grey

49. Which geographical location was the first word spoken on the moon? – Houston

50. What was Hitler’s title as the leader of Nazi Germany? – Fuhrer

51. What was the surname of Zachary, the President of the USA between 1849 and 1850? –Taylor

52. How many of Henry VIII’s wives had been previously married? – 2

53. Who did Queen Elizabeth I succeed to the throne? – Mary I

54. In which war was the Victoria Cross first awarded? – The Crimean War

55. In which century did the diamond engagement ring first become popular? – 15th

56. Which country declared war on both Germany and the Allies in World War II? – Italy

57. Which two brothers are associated with the invention of the aeroplane? – Orville and Wilbur Wright

58. By what title was Oliver Cromwell known? – Lord Protector

59. In 1978, what was Sweden’s most profitable export, ahead of Volvo? – Abba

60. What was the name of the bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki during World War II? – Fat Man

61. How did Robert The Bruce die? – Of the disease leprosy

62. Which famous museum opened in London, in April 1928? – Madam Tussauds

63. In Greek mythology, what was unusual about Medusa’s hair? – It was made of snakes

64. In America, what became the 49th state to enter the union in 1959? – Alaska

65. Which district of London was named after a battle fought in 1815? – Waterloo

66. In what year did the first successful Mars landings take place? – 1976

67. For how many years did the Jurassic period last? – 180 million

68. In which century was Mary, Queen Of Scots executed? – 16th

69. Who was the first American President to visit China? – Richard Nixon

70. Parker and Barrow were the surnames of which famous couple? – Bonnie and Clyde

71. What type of animal was the first to be sent into space? – A dog

72. For what reason did American Sally Ride become famous in 1983? – First American female in space

73. In which year did Richard Nixon begin the secret bombing of Cambodia? – 1969

74. Which famous person in history invented the greeting, ‘Hello’ first used for answering the telephone? – Thomas Edison

75. Who was the famous son of the Greek princess Olympias? – Alexander The Great

76. What were the names of Adam and Eve’s three sons? – Cain, Abel and Seth

77. Which war was called the ‘War to end all wars’? – World War I

78. In what year did Laika the dog become the first space traveller? – 1957

79. Which country in Europe has the oldest Parliament? – Iceland

80. Who was the third President of America and chief author of the Declaration Of Independence? – Thomas Jefferson

81. In what year was the battle of Agincourt? – 1415

82. By what name was the Scottish outlaw Robert McGregor better known? – Rob Roy

83. In 1969, what became the first song to be sung in outer space? – Happy Birthday

84. By what name was Sir Arthur Wellesley better known? – Duke of Wellington

85. What was the name of the suffragette who threw herself under the King’s horse in the
1913 Derby? – Emily Davison

86. What was the profession of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone? – Teacher (of deaf and dumb children)

87. Which country suffered over 6 million deaths in World War II, equivalent to over 17% of
it’s population? – Poland

88. Which English King was killed by an arrow at the battle of Hastings? – King Harold

89. Who was murdered by Robert Ford? – Jesse James

90. In what year were protesting students murdered in Tiananman Square? – 1989

91. Which US President was forced to resign because of the Watergate scandal? – Richard Nixon

92. Which monarch’s last words were ‘All my possessions for a moment of time’? – Elizabeth  I

93. What happened in 1847 that is sometimes referred to as ‘Black Forty Seven’? – The potato famine in Ireland

94. In which country did Venetian blinds originate? Italy, India or Japan? – Japan

95. In which country was Mother Theresa born? – Yugoslavia

96. Who was the first American President to die while in office? – William Harrison

97. What was the maiden name of the bride at the first wedding watched by over 750 million
people? – Diana Spencer

98. Who was Queen Elizabeth II’s father? – George VI

99. Which famous raid did Guy Gibson lead in 1943? – The Dambusters

100. Who, in 1901, was the first man to send a Radio Telegraph signal across the Atlantic
Ocean? – Guglielmo Marconi


 

 

100 MCQs About World History Read More »

English, History, MCQs / Q&A, World

Inventions and Inventors

General Knowledge, Test, World /

Inventions and Inventors

A

Air Brake : 
George Westinghouse, U.S.A. 1911.
Air Conditioning : 
Willis Carrier, U.S.A. 1911.
Airplane : 
engine-powered, Wilbur and Orville Wright, U.S.A., 1903.
Airship :
Henri Giffard, France, 1852; Ferdin von Zeppelin, Germany, 1900.
Antibiotics :
Louis Pasteur, Jules-Francois Joubert, France, 1887; (discovery of penicillin) Alexander Fleming, Scotland, 1928.
Antiseptic : 
(surgery) Joseph Lister, England, 1867.
Aspirin : 
Dr. Felix Hoffman, Germany, 1899.
Atom :
(nuclear model of) Ernest Rutherford, England, 1911.
Atomic Structure :
Ernest Rutherford, England, 1911; Niels Bohr, Denmark, 1913.
Automated Teller Machine (ATM) :
Don Wetzel, U.S.A., 1968.
Automobile :
(first with internal combustion engine, 250 rmp) Karl Benz, Germany, 1885; (first with practical highspeed internal combustion engine, 900 rpm) Gottlieb Daimler, Germany, 1885; (first true automobile, not carriage with motor) Rene Panhard, Emile Lavassor, France, 1891; (carburetor, spray) Charles E. Duryea, U.S.A., 1892.
Autopilot : 
(for aircraft) Elmer A. Sperry, U.S.A., c.1910, first successful test, 1912, in a Curtiss flying boat.

B

Bacteria : 
Anton van Leeuwenhoek, The Netherlands, 1683.
Bakelite :
Leo Hendrik Baekeland, U.S.A., 1907.
Ball Bearing :
Philip Vaughan, England, 1794.
Ballon, Hot-air : 
Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier, France, 1783.
Bar Codes :
Monarch Marking, U.S.A. 1970.
Barometer :
Evangelista Torricelli, Italy, 1643.
Bicycle :
Karl D. von Sauebronn, Germany, 1816; (first modern model) James Starley, England, 1884.
Big Bang Theory :
(the universe originated with a huge explosion) George LeMaitre, Belgium, 1927; (modified LeMaitre theory labeled �Big Bang�) George A. Gamov, U.S.A., 1948; (cosmic microwave background radiation discovered) Arno A. Penzias and Robert W. Wilson, U.S.A. 1965.
Blood, Circulation of :
William Harvey, England, 1628.
Bomb, Atomic : 
J. Robert Oppenheimer et al., U.S.A., 1945.
Bomb, Thermonuclear (hydrogen) :
Edward Teller et al., U.S.A., 1952.
Boyle�s Law :
(relation between pressure and volume in gases) Robert Boyle, Ireland, 1662.
Braille :
Louis Braille, France, 1829.
Bridges :
(suspension, iron chains) James Finley, Pa., 1800; (wire suspension) Marc Seguin, Lyons, 1825; (truss) Ithiel Town, U.S.A., 1820.
Bullet :
(conical) Claude Minie, France, 1849.

C

Calculating Machine :
(logarithms) John Napierm Scotland, 1614; (digital calculator) Blaise Pascal, 1642; (multiplication machine) Gottfried Leibniz, Germany, 1671; (�analytical engine� design, included concepts of programming, taping) Charles Babbage, England, 1835.
Camera :
George Eastman, U.S.A., 1888; (Polaroid) Edwin Land, U.S.A., 1948
Car Radio : 
William Lear, Elmer Wavering, U.S.A. 1929.
Cells :
Robert Hooke, England, 1665.
Chewing Gum : 
John Curtis, U.S.A., 1848; (chicle-based) Thomas Adams, U.S.A., 1870.
Cholera Bacterium :
Robert Koch, Germany, 1883.
Circuit, Integrated :
(theoretical) G.W.A. Dummer, England, 1952; Jack S. Kilby, Texas Instruments, U.S.A., 1959.
Clock, Pendulum :
Christian Huygens, The Netherlands, 1656.
Clock, Quartz :
Warren A. Marrison, Canada/U.S.A., 1927.
Cloning, Animal :
John B. Gurdon, U.K., 1970.
Coca-Cola :
John Pemberton, U.S.A., 1886.
Combustion :
Antoine Lavoisier, France, 1777.
Compact Disk : 
RCA, U.S.A., 1972.
Compact Disk (CD) :
Philips Electronics, The Netherlands; Sony Corp., Japan, 1980.
Computed Tomography 
(CT scan, CAT scan) :
Godfrey Hounsfield, Allan Cormack, U.K. U.S.A., 1972
Computers :
(analytical engine) Charles Babbage, 1830s; (ENIAC, Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator, first all-electronic, completed) John Presper Eckert, Jr., John Mauchly, U.S.A., 1945; (UNIVAC, Universal Automatic Computer) 1951; (personal computer) Steve Wozniak, U.S.A., 1976.
Computer Laptop :
Radio Shack Corp., U.S.A., 1983.
Concrete :
Joseph Monier, France, 1877.

D

DDT :
Othmar Zeidler, Germany, 1874.
Detector, Metal :
Gerhard Fisher, Germany/U.S.A., late 1920s.
Deuterium :
(heavy hydrogen) Harold Urey, U.S.A., 1931.
DNA :
(deoxyribonucleic acid) Friedrich Meischer, Germany, 1869; (determination of double-helical structure) F. H. Crick, England and James D. Watson, U.S.A., 1953.
Dye :
William H. Perkin, England, 1856.
Dynamite :
Alfred Nobel, Sweden, 1867.

E

Electric Generator (dynamo) :
(laboratory model) Michael Faraday, England, 1832; Joseph Henry, U.S.A., c.1832; (hand-driven model) Hippolyte Pixii, France, 1833; (alternating-current generator) Nikola Tesla, U.S.A., 1892.
Electron :
Sir Joseph J. Thompson, U.S.A., 1897.
Electronic Mail :
Ray Tomlinson, U.S.A., 1972.
Elevator, Passenger :
Elisha G. Otis, U.S.A., 1852.
E=mc2 
equivalence of mass and energy) Albert Einstein, Switzerland, 1907.
Engine, Internal Combustion :
No single inventor. Fundamental theory established by Sadi Carnot, France, 1824; (two-stroke) Etienne Lenoir, France, 1860; (ideal operating cycle for four-stroke) Alphonse Beau de Roche, France, 1862; (operating four-stroke) Nikolaus Otto, Germany, 1876; (diesel) Rudolf Diesel, Germany, 1892; (rotary) Felix Wanket, Germany, 1956.
Evolution :
: (organic) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, France, 1809; (by natural selection) Charles Darwin, England, 1859.

F

Facsimile (fax) :
Alexander Bain, Scotland, 1842.
Fiber Optics : 
Narinder Kapany, England, 1955.
Film Photographic :
George Eastman, U.S.A., 1884.
Flashlight, Battery-operated Portable :
Conrad Hubert, Russia/U.S.A., 1899
Flask, Vacuum (Thermos) :
Sir James Dewar, Scotland, 1892.
Fuel Cell :
William R. Grove, U.K., 1839

G

Genetic Engineering :
Stanley N. Cohen, Herbert W. Boyer, U.S.A., 1973.
Gravitation, Law of :
Sir Issac Newton, England, c.1665 (published 1687).
Gunpowder :
China, c.700.
Gyrocompass :
Elmer A. Sperry, U.S.A., 1905.
Gyroscope :
Jean Leon Foucault, France, 1852.

H

Helicopter :
(double rotor) Heinrich Focke, Germany, 1936; (single rotor) Igor Silorsky, U.S.A., 1939.
Helium First Observed on Sun:
Sir Joseph Lockyer, England, 1868.
Home Videotape Systems 
(VCR) :
(Betamax) Sony, Japan, (1975); (VHS) Matsushita, Japan, 1975.

I

Ice Age Theory :
Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American, 1840.
Insulin :
(first isolated) Sir Frederick G. Banting and Charles H. Best, Canada, 1921; (discovery first published) Banting and Best, 1922; (Nobel Prize awarded for purification for use in humans) John Macleod and Banting, 1923; (first synthesized), China, 1966.
Internet :
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) at the Dept. of Defense, U.S.A., 1969.
Iron, Electric : 
Henry W. Seely, U.S.A., 1882.
Isotopes : 
Frederick Soddy, England, 1912.

J

Jet Propulsion :
(engine) Sir Frank Whittle, England, Hans von Ohain, Germany, 1936; (aircraft) Heinkel He 178, 1939.

L

Laser :
(theoretical work on) Charles H. Townes, Arthur L. Schawlow, U.S.A. Basov, A. Prokhorov, U.S.S.R., 1958; (first working model) T. H. Maiman, U.S.A., 1960.
LCD (liquid crystal display) :
Hoffmann-La Roche, Switzerland, 1970.
Lens, Bifocal :
Benjamin Franklin, U.S.A., c.1760.
Light-Emitting Diode (LED) :
Nick Holonyak, Jr., U.S.A., 1962.
Light, Speed of :
(theory that light has finite velocity) Olaus Roemer, Denmark, 1675.
Locomotive :
(steam powered) Richard Trevithick, England, 1804; (first practical, due to multiple-fire-tube boiler) George Stephenson, England, 1829; (largest steam-powered) Union Pacific�s �Big Boy�, U.S.A., 1941.
Loud Speaker :
Chester W. Rice, Edward W. Kellogg, U.S.A., 1924.

M

Machine Gun :
(multibarrel) Richard J. Gatling, U.S.A., 1862; (single barrel, belt-fed) Hiram S. Maxim, Anglo-American, 1884.
Magnet, Earth is : 
William Gilbert, England, 1600.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) : 
Raymond Damadian, Paul Lauterbur, U.S.A., early 1970s.
Matchstick/box : 
(phosphorus) Francois Derosne, France, 1816; (friction) Charles Sauria, France, 1831; (safety) J. E. Lundstrom, Sweden, 1855.
Metric System : 
Revolutionary government of France, 1790-1801.
Microphone : 
Charles Wheatstone, England, 1827.
Microscope : 
(compound) Zacharias Janssen, The Netherlands, 1590; (electron) Vladimir Zworykin et al., U.S.A., Canada, Germany, 1932-1939.
Microwave Oven : 
Percy Spencer, U.S.A., 1947.
Missile, Guided : 
Wernher von Braun, Germany, 1942.
Motion, Laws of : 
Isaac Newton, England, 1687.
Motion Pictures : 
Thomas A. Edison, U.S.A., 1893.
Motion Pictures, Sound : 

Motor, Electric : 

Motorcycle : 
(motor tricycle) Edward Butler, England, 1884; (gasoline-engine motorcycle) Gottlieb Daimler, Germany, 1885.
Moving Assembly Line : 
Product of various inventions. First picture with synchronized musical score : Don Juan, 1926; with spoken diologue : The Jazz Singer, 1927; both Warner Bros.

Michael Faraday, England, 1822; (alternating-current) Nikola Tesla, U.S.A., 1892.

O

Ozone : 
Christian Schonbein, Germany, 1839.

N

Neutron : 
James Chadwick, England, 1932.
Nuclear Fission : 
Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassmann, Germany, 1938.
Nuclear Reactor : 
Enrico Fermi, Italy, et al., 1942.
Nylon : 
Wallace H. Carothers, U.S.A., 1937.

P

Pacemaker : 
Clarence W. Lillehie, Earl Bakk, U.S.A., 1957.
Paper : 
China, c.100 A.D.
Parachute : 
Louis S. Lenormand, France, 1783.
Pen : 
(fountain) Lewis E. Waterman, U.S.A., 1884; (ball-point) John H. Loud, U.S.A., 1888; Lazlo Biro, Argentina, 1944.
Phonograph : 
Thomas A. Edison, U.S.A., 1877.
Photography : 
(first paper negative, first photograph, on metal) Joseph Nicephore Niepce, France, 1816-1827; (discovery of fixative powers of hyposulfite of soda) Sir John Herschel, England, 1819; (first direct positive image on silver plate) Louis Dagauerre, based on work with Niepce, France, 1839; (first paper negative from which a number of positive prints could be made) William Talbot, England, 1841. Work of these four men, taken together, forms basis for all modern photography. (First color images) Alexandre Becquerel, Claude Niepce de Saint-Victor, France, 1848-1860; (commercial color film with three emulsion layers, Kodachrome) U.S.A. 1935.
Photovoltaic Effect :
(light falling on certain materials can produce electricity) Edmund Becquerel, France, 1839.
Planetary Motion, Laws of : 
Johannes Kepler, Germany, 1609, 1619.
Plastics : 
(first material nitrocellulose softened by vegetable oil, camphor, precursor to Celluloid) Alexander Parkes, England, 1855; (Celluloid, involving recognition of vital effect of camphor) John W. Hyatt, U.S.A., 1869; (Bakelite, first completely synthetic plastic) Leo H. Baekeland, U.S.A., 1910; (theoretical background of macromolecules and process of polymerization on which modern plastics industry rests) Hermann Staudinger, Germany, 1922; (polypropylene and low-pressure method for producing high-density polyethylene) Robert Banks, Paul Hogan, U.S.A., 1958.
Polio, Vaccine : 
(experimentally safe dead-virus vaccine) Jonas E. Salk, U.S.A., 1952; (effective large-scale field trials) 1954; (officially approved) 1955; (safe oral live-virus vaccine developed) Albert B. Sabin, U.S.A. 1954; (available in the U.S.A.) 1960.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) : 
Eugen Baumann, Germany, 1872.
Printing : 
(block) Japan, c.700; (movable type) Korea, c.1400, Johann Gutenberg, Germany, c.1450; (lithography, offset) Aloys Senefelder, Germany, 1796; (rotary press) Richard Hoe, U.S.A. 1844; (linotype) Ottmar Mergenthaler, U.S.A., 1884.
Printing Press, Movable Type : 
Johannes Gutenburg, Germany, c.1450.
Proton : 
Ernest Rutherford, England, 1919.
Pulsars : 
Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell Burnel, England, 1967.

Q

Quantum Theory : 
(general) Max Planck, Germany, 1900; (sub-atomic) Niels Bohr, Denmark, 1913; (quantum mechanics) Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrodinger, Germany, 1925.

R

Rabies Immunization : 
Louis Pasteur, France, 1885.
Radar : 
(limited range) Christian Hulsmeyer, Germany, 1904; (pulse modulation, used for measuring height of ionosphere) Gregory Breit, Merle Tuve, U.S.A., 1925; (first practical radar-radio detection and ranging) Sir Robert Watson-Watt, England, 1934-1935.
Radio : 
(electromagnetism theory of) James Clerk Maxwell, England, 1873; (spark coil, generator of electromagnetic waves) Heinrich Hertz, Germany, 1886; (first practical system of wireless telegraphy) Guglielmo Marconi, Italy, 1895; (first long-distance telegraphic radio signal sent across the Atlantic) Macroni, 1901; (vacuum electron tube, basis for radio telephony) Sir John Fleming, England, 1904; (regenerative circuit, allowing long-distance sound reception) Edwin H. Armstrong, U.S.A., 1912; (frequency modulation-FM) Edwin H. Armstrong, U.S.A., 1933.
Radiocarbon Dating, Carbon-14 Method : 
(discovered) Willard F. Libby, U.S.A., 1947; (first demonstrated) U.S.A., 1950.
Razor : 
(safety) King Gillette, U.S.A., 1901; (electric) Jacob Schick, U.S.A., 1928, 1931.
Refrigerator : 
Alexander Twining, U.S.A., James Harrison, Australia, 1850; (first with a compressor) the Domelse, Chicago, U.S.A., 1913.
Remote Control, Television : 
Robert Adler, U.S.A., 1950.
Richter Scale : 
Charles F. Richter, U.S.A., 1935.
Rifle : 
(muzzle-loaded) Italy, Germany, c.1475; (breech-loaded) England, France, Germany, U.S.A., c.1866; (bolt-action) Paul von Mauser, Germany, 1889; (automatic) John Browning, U.S.A., 1918.
Rocket : 
(liquid-fueled) Robert Goddard, U.S.A., 1926.
Rotation of Earth : 
Jean Bernard Foucault, France, 1851.
Rubber : 
(vulcanization process) Charles Goodyear, U.S.A., 1839.

S

Saccharin : 
Constantine Fuhlberg, Ira Remsen, U.S.A., 1879.
Safety Pin : 
Walter Hunt, U.S.A., 1849.
Saturn, Ring Around : 
Christian Huygens, The Netherlands, 1659.
Seismograph : 
(first accurate) John Bohlin, Sweden, 1962.
Sewing Machine : 
Elias Howe, U.S.A., 1846; (continuous stitch) Isaac Singer, U.S.A., 1851.
Spectrum : 
Sir Isaac Newton, England, 1665-1666.
Steam Engine : 
Thomas Savery, England, 1639; (atmospheric steam engine) Thomas Newcomen, England, 1705; (steam engine for pumping water from collieries) Savery, Newcomen, 1725; (modern condensing, double acting) James Watt, England, 1782; (high-pressure) Oliver Evans, U.S.A., 1804.
Steel, Stainless : 
Harry Brearley, U.K., 1914.
Stethoscope : 
Rene Laennec, France, 1819.
Submarine : 
Cornelis Drebbel, The Netherlands, 1620.

T

Tank, Military : 
Sir Ernest Swinton, England, 1914.
Tape Recorder : 
Valdemar Poulsen, Denmark, 1899.
Teflon : 
DuPont, U.S.A., 1943.
Telegraph : 
Samuel F. B. Morse, U.S.A., 1837.
Telephone : 
Alexander Graham Bell, U.S.A., 1837.
Telephoe, Mobile : 
Bell Laboratories, U.S.A., 1946.
Telescope : 
Hans Lippershey, The Netherlands, 1608; (astronomical) Galileo Galilei, Italy, 1609; (reflecting) Isaac Newton, England, 1668.
Television : 
Vladimir Zworykin, U.S.A., 1923, and also kinescope (cathode ray tube) 1928; (mechanical disk-scanning method) successfully demaonstrated by J. L. Baird, Scotland, C. F. Jenkins, U.S.A., 1926; (first all-electric television image) Philo T. Famsworth, U.S.A., 1927; (color, mechanical disk) Baird, 1928; (color, compatible with black and white) George Valensi, France, 1938; (color, sequential rotating filter) Peter Goldmark, U.S.A., first introduced, 1951; (color, compatible with black and white) commercially introduced in U.S.A., National Television Systems committee, 1953.
Thermodynamics : 
(first law : energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one from to another) Julius Von Mayer, Germany, 1842; James Joule, England, 1843; (second law : heat cannot itself pass from a colder to a warmer body) Rudolph Clausius, Germany, 1850; (third law : the entropy of ordered solids reaches zero at the absolute zero of temperature) Walter Nernstm Germany, 1918.
Thermometer : 
(open-column) Galileo Galilei, c.1593; (clinical) Santorio Santorio, Padua, c.1615; (mercury, also Fahrenheit scale) Gabriel D. Fahrenheit, Germany, 1714; (centigrade scale) Anders Celsius, Sweden, 1742; (absolute-temperature, or Kelvin, scale) William Thompson, Lord Kelvin, England, 1848.
Tire, Pneumatic : 
Robert W. Thompson, England, 1845; (bicycle tire) John B. Dunlop, Northern Ireland, 1888.
Transformer, Electric : 
William Stanely, U.S.A., 1885.
Transistor : 
John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain, William B. Shockley, U.S.A., 1947.
Typewriter : 
Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, U.S.A., 1867.

V

Velcro : 
George de Mestral, Switzerland, 1948.
Video Disk : 
Philips Co., The Netherlands, 1972.
Vitamins : 
(hypothesis of disease deficiency) Sir F. G. Hopkins, Casimir Funk, England, 1912; (vitamin A) Elmer V. McCollum, M. Davis, U.S.A., 1912-1914; (vitamin B) McCollum, U.S.A., 1915-1916; (thiamin B1) Casimir Funk, England, 1912; ( riboflavin, B2) D. T. Smith, E. G. Hendrick, U.S.A., 1926; (niacin) Conrad Elvehjem, U.S.A., 1937; (B6) Paul Gyorgy, U.S.A., 1934; (vitamin C) C. A. Hoist, T. Froelich, Norway, 1912; (vitamin D) McCollum, U.S.A., 1922; (folic acid) Lucy Wills, England, 1933.

W

Wheel : 
(cart, solid wood) Mesopotamia, c.3800-3600 B.C.
Windmill : 
Persia, c.600.
World Wide Web : 
(developed while working at CERN) Tim Berners-Lee, England, 1989; (development of Mosaic browser makes WWW available for general use) Marc Andreeson, U.S.A., 1993.

X

X-ray Imaging : 
Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, Germany, 1895.
Xerography : 
Chester Carlson, U.S.A., 1900.

Z

Zero : 
India, c.600; (absolute zero temperature, cessation of all molecular energy) William Thompson, Lord Kelvin, England, 1848.

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General Knowledge, Test, World