The Wikipedia Birthday Meme

[thewayne]

An interesting concept. Go to Wikipedia, type in your birthday without the year (December 16 for me), and report back on interesting events, births, and deaths that happened on your birthday. Limit yourself to three of each if you like, me, I’m not so good at the counting.

Events
1392 - History of Japan: Nanboku-cho - Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
1598 - Seven Year War: Battle of Noryang Point - Admiral Yi Sun Sin's outnumbered Korean navy ambushes and defeats Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Japanese fleet.
1653 - English Interregnum: The Protectorate - Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1773 - American Revolution: Boston Tea Party - Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawks dump crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.
1944 - World War II: Battle of the Bulge - General Dwight D. Eisenhower's allied forces and Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt's German army engage in the Belgian Ardennes.
1997 - The Pokémon episode Electric Soldier Porygon triggers attacks of photosensitive epilepsy in hundreds of Japanese children.


Births
1485 - Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England (d. 1536)
1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (d. 1827)
1899 - Sir Noel Coward, British playwright, actor and composer (d. 1973)
1917 - Sir Arthur C. Clarke, British writer
1927 - Randall Garrett, American writer
1928 - Philip K. Dick, American writer (d. 1982)


Deaths
705 - Empress Wu of Zhou (China; b. 625)
1859 - Wilhelm Grimm, German writer and folklorist (b. 1786)
1916 - Grigori Rasputin, Russian monk (b. 1869)
1965 - W. Somerset Maugham, British writer (b. 1874)
1980 - Colonel Harland Sanders, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1890)
1989 - Lee Van Cleef, American actor (b. 1925)


I knew about the Boston Tea Party and Beethoven, I found a lot of the others quite interesting.

Comments

[nausicaa1.livejournal.com]

I had a good collection of BAD THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED ON MY BIRTHDAY already: Oklahoma city bombings, the invasion of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, German troops entering the Warsaw ghetto to round up the remaining Jews, and "The shot heard round the world". It's nice to be able to add these disasters:

Central Park Jogger raped
Charles Manson sentenced to life in prison for the Tate murders
Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba ends in failure
Salem Witch trials began

You know, when the 9/11 attacks happened, on of my first thoughts was: hey! It's not my birthday!

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

I guess that deserves a chuckle. "At least it's not my birthday!" That would suck in a major way.

[nausicaa1.livejournal.com]

Meh, it sort of appeals to my inner Wednesday Addams to be able to raise a toast on my birthday. "Today is an infamous day, a day when buildings are bombed, cult members burn, wars are started, and I take another step toward the grave!" I'm really fun at parties.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

That's the sort of weirdness that appeals to me. :-)

[nausicaa1.livejournal.com]

Me too! Why else would I spend two hours reading up on my friends list in the darkest room of the house on a glorious Saturday morning if not to reach to the types of weirdos I never get to meet in real life? The people here in Ames are too darn normal, I tell you. Maybe there are weirdos, but they're all sitting in their basements surfing, too, so you're not likely to meet them at PTA meetings or what have you.