February 16 Dateline

Birthdays

1838 - Henry Brooks Adams, American historian and novelist, and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. Presidents. He served as secretary to his father, Charles Francis Adams, Abraham Lincoln's ambassador to the UK. The posting influenced the younger man through the experience of wartime diplomacy, and absorption in English culture, especially the works of John Stuart Mill. After the American Civil War, he became a political journalist who entertained America's foremost intellectuals at his homes in Washington and Boston. He was best known for The History of the United States of America During the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, a nine-volume work, praised for its literary style, command of the documentary evidence, and deep (family) knowledge of the period and its major figures. His posthumously published memoir, The Education of Henry Adams, won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to be named by the Modern Library as the best English-language nonfiction book of the 20th century.

1935 - Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono, American singer-songwriter, film producer, actor, and politician who came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher, as the popular singing duo Sonny and Cher. He was mayor of Palm Springs, California, from 1988 to 1992, and the Republican congressman for California's 44th district, elected during the Republican Revolution and serving from 1995 until his death in 1998. The United States Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, which extended the term of copyright by 20 years, was named in honor of Bono when it was passed by Congress nine months after his death. Mary Bono (Sonny's last wife) had been one of the original sponsors of the legislation, commonly known as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.

1959 - John Patrick McEnroe, Jr., American retired tennis player, considered among the greatest in the history of the sport. He was known for his shot-making artistry and volleying skills, as well as his confrontational on-court behavior that frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities. McEnroe attained the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, finishing his career with 77 singles and 78 doubles titles; this remains the highest men's combined total of the Open Era. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, four at the US Open and three at Wimbledon, and nine men's Grand Slam doubles titles. His singles match record of 82–3 in 1984 remains the best single season win rate of the Open Era. McEnroe also excelled at the year-end tournaments, winning eight singles and seven doubles titles, both of which are records.

1973 - Cathy Freeman, OAM (born Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman), Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She would occasionally compete in other track events, but 400m was her main event. Her personal best of 48.63 currently ranks her as the eighth-fastest woman of all time, set at the 1996 Olympics. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame. Freeman was the first Australian Indigenous person to become a Commonwealth Games gold medallist at age 16 in 1990. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, she won gold in both the 200 m and 400 m. She also won the silver medal at the 1996 Olympics and came first at the 1997 World Championships in the 400 m event. She returned from her 1998 injury in form with a first place in the 400 m at the 1999 World Championships. 

 
Leftie:
John McEnroe

More birthdays and historical events, February 16 - On This Day.

 

Historical Events

600 - Pope Gregory I decrees that "God bless you" is the correct response to a sneeze.

1568 - The entire population of the Netherlands - three million people - is sentenced to death by the Roman Catholic church for heresy.

1937 - Wallace H. Carothers receives a patent for nylon, a synthetic polymer.  It is later used for stockings.

1892 - The four-act lyric drama Werther by French composer Jules Massenet is first performed. Libretto was written by Edouard Balu, Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont Hartmann, based on a 1774 novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther. The venue was Vienna, Opéra Impérial de Vienne. The setting is in Wetzlar near Frankfurt, circa 1780.

1959 - Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba.

2005 - The Kyoto Protocol on climate change comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.  




Resources:

1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers. New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)
2. Britannica. www.britannica.com
3. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed. London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
4. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
5. Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org



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