Headline Birthdays for June 9

Czar Peter I the Great 1672-1725

born in Moscow, the fourteenth child of Alexei Mikhailovich; died in St. Petersburg Feb. 8, 1725; a 6'9" giant, 1682 reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V; 1696 ruled alone; 1721 proclaimed Emperor of All Russia, Great Father of the Fatherland and "the Great"; 1697 travelled to Prussia, Holland and England to learn western ways; 1703 started building a new capital at St. Petersburg; 1718 convicted his eldest son by his first marriage, Czarevich Alexei, of high treason, and had him secretly executed; created a regular army and navy, subjugated the Church to the state and introduced new provincial divisions. [picture: 500 ruble note, 1912]

George Stephenson 1781-1848

born in Wylam, Northumberland, son of the engineman at the local coal mine; died in Chesterfield, Derbyshire Aug. 12, 1848; engineer, principal inventor of the locomotive or railroad engine; only learned to read and write at age 19, but was a genius at fixing clocks and steam engines; 1814 July 25 his steam-powered engine, the Blucher, drew eight wagons with 30 tons of coal, at 4 mph out of the mines in Killingworth; 1819 built a railway for the Hetton Colliery in County Durham; 1824 formed a locomotive workshop in Newcastle with his son Robert; 1825 ran the world's first passenger line between Darlington and Stockton, England, pulling 450 people at 15 mph; 1829 his locomotive The Rocket ran at a world record speed of 36 mph, winning the Rainhill Trials near Liverpool; 1830 started running 8 of his engines on the Liverpool-Manchester railway, carrying both passengers and freight. His portrait appears on the new British Ł5 note.

Johann Gottfried Galle 1812-1910

born near Grafenhainichen, Saxony; died in Potsdam July 10, 1910; astronomer; Sept. 23, 1846 first observed the planet Neptune.

Bertha von Suttner 1843-1914

born Bertha, Countess Kinsky von Chinic und Tettau in Prague, Czech Republic, daughter of an impoverished Austrian field marshal; died in Vienna June 21, 1914; novelist, peace activist; 1876 started working as a secretary for Alfred Nobel in Paris; continued writing to him, and was critical of the military applications of his invention, dynamite; 1889 wrote the pacifist novel Die Waffen nieder! (Lay Down Your Arms!), and published an international journal with the same name; 1891 founded an Austrian pacifist organization; 1896 on Nobel's death, her influence led him to include a peace prize as one of his legacies; 1905 awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize; Honorary President of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, Berne.

Cole Porter 1891-1964

born in Peru, Indiana; died in Santa Monica, California Oct. 15, 1964; composer, lyricist, dramatist; learned piano and violin at age six, and wrote his first songs at ten; while practising two hours a day, he and his mother would parody popular tunes on the piano; started writing musicals at Yale; crippled by a riding accident in 1937; wrote 23 Broadway musical comedies including Gay Divorcee, Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate, Can-Can, Silk Stockings; his 1000 tunes include Begin the Beguine, Night and Day, You're the Top, Too Darn Hot, I Love Paris, Let's Do It, Don't Fence Me In; film scores include Born to Dance and High Society. A gay male, he married divorcee Linda Thomas, who had been abused by her first husband, in 1919. Quote: "I am spending my life escaping boredom. I'm a hard-working boy from Indiana and I'm engaged in the business of entertaining myself, which enables me to entertain, as much as I can, the world."

Luis Kutner 1908-1993

born in Chicago, Illinois; died there March 1, 1993; 1961 cofounded Amnesty International with Peter Benenson; group dedicated to publicizing human rights abuses and freeing those unjustly jailed by lawless regimes around the world; also founded World Habeas Corpus, to promote freedom under law, and protect people from false imprisonment.

Donald Duck 1934-

born as a cartoon character, making his first screen appearance in Walt Disney's cartoon, The Wise Little Hen; his 50th birthday was celebrated at Disneyland on this day in 1984.

Other Birthdays

1510 06 09 Nicolaas van Nieuwland, corrupt first bishop of Harlem
1573 06 09 Henricus Hondius, Dutch etcher/publisher
1588 06 09 Johann Andreas Herbst, composer
1597 06 09 Pieter J Saenredam, architecture painter
1640 06 09 Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1658-1705)
1672 06 09 Peter I the Great Romanov, tsar of Russia (1682-1725) [OS=May 30]
1781 06 09 George Stephenson, Newcastle England, inventor (RR locomotive)
1791 06 09 John Howard Payne, US, author/actor/diplomat (Home Sweet Home)
1792 06 09 Frédéric L G, Earl of Merode, Belgian revolutionary
1810 06 09 Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai, composer
1812 06 09 Hermann von Fehling, German chemist (Fehling's reagens)
1812 06 09 Johann G Galle, German astronomer (discovered Neptune)
1828 06 09 Carlo Marsili, composer
1829 06 09 Gaetano Braga, composer
1833 06 09 John Rogers Cooke, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1891
1836 06 09 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, first woman mayor in England (Aldeburgh)
1843 06 09 Bertha von Suttner, Austria, novelist/pacifist (Nobel 1905)
1849 06 09 Joseph Vezina, composer
1854 06 09 Gerardus J P J Bolland, Dutch philosopher (Bolland Society)
1861 06 09 Floris H Verster, [van Wulverhorst], painter/cartoonist/etcher
1865 06 09 Alberic Magnard, composer
1865 06 09 Carl Nielsen, Norre-Lyndelse Denmark, composer (Det Uuslukkelige)
1865 06 09 Lucien-Denis-Gabriel-Alberic Magnard, composer
1875 06 09 Henry Dale, London, physiologist (Nobel-1936)
1877 06 09 Rudolf Borchardt, writer
1879 06 09 Dudley Digges
1879 06 09 Oscar Back, Austrian-Dutch viola player
1884 06 09 Johannes Clinge Doorenbos, Dutch journalist/conductor
1886 06 09 Kusaku Yamada, composer
1888 06 09 Adrian Grigor'yevich Shaposhnikov, composer
1888 06 09 Hugo Kauder, composer
1890 06 09 Leslie Banks, English actor/director (Jamaica Inn, 48 Hours)
1892 06 09 Helena Rubinstein, cosmetics CEO/founder (Helena Rubinstein)
1893 06 09 Cole Porter, Indiana, composer/lyricist (Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate)
1893 06 09 Samuel N Behrman, US screenwriter (Tale of 2 Cities, Daddy Long Legs)
1896 06 09 Aura Abranches, Lisbon Portugal, actress (Lisboa, O Primo Basilio)
1896 06 09 Catherine Filene Shouse, philanthropist (Wolf Trap Institute)
1898 06 09 C Malaparte, writer
1898 06 09 Curzio Malaparte, [Kurt E Suckert], Italian author (Kaputt)
1900 06 09 Fred Waring, Tyrone Penn, musician/conductor/inventor (Waring Blender)
1900 06 09 Prosper Cocquyt, Belgian brewer/pilot
1901 06 09 George Price, cartoonist
1901 06 09 Marion Gering, actress (Sarumba, Rumba, Ready for Love, 24 Hours)
1905 06 09 Harry Bull Alexander, cricketer (Aus quick 1 Test Bodyline series)
1905 06 09 Walter Kraft, composer
1906 06 09 Tonio Selwart, Germany, actor (Barefoot Contessa, Naked Maja)
1908 06 09 J F Williams-Wynne, Lord-Lieutenant (Gwynedd)
1908 06 09 Robert Cummings, Joplin Mo, actor (Love that Bob, Dial M For Murder)
1909 06 09 Jose Luis Lopez Aranguren, philosopher
1910 06 09 Geoffrey Musson, British General
1910 06 09 Vbilmos Demian, composer
1912 06 09 Edgar Evans, tenor
1912 06 09 Ingolf Dahl, Hamburg Germany, composer (Andante & Arioso)
1913 06 09 Alida Margaretha Bosshardt, lt-colonel of Dutch Salvation Army
1914 06 09 Barbara Mullen, Boston MA, actress (Thunder Rock, Innocent Sinners)
1914 06 09 Hermann Haller, composer
1915 06 09 Jane Cowan, cello teacher
1915 06 09 Les Paul, Waukesha Wi, guitarist/inventor (Les Paul guitar)
1916 06 09 Robert S McNamara, US Sec of Defense (1961-68)/head (World Bank)
1918 06 09 Rob de Vries, Dutch WW II resistance fighter/dir/actor (Ciske de Rat)
1919 06 09 Izaak Boleslavski, Russian chess player
1920 06 09 Isobel June Braybrooke English, novellist
1921 06 09 Agnes Keleti, Hungary, gymnist (Olympic-gold-1952, 56)
1922 06 09 George Axelrod, playwright (Breakfast at Tiffany, Bus Stop)
1922 06 09 P G Beazley, MEP
1923 06 09 Gerald G”tting, German DR president (CDU)
1924 06 09 Christine Goitschel, France, slalom (Olympic-gold-1964)
1924 06 09 Peter Heatly, CEO (Commonwealth Games Federation)
1924 06 09 Tony Britton, Birmingham Eng, actor (Day of Jackal, Girl in my Soup)
1925 06 09 Roy Hughes, MP
1925 06 09 [John] Keith Laumer, [Anthony LeBaron], US, sf author (Retief's War)
1926 06 09 Mona Freeman, Baltimore, actress (Black Beauty, Dear Wife, Heiress)
1926 06 09 Roy Smalley, shortstop (Cubs, Braves, Phillies, Twins, Yankees)
1927 06 09 Franco Donatoni, composer
1927 06 09 Norman Sisisky, (Rep-D-VA, 1983- )
1928 06 09 Geraint Gruffydd, director (U of Wales Centre for Welsh Studies)
1929 06 09 Johnny Ace, [John M Alexander Jr], Memphis Tn, R&B singer (My Song)
1929 06 09 June O'Dell, deputy CEO (Equal Opportunities Commission)
1929 06 09 Keith A St H Gardner, Jamaica, 4x400m runner (Olympic-bronze-1960)
1929 06 09 Robert E Badham, (Rep-R-CA, 1977- )
1930 06 09 Lin[wood] [Vrooman] Carter, US, sci-fi author (Thongor of Lemuria)
1930 06 09 Marvin Kalb, NYC, educator/newscaster (CBS/NBC, Meet the Press)
1931 06 09 Bill Virdon, 2nd baseman (St Louis Cards)/mgr (NY Yankees)
1931 06 09 Jackie Mason, Wisc, comedian (World According to Me, Chicken Soup)
1932 06 09 Douglas Smith, CEO (Acas)
1933 06 09 Dick Orkin, Williamsport Pa, actor (Tim Conway Show)
1933 06 09 Don Young, (Rep-R-AK, 1973- )
1933 06 09 Patrick Symons, British vice-admiral
1934 06 09 Donald Duck, famous fowl
1934 06 09 Helga Haase, German FR, 500m speed skater (Olympic-gold-1960)
1934 06 09 Jackie Wilson, Detroit, singer (Lonely Teardrops, Night)
1934 06 09 Joe Santos, Bkln NY, actor (Rockford Files, AKA Pablo, Shamus)
1934 06 09 Michael Mates, MP
1934 06 09 Pal Karolyi, composer
1934 06 09 Wild Jimmy Spruill, blues guitarist
1935 06 09 Diana Van Der Vlis, actress (Lovespell, Girl in Black Stockings)
1937 06 09 Sven Conrad Stayers, cricketer (WI fast bowler 1962)
1938 06 09 Anne Kenny, Mudgee NSW, golfer (1968, 71 Australian Champ)
1938 06 09 Charles Wuorinen, NYC, composer (Pulitzer 1980)
1938 06 09 Jeremy Hardie, CEO (W H Smith Group)
1938 06 09 Peter Sanders, CEO (Commission for Racial Equality)
1938 06 09 Roger Hurn, CEO (Smith's Industries)
1939 06 09 David Hobbs (auto racer)
1939 06 09 Derek Hunt, CEO (MFI Furniture Group)
1940 06 09 Dick Vitale, US, sportscaster (ESPN, ABC Oh Baby!)
1941 06 09 Billy Hatton, rocker
1941 06 09 Jon Lord, England, keyboardist (Deep Purple-Hush, White Snake)
1941 06 09 Peter Wilson, CEO (Gallaher)
1942 06 09 Nicholas Lloyd, editor (Daily Express)
1942 06 09 Richard Hutton, cricketer (son of Len, 5 Tests 1971)
1943 06 09 Charles Saatchi, English magnate (Saatchi & Saatchi)
1943 06 09 Joe [William] Haldeman, US, sci-fi author (Hugo, Nebula, Worlds Apart)
1944 06 09 23 puppies, (record litter) born to Lena, a foxhound, Ambler Penn
1944 06 09 Brigid Bazlen, Wisc, actress (Pam-Too Young to go Steady)
1944 06 09 Viscount Craigavon
1944 06 09 record litter of 23 puppies is born to Lena, a foxhound, Ambler Penn
1945 06 09 Faina Myelink, USSR, discus thrower (Olympic-gold-1972)
1946 06 09 Peter Kilfoyle, British MP
1947 06 09 Mitch Mitchell, drummer (Jimi Hendrix Experience-Purple Haze)
1948 06 09 Jim Bailey, NCAA punter (most punts in season-101, Va Milt Academy)
1948 06 09 Nathaniel Rosen, Altadena Ca, cellist (Tchaikovsky-gold-1978)
1949 06 09 Douglas Henderson, British MP
1951 06 09 Benny Neyman, Dutch singer (I Don't Know How)
1951 06 09 Bonnie Tyler, [Gaynor Hopkins], rocker (Total Eclipse of the Heart)
1951 06 09 Dave Parker, baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates, NL MVP 1978)
1954 06 09 Pete Byrne Bath England,, rocker (Naked Eyes)
1957 06 09 Elly van Holly, running star (3k indoor world record)
1958 06 09 Donald Michael Santini, Mass, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List)
1959 06 09 Peter Fowler, Hornsby NSW, Australasia golfer
1960 06 09 Nancy Taylor, SF CA, LPGA golfer (1994 Rochester Intl-54th)
1961 06 09 Michael J Fox, Edm, actor (Family Ties, Back to the Future, Teen Wolf)
1962 06 09 Eddie Lundon, rocker (China Crisis-Christian)
1963 06 09 Johnny Depp, Queensboro Ky, actor (21 Jump Street, Ed Wood)
1964 06 09 Gloria Reuben, Toronto, actress (Jeanie Boulet-ER)
1964 06 09 Wayman Tisdale, NBA center/forward (Phoenix Suns)
1965 06 09 Gloria Reuben, actress (Jeanie Boulet-ER)
1965 06 09 Jeff Williams, Santa Monica Calif, beach volleyballer (Olympics-96)
1965 06 09 Michelle Francis Bird, campaigner
1966 06 09 Anthony Martino, CFL punter (Calgary Stampeders)
1967 06 09 Robert Reading, Buffalo NY, 110m hurdler
1968 06 09 Tom Rouen, NFL punter (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32)
1969 06 09 Keith Alex, NFL guard (Minn Vikings)
1969 06 09 Mitch McLee, [Douglas Lee Mitchell], Miles Mi, drummer (Southgang)
1970 06 09 Harry Van Hofwegen, CFL defensive tackle (BC Lions)
1970 06 09 Russ Romaniuk, Winnipeg, NHL left wing (Phila Flyers)
1971 06 09 D'Marco Farr, defensive tackle (St Louis Rams)
1971 06 09 Joey Gullion, Gallopolis OH, Nike golfer (NIKE SC Classic-18th)
1971 06 09 Roderick Lewis, NFL tight end (Houston/Tennessee Oilers)
1971 06 09 Romano Sion, soccer player (Dordrecht '90/FC Groningen)
1972 06 09 Bryan Strang, cricket pace bowler (brother of Paul Zimbabwe 1995- )
1972 06 09 Steven Salter, CFL offensive linebacker (Toronto Argonauts)
1972 06 09 Wardell Rouse, NFL linebacker (Tampa Bay Bucs)
1973 06 09 Chris Villarrial, center/guard (Chicago Bears)
1973 06 09 Grant Marshall, Mississauga, NHL right wing (Dallas Stars)
1973 06 09 Orlondo Steinauer, CFL cornerback (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
1973 06 09 Tedy Bruschi, linebacker (New England Patriots)
1974 06 09 Jana Nejedly, Prague Czech, Canadian tennis player (Olympics-96)
1974 06 09 Jon Harris, defensive end (Philadelphia Eagles)
1975 06 09 Andrew Symonds, cricketer (Birmingham, brilliant Qld & Gloucs batsman)
1975 06 09 Carolyne Lepage, Montreal Quebec, 48 kg judoka (Olympics-96)
1975 06 09 Paul Agostino, Australian soccer striker (Olyroos, Olympics-96)
1977 06 09 Zephnad Wattimury, Dutch soccer player (FC Groningen
1978 06 09 Elizabeth Reid, Fairfax Va, gymnast (alt-Olympics-96)
1978 06 09 Lucia Povraznikova, Miss Slovak republic Universe (1997)
1981 06 09 Natalie Portman, actress (Professional, Everyone Says I Love You)
1982 06 09 Amber Yoder, Miss Indiana Teen USA (1997)
1991 06 09 Abraham Joseph Groening, son of Simpson creator Matt Groening

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