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Escuela Superior De Comercio Carlos Pellegrini

Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini

The Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini (High School of Commerce Carlos Pellegrini, ESCCP) is a public high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of the most prestigious in Latin America. Founded on February 19 1890 by president Carlos Pellegrini under the name of Escuela de Comercio de la Capital de la República (Commerce School of the Capital of the Republic) to be the first Commerce School in the country, enabling its graduates to be the firsts with the high school degree needed for admission in Economic Sciences' Colleges. In 1908 it was renamed to its current denomination. In 1931 the school is placed under the control of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), and in 1953 women where given the right to study in the institution. As the school is under the UBA control the admission process is a highly competitive one, involving multiple exams in Mathematics, History, Geography and Spanish. Most if not all of the teaching staff also teach in the UBA, and Physical Education is performed on UBA's Ciudad Universitaria (campus). This relationship between the school and the University also grants graduated students the possibility of starting many careers, specially including economy-related ones, without the need of the Ciclo Básico Común (Common Basic Cycle; a year of basic career subjects study, mainly aimed to level students from different highschool backgrounds), and a diploma issued by the University itself.

School's Info

- Principal: Abraham Leonardo Gak
- Degree: Fellow Chartered Accountant (Perito Mercantil)
- Main subjects: Business, Mathematics, Spanish language, Geography, Biology, History, Physics, Chemistry and Computing.
- Languages.: English (80% of the students) and French (20% of the students)
- Number of students (estimated): 2000
- Address: Marcelo T. de Alvear 1851, C1122AAA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

External links

- [http://www.cpel.uba.ar/ Official Site] (Spanish)

High school

:For the highest form of classical riding, see High School Dressage (horse).

High school is the name used for the last segment of compulsory education in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Singapore, Taiwan (Republic of China), the United Kingdom and the United States. It provides a secondary education for boys and girls. The idea was first instituted in France by Napoleon as a way to train future officers for his military.

Australia

Main articles: List of schools in Australia, Queensland state high schools "High school" is the most common name for secondary schools in Australia. In Victoria the name was officially changed to "secondary college" in the early 1990s, but to the majority of the adult population they are still "high schools." In the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania "high school" is 7–10, and students go to (matriculation) "college" for 11–12. Many private secondary education institutions are called colleges. In some states TAFE institutes/colleges offfer high school equivalent courses, usually undertaken by adult students who left school without completing/undertaking Year 12 leaving certificate requirements. There are also private commercial education facilities offering Year 12 leaving certificate courses, often to students wishing to improve on their High School results in order to obtain entry to, or better placement opportunities at, university. The exact length of secondary schooling varies from state to state. With high schools in New South Wales and Victoria serving years 7–12, and Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia serving years 8–12. It is compulsory to attend school until the age of fifteen in all states and territories except for South Australia, where attendance is compulsory until age 16 and Tasmania, where attendance is compulsory until age 17. The matter of compulsory attendance has been complicated by various initiatives at Commonwealth and State level to ensure that young people are in school, training or employment. There are calls to replace compulsory attendance age with compulsory achievement requirements, meaning that students must complete their final year level rather than being able to leave at reaching "leaving age". There are also calls to make attendance to the end of year 12 mandatory.
Canada
Secondary schooling in Canada differs depending on the province in which one resides. Normally it follows the American pattern; however, in Quebec, high school is grades 7 to 11[http://www.meq.gouv.qc.ca/daic/pdf/educqceng.pdf]. In Quebec most students follow high school by attending a CÉGEP, which is comparable to a two-year junior college and is obligatory for Quebec students wishing to go on to university in Quebec. Vocational CEGEPs are three years. Secondary schools in the remaining provinces (except Alberta and Nova Scotia) use four grades from 9 through 12, with OAC/grade 13 having been recently removed as a requirement for students wishing to attend post-secondary school in Ontario. In Alberta and Nova Scotia, a secondary school is called a "senior high school", which teaches grades 10-12. A middle school is called a "junior high school", and teaches grades 7-9. Most senior high schools simply have "high school" in their name, without including the word "senior". If not stated, the term "high school" usually just refers to a "senior high school". British Columbia uses a system similar to Alberta (grade 8-12 or 9-12, depending on regional school boards). Historically several provinces had two secondary education programs. High schools were to prepare students to enter the workforce while collegiate institutes prepared students for university.
Hong Kong
Main article: Education in Hong Kong Secondary education in Hong Kong is largely based on the British schooling system. High school starts on the 7th year of formal education, after Primary Six, called Form One. Students normally spend five years in secondary schools, of which the first three years (Forms One to Three) are free and compulsory like primary education. Forms Four and Five students prepare for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), which takes place after Form Five. Students obtaining a satisfactory grade will be promoted to Form Six, who then prepare for the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) (colloquially the A-levels), which is to be taken after Form Seven. The HKALE and HKCEE results will be considered by universities for admission. Some secondary schools in Hong Kong are called "colleges." In some schools, Form Six and Form Seven are also called Lower Six and Upper Six respectively. The HKCEE and HKALE is equivalent to the GCE O-level (or GCSE) and the GCE A-level respectively. As of Oct 2004, there has been heated discussion on proposed changes in the education system, which includes (amongst others) reduction of the duration of secondary education from seven years to six years, and merge the two exams HKCEE and HKALE into one exam. The proposed changes will be in effect within the next few years.
Japan
universities Main article: Secondary education in Japan The Japanese word for a high school is kōtōgakkō (高等学校; literally high school), or kōkō (高校) in short. High school in Japan covers years 10 through 12, and it is not mandatory. Most Japanese pupils attend high school. High schools in Japan are referred to by MEXT as "upper secondary schools." However most English-language newspapers and sources use the term "high school". Many school boards also use "high school"; for instance Tokyo's metropolitan government uses "senior high school".
Republic of Korea (South Korea)
Main article: Education in South Korea In South Korea, students from grades 10 through 12 attend high schools. A student may choose, however, the class he or she wishes to take for liberal arts. High schools in South Korea may also have subject specialty tracks. For example, university-bound students may choose to go to an academic science or foreign language specialty high school; while other students may choose a vocational track high school which emphasizes agriculture, commerce, or technical trade curriculums. High schools are called 고등학교 (Revised: godeung hakgyo; McCune-Reischauer: kodŭng hakkyo), meaning high school.
Singapore
Main article: Secondary education in Singapore Based on results of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), Singapore's students undergo secondary education in either the Special, Express, Normal courses or the Integrated Programme which is recently implemented in 2004. Both the Special and Express are 4-year courses leading up to a Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education (GCE) 'Ordinary' - 'O' level examination. The difference between Special and Express is that the former's mother tongue language (English and Mother Tongue) are taught at a higher level (more difficult). The Normal course is a 4-year course leading up to a Singapore-Cambridge GCE "Normal" - "N" level examination, with the possiblity of a 5th year followed by a Singapore-Cambridge GCE "Ordinary" - "O" level examination. It is split into "Normal (Academic)" and "Normal (Technical)" where in the latter students take subjects that are technical in nature, such as Design and Technology. After the second year of a secondary school course, students are typically steamed into a wide range of course combinations, making the total number of subject they have to sit for in "O" level six to ten subjects. This includes science (Physics, Biology and Chemistry), humanities (Elective Geography/History, Pure Geography/History, Social Studies, Literature, etc.) and additional mathematics subject at a higher level, or "combined" subject modules. Co-curricular activities has become compulsory at the Secondary level, where all pupils must participate in at least one core CCA, and participation is graded together with other things like Leadership throughout the four years of Secondary education, in a scoring system. Competitions are organised so that students can have an objective towards to work, and in the case of musical groups, showcase talents. [http://www.moe.gov.sg/corporate/secondary3.htm]
Republic of China (Taiwan)
The secondary education in Taiwan includes junior high school, senior high school, vocational high school, military school, and complete high school. The traditional secondary education institutions were established in "Japanese colonial time." Today, they include many features from the United States. After six years in elementary school, the rules state that children must enter junior high school, or their parents may be fined. There are three grades in junior high. Children who achieve the third grade can choose to enter senior high school, vocational high school, or complete high school. If children want to continue their formal education, they must sit for an exam. Generally speaking, the grade to enter high school and complete high school is highest, while it is lower to go on to vocational high school and military school. Senior high school has three grades. Graduates from senior high school often continue on to university. Vocational high school has three grades as well. Children who complete vocational high school can then enter a technological university. Complete high school is like that of American high schools, in that it has grades seven to grade twelve.
United Kingdom
Main article: Education in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, the term "high school" is not used generically, though in Scotland it is frequently used in the name of a school, an example being the Royal High School in Edinburgh. Unlike the United States, a pupil of such a school would refer to the institution simply as "school" and in general discussion, the term "secondary school" is invariably used to make the distinction between these schools and schools for younger children ("primary school"). In most part of the UK students transfer from primary school to secondary school at age 11. Education is compulsory to age 16 and schooling continues for 2 further years after that. Traditionally the five years of compulsory secondary schooling from ages 11 to 16 were known as "first year" through to "fifth year," but they have now been renamed "Year 7" through to "Year 11." After Year 11 a student can opt to remain at school, to transfer to a college, or to leave education and seek work. Those who stay at school enter years 12 and 13. These years are traditionally known as the Sixth Form ("Lower Sixth" and "Upper Sixth"), and required students to specialise in three or four subjects for their A Levels. This is an unusually specialised curriculum for this age group by international standards, and recently some moves have been made to increase the number of subjects studied. There are also vocational qualifications aimed at this age group. After attaining the relevant A Level qualifications the student can enter university. In a few parts of the UK there are middle schools for ages 9 to 13 and upper schools for ages 13-18.
South Africa
In South Africa, high school begins at Grade 8 (the eighth year of education). Students study for five years, at the end of which they write what are known as matric examinations. After this, they can progress to university education (provided they have been academically successful).
United States
upper school]] Main article: Secondary education in the United States In the United States, high school generally consists of grades 9, 10, 11, and 12, although the inclusion of grade 9 varies by school district. Students usually graduate from high school in the year of their 18th birthday. A few American secondary schools still incorporate grades 7 through 12, but the norm is grades 9-12. About 70% of American students complete high school and receive a diploma. A high school diploma or General Educational Development Test (GED) certificate is usually required for entrance into a two or four-year college or university and to other post-secondary education programs. As a practical matter, while laws in most states mandate school attendance at least until graduation or age 16, enforcement of the truancy laws is sporadic. Conversely, students who have failed a grade may remain in high school past the age of 18, if they have not graduated on time. The public-funded schools must provide education to everyone; however, if an individual proves a threat to himself and/or others, or if he reaches the age of 21 without a diploma, then most states allow the school to expel the student.
- Category:Educational stages Category:School types Category:School terminology ko:고등학교 ja:高等学校

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires ("Good Airs" in Spanish, originally meaning "Fair Winds") is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, as well as one of the largest cities in Latin America. Buenos Aires is located on the southern shore of the River Plate, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent, opposite Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Buenos Aires is located at (-34.667, -58.40). Uruguay]] After the internal conflicts of the 19th century, Buenos Aires was federalised and removed from Buenos Aires Province; its city limits were enlarged to include the former towns of Belgrano and Flores (both are now neighbourhoods in the city). Argentines sometimes refer to the city as Capital Federal to differentiate the city from the province of the same name. Since 1994 its name formally includes the title of Autonomous City (Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires).

Population

The people of Buenos Aires are known as porteños ("people of the port"), acknowledging the major historical importance of the port in the development of the city and the whole nation. The population of Buenos Aires consists primarily of Argentines of Spanish and Italian descent. The vast majority of these originate from the Galician, Asturian, and Basque regions of Spain, and the Calabrian, Ligurian and Neapolitan regions of Italy. There are also sizable communities of people with Arab, Jewish, Armenian, British, Irish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean origins (see also: Asian-Argentines). Also, there is a mixed Spanish-aboriginal (mestizo/criollo) minority, which includes many recent immigrants from Bolivia and Paraguay. Most inhabitants are Roman Catholic. Sizable Jewish and Muslim communities have existed for over 100 years, and evangelic churches have steadily increased their ranks since the 1980s. The city proper has a population of 2,776,138 according to the , while the Greater Buenos Aires, which also encompasses suburbia that belong to the province of Buenos Aires, has more than 11.4 million inhabitants. Suburbanites are called porteños and also bonaerenses; only the last term applies to the rest of the province. suburbia

Economy

suburbia Buenos Aires is the financial, industrial, commercial, and cultural hub of Argentina. Its port is one of the busiest in the world; navigable rivers connect it to north-east Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. As a result, it serves as the distribution hub for a vast area of the south-eastern region of the continent. To the west of Buenos Aires is the Pampa Húmeda, the most productive agricultural region of Argentina (as opposed to the dry southern pampa, mostly used for cattle farms). Meat, dairy, grain, tobacco, wool and hide products are processed or manufactured in the Buenos Aires area. Other leading industries are automobile manufacturing, oil refining, metalworking, machine building, and the production of textiles, chemicals, clothing, and beverages.

History

Pampa Spanish seaman Juan Díaz de Solís discovered the Río de la Plata (River Plate) in 1516 but his expedition was cut short by an attack in which he was killed (and supposedly cannibalized) by the native Charrúa or Guaraní tribe (disputed). The city was first founded as Santa María del Buen Ayre on February 2, 1536 by a Spanish gold-seeking expedition under Pedro de Mendoza. The name was chosen by Mendoza's chaplain, who was a devout follower of the Virgine de Bonaria (Our Lady of the Fair Winds) of Cagliari, Sardinia. The location of Mendoza's city was on today's San Telmo district (south of the city center). More attacks by the indigenous peoples forced the settlers away and in 1541 the site was abandoned. A second (and permanent) settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción (now capital of Paraguay). From its earliest days the success of Buenos Aires depended on trade. The Spanish administration of the 17th and 18th centuries insisted that all trade to Europe initially pass through Lima, Peru so that taxes could be collected. This scheme frustrated the traders of Buenos Aires and a thriving contraband industry developed. Unsurprisingly, this also instilled a deep resentment in porteños towards Spanish authorities. Lima, Peru Sensing this instability, Charles III of Spain progressively eased the trade restrictions and finally declared Buenos Aires an open port in the late 1700s. Those placating actions did not have the desired effect, and the porteños, some of them versed in the ideology of the French revolution, became even more desirous of independence from Spain. During the British invasions of the River Plate British forces invaded Buenos Aires twice in 1806–1807 but were rebuffed by local militias. Ultimately, on May 25, 1810, while Spain endured the Peninsular War and after a week of mostly pacific deliberations, the creole citizens of Buenos Aires successfully ousted the Spanish Viceroy and established a provincial government; the date is now celebrated as a national holiday (May Revolution Day). Formal independence from Spain was declared only in 1816. Buenos Aires historically was Argentina's main stage for liberal and free-trade ideas, with many of the provinces advocating for a more conservative-Catholic approach. Many tensions within Argentine history, starting with the centralist-federalist conflicts of the 19th century, can be traced back to this contrast. In the 19th century the city suffered naval blockades on two occasions: first by the French, from 1838 to 1840, and then a joint Anglo-French blockade from 1845 to 1848. Both blockades failed to surrender the city, and the foreign powers eventually desisted from their demands. Railroad construction during the second half of the 19th century increased the economic power of Buenos Aires as raw materials flowed into its factories, and the town became a metropolitan and multicultural city that ranked itself with the major European capitals. For example, the Teatro Colón was one of the world's top opera venues. The city's main avenues were built in those years, and the dawn of the 20th century saw the construction of South America's tallest buildings and first subway. By the 1920s Buenos Aires was a favoured destination for immigrants from Europe, as well as from the poorer provinces and neighboring countries, and large shanty towns (villas miseria) started growing around the city's industrial areas, leading to extensive social problems. villas miseria During the 20th century, military juntas and governments seized power several times, to impose a combination of political repression and neoliberal economics. Buenos Aires was also the cradle of Peronism: the now-mythical demonstration of October 17 1945 took place in Plaza de Mayo. Industrial workers of the Buenos Aires suburbia have been Peronism's main support base ever since, and Plaza de Mayo became the site for social demonstrations and many of the country's political events. In 1955, the military uprising that would depose President Perón (the Revolución Libertadora) sent planes that bombed the Plaza de Mayo area. It was the only time the city was attacked from the air. In the 1970s, the city suffered from the fighting between revolutionary movements (the left-wing Montoneros, E.R.P. and F.A.R.) and the right-wing paramilitary group Triple A. The military coup of 1976 only escalated this conflict; the "Dirty War" produced between 10,000 and 30,000 desaparecidos. The silent marches of their mothers (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo) are a well-known image of Argentine suffering during those times. The city was visited by Pope John Paul II on two occasions: in 1982, due to the outbreak of the Falklands (Malvinas) War, and a second visit in 1987, which gathered crowds never seen before in the city. On March 17, 1992 a bomb exploded in the Israeli Embassy killing 29 and injuring 242. Another explosion, on July 18, 1994 destroyed a building housing several Jewish organizations killing 96 and injuring many more (See AMIA bombing).

Culture

Language variations

Argentines refer to their language as castellano (Castilian). The dialect spoken in Buenos Aires (as well as in other large cities like Rosario and Montevideo, Uruguay) is characterised by voseo, yeísmo and aspiration or loss of syllable-final -s. Due to its geographical location, it is known as Rioplatense Spanish. In the early 20th century, Argentina absorbed millions of immigrants, mostly from Italy and Spain. Italian immigrants spoke mostly in their local dialects (mainly Napulitano, Sicilianu and Genovese), and their adoption of Spanish was gradual. A pidgin of Italian dialects and Spanish called cocoliche was widely heard in the beginning of the 20th century; its usage decayed around the 1950s, and today survives mostly as comic relief. As many Spanish immigrants were from Galicia, to the extent that Spaniards are still called gallegos (Galicians), Galician language and culture had a major presence in the city for most of the 20th century. In recent years, descendants of Galician immigrants have led a mini-boom in Celtic music (which also highlighted the Welsh traditions of Patagonia). Yiddish was common in Buenos Aires, especially in the Balvanera garment district, until the 1960s. A lively Korean language and Chinese language press has developed since the 1980s. Most of the newer immigrants learn Spanish quickly and assimilate into city life. The lunfardo argot originated within the prison population, and spread to all porteños with time. Lunfardo uses words from Italian dialects, and tricks such as inverting the syllables within a word (vesre). Lunfardo is used by porteños mostly in informal settings.

Tango

Many immigrants arrived in Buenos Aires without their families. This led to a significant phenomenon of prostitution starting around 1870. The erotically charged tango dance originated in brothels, but later found a wider audience. In 1902, the Teatro Opera started organising tango balls. In the 1920s, tango was adopted by the Parisian high society and then all over the world. The Buenos Aires style of tango music evolved into an elaborated genre. In its heyday, tango had many famous orchestras such as those led by Aníbal Troilo and Juan D'Arienzo, and singers such as Carlos Gardel and Edmundo Rivero. Buenos Aires now holds an annual "Tango Day" each December 11. In San Telmo, Sundays are devoted to tango shows on the streets and antiques trade in the bazaars around Dorrego Square.

Miscellaneous

Buenos Aires was home for Argentine writers Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Ernesto Sábato and Victoria Ocampo. Writer Julio Cortázar, who was born in Brussels, lived for a long period in Buenos Aires, before relocating to France where he died. International figures who lived in Buenos Aires include René Goscinny, Witold Gombrowicz, Jerry Masucci, and businessmen John S. Reed and Aristotle Onassis. During the Spanish Civil War and in its aftermath, Buenos Aires provided refuge for many, including philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. The University of Buenos Aires, which used to be the premier learning institution in South America, has produced five Nobel Prize winners. For much of the 20th century, Buenos Aires was the cultural capital of the Spanish-speaking world, and many porteños flaunted their riches abroad (for example, famed New York nightclub El Morocco was owned by a porteño playboy). This led to an stereotype of Argentines as vain and arrogant that became widespread across Latin America; some (especially Uruguayans) make the distinction between porteños and provincianos (people from the provinces), who are excluded from this characterization.

Transportation

Uruguay Buenos Aires used to be relatively congestion-free for a city of its size. Toll freeways opened in the late 1970s by then-mayor Osvaldo Cacciatore provided fast access to the downtown area, increasing the number of cars coming into the city. During Cacciatore's tenure, the streets of the downtown financial district (roughly one square kilometer in size) were declared off-limits to private cars during daytime. Following the economic mini-boom of the 1990s, more people started commuting by car, and congestion increased. Most major avenues are gridlocked at peak hours, and congestion also results from people driving from and to weekends in the country. A majority of commuters use public transportation. An original Buenos Aires invention is the colectivo (a small bus built out of a truck chassis and sitting 21 to 27). Renovation of the fleet is severely lagging, and colectivos are decried as old, noisy and polluting. Diferenciales (differential-rate buses) have better sitting arrangements and air conditioning, which is a major advantage during the summer. Buenos Aires has an extensive subway network, known as the subte (short for subterráneo—"underground"). Also, all of Argentina's extensive railway network converges on Buenos Aires. Commuter trains are popular with suburbanites, but some lines have serious crime issues. Black-and-yellow taxis roam the streets at all hours. Some of these are unlicensed (controls are not fully enforced), so visitors are advised to phone a reputable radio-link company. Limo services, known as remises, have become more popular in the last few years. The Buenos Aires international airport, Ministro Pistarini International Airport, is located in the suburb of Ezeiza and is often called simply "Ezeiza". The Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport, located within city limits near the riverbank, serves mostly domestic traffic.

Barrios

The city is divided into 47 barrios (neighbourhoods) for administrative purposes. The division was originally based on Catholic parroquias (parishes), but has undergone a series of changes since the 1940s. A newer administrative scheme has divided the city into comunas.

Sports

Football is a passion for Argentines. The city has many teams playing in the major league. The best-known rivalry is the one between Boca Juniors and River Plate. Other major clubs include San Lorenzo de Almagro and Vélez Sársfield. Diego Armando Maradona, who was born in a poor suburb of Buenos Aires and is widely hailed as one of the greatest football players ever, started his career with Argentinos Juniors and later played for Boca Juniors (he also played for other clubs, notably Italian side SSC Napoli). Buenos Aires has been a candidate city for the Summer Olympic Games on three occasions: for the 1956 Games, lost by a single vote to Melbourne; for the 1968 Summer Olympics, which were held in Mexico City (to this date, the only Games held in Latin America); and in 2004, when the games were awarded to Athens. As of 2005, Argentina is the only founding member of the International Olympic Committee that has never hosted the games. Buenos Aires hosted the first Pan American Games which started on February 25, 1951, as well as the 1950 and 1990 basketball world championships and the 1978 football (soccer) World Cup (Argentina won that cup on June 25, 1978, defeating the Netherlands by a score of 3-1). Buenos Aires Oscar Gálvez track hosted twenty editions of the Formula One Argentine Grand Prix between 1953 and 1998; its discontinuation was due to financial reasons. The track features local categories on most weekends. Argentines' preference for horses can be experienced in several ways: horse racing in the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo racetrack, polo in the Campo Argentino de Polo (located just across Libertador Avenue from the Hipódromo), and pato, a kind of basketball played on horseback that was declared the national game in 1953 by President Juan Perón. Other popular sports in Buenos Aires are basketball, rugby, tennis, and field hockey.

Internet

Buenos Aires ISPs provide dial-up and ADSL connections to the Internet, at rates of less than US$ 50/month. In 2004, a major ISP introduced download quotas, which prompted a switch by many subscribers to smaller ISPs that still allow unlimited use, as of 2005. Suburban users routinely experience lower DSL speeds, but their situation is improving steadily as investment in new facilities has been stepped up. The Internet boom in the early 2000s gave birth to cibercafés. Their hourly rates are usually 50 centavos to 3 pesos), much lower than those charged in developed countries.

Tourist attractions and places of interest

pesos
- Casa Rosada
- Plaza de Mayo
- Florida Street
- Teatro Colón
- San Telmo
- Puerto Madero
- Palermo Hollywood and Palermo SOHO
- La Boca
- La Recoleta Cemetery
- Aeroparque Jorge Newbery

External links

-
- [http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar www.buenosaires.gov.ar - Buenos Aires City Government]
- [http://www.buenosaires.com www.buenosaires.com - Buenos Aires City Guide]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=buenos+aires&ll=-34.609758,-58.421860&spn=0.133683,0.240704&t=k&hl=en Google Maps Satellite city View] ;Online newspapers:
- [http://www.buenosairesherald.com/ The Buenos Aires Herald] Online edition of a local English language newspaper
- [http://www.clarin.com/ Clarín]
- [http://www.lanacion.com.ar/ La Nación]
- [http://www.pagina12web.com.ar/ Página 12]
- [http://www.infobae.com/ Infobae]
- [http://www.laprensa.com.ar/ La Prensa] Category:Capitals in South America Category:Cities in Argentina Category:Coastal cities ko:부에노스아이레스 ms:Buenos Aires ja:ブエノスアイレス simple:Buenos Aires

Argentina

Argentina is a country in South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast, and Chile in the west and south. It also claims the British overseas territories of the Falkland Islands (known in Spanish the Islas Malvinas ) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Under the name of Argentine Antarctica, it claims around 1,000,000 km² of Antarctica, overlapping other claims by Chile and the United Kingdom. By area, it is the second largest country of South America after Brazil and the 8th largest country in the world. The country is formally named República Argentina (Argentine Republic), while for purposes of legislation the form Nación Argentina (Argentine Nation) is used.

Origin and history of the name

The name Argentina derives from the Latin argentum (silver) and the first Spanish conquerors to the River Plate. Indigenous people gave silver gifts to the survivors of the shipwrecked expedition, who were led by Juan Díaz de Solís. The legend of Sierra del Plata — a mountain rich in silver — reached Spain around 1524. The Spaniards named the river of Solís, Río de la Plata (River of the Silver). The name Argentina was first used in Ruy Diaz de Guzman's 1612 book Historia del descubrimiento, población, y conquista del Río de la Plata (History of the discovery, population, and conquest of the River Plate), naming the territory Tierra Argentina (land of silver).

History

The area of present Argentina was relatively sparsely populated until it was colonised by Europeans. The Diaguita lived in northwestern Argentina on the edge of the expanding Inca Empire; the Guaraní lived farther east. Europeans arrived in 1502. Spain established a permanent colony on the site of Buenos Aires in 1580, and the Viceroyalty of the River Plate in 1776. Independence from Spain was declared on 9 July 1816. Centralist and federationist groups were in conflict, until national unity was established and the constitution promulgated in 1853. Foreign investment and immigration from Europe aided the introduction of modern agricultural techniques and integration of Argentina into the world economy in the late 19th century. In the 1880s the "Conquest of the Desert" subdued or exterminated the remaining native tribes of Patagonia. From 1880 to 1930 Argentina became one of the ten wealthiest nations. Conservative forces dominated Argentine politics until 1916, when their traditional rivals, the Radicals, won control of the government. The military forced Hipólito Yrigoyen from power in 1930 leading to another decade of Conservative rule. 1930, and the Antarctica, that overlaps both Chilean and British claims, though all three are signatory to the Antarctic Treaty]] Political change led to the presidency of Juan Perón in 1946, who aimed at empowering the working class and greatly expanded the number of unionised workers. The Revolución Libertadora of 1955 deposed him. In the 1950s and 1960s, military and civilian administrations traded power. When military governments failed to revive the economy and suppress escalating terrorism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the way was open for Perón's return to the presidency in 1973, with his third wife, María Estela Isabel Martínez de Perón, as Vice President. During this period, extremists on the left and right carried out terrorist acts with a frequency that threatened public order. Perón died in 1974. His wife succeeded him in office, but a military coup removed her from office in 1976, and the armed forces formally exercised power through a junta in charge of the self-appointed National Reorganisation Process, until 1983. The armed forces repressed opposition using harsh illegal measures (the "Dirty War"); thousands of dissidents were "disappeared". Economic problems, charges of corruption, public revulsion in the face of human rights abuses and, finally, the country's 1982 defeat in the Falklands War discredited the Argentine military regime. Democracy was restored in 1983. Raúl Alfonsín's Radical government took steps intending to account for the "disappeared", establishing civilian control of the armed forces and consolidating democratic institutions. Failure to resolve endemic economic problems and an inability to maintain public confidence caused his early departure. President Carlos Menem imposed peso-dollar fixed exchange rate in 1991 to stop hyperinflation, and adopted far-reaching market-based policies, dismantling protectionist barriers and business regulations, and implementing a privatisation program. These reforms contributed to significant increases in investment and growth with stable prices through most of the 1990s. The Menem and de la Rúa administrations faced diminished competitiveness of exports, massive imports which damaged national industry and reduced employment, chronic fiscal and trade deficits, and the contagion of several economic crises. The Asian financial crisis in 1998 precipitated an outflow of capital that mushroomed into a recession, which led to a total freezing of the bank accounts (the corralito), and culminated in a financial panic in November 2001. Next month, amidst bloody riots, President de la Rúa resigned. Several new presidents followed in quick succession. Argentina defaulted on its international debt obligations. The peso's almost 12-year-old link with the dollar was abandoned, resulting in massive currency depreciation and inflation, in turn triggering a spike in unemployment and poverty. In 2003, Néstor Kirchner became the president, and started implementing new policies based on re-industrialisation, import substitution, increased exports, consistent fiscal surplus, and high exchange rate.

Politics

Néstor Kirchner The Argentine constitution of 1853, as revised in 1994, mandates a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches at the national and provincial level. The president and vice president are directly elected to 4-year terms. Both are limited to two consecutive terms; they are allowed to stand for a third term or more after an interval of at least one term. The president appoints cabinet ministers, and the constitution grants him considerable power as both head of state and head of government, including authority to enact laws by presidential decree under conditions of "urgency and necessity" and the line-item veto. Argentina's parliament is the bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Nación, consisting of a Senate (Senado) of 72 seats and a Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) of 257 members. Since 2001, senators have been directly elected, with each province, including the Federal Capital, represented by three senators. Senators serve 6-year terms. One-third of the Senate stands for reelection every 2 years via a partial majority system in each district. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected to 4-year term via a system of proportional representation. Voters elect half the members of the lower house every 2 years. See also Argentinian Legal System

Administrative Divisions

Argentinian Legal System Argentina is divided into 23 provinces (provincias; singular: provincia), and 1 autonomous city (commonly known as capital federal), marked with an asterisk: ^- The current official name for the federal district is "Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires". Buenos Aires has been the capital of Argentina since its unification, but there have been projects to move the administrative centre elsewhere. During the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín a law was passed ordering the move of the federal capital to Viedma, a city in the Patagonic province of Río Negro. Studies were underway when hyperinflation, in 1989, killed off the project. Though the law was never formally repealed, it has become a mere historical relic, and the project has been forgotten.

Urbanization

hyperinflation About 2.7 million people live in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, and roughly 11.5 million in Greater Buenos Aires (2001), making it one of the largest urban conglomerates in the world. Together with their respective metropolitan areas, the second and third largest cities in Argentina, Córdoba and Rosario, each comprise about 1.3 million inhabitants. Most European immigrants to Argentina (coming in great waves especially around the First and the Second World Wars) settled in the cities, which offered jobs, education, and other opportunities that enabled newcomers to enter the middle class. Since the 1930s many rural workers have moved to the big cities. The 1990s saw many rural towns become ghost towns when train services were abandoned and local products manufactured on a small scale were replaced by massive amounts of imported cheap goods, in part because of the monetary policy which kept the U. S. dollar exchange rate fixed and low. Many slums (villas miseria) sprouted in the outskirts of the largest cities, inhabited by empoverished low-class urban dwellers and migrants from smaller towns in the interior of the country. Argentina's urban areas have a European look, reflecting the influence of their European settlers. Many towns and cities are built like Spanish cities around a main square called a plaza. A cathedral and important government buildings often face the plaza. The general layout of the cities is called a damero, that is, a checkerboard, since it is based on a pattern of square blocks, though modern developments sometimes depart from it (for example, the city of La Plata, built at the end of the 19th century, is organised as a checkerboard plus diagonal avenues at fixed intervals). In descending order by number of inhabitants, the major cities in Argentina are Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, La Plata, Tucumán, Mar del Plata, Salta, Santa Fe, and Bahía Blanca. For a more comprehensive list, see List of cities in Argentina.

Geography

List of cities in Argentina Argentina can roughly be divided into three parts: the fertile plains of the Pampas in the central part of the country, the centre of Argentina's agricultural wealth; the flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in the southern half down to Tierra del Fuego; and the rugged Andes mountain range along the western border with Chile, with the highest point being the Cerro Aconcagua at 6,960 m. Major rivers include the Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Uruguay and the largest river, the Paraná. The latter two flow together before meeting the Atlantic Ocean, forming the estuary of the River Plate. The Argentine climate is predominantly temperate with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to arid/sub-Antarctic in far south.

Enclaves and exclaves

There is one Argentine exclave: the island of Martín García (co-ordinates ). It is situated near the confluence of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, a mere kilometre inside Uruguayan waters, about 3.5 km from the Uruguayan coastline, near the small city of Martín Chico (itself about halfway between Nueva Palmira and Colonia). An agreement reached by Argentina and Uruguay in 1973 reaffirmed Argentine jurisdiction over the island, ending a century-old dispute between the two countries. According to the terms of the agreement, Martín García is to be devoted exclusively to a natural preserve. Its area is about 2 km², and the population about 200 people.

Economy

Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. The country historically had a large middle class, compared to other Latin American countries, but this segment of the population was decimated by a succession of economic crises. Today, while a significant segment of the population is still financially well-off, they stay in sharp contrast with millions who live in poverty or on the brink of it. Since the late 1970s the country piled up public debt and was plagued by bouts of high inflation. In 1991, the government pegged the peso to the U. S. dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base. The government then embarked on a path of trade liberalisation, deregulation, and privatisation. Inflation dropped and GDP grew, but external economic shocks and failures of the system diluted its benefits, causing it to crumble in slow motion, from 1995 and up to the collapse in 2001. By 2002 Argentina had defaulted on its debt, its GDP had shrunk, unemployment was over 18%, the peso had devalued 75% after being floated, and inflation was hitting again. However, careful spending control and heavy taxes on now soaring exports gave the state the tools to regain resources and conduct monetary policy. In 2003, import substitution policies and soaring exports, coupled with a lower inflation and expansive economic measures, triggered a surge in the GDP, which was repeated in 2004, creating jobs and encouraging internal consumption. Capital flight decreased, and foreign investment slowly returned. The influx of foreign currency from exports created such a huge trade surplus that the Central Bank was forced to buy dollars from the market, which it continues to do at the time, to be accumulated as reserves. The situation in 2005 is much improved, but there are still large numbers of unemployed people that beg for some money or food, especially in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Some of them are homeless, and there is at least one small non-profit humanitarian organisation which distributes free food to some of them most days of the week.

Demographics

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Unlike most of its neighbouring countries, Argentina's population descends overwhelmingly from Europeans. The basic demographic stock (85% of the population) is made up of descendants of the Spanish colonists, augmented by descendants of later Italian and Spanish settlers. Around 56% of Argentinians, however, possess at least some indigenous Amerindian ancestry (as discovered by genetic research). Those who claimed their ancestry as Spanish — or Spanish and another ancestry, such as Spanish-Italian — were most likely to have some remnant Amerindian ancestry; a legacy of the almost complete absorption of colonial Argentina's mestizo majority by the post-colonial mass migratory influx of Europeans. The indigenous Amerindian — poorly estimated between 500,000 and 2 million — and identifiably mestizo populations are concentrated in the provinces of the north, northwest and south. As of 2001, 2.8% of Argentine households host a person that identifies as belonging to an indigenous group. Waves of immigrants from European countries arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Patagonian Chubut Valley has a significant Welsh-descended population and retains many aspects of Welsh culture. Other important immigrant groups came from Germany (German colonies were settled in the provinces of Entre Ríos, Misiones, Formosa, Córdoba and the Patagonian region, as well as in Buenos Aires itself), France (mostly settled in Buenos Aires city and province), Scandinavia (especially Sweden) the United Kingdom and Ireland (Buenos Aires and the Patagonia) and Eastern European nations, such as Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the Balkans region (especially Croatia and Serbia) and others. The Jewish community in Argentina is comprised predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews of Northern and Eastern European origin, and [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html numbers about 395,379], which is the largest in Latin America and fifth largest in the world. Syrian, Lebanese, and other Middle Eastern immigrants number about 500,000, mainly in urban areas. Small numbers of people from East Asia have settled Argentina, mainly in Buenos Aires. The first Asian-Argentines were of Japanese descent, but Koreans, Vietnamese, India and Chinese soon followed. There was a substantial immigration from other Latin American countries during the 1990s from Bolivia, Paraguay and Chile number about 2,000,000 and 4,000,000.

Culture

See also the articles on the cuisine, the music, and the football of Argentina. For a prevalent custom among Argentines, see mate. For the traditional Buenos Aires dance, see tango. Also see the list of people from Argentina.

Language

The only official language is Spanish, although some immigrants and indigenous communities have retained their original languages in specific points of the country. Argentina is the largest Spanish-speaking community that employs voseo (the use of the pronoun vos instead of tú, associated with some alternate verb conjugations). The most prevalent dialect is Rioplatense, with most speakers located in the basin of the River Plate.

Religion

River Plate Most of Argentina's population is at least nominally Roman Catholic (78%, though regular church attendance is much lower). Roman Catholicism is supported by the Argentine state, as stated in the Constitution. Evangelical churches gained a place in Argentina especially since the 1980s. The country also has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, about 300,000 strong, and is home to one of the largest Islamic mosques in Latin America. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) number over 330,300, the seventh largest concentration in the world[http://www.lds.org.ar/noticias2005/noti_ene2005/info_noti_ene2005_05.htm]. Traditional Protestant communities are also present.

References

External links

Government
- [http://www.info.gov.ar Gobierno Electrónico] - Official governmental gateway
- [http://www.presidencia.gov.ar Presidencia] - Official presidential site (in Spanish)
- [http://www.senado.gov.ar Honorable Senado de la Nación] - Official senatorial site (in Spanish)
- [http://www.diputados.gov.ar Honorable Cámara de Diputados de la Nación] - Official lower house site (in Spanish) Directories
- [http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/hispanic/argentina/argentina.html Library of Congress Portals on the World - Argentina]
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/South_America/Argentina Open Directory Project -Argentina] directory category
- [http://ar.todalanet.net Todalanet.net Argentina] - Search engine of Argentinean only web pages. News
- [http://www.telam.com.ar Official news agency]
- [http://www.tageblatt.com.ar Argentinisches Tageblatt] (in German)
- Buenos Aires Herald[http://www.buenosairesherald.com] (in English)
- Clarín[http://www.clarin.com], Argentina's most popular newspaper, published in Buenos Aires, distributed nationwide
- [http://www.diariodecuyo.com.ar Diario de Cuyo], from San Juan
- La Capital[http://www.lacapital.com.ar], from Rosario, Santa Fe Province
- [http://www.diariouno.net.ar Diario UNO], from Mendoza
- [http://www.eldiariodeparana.com.ar El Diario], from Paraná, Entre Ríos Province
- [http://www.infobae.com InfoBae], newspaper from Buenos Aires
- [http://www.lavozdelinterior.com.ar La Voz Del Interior], from Córdoba city
- [http://www.lagaceta.com.ar La Gaceta], from Tucumán
- La Nación[http://www.lanacion.com] ("The Nation"), from Buenos Aires, distributed nationwide
- [http://www.larazon.com.ar La Razón], Buenos Aires free evening newspaper (belongs to the Clarín group)
- [http://www.lanueva.com.ar La Nueva Provincia] ("The New Province"), from Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires
- Página/12[http://www.pagina12.com.ar], from Buenos Aires (Clarín Group), distributed nationwide
- [http://www.lacapitalnet.com.ar La Capital], from Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
- [http://www.lavozdelpueblo.com.ar La Voz del Pueblo], local newspaper from Tres Arroyos city Images
- [http://cometoargentina.tripod.com/ Mundo Argentina] - Has pictures
- [http://www.vester.com.ar/argentina/ Pictures of Argentina] - Pictures of Argentina. Provinces, regions, landscapes and people.
- [http://www.geographicguide.com/south-america.htm South America Pictures]
- [http://www.geographicguide.com/south-america-map.htm South America Map]
- [http://www.globe-images.com/south-america.htm South America Satellite Images]
- [http://www.fotos-de-argentina.com.ar/ Argentina Photos] Argentina Photos - Photographs of Argentina. Travel
- [http://www.turismo.gov.ar/ Secretaria de Turismo de la Nacion] Official site of the Tourism Department of the Argentine Government
- [http://www.argentinatravelnet.com/ Argentina Travel Net] Directory of travel websites in Argentina
- [http://www.roadjunky.com/argentina/guide_argentina.shtml Guide to Argentina] - Travel tips and a deep look at Argentine culture. (in English)
- [http://www.argentinacafe.com/ Argentina Cafe Travel Guide] - Travel highlights, costs, guidebook reviews, cheap flight tips, background articles, etc.
- [http://www.thowra.com/argentina.html Travelling in Argentina] - Find out about some of the main places to go. (in English)
- [http://www.VisitGayBA.com VisitGayBA.com] - A Gay Guide to Buenos Aires, Argentina. (in English) Other
- [http://www.josemariarosa.galeon.com/ Argentine History] - Prestigious Argentine historian José María Rosa (1906-1991).
- [http://www.argentina-information.com/ Argentina Information] - Facts and information on different aspects of life in Argentina.
- [http://www.coha.org Council on Hemispheric Affairs] Latin American information and analysis
- [http://expat-argentina.blogspot.com/ Expat Argentina] - Blog about expat life and issues in Argentina Argentina ko:아르헨티나 ms:Argentina ja:アルゼンチン simple:Argentina th:ประเทศอาร์เจนตินา fiu-vro:Argentina

February 19

February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 315 days remaining, 316 in leap years.

Events

- 197 – Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
- 607 - Boniface III becomes Pope.
- 1594 - Having already inherited the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through his mother Catherine Jagellonica of Poland, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, succeeding his father John III of Sweden.
- 1674 - England and the Netherlands sign the Peace of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, which renamed it New York.
- 1807 - In Alabama, Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason.
- 1819 - British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands, and claims them in the name of King George III.
- 1846 - In Austin, Texas the newly-formed Texas state government is officially installed.
- 1847 - The Donner Party is rescued. It is noted that some of the survivors seem to be remarkably well-fed considering their ordeal.
- 1852 - The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity is founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
- 1861 - Serfdom is abolished in Russia.
- 1878 - The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison.
- 1881 - Kansas became the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
- 1913 - Prizes are included in Cracker Jack candy boxes for the first time.
- 1915 - World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli began.
- 1937 - During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Eritrean nationalists attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades. The Italian security guard fire into the crowd of Ethiopian onlookers, and over the passing weeks indiscriminately slaughter native Ethiopians in reprisal.
- 1941 - World War II: The Afrika Korps, the corps-level headquarters controlling the German Panzer divisions in North Africa, was formed.
- 1942 - World War II: About 150 Japanese warplanes attack Darwin, Australia.
- 1942 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese-Americans to Japanese internment camps.
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.
- 1945 - World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima - about 30,000 United States Marines land on Iwo Jima.
- 1949 - Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.
- 1953 - Censorship: Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the United States.
- 1959 - The United Kingdom grants Cyprus its independence, which is then on formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
- 1964 - Paul Simon writes "The Sounds of Silence," the song which, in a year and a half, will catapult him and Art Garfunkel to stardom as Simon & Garfunkel.
- 1985 - Artificial heart patient William J. Schroeder becomes the first such patient to leave hospital.
- 1985 - A Spanish Boeing 747 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.
- 1985 - EastEnders first airs on televisions across the United Kingdom, on the first night of a major ident change for BBC1.
- 1986 - The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station.
- 1986 - After waiting 37 years, the United States Senate approves a treaty outlawing genocide.
- 1999 - Dennis Franz receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 2001 - A Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
- 2002 - NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
- 2004 - Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal is awarded an honorary knighthood in recognition of a "lifetime of service to humanity."
- 2005 - Paris Hilton's Sidekick II is hacked online via her online T-Mobile account.

Births

- 1473 - Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer (d. 1543)
- 1526 - Charles de L'Ecluse, Flemish botanist (d. 1609)
- 1552 - Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal and statesman (d. 1630)
- 1630 - Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire (d. 1680)
- 1660 - Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742)
- 1717 - David Garrick, English actor (d. 1779)
- 1722 - Tiphaigne de la Roche, French writer (d. 1774)
- 1743 - Luigi Boccherini, Italian composer (d. 1805)
- 1802 - Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 1881)
- 1804 - Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, German physician (d. 1878)
- 1804 - David Wark, Canadian politician and Senator (d. 1905)
- 1821 - August Schleicher, German linguist (d. 1868)
- 1833 - Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1906)
- 1859 - Svante Arrhenius, Swedish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
- 1865 - Sven Hedin, Swedish explorer (d. 1952)
- 1876 - Constantin Brancusi, Romanian sculptor (d. 1957)
- 1877 - Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962)
- 1888 - José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian writer (d. 1928)
- 1893 - Sir Cedric Hardwicke, British actor (d. 1964)
- 1895 - Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)
- 1899 - Yury Olesha, Russian novelist (d. 1960)
- 1900 - Giorgos Seferis, Greek writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
- 1902 - Kay Boyle, American writer (d. 1992)
- 1911 - Merle Oberon, British actress (d. 1979)
- 1912 - Stan Kenton, American musician (d. 1979)
- 1914 - Jacques Dufilho, French comedian and actor (d. 2005)
- 1916 - Eddie Arcaro, American jockey (d. 1997)
- 1917 - Carson McCullers, American author (d. 1967)
- 1920 - Jaan Kross, Estonian writer
- 1920 - George Rose, British music hall entertainer (d. 1988)
- 1924 - David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player
- 1924 - Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1930 - John Frankenheimer, American film director (d. 2002)
- 1940 - Smokey Robinson, American musician
- 1940 - Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan
- 1941 - David Gross, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1942 - Paul Krause, American football player
- 1943 - Lou Christie, American singer
- 1943 - Tim Hunt, British biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1945 - Michael Nader, American actor
- 1946 - Karen Silkwood, American activist (d. 1974)
- 1948 - Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (d. 2002)
- 1948 - Tony Iommi, British musician (Black Sabbath)
- 1949 - Dan Bunten, American software developer (d. 1998)
- 1951 - Stephen Nichols, American actor
- 1951 - Tahir-ul-Qadri, Islamic scholar and leader
- 1952 - Amy Tan, American novelist
- 1953 - Massimo Troisi, Italian actor (d. 1994)
- 1954 - Socrates, Brazilian footballer
- 1955 - Jeff Daniels, American actor
- 1955 - Margaux Hemingway, American model and actress (d. 1996)
- 1956 - Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- 1957 - Falco, Austrian singer (d. 1998)
- 1957 - Ray Winstone, British actor
- 1960 - Andrew, Duke of York
- 1962 - Hana Mandlikova, Czech tennis player
- 1963 - Seal, English singer
- 1964 - Dmitri Lipskerov, Russian writer
- 1966 - Justine Bateman, American actress
- 1966 - Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player
- 1967 - Benicio Del Toro, Puerto Rican actor
- 1969 - Burton C. Bell, American vocalist (Fear Factory)
- 1983 - Vitas, Russian singer
- 1985 - Haylie Duff, American singer and actress
- 1986 - Reon Kadena, Japanese model and actress
- 1986 - Maria Mena, Norwegian singer

Deaths

- 197 - Clodius Albinus, Roman governor of Britain
- 1133 - Irene Ducaena, wife of Alexius I Comnenus (b. 1066)
- 1553 - Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)
- 1605 - Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (b. 1550)
- 1602 - Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercoeur, French soldier (b. 1558)
- 1620 - Roemer Visscher, Dutch writer (b. 1547)
- 1622 - Henry Savile, English educator (b. 1549)
- 1653 - Luigi de Rossi, Italian composer (b. 1597)
- 1663 - Adam Adami, German bishop and diplomat (b. 1603)
- 1670 - King Frederick III of Denmark (b. 1609)
- 1672 - Charles Chauncy, English-born president of Harvard College (b. 1592)
- 1709 - Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun (b. 1646)
- 1716 - Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter, Norwegian poet (b. 1634)
- 1789 - Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and President of Delaware (b. 1738)
- 1799 - Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (b. 1733)
- 1806 - Elizabeth Carter, English writer (b. 1717)
- 1837 - Georg Büchner, German playwright (b. 1813)
- 1887 - Multatuli, Dutch writer (b. 1820)
- 1897 - Karl Weierstraß, German mathematician (b. 1815)
- 1916 - Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (b. 1838)
- 1927 - Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer (b. 1847)
- 1936 - Billy Mitchell, American general and military aviation pioneer (b. 1879)
- 1936 - Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)
- 1942 - Frank Abbandando, American gangster (executed) (b. 1910)
- 1951 - André Gide, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
- 1952 - Knut Hamsun, Norwegian author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
- 1969 - Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899)
- 1972 - John Grierson, Scottish documentary filmmaker (b. 1898)
- 1972 - Tedd Pierce, American animator (b. 1906)
- 1973 - Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892)
- 1975 - Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian composer (b. 1904)
- 1980 - Bon Scott, Australian musician (AC/DC) (b. 1946)
- 1983 - Alice White, American film actress (b. 1904)
- 1986 - Adolfo Celi, Italian actor (b. 1922)
- 1988 - André Frédéric Cournand, French-born physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1895)
- 1994 - Derek Jarman, British Film Director (b. 1942)
- 1997 - Deng Xiaoping, Chinese Communist leader and revolutionary (b. 1904)
- 1997 - Charles O. Finley, American sports entrepreneur (b. 1918)
- 1997 - Leo Rosten, American Yiddish writer and humorist (b. 1908)
- 1998 - Grandpa Jones, American banjo player and comedian (b. 1913)
- 1999 - Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi Shiite leader (assissinated)
- 2000 -