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Hans Kelsen

Hans Kelsen

Hans Kelsen (Prague, October 11, 1881 – April 19, 1973) was an Austrian -American jurist of Jewish descent.

Vienna: 1883-1930

He moved to Vienna with his family when he was two years old. He studied law at the University of Vienna, taking his doctorate in 1906. In 1911, he achieved his habilitation (license to hold university lectures) in public law and legal philosophy and published his first major work, Main Problems in the Theory of Public Law (Hauptprobleme der Staatsrechtslehre). In 1912, Kelsen married Margarete Bondi, and the couple had 2 daughters. In 1919, he became full professor of public and administrative law at the University of Vienna. He established and edited the Journal of Public Law (Zeitschrift für Öffentliches Recht) in Vienna. At the behest of Chancellor Karl Renner, Kelsen worked on drafting of new Austrian Constitution, enacted in 1920. The document still forms the basis of Austrian constitutional law to this day. Kelsen was appointed to the Constitutional Court, for life term. In 1925, he published General Political Theory (Allgemeine politische Theorie) in Berlin. Following increasing political controversy about some positions of the Constitutional Court (especially about divorce) and an increasingly conservative climate, Kelsen, who was considered being a social democrat although not being a party member, was removed from the court in 1930.

Cologne: 1930-1933

Kelsen accepted offer of professership at University of Cologne. When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, he was removed from his post and moved to Geneva, Switzerland.

Geneva: 1933-1940

In 1934, he published the first edition of Pure Theory of Law (Reine Rechtslehre). In Geneva he became more interested in international law. Until the German occupation of Czechoslvakia he was also professor at the German University of Prague.

America: 1940-1973

In 1940, he moved to the US, giving the Oliver Wendell Holmes Lectures at Harvard Law School in 1942 and becoming a full professor at the department of political science at the University of California at Berkeley in 1945. During those years, he increasingly dealt with issues of international law and international institutions such as the United Nations.

Legal theory

Kelsen is considered one of the preeminent jurists of the 20th century. His legal theory, a very strict and scientifically understood type of legal positivism, is based on the idea of a Grundnorm, a hypothetical norm on which all subsequent levels of a legal system such as constitutional law and "simple" law are based. His theory has followers among scholars of public law world-wide. His disciples developed "schools" of thought to extend his theories, such as the Vienna School in Austria and the Brno School in Czechoslovakia. See also: Carl Schmitt.

External links

- [http://www.ejil.org/journal/Vol9/No2/art11.html biographical note] Kelsen, Hans Kelsen, Hans Category:Austrian jurists Kelsen, Hans Kelsen, Hans Kelsen, Hans ja:ハンス・ケルゼン

Prague

Prague (Czech: Praha, see also other names) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated on the Vltava river in central Bohemia, it is home to approximately 1.2 million people. (It can be derived from jobs statistics, however, that an additional 300,000 work there without having registered as residents.) Prague is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Nicknames for Prague have included "city of a hundred spires", "the golden city", "the Left Bank of the Nineties", the "mother of cities", and "the heart of Europe". Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

History

The area on which Prague was founded was settled in ancient times since the Paleolithic Age. Around 200 BC the Celts had a settlement in the south, called Závist, but later they were expelled by Germans. The Slavs conquered the site from the 4th century AD onwards, though for a period were subdued by the Mongolian Avars. According to a Legend, Prague was founded by the Princess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, founder of the dynasty with the same name. Being true or not this legend, Prague's first nucleum was founded in the latter part of the 9th century as a castle on a hill commanding the right bank of the Vltava: this is known as Vyšehrad ("old castle") to differentiate from an other castle which was later erected on the opposite bank, the future Hradčany. Soon the city became the seat of the kings of Bohemia, some of whom also reigned as emperors of the Holy Roman Empire in later times. It was an important seat for trading where merchants coming from all Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled by the Jewish merchant and traveler Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub in 965. The city became a bishopric in 973. King Wladislas II had a first bridge on the Vltava built in 1170, the Judith Bridge, which crumbled down in 1342. The Charles Bridge was later built on its foundings. In 1257, under King Otakar II, Malá Strana ("Small Side") was founded in Prague in the future Hradčany area: it was the district of the German people. These had the right to administrate the law in autonomous way, referring to the Magdeburg's legislation. The new district was on the opposite bank of the Staré Mesto ("Old Town"), which had then a borough status and was defended by a line of walls on fortifications. The city flourished during the 14th century reign of Charles IV, of the new Luxembourg dynasty. He ordered the building of the New Town (Nové Mesto) adjacent to the Old Town. The Charles Bridge was erected to connect the new district to Malá Strana. Monuments by Charles include also the Saint Vitus Cathedral, the oldest gothic cathedral in central Europe which is actually inside the Castle, and the Charles University. The latter is the oldest university in central Europe. Prague was then the third-largest city in Europe. Under Charles Prague was the actual capital of the Holy Roman Empire, and its rank was elevated to that of archbishopric. It had also a mint and German and Italian merchant, as well as bankers, were present in the city. The social order, however, became more turbulent due to the rising power of the craftsmen's guild, themselves often torn by internal fights, and the presence of increasing number of poor people. Under King Wenceslas IV (1378-1419) Jan Hus, a theologian and lector at the University, held his preachers and sermons in Prague. Since 1402 he summoned his followers in the Bethlehem Chapel, speaking in Czech language in order to enlarge as much as possible the diffusion of his ideas about the renovation of the church. Having become too much dangerous for the political and religious establishment, Hus was burned in Constance in 1415. Four years later Prague experienced its first defenestration, when the people rebelled under the command of the Prague priest Jan Želivský and threw the city's counselors from the New Town Hall. The Hus' death had spurred the so-called Hussite revolt. In 1420 peasant rebels, led by the famous general Jan Žižka, along with Hussite troops from Prague, defeated the Bohemian King Sigismund, in the Battle of Vítkov Mountain. In the following two centuries Prague strengthened its role as a merchant city. Many notheworthy Gothic buildings were erected, including the Vladislav Hall in the Hradčany. In 1526 the Kingdom of Bohemia was handed over to the Habsburg house: the fervent Catholicism of its members was to have grevious consequences in Bohemia, and then in Prague, where Protestant ideas were having instead increasing success. These problems were not preeminent under Emperor Rudolf II, elected King of Bohemia in 1576, who chose Prague as his home. He lived in the Castle where he held his bizarre courts of astrologers, magicians and other strange figures. This was a prosperous period for the city: famous people living there in that age include the astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johann Kepler, the painter Arcimboldo and others. In 1618 the famous Defenestration of Prague provoked the Thirty Years' War. Ferdinand II of Habsburg was deposed, and his place as King of Bohemia taken by Frederick V of Pfalz. But the Czech army was crushed in the Battle of the White Mountain (1620), not far from the city, and thenceforth Prague and Bohemia lived a harsh period in which religious tolerance was abolished and Catholic Counter-Reformation became dominant in every aspect of life. The city suffered also under Saxon (1631) and Swedish (1648) occupation. Moreover, after the Peace of Westphalia of the latter year, Ferdinand moved the court to Vienna, and Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60,000 it had had in the years before the war to 20,000. In 1689 a great burning devasted Prague, but this spurred a renovation and a rebuilding of the city. The economic rise continued through the following century, and the city in 1771 had 80,000 inhabitants. Many of these were rich merchants who, together with noblemen of German, Spanish and even Italian origin, enriched the city with a host of palaces, churches and gardens, creating a Baroque style renowned throughout the world. In 1784, under Joseph II, the four municipalities of Malá Strana, Nové Mesto, Staré Mesto and Hradcany were merged into a single entity. The Jewish district, called Josefov, was included only in 1850. The Industrial Revolution had a strong effect in Prague, as factories could take advantage of the coal mines and ironworks of the nearby region. A first suburb, Karlín, was created in 1817, and twenty years later population exceeded 100,000. The first railway connection was built in 1842. The revolutions that shocked all Europe around 1848 touched Prague too, but they were fiercely suppressed. In the following years the Czech nationalist movement (opposed to another nationalist party, the German one) began its rise, until it gained the majority in the Town Council in 1861. World War I ended with the defeat of the Austrian Empire and the creation of Czechoslovakia. Prague was chosen as its capital. At this time Prague was a true European capital with a very developed industry. In 1930 the population had risen to a startling 850,000. For most of his history Prague had been a multiethnic city with important Czech, German, and (a mostly Yiddish- and/ or German-speaking) Jewish populations. From 1939, when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany, and during World War II, most Jews either fled the city or were killed in the Holocaust. The German population, which had formed the majority of the city's inhabitants until the 19th century, was expelled in the aftermath of the war. Prague's people had revolted against the Nazi occupants as early as May 5, 1945, and four days later the Soviet army entered the city. Prague was thenceforth the capital of a Communist Republic under the military and political control of Soviet Union, and in 1955 it entered in the Warsaw Pact. The always lively intellectual world of Prague, however, suffered under the totalitarian regime, in spite of the rather careful program of rebuilding and caring of the damaged monuments after World War II. In the 4th Czechoslovakian Writers' Congress held in the city in 1967 they took a strong position against the regime. This spurred the new secretary of Communist Party, Alexander Dubček to proclaim a new deal in his city and country's life, starting the short-lived season of the "socialism with a human face". It was the Prague Spring, which aimed to the renovation of institutions in a democratic way. Soviet Union and the other Warsaw Pact reacted occupying Czechoslovakia and the capital in August 1968, suppressing under tanks' tracks any attempt of renovation. In 1989, after the Berlin Wall had fallen, and the Velvet Revolution crowded the streets of Prague, Czechoslovakia could finally restart this program, and Prague benefited deeply of the new mood. In 1993, after the split of Czechoslovakia, Prague became capital city of the new Czech Republic. Czech Republic Czech Republic]] ---- Most important moments of Prague history in chronological sequence:
- 870 Prague Castle founded
- 1085 Prague became the seat of kings - 1st king Vratislaus II.
- 1344 the Prague Bishopric became Archdiocese
- 1346 the rule of Charles IV. - Prague capital of Holy Roman Empire
- 1348 founded University of Prague (Charles University)
- 1378 Jan Hus´s reformations
- 1419 1st Prague defenestration
- 1420 battle on Vítkov Mountain - Hussites win over crusaders
- 1583 rule of Rudolf II - city for the 2nd time the capital of Holy Roman Empire and cultural center of Europe
- 1618 2nd Prague defenestration sparked off the Thirty Years' War
- 1621 there was an execution of 27 Czech lords on the Old Town Square as a consequence of the Battle of White Mountain
- 1648 the west bank of Prague (including the Prague Castle) occupied and looted by Swedish armies
- 1741 occupation by French-Bavarian armies
- 1744 occupation by Prussian armies
- 1848 revolutionary uprising crushed by imperial army
- 1890 big flood caused extreme damage
- 1918 after the World War I Prague became the capital of Czechoslovakia
- 1938 after political betrayal of allied (France and Britain at Munich) Germany occupied Sudetenland and in 1939 whole country
- 1942 Czechoslovak paratroopers killed Reinhard Heydrich, Nazis respond with wave of terror
- 1945 U.S. Air Force bombing raid kills hundreds of Praguers by mistake. (Target was Dresden, 83 miles away).
- 1945 uprising against the Nazis during the last days of World War II, ended with the arrival of the Red Army.
- 1948 communist takeover of power
- 1968 Soviet army invasion to repress the Prague Spring
- 1989 Prague is the main center of Velvet Revolution (the fall of communist regime)
- 2000 Anti-globalization Protests in Prague (some 15,000 protesters) turned violent during the IMF and World Bank summits
- 2002 Prague suffered from flooding, parts of the city were evacuated but no major landmarks destroyed ---- The four independent boroughs that had formerly constituted Prague were eventually proclaimed a single city in 1784. Those four cities were Hradčany (the Castle District, west and north of the Castle), Lesser Quarter (Malá Strana, south of the Castle), Old Town (Staré Město, on the east bank opposite the Castle) and New Town (Nové Město, further south and east). The city underwent further expansion with the annexation of Josefov in 1850 and Vyšehrad in 1883, and at the beginning of 1922, another 37 municipalities were incorporated, raising the city's population to 676,000. In 1938 population reached 1,000,000.

Sights

Prague is a popular tourist destination. There are lots of old buildings, many with beautiful murals on them. It contains one of the world's most pristine and varied collections of architecture, from Art Nouveau to Baroque, Renaissance, Cubist, Gothic, Neo-Classical and ultra-modern. Some of its many tourist attractions are: ultra-modern
- Old Town (Staré Město)
- Lesser Quarter (Malá Strana)
- Prague Castle (the largest castle in the world) with its St. Vitus Cathedral
- the Charles Bridge
- the Lennon Wall
- Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock
- Josefov (the old Jewish quarter)
- Wenceslas Square
- National Museum
- Vyšehrad castle
- Petrinska Rozhledna, an observation tower, which is nearly a 1:5 copy of Eiffel Tower
- Žižkov Television Tower with observation deck
- Žižkov cemetery, location of Franz Kafka's grave
- the Metronome, a giant, functional metronome that looms over the city
- The Dancing Building (Fred and Ginger)
- Various places connected to Franz Kafka Franz Kafka Franz Kafka Franz Kafka

Culture

Prague is a traditional cultural centre of Europe, hosting many cultural events. Most Important Cultural Institutions:
- National Theatre
- The Rudolfinum (home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra)
- National Opera
- National Museum
- National Library
- National Gallery There are hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs in the city. Prague also hosts Film Festivals, Music Festivals, Writers Festival, hundreds of Vernissages and Fashion Shows. See also
- Prague Spring International Music Festival
- Prague Autumn International Music Festival
- Febiofest
- One World Film Festival
- Echoes of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
- Barrandov Studios
- Prague Writers Festival
- Prague International Organ Festival
- Prague Fringe Festival
- World Roma Festival
- Mozart´s Don Giovanni premier
- Michael Flatley Celtic Tiger European premiere

Economy

Prague is the wealthiest city in Eastern Europe. The GDP per capita of Prague is more than double that of the Czech Republic as a whole. The city is becoming a site of European headquarters of many international companies. Since the late 1990s, Prague has become a popular filming location for international productions and Hollywood motion pictures. Unlike many other European cities, Prague did not suffer great destruction during World War II, and the city is often used as a "stand in" for other pre-WW2 European cities, such as Amsterdam or London. [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117799914?categoryid=8&cs=1] [http://www.indiadaily.com/breaking_news/46945.asp] A combination of architecture, low costs, tax breaks, and the existing motion picture infrastructure have proved attractive to international film production companies.

Colleges and universities

The city contains eight universities and colleges including the oldest university in Central and Eastern Europe: university
- Charles University (UK) founded in 1348
- Czech Technical University (ČVUT) founded in 1707
- Academy of Fine Arts (AVU) founded in 1800
- Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (VŠUP) founded in 1885
- Institute of Chemical Technology (VŠCHT) founded in 1920
- Academy of Performing Arts (AMU) founded in 1945
- Czech University of Agriculture (ČZU) founded in 1952
- University of Economics (VŠE) founded in 1953

Transportation

Public transport infrastructure consists of three metro lines, trams (including nostalgic tram no.91), buses and a funicular to Petřín Hill. The city is a railroad hub. Prague is served by Ruzyně International Airport (10,000,000 passengers per year), which is the hub of the flag carrier, CSA Czech Airlines. There are several cheap flights per day from UK (Easyjet) and from other cities (Smartwings).

Taxis

The taxi service in Prague has had a somewhat chequered history. During the rule of Communist Party in Czechoslovakia (1948–1989), the taxi service was nationalised into one umbrella company, and, with a short exception during liberalization related to the Prague Spring, no independent taxi drivers were allowed. The quality and availability of the service was low. This caused many enterprising people to run illegal taxi services. Their earnings were far above income of typical citizens and became a source of envy. After the fall of the Communist regime, the service was liberalized and anyone could become a taxi driver. Unfortunately, the chaos of transition from planned to market economy did not leave any time to implement sufficient regulations. The lack of planning and controls has led to a number of serious taxi scams operating in the city; some of which have been linked with organised crime. Many of the victims of overpricing are tourists. Taxi services in Prague can currently be divided into three sectors. There are major taxicab companies, operating call-for-taxi services (radio-taxi) or from regulated taxi stands, where overpricing is rare and regulation mostly in place. There are independent drivers, who make pick-ups on the street; cheating is mostly associated with these cars. Lastly, there are fake taxi drivers, who operate as "contractual transport services" in order to avoid government regulation.

Sport

Prague is the site of many sports events, national stadiums and teams
- Prague International Marathon
- Sparta Prague -> UEFA Champions League
- Slavia Prague -> UEFA Cup
- Sazka Arena -> 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships and Euroleague Final Four 2006
- Strahov Stadium - the largest stadium in the world
- and more

Miscellaneous

Strahov Stadium] Prague is also the site of most important offices and institutions of the Czech Republic and Central Europe.
- President of Czech Republic
- The Government and both houses of the Parliament
- Czech Television and other major TV stations
- Radio Free Europe - Radio Liberty
- Prague Institute for Global Urban Development
- People in Need - humanitarian organization
- Forum 2000 - international political, sociological, economical and philosophical conference
- and more

Prague - Venue

Major events of recent years:
- NATO Summit 2002
- International Monetary Fund and World Bank Summit 2000
- International Olympic Committee Session 2004
- International Astronomical Union General Assembly 2006
- and thousands of smaller events

Famous People connected with Prague

: See main article Famous People Connected with Prague for detailed list. As cultural and economical center of Czech lands Prague attracted many famous people. Some of most known are: Charles IV - Rudolf II - Jan Hus - Bohumil Hrabal - Franz Kafka - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Antonín Dvořák - Václav Havel.

Historical population

Václav Havel Notes:
- ¹ Staré město only
- ² Staré město, Nové město, Malá Strana and Hradčany quarters
- Numbers beside other years denote the population of Prague within the administrative border of the city at that time (and population including present suburbs in parentheses).

External links

Prague Zoo
- [http://www.prague-city.cz/ Official Website]
- Metro, trams, and buses operated by [http://www.dp-praha.cz/en/index.htm Dopravni podnik hl.m Prahy, a.s.]
- [http://www.praguemonitor.com/ Prague Daily Monitor] - Czech news in English
-
- [http://www.prague.tv/ Prague.tv] - travel guide
- [http://www.pis.cz/ Prague Information Service] - tourist information
- [http://www.narodni-divadlo.cz/H_Zaklad.aspx?jz=en National Theatre]
- [http://www.opera.cz/en/intro.htm State Opera]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/city.shtml?tt=TT003480 Average Weather Conditions]
- [http://www.chmu.cz/meteo/oap/eoap_main.html Detailed recent weather data] Category:Capitals in Europe Category:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of Europe Category:World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic Category:Cities and towns in the Czech Republic ko:프라하 ja:プラハ simple:Prague

1881

1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar).

Events

January - April

- January 16-January 24 - Siege of Geok Tepe - Russian troops under general Skobeleff defeat Turkomans
- January 24 - William Edward Forster, the chief secretary for Ireland, introduces his Coercion Bill - it goes through a long debate before it is accepted February 2
- January 25 - Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company
- February 5 - Phoenix, Arizona is incorporated.
- February 13 - First issue of the feminist newspaper La Citoyenne is published by Hubertine Auclert.
- February 19 - Kansas became the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
- March 4 - Rutherford Birchard Hayes is succeeded as President of the United States by James Abram Garfield.
- March 12 - Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain.
- March 13 - Alexander II of Russia is killed near his palace when a bomb is thrown at him. He is succeeded by his son, Alexander III.
- March 16 - Fenian dynamiters hit Mansion House in London.
- April 21 - The University of Connecticut is founded as the Storrs Agricultural School.
- April 25 - Caulfield Grammar School is founded in Melbourne, Australia.
- April 28 - Billy the Kid escapes from New Mexico jail.

May - August

- May 12 - In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.
- May 21 - The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton.
- May 21 - The United States Tennis Association is established by a small group of tennis club members.
- June 12 - The USS Jeannette is crushed in an Arctic Ocean ice pack.
- July 1 - General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Army's organisation, came into effect.
- July 2 - James Abram Garfield, President of the United States is shot by lawyer Charles Julius Guiteau. He survives the assassination attempt but he suffers from infection of his wound.
- July 4 - In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
- July 20 - Indian Wars: Sioux chief Sitting Bull leads the last of his fugitive people in surrender to United States troops at Fort Buford in Montana.

September - December

- September 5 - The Thumb Fire in the U.S. state of Michigan destroys over a million acres (4,000 km²) and kills 282 people.
- September 19 - James Abram Garfield, President of the United States dies due to an infected wound caused by an assassin's bullet and is succeeded by Vice President Chester Alan Arthur.
- October 26 - Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona, USA.
- October 29 - The Judge (US magazine) first published.
- November 19 - A meteorite struck earth near the village of Großliebenthal, a few kilometers southwest of Odessa, Ukraine.
- December 8 - At least 620 die in fire at Ring Theatre, Vienna

Unknown date

- Founding of the Pali Text Society
- University College Dublin is established in Ireland
- The United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) is founded, and the first U.S. Tennis Championships are played.
- Founding of the League of the Three Emperors
- London Evening News begins publication
- Some Vatican archives opened to scholars for the first time
- Abilene, Texas is founded.
- Leyton Orient F.C. is Founded

Births

- January 6 - Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1961)
- January 9 - Lascelles Abercrombie, English poet and critic (d. 1938)
- January 17 - Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (d. 1941)
- January 31 - Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
- February 12 - Anna Pavlova, Russian ballerina (d. 1931)
- March 17 - Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- March 23 - Roger Martin du Gard, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- March 23 - Hermann Staudinger, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- March 25 - Béla Bartók, Hungarian composer (d. 1945)
- March 25 - Mary Gladys Webb, English writer (d. 1927)
- May 1 - Mary MacLane, Canadian-born feminist writer (d. 1929)
- June 17 - Tommy Burns, Canadian-born boxer (d. 1955)
- July 4 - Ulysses S. Grant III, American soldier and planner (d. 1968)
- July 27 - Hans Fischer, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1945)
- July 30 - Smedley Butler, U.S. general (d. 1940)
- August 6 - Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish researcher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1955)
- August 19 - Georges Enescu, Romanian composer (d. 1955)
- August 20 - Edgar Guest, English poet (d. 1959)
- September 8 - Harry Hillman, American athlete (d. 1945)
- September 16 - Clive Bell, English art critic (d. 1964)
- September 17 - Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, English soldier (d. 1955)
- October 1 - William Boeing, American engineer and airplane manufacturer (d. 1956)
- October 11 - Hans Kelsen, Austrian legal theorist (d. 1973)
- October 15 - P. G. Wodehouse, English-born writer (d. 1975)
- October 22 - Clinton Davisson, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- October 25 - Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter (d. 1973)
- November 14 - Nicholas Schenck, Russian-born film studio executive (d. 1969)
- November 24 - Al Christie, Canadian-born director and producer (d. 1951)
- November 25 - Pope John XXIII (d. 1963)
- December 24 - Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- Antoni Józef Śmieszek, Polish Egyptologist and linguist (d. 1943)
- William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1944)
- Hiram Wesley Evans, American leader of KKK and prohibitionist, (d. 1966)
- Kemal Atatürk, founder and the first President of Turkey (d. 1938)

Deaths

- January 3 - Anna McNeill Whistler, Whistler's mother (b. 1804)
- January 21 - Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1802)
- February 5 - Thomas Carlyle, Scottish writer and historian (b. 1795)
- February 9 - Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian novelist (b. 1821)
- March 13 - Czar Alexander II of Russia (b. 1818)
- March 28 - Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer (b. 1839)
- April 19 - Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1804)
- May 24 - Samuel Palmer, English artist (b. 1805)
- June 6 - Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian composer (b. 1820)
- July 17 - Jim Bridger, American explorer and trapper (b. 1804)
- July 18 - Billy the Kid, American gunslinger (b. 1859)
- September 7 - Sidney Lanier, American writer (b. 1842)
- September 19 - James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States (assassinated) (b. 1831)
- September 22 - Solomon L. Spink, U.S. Congressman from Illinois (b. 1831)
- October 3 - Orson Pratt, American religious leader (b. 1811)
- October 31 - George DeLong, American naval officer and explorer (starvation) (b. 1844)

Trivia

1881 was the only year in which three different U.S. Presidents occupied the White House: Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur. Category:1881 ko:1881년 ms:1881 simple:1881 th:พ.ศ. 2424

April 19

April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). There are 256 days remaining.

Events

- 1012 - Martyrdom of St Alphege in Greenwich, London.
- 1529 - At the Diet of Speyer, a group of rulers (German: Fürst) and independent cities (German: Reichsstadt) protests the reinstatement of the Edict of Worms, beginning the Protestant movement.
- 1587 - Sir Francis Drake sinks the French fleet in Cádiz Harbor.
- 1692 - Bridget Bishop's (in Salem, MA--accused of being a witch) trial.
- 1713 - With no living male heirs, Emperor Charles VI issues the Pragmatic Sanction to ensure that Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne would be inherited by his daughter, Maria Theresa.
- 1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Lexington and Concord – British General Thomas Gage attempts to confiscate American colonists' firearms. Captain John Parker orders his band of minutemen to not fire unless fired upon. Random shots rang out among the British soldiers. The minutemen promptly fired back. This was the "shot heard round the world." The British are driven back to Boston, Massachusetts, thus beginning the American Revolutionary War.
- 1809 - The army of Austria attacks and is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn, part of the struggles of the Fifth Coalition.
- 1810 - Venezuela achieves home rule: Emparan, Governor of the Captaincy General is removed by the people of Caracas and a Junta is installed.
- 1839 - The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom.
- 1861 - American Civil War: A pro-Secession mob in Baltimore, Maryland, attacks United States Army troops marching through the city.
- 1892 - Charles Duryea claims to have driven the first automobile in the United States, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
- 1904 - Much of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is destroyed by fire.
- 1909 - Joan of Arc receives beatification.
- 1919 - Leslie Irvin of the United States makes the first successful parachute jump and free fall.
- 1927 - Mae West is sentenced to 10 days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.
- 1928 - The 125th and final fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
- 1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces that the United States will be abandoning the gold standard.
- 1934 - Shirley Temple debuts in Stand Up and Cheer.
- 1938 - RCA–NBC begins regular television broadcasts.
- 1943 - World War II: In Poland, German troops enter the Warsaw ghetto to round up the remaining Jews, beginning the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
- 1943 - Bicycle Day – Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann deliberately takes LSD for the first time.
- 1950 - Argentina becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1951 - General Douglas MacArthur retires from the military.
- 1956 - Actress Grace Kelly marries Rainier III of Monaco.
- 1960 - Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against their president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign.
- 1961 - The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba ends in failure.
- 1971 - Sierra Leone becomes a republic, and Siaka Stevens the president.
- 1971 - Vietnam War: Vietnam Veterans Against the War begin a five-day demonstration in Washington, DC.
- 1971 - Charles Manson is sentenced to life in prison for the Sharon Tate murders.
- 1971 - Launch of Salyut 1, first human-made space station.
- 1978 - Lagumot Harris is elected President of Nauru.
- 1980 - In The Hague, Netherlands, Johnny Logan wins the twenty-fifth Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland singing "What's Another Year".
- 1989 - A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.
- 1989 - Trisha Meili, the "Central Park Jogger" is raped.
- 1993 - The 50-day siege of the Branch Davidian building outside Waco, Texas, USA, ends when a fire breaks out. Eighty-one people die.
- 1995 - Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, is bombed, killing 168.
- 1999 - The German Bundestag returns to Berlin.
- 2000 - An Air Philippines Boeing 737-200 crashes near Davao International Airport, killing 131.
- 2005 - Joseph Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the Papal conclave.

Births

- 1320 - King Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
- 1452 - King Ferdinand II of Aragon (d. 1504)
- 1603 - Michel le Tellier, French statesman (d. 1685)
- 1658 - Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine (d. 1716)
- 1665 - Jacques Lelong, French bibliographer (d. 1721)
- 1686 - Vasily Tatishchev, Russian statesman (d. 1750)
- 1721 - Thomas McKean, signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence (d. 1817)
- 1721 - Roger Sherman, signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence (d. 1793)
- 1785 - Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French composer (d. 1858)
- 1793 - Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria (d. 1875)
- 1832 - José Echegaray y Eizaguirre, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
- 1874 - Ernst Rüdin, Swiss psychiatrist, geneticist, and eugenicist (d. 1952)
- 1882 - Getúlio Vargas, President of Brazil (d. 1954)
- 1883 - Richard von Mises, Austrian-born mathematician (d. 1953)
- 1892 - Germaine Tailleferre, French composer (d. 1983)
- 1897 - Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1970)
- 1897 - Constance Talmadge, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1899 - George O'Brien, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1900 - Richard Hughes, English novelist (d. 1976)
- 1903 - Eliot Ness, American lawman (d. 1957)
- 1912 - Glenn Seaborg, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1919 - Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographher
- 1922 - Erich Hartmann, German pilot (d. 1993)
- 1925 - Hugh O'Brian, American actor
- 1928 - Alexis Korner, English musician (d. 1984)
- 1930 - Dick Sargent, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1933 - Dickie Bird, English cricket umpire
- 1933 - Jayne Mansfield, American actress (d. 1967)
- 1935 - Dudley Moore, English actor, musician, comedian, composer (d. 2002)
- 1936 - Wilfried Martens, Prime Minister of Belgium
- 1937 - Elinor Donahue, American actress
- 1937 - Joseph Estrada, actor and President of the Philippines
- 1944 - James Heckman, American economist, Nobel Prize
- 1944 - Bernie Worrell, American keyboardist (P Funk)
- 1946 - Tim Curry, British actor
- 1947 - Murray Perahia, American pianist
- 1952 - Alexis Arguello, Nicaraguan boxer
- 1953 - Ruby Wax, British television personality
- 1960 - Roger Merrett, Australian footballer
- 1960 - Frank Viola, baseball player
- 1962 - Al Unser, Jr., American race car driver
- 1965 - Suge Knight, American record producer
- 1967 - Steven H Silver, American science fiction editor
- 1967 - Greg Ferrara, Independent Filmmaker, writer
- 1967 - Dar Williams, American musician and songwriter
- 1968 - Mswati III, King of Swaziland
- 1968 - Ashley Judd, American actress
- 1970 - Kelly Holmes, English athlete
- 1970 - Luis Miguel, Puerto Rican singer
- 1972 - Rivaldo, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 - Jason Gillespie, Australian cricketer
- 1975 - Jussi Jaaskelainen, Finnish footballer
- 1978 - James Franco, American actor
- 1978 - Gabriel Heinze, Argentinian footballer
- 1979 - Kate Hudson, American actress
- 1981 - Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor
- 1981 - Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
- 1987 - Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player

Deaths

- 1012 - Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 954)
- 1054 - Pope Leo IX (b. 1002)
- 1390 - King Robert II of Scotland (b. 1316)
- 1560 - Philipp Melanchthon, German humanist and reformer (b. 1497)
- 1578 - Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1530)
- 1588 - Paolo Veronese, Italian painter
- 1608 - Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, English statesman and poet (b. 1536)
- 1627 - John Beaumont, English poet (b. 1583)
- 1629 - Sigismondo d'India, Italian composer
- 1632 - King Sigismund I of Sweden (b. 1561)
- 1686 - Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra, Spanish writer (b. 1610)
- 1689 - Queen Christina of Sweden (b. 1626)
- 1733 - Elizabeth Villiers, mistress of William III of England
- 1768 - Canaletto, Italian artist (b. 1697)
- 1791 - Richard Price, Welsh philosopher (b. 1723)
- 1813 - Benjamin Rush, physician, activist (b. 1745)
- 1824 - George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, English poet (b. 1788)
- 1881 - Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1804)
- 1882 - Charles Darwin, English biologist (b. 1809)
- 1906 - Pierre Curie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
- 1914 - Charles Sanders Peirce, American philosopher and mathematician (b. 1839)
- 1916 - Ephraim Shay, American inventor (b. 1839)
- 1926 - Alexander Alexandrovich Chuprov, Russian statistician (b. 1874)
- 1930 - Georges-Casimir Dessaulles, Canadian senator (b. 1827)
- 1937 - William Martin Conway, British art critic and mountaineer (b. 1856)
- 1949 - Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
- 1950 - Ernst Robert Curtius, Alsatian philologist (b. 1886)
- 1967 - Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- 1971 - Russ Hodges, American sports broadcaster (b. 1910)
- 1971 - Earl Thomson, Canadian athlete (b. 1895)
- 1973 - Hans Kelsen, Austrian-born legal theorist
- 1974 - Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan (b. 1907)
- 1975 - Percy L. Julian, American chemist (b. 1899)
- 1987 - Hugh Brannum, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1987 - Maxwell D. Taylor, American general and diplomat (b. 1901)
- 1989 - Daphne du Maurier, English author (b. 1907)
- 1992 - Frankie Howerd, English comedian and actor (b. 1917)
- 1993 - David Koresh, American cult leader (b. 1959)
- 1998 - Octavio Paz, Mexican diplomat and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
- 2002 - Layne Staley, American musician (b. 1967)
- 2004 - Norris McWhirter, Scottish co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (b. 1925)
- 2004 - John Maynard Smith, English bioligist (b. 1920)
- 2005 - Ruth Hussey, American actress (b. 1911)
- 2005 - Bryan Ottoson, American musician (b. 1978)
- 2005 - Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish jazz bassist (b. 1946)

Holidays and observances

- Patriots Day (Massachusetts, Maine, and Wisconsin, USA)
- Declaration of Independence Day (Venezuela)
- Republic Day (Sierra Leone)
- Landing of the 33 (Uruguay)
- Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
- Saint Emma
- George of Antioch
- Ursmar
- Expeditus
- Primrose Day (England) – primroses are placed on the statue of Benjamin Disraeli in Parliament Square, London on the anniversary of his death (1881). There was a mistaken idea that the primrose was Lord Beaconsfield's favourite flower, since Queen Victoria sent them to his funeral.
- The Roman holiday of Cerealia ends. (Roman Empire)
- Bicycle Day
- Easter Sunday 1908, 1981, 1987, 1992. In the Gregorian Calendar Easter Sunday falls on 19 April more often than on any other date.

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/19 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.tnl.net/when/4/19 Today in History: April 19] ---- April 18 - April 20 - March 19 - May 19 – listing of all days ko:4월 19일 ms:19 April ja:4月19日 simple:April 19 th:19 เมษายน

1973

1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday.

Events

January

- January 1 - United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, now known as the European Union.
- January 3 - Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) sells the New York Yankees for $10 million to a 12-person syndicate led by George Steinbrenner.
- January 15 - Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President of the United States Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
- January 17 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life of the Philippines.
- January 22 - Supreme Court of the United States rules on Roe v. Wade.
- January 22 - George Foreman breaks Joe Frazier's professional career undefeated heavyweight world boxing champion status.
- January 22 - Nigerian Airlines passenger plane from Mecca crashes in Kano, Nigeria - 176 dead.
- January 23 - The eruption of Eldfell on the Icelandic island of Heimaey begins.
- January 23 - President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
- January 25 - Derren Nesbitt convicted of assaulting Anne Aubrey
- January 27 - U.S. involvement in Vietnam War ends with the signing of peace pacts. See Paris Peace Accords.

February

- February 11 - Vietnam War: First release of American prisoners of war from Vietnam takes place.
- February 12 - Ohio becomes the first U.S. state to post distance in metric on signs. (See: Metric system in the United States)
- February 21 - Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down a Libyan Arab Airlines jet killing 100.
- February 22 - Sino-American relations: Following President Richard Nixon's visit to mainland China, the United States and the People's Republic of China agree to establish liaison offices.
- February 27 - The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

March

- March 1 - The New York Joffrey Ballet's Deuce Coupe Ballet opens. The ballet is set entirely around music by The Beach Boys.
- March 7 - Comet Kohoutek is discovered.
- March 8 - IRA bombs explode in the Whitehall and the Old Bailey.
- March 16 - Queen Elizabeth II opens the New London Bridge.
- March 29 - The last United States soldiers leave Vietnam.
- March 31 - Paramount's Carowinds opens for the first time.

April

- April 2 - Launch of LexisNexis computerized legal research service.
- April 4 - World Trade Center officially opens in New York with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
- April 6 - Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
- April 17 -German GSG-9 group formed officially

May

- May 5 - Shambu Tamang becomes the youngest person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
- May 8 - A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement who were occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
- May 10 - Polisario formed.
- May 14 - Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched.
- May 17 - Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised.
- May 27 - By the virtue of non-retroactiveness of the copyright laws of the USSR, all works published before this date are public domain. This applies worldwide.

June

- June 1 - Greek military junta abolishes the monarchy and proclaims a republic.
- June 3 - Tupolev Tu-144 crashes at the Paris air show - 15 dead.
- June 4 - patent for the ATM granted to Don Wetzel, Tom Barnes and George Chastain.
- June 9 - Secretariat wins the Belmont Stakes becoming the first Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing winner since 1948.
- June 10 - Grandson of J. Paul Getty is kidnapped in Rome.
- June 22 - William Mark Felt retires from the FBI.
- June 25 - Erskine Hamilton Childers is elected the fourth President of Ireland.
- June 26 - On Plesetsk Cosmodrome 9 persons were killed at an explosion of a Cosmos 3-M rocket.
- June 30 - Very long total solar eclipse. During the entire Second Millennium, only seven total solar eclipses exceeded seven minutes of totality.

July

- July 1 - US Drug Enforcement Agency founded.
- July 5 - Isle of Man begins to issue its own postage stamps
- July 10 - The Bahamas gain full independence within the British Commonwealth.
- July 12 - A major fire destroys the entire 6th floor of the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The disaster comes to be known as the 1973 National Archives Fire.
- July 16 - Watergate Scandal: Former White House aide Alexander Butterfield informs the United States Senate committee investigating the scandal that President Richard Nixon had secretly recorded potentially incriminating conversations.
- July 20 - France resumes nuclear bomb tests in Mururoa Atoll over protestations of Australia and New Zealand.
- July 25 - Soviet Mars 5 space probe launched.
- July 28 - Watkins Glen Summer Jam, a massive rock festival featuring The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band and The Band attracts over 600,000 music fans.
- July 30 - An 11-year legal action for the victims of Thalidomide ends.
- July 31 - Militant protesters of Ian Paisley disrupt the first sitting of the Northern Ireland Assembly

August

- August 2 - Flash fire kills 51 at the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man.
- August 5 - Black September members open fire at Athens airport - 3 dead, 55 injured.
- August 8 - 1973 Kidnapping of Kim Dae-Jung
- August 13 - The film of Jesus Christ Superstar is released.
- August 15 - The U.S. bombing of Cambodia ends, marking the official halt to 12 years of combat activity in Southeast Asia.
- September 22 - Henry Kissinger, United States National Security Advisor, starts his term as Secretary of State.

September

- September 11 - Chile's democratically-elected government is overthrown in a military coup after serious instability. President Salvador Allende dies, and General Augusto Pinochet heads a military junta that will govern Chile for the next 16 years.
- September 15 - Sweden's king Gustav VI Adolf dies. Carl XVI Gustav becomes king.
- September 18 - The two German Republics, the BRD and the DDR, are admitted to the United Nations.
- September 20 - Billed as The Battle of the Sexes, Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
- September 28 - ITT was bombed in New York City as a protest of their involvement with the Coup in Chile.

October

- October 6 - Yom Kippur War - Fourth and largest Arab-Israeli conflict begins as Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israel as Jews mark Yom Kippur.
- October 10 - Spiro T. Agnew resigns as vice president of the United States and then, in federal court in Baltimore, pleads no contest to charges of evasion of income taxes on $29,500 he received in 1967 while he was governor of Maryland. He is fined $10,000 and put on three years' probation.
- October 17 - Arab Oil Embargo against several countries which gave support to Israel, triggerring the 1973 energy crisis.
- October 20 - The Saturday Night Massacre.
- October 20 - Sydney Opera House is opened by Elizabeth II.
- October 26 - Yom Kippur War ends.
- October 27 - The Canyon City meteorite, a 1.4 kg chondrite type meteorite struck earth in Fremont County, Colorado.

November

- November 1: Watergate scandal, acting Attorney General Robert Bork appointed Leon Jaworski as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor.
- November 3 - Mariner program: NASA launches the Mariner 10 toward Mercury (on March 29, 1974 it became the first space probe to reach that planet).
- November 7 - The U.S. Congress overrides President Richard M. Nixon's veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval.
- November 11 - Egypt and Israel sign a United States-sponsored cease-fire accord.
- November 14 - In the United Kingdom, Princess Anne marries a commoner, Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey (they divorced in 1992).
- November 16 - Skylab program: NASA launches Skylab 4 with a crew of three astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida for an 84-day mission.
- November 16 - US President Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.
- November 17 - Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, US President Richard Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook."
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