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August 28 | Deaths | Deaths |
August 28 | Pre-1600 | Pre-1600
388 – Magnus Maximus, Roman emperor (b. 335)
430 – Augustine of Hippo, Algerian bishop, theologian, and saint (b. 354)
476 – Orestes, Roman general and politician
632 – Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad (b. 605)
683 – Kʼinich Janaab Pakal I, ajaw of the city-state of Palenque (b. 615)
770 – Kōken, emperor of Japan (b. 718)
876 – Louis the German, Frankish king (b. 804)
919 – He Gui, Chinese general (b. 858)
1055 – Xing Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1016)
1149 – Mu'in ad-Din Unur, Turkish ruler and regent
1231 – Eleanor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark
1341 – Levon IV, king of Armenia (b. 1309)
1406 – John de Sutton V, Baron Sutton of Dudley (b. 1380)
1481 – Afonso V, king of Portugal (b. 1432)
1540 – Federico II Gonzaga, duke of Mantua (b. 1500) |
August 28 | 1601–1900 | 1601–1900
1609 – Francis Vere, English governor and general
1645 – Hugo Grotius, Dutch playwright, philosopher, and jurist (b. 1583)
1646 – Johannes Banfi Hunyades, English-Hungarian alchemist, chemist and metallurgist. (b. 1576)
1648 – George Lisle, English general (b. 1610)
1648 – Charles Lucas, English general (b. 1613)
1654 – Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden (b. 1583)
1665 – Elisabetta Sirani, Italian painter (b. 1638)
1678 – John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1602)
1735 – Edwin Stead, English landowner and cricketer (b. 1701)
1757 – David Hartley, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1705)
1761 – Melchor de Navarrete, Spanish colonial governor of Cartagena de Indias (Colombia, 1739–1742); of Spanish Florida (1749–1752); and of Yucatán (Mexico, 1754–1758) (b. 1693)
1784 – Junípero Serra, Spanish priest and missionary (b. 1713)
1793 – Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, French general (b. 1740)
1805 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader and author (b. 1722)
1818 – Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, American fur trader, founded Chicago (b. 1750)
1820 – Andrew Ellicott, American surveyor and urban planner (b. 1754)
1832 – Edward Dando, English thief
1839 – William Smith, English geologist and engineer (b. 1769)
1888 – Julius Krohn, Finnish poet and journalist (b. 1835)
1891 – Robert Caldwell, English missionary and linguist (b. 1814)
1900 – Henry Sidgwick, English economist and philosopher (b. 1838) |
August 28 | 1901–present | 1901–present
1903 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and architect, co-designed Central Park (b. 1822)
1919 – Adolf Schmal, Austrian fencer and cyclist (b. 1872)
1934 – Edgeworth David, Welsh-Australian geologist and explorer (b. 1858)
1937 – George Prendergast, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Victoria (b. 1854)
1943 – Georg Hellat, Estonian architect (b. 1870)
1943 – Boris III of Bulgaria (b. 1894)
1955 – Emmett Till, African-American kidnapping and lynching victim (b. 1941)
1959 – Bohuslav Martinů, Czech-American composer and educator (b. 1890)
1965 – Giulio Racah, Italian-Israeli physicist and mathematician (b. 1909)
1968 – Dimitris Pikionis, Greek architect and academic (b. 1887)
1971 – Reuvein Margolies, Israeli author and scholar (b. 1889)
1972 – Prince William of Gloucester (b. 1941)
1975 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (b. 1907)
1976 – Anissa Jones, American actress (b. 1958)
1978 – Bruce Catton, American historian and journalist (b. 1899)
1978 – Robert Shaw, English actor (b. 1927)
1981 – Béla Guttmann, Hungarian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1899)David Bolchover (2017). The Greatest Comeback: From Genocide To Football Glory; The Story of Béla Guttman
1982 – Geoff Chubb, South African cricketer (b. 1911)
1984 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (b. 1901)
1985 – Ruth Gordon, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1896)
1986 – Russell Lee, American photographer and journalist (b. 1903)
1987 – John Huston, Irish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
1988 – Jean Marchand, Canadian union leader and politician, 43rd Secretary of State for Canada (b. 1918)
1988 – Max Shulman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1919)
1989 – John Steptoe, American author and illustrator (b. 1950)
1990 – Willy Vandersteen, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1913)
1991 – Alekos Sakellarios, Greek director and screenwriter (b. 1913)
1993 – William Stafford, American poet and academic (b. 1914)
1995 – Earl W. Bascom, American rodeo performer and painter (b. 1906)
1995 – Michael Ende, German scientist and author (b. 1929)
2005 – Jacques Dufilho, French actor (b. 1914)
2005 – Esther Szekeres, Hungarian-Australian mathematician and academic (b. 1910)
2005 – George Szekeres, Hungarian-Australian mathematician and academic (b. 1911)
2006 – Heino Lipp, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower (b. 1922)
2006 – Benoît Sauvageau, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1963)
2006 – Melvin Schwartz, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1932)
2007 – Arthur Jones, American businessman, founded Nautilus, Inc. and MedX Corporation (b. 1926)
2007 – Hilly Kristal, American businessman, founded CBGB (b. 1932)
2007 – Paul MacCready, American engineer and businessman, founded AeroVironment (b. 1925)
2007 – Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1935)
2007 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American actress (b. 1929)
2008 – Phil Hill, American race car driver (b. 1927)
2009 – Adam Goldstein, American drummer, DJ, and producer (b. 1973)
2009 – Richard Egan, US Ambassador, Owner of Dell EMC, Engineer (b. 1936)
2010 – William P. Foster, American bandleader and educator (b. 1919)
2011 – Bernie Gallacher, English footballer (b. 1967)
2012 – Rhodes Boyson, English educator and politician (b. 1925)
2012 – Shulamith Firestone, Canadian-American activist and author (b. 1945)
2012 – Dick McBride, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1928)
2012 – Saul Merin, Polish-Israeli ophthalmologist and academic (b. 1933)
2012 – Ramón Sota, Spanish golfer (b. 1938)
2013 – John Bellany, Scottish painter and academic (b. 1942)
2013 – Lorella Cedroni, Italian political scientist and philosopher (b. 1961)
2013 – Edmund B. Fitzgerald, American businessman (b. 1926)
2013 – Frank Pulli, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1935)
2013 – Barry Stobart, English footballer (b. 1938)
2013 – Rafael Díaz Ycaza, Ecuadorian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1925)
2014 – Glenn Cornick, English bass guitarist (b. 1947)
2014 – Hal Finney, American cryptographer and programmer (b. 1956)
2014 – John Anthony Walker, American soldier and spy (b. 1937)
2015 – Al Arbour, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1932)
2015 – Mark Krasniqi, Kosovan ethnographer, poet, and translator (b. 1920)
2015 – Nelson Shanks, American painter and educator (b. 1937)
2016 – Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer and songwriter (b. 1950)
2016 – Mr. Fuji, American professional wrestler and manager (b. 1934)
2017 – Mireille Darc, French actress and model (b. 1938)
2020 – Chadwick Boseman, American actor and playwright (b. 1976)
2024 – Obi Ndefo, American actor (b. 1972)
2024 – Steve Silberman, American writer and journalist (b. 1957) |
August 28 | Holidays and observances | Holidays and observances
Christian feast day:
Alexander of Constantinople
Augustine of Hippo
Edmund Arrowsmith
Hermes
Moses the Black
August 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
National Grandparents Day (Mexico) |
August 28 | References | References |
August 28 | External links | External links
Category:Days of August |
August 28 | Table of Content | pp-move, Events, Pre-1600, 1601–1900, 1901–present, Births, Pre-1600, 1601–1900, 1901–present, Deaths, Pre-1600, 1601–1900, 1901–present, Holidays and observances, References, External links |
Arabic numerals | Short description | upright=1.5|thumb|alt=Numbers written from 0 to 9|Arabic numerals set in Source Sans typeface
The ten Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) are the most commonly used symbols for writing numbers. The term often also implies a positional notation number with a decimal base, in particular when contrasted with Roman numerals. However the symbols are also used to write numbers in other bases, such as octal, as well as non-numerical information such as trademarks or license plate identifiers.
They are also called Western Arabic numerals, Western digits, European digits,Terminology for Digits . Unicode Consortium. Ghubār numerals, or Hindu–Arabic numerals due to positional notation (but not these digits) originating in India. The Oxford English Dictionary uses lowercase Arabic numerals while using the fully capitalized term Arabic Numerals for Eastern Arabic numerals."Arabic", Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition In contemporary society, the terms digits, numbers, and numerals often implies only these symbols, although it can only be inferred from context.
Europeans first learned of Arabic numerals , though their spread was a gradual process. After Italian scholar Fibonacci of Pisa encountered the numerals in the Algerian city of Béjaïa, his 13th-century work became crucial in making them known in Europe. However, their use was largely confined to Northern Italy until the invention of the printing press in the 15th century. European trade, books, and colonialism subsequently helped popularize the adoption of Arabic numerals around the world. The numerals are used worldwide—significantly beyond the contemporary spread of the Latin alphabet—and have become common in the writing systems where other numeral systems existed previously, such as Chinese and Japanese numerals. |
Arabic numerals | History | History |
Arabic numerals | Origin | Origin
alt=|thumb|Evolution of Indian numerals into Arabic numerals and their adoption in Europe
Positional decimal notation including a zero symbol was developed in India, using symbols visually distinct from those that would eventually enter into international use. As the concept spread, the sets of symbols used in different regions diverged over time.
The immediate ancestors of the digits now commonly called "Arabic numerals" were introduced to Europe in the 10th century by Arabic speakers of Spain and North Africa, with digits at the time in wide use from Libya to Morocco. In the east from Egypt to Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula, the Arabs were using the Eastern Arabic numerals or "Mashriki" numerals: ٠, ١, ٢, ٣, ٤, ٥, ٦, ٧, ٨, ٩.
Al-Nasawi wrote in the early 11th century that mathematicians had not agreed on the form of the numerals, but most of them had agreed to train themselves with the forms now known as Eastern Arabic numerals.: The oldest specimens of the written numerals available are from Egypt and date to 873–874 AD. They show three forms of the numeral "2" and two forms of the numeral "3", and these variations indicate the divergence between what later became known as the Eastern Arabic numerals and the Western Arabic numerals. The Western Arabic numerals came to be used in the Maghreb and Al-Andalus from the 10th century onward.: "While specimens of Western Arabic numerals from the early period—the tenth to thirteenth centuries—are still not available, we know at least that Hindu reckoning (called ḥisāb al-ghubār) was known in the West from the 10th century onward..." Some amount of consistency in the Western Arabic numeral forms endured from the 10th century, found in a Latin manuscript of Isidore of Seville's from 976 and the Gerbertian abacus, into the 12th and 13th centuries, in early manuscripts of translations from the city of Toledo.
Calculations were originally performed using a dust board (, Latin: ), which involved writing symbols with a stylus and erasing them. The use of the dust board appears to have introduced a divergence in terminology as well: whereas the Hindu reckoning was called in the east, it was called 'calculation with dust' in the west. The numerals themselves were referred to in the west as 'dust figures' or 'dust letters'. Al-Uqlidisi later invented a system of calculations with ink and paper 'without board and erasing' ().
A popular myth claims that the symbols were designed to indicate their numeric value through the number of angles they contained, but there is no contemporary evidence of this, and the myth is difficult to reconcile with any digits past 4.
thumb|Etching from 1503 (or earlier) showing usage of Arabic numerals |
Arabic numerals | Adoption and spread | Adoption and spread
thumb|right|The first Arabic numerals in the West appeared in the in Spain.
The first mentions of the numerals from 1 to 9 in the West are found in the 976 , an illuminated collection of various historical documents covering a period from antiquity to the 10th century in Hispania. Other texts show that numbers from 1 to 9 were occasionally supplemented by a placeholder known as , represented as a circle or wheel, reminiscent of the eventual symbol for zero. The Arabic term for zero is (), transliterated into Latin as , which became the English word cipher.
From the 980s, Gerbert of Aurillac (later Pope Sylvester II) used his position to spread knowledge of the numerals in Europe. Gerbert studied in Barcelona in his youth. He was known to have requested mathematical treatises concerning the astrolabe from Lupitus of Barcelona after he had returned to France.
The reception of Arabic numerals in the West was gradual and lukewarm, as other numeral systems circulated in addition to the older Roman numbers. As a discipline, the first to adopt Arabic numerals as part of their own writings were astronomers and astrologists, evidenced from manuscripts surviving from mid-12th-century Bavaria. Reinher of Paderborn (1140–1190) used the numerals in his calendrical tables to calculate the dates of Easter more easily in his text . |
Arabic numerals | Italy | Italy
thumb|A page of the Liber Abaci. The list on the right shows the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377. The 2, 8, and 9 resemble Arabic numerals more than Eastern Arabic numerals or Indian numerals.
Leonardo Fibonacci was a Pisan mathematician who had studied in the Pisan trading colony of Bugia, in what is now Algeria, and he endeavored to promote the numeral system in Europe with his 1202 book :
When my father, who had been appointed by his country as public notary in the customs at Bugia acting for the Pisan merchants going there, was in charge, he summoned me to him while I was still a child, and having an eye to usefulness and future convenience, desired me to stay there and receive instruction in the school of accounting. There, when I had been introduced to the art of the Indians' nine symbols through remarkable teaching, knowledge of the art very soon pleased me above all else and I came to understand it.
The s analysis highlighting the advantages of positional notation was widely influential. Likewise, Fibonacci's use of the Béjaïa digits in his exposition ultimately led to their widespread adoption in Europe. Fibonacci's work coincided with the European commercial revolution of the 12th and 13th centuries centered in Italy. Positional notation facilitated complex calculations (such as currency conversion) to be completed more quickly than was possible with the Roman system. In addition, the system could handle larger numbers, did not require a separate reckoning tool, and allowed the user to check their work without repeating the entire procedure. Late medieval Italian merchants did not stop using Roman numerals or other reckoning tools: instead, Arabic numerals were adopted for use in addition to their preexisting methods. |
Arabic numerals | Europe | Europe
thumb|A German manuscript page teaching use of Arabic numerals (Talhoffer Thott, 1459), presented together with the Hebrew alphabet and astrology
thumb|upright=1.5|Table of numerals in many variants, 1757, by Jean-Étienne Montucla
By the late 14th century, only a few texts using Arabic numerals appeared outside of Italy. This suggests that the use of Arabic numerals in commercial practice, and the significant advantage they conferred, remained a virtual Italian monopoly until the late 15th century. This may in part have been due to language barriers: although Fibonacci's was written in Latin, the Italian abacus traditions were predominantly written in Italian vernaculars that circulated in the private collections of abacus schools or individuals.
The European acceptance of the numerals was accelerated by the invention of the printing press, and they became widely known during the 15th century. Their use grew steadily in other centers of finance and trade such as Lyon. Early evidence of their use in Britain includes: an equal hour horary quadrant from 1396, in England, a 1445 inscription on the tower of Heathfield Church, Sussex; a 1448 inscription on a wooden lych-gate of Bray Church, Berkshire; and a 1487 inscription on the belfry door at Piddletrenthide church, Dorset; and in Scotland a 1470 inscription on the tomb of the first Earl of Huntly in Elgin Cathedral.See G. F. Hill, The Development of Arabic Numerals in Europe, for more examples. In central Europe, the King of Hungary Ladislaus the Posthumous, started the use of Arabic numerals, which appear for the first time in a royal document of 1456.Erdélyi: Magyar művelődéstörténet 1-2. kötet. Kolozsvár, 1913, 1918.
By the mid-16th century, they had been widely adopted in Europe, and by 1800 had almost completely replaced the use of counting boards and Roman numerals in accounting. Roman numerals were mostly relegated to niche uses such as years and numbers on clock faces. |
Arabic numerals | Russia | Russia
Prior to the introduction of Arabic numerals, Cyrillic numerals, derived from the Cyrillic alphabet, were used by South and East Slavs. The system was used in Russia as late as the early 18th century, although it was formally replaced in official use by Peter the Great in 1699. Reasons for Peter's switch from the alphanumerical system are believed to go beyond a surface-level desire to imitate the West. Historian Peter Brown makes arguments for sociological, militaristic, and pedagogical reasons for the change. At a broad, societal level, Russian merchants, soldiers, and officials increasingly came into contact with counterparts from the West and became familiar with the communal use of Arabic numerals. Peter also covertly travelled throughout Northern Europe from 1697 to 1698 during his Grand Embassy and was likely informally exposed to Western mathematics during this time. The Cyrillic system was found to be inferior for calculating practical kinematic values, such as the trajectories and parabolic flight patterns of artillery. With its use, it was difficult to keep pace with Arabic numerals in the growing field of ballistics, whereas Western mathematicians such as John Napier had been publishing on the topic since 1614. |
Arabic numerals | China | China
thumb|right|250px|Chinese Shang dynasty oracle bone numerals of 14th century BCThe Shorter Science & Civilisation in China Vol 2, An abridgement by Colin Ronan of Joseph Needham's original text, Table 20, p. 6, Cambridge University Press
The Chinese Shang dynasty numerals from the 14th century BC predates the Indian Brahmi numerals by over 1000 years and shows substantial similarity to the Brahmi numerals. Similar to the modern Arabic numerals, the Shang dynasty numeral system was also decimal based and positional.
While positional Chinese numeral systems such as the counting rod system and Suzhou numerals had been in use prior to the introduction of modern Arabic numerals, the externally-developed system was eventually introduced to medieval China by the Hui people. In the early 17th century, European-style Arabic numerals were introduced by Spanish and Portuguese Jesuits. |
Arabic numerals | Encoding | Encoding
The ten Arabic numerals are encoded in virtually every character set designed for electric, radio, and digital communication, such as Morse code. They are encoded in ASCII (and therefore in Unicode encodings) at positions 0x30 to 0x39. Masking all but the four least-significant binary digits gives the value of the decimal digit, a design decision facilitating the digitization of text onto early computers. EBCDIC used a different offset, but also possessed the aforementioned masking property.
ASCII Unicode EBCDIChex binary octal decimal hex00011 00000604830U+0030 DIGIT ZEROF010011 00010614931U+0031 DIGIT ONEF120011 00100625032U+0032 DIGIT TWOF230011 00110635133U+0033 DIGIT THREEF340011 01000645234U+0034 DIGIT FOURF450011 01010655335U+0035 DIGIT FIVEF560011 01100665436U+0036 DIGIT SIXF670011 01110675537U+0037 DIGIT SEVENF780011 10000705638U+0038 DIGIT EIGHTF890011 10010715739U+0039 DIGIT NINEF9 |
Arabic numerals | See also | See also
Arabic numeral variations
Regional variations in modern handwritten Arabic numerals
Seven-segment display
Text figures |
Arabic numerals | Footnotes | Footnotes |
Arabic numerals | Sources | Sources
|
Arabic numerals | Further reading | Further reading |
Arabic numerals | External links | External links
Lam Lay Yong, "Development of Hindu Arabic and Traditional Chinese Arithmetic", Chinese Science 13 (1996): 35–54.
"Counting Systems and Numerals", Historyworld. Retrieved 11 December 2005.
. 16 April 2005.
O'Connor, J. J., and E. F. Robertson, Indian numerals . November 2000.
History of the numerals
Arabic numerals
Hindu–Arabic numerals
Numeral & Numbers' history and curiosities
Gerbert d'Aurillac's early use of Hindu–Arabic numerals at Convergence
Category:Numerals |
Arabic numerals | Table of Content | Short description, History, Origin, Adoption and spread, Italy, Europe, Russia, China, Encoding, See also, Footnotes, Sources, Further reading, External links |
April 9 | About | |
April 9 | Events | Events |
April 9 | Pre-1600 | Pre-1600
193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position.
537 – Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements, 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. Despite shortages, he starts raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges but is forced into a stalemate.
1241 – Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeat the Polish and German armies.
1288 – Mongol invasions of Vietnam: Yuan forces are defeated by Trần forces in the Battle of Bach Dang in present-day northern Vietnam.
1388 – Despite being outnumbered 16:1, forces of the Old Swiss Confederacy are victorious over the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Näfels.
1454 – The Treaty of Lodi is signed, establishing a balance of power among northern Italian city-states for almost 50 years. |
April 9 | 1601–1900 | 1601–1900
1609 – Eighty Years' War: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of Antwerp to initiate twelve years of truce.
1609 – Philip III of Spain issues the decree of the "Expulsion of the Moriscos".
1682 – Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.
1784 – The Treaty of Paris, ratified by the United States Congress on January 14, 1784, is ratified by King George III of the Kingdom of Great Britain, ending the American Revolutionary War. Copies of the ratified documents are exchanged on May 12, 1784.
1860 – On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the first known recording of an audible human voice.
1865 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the war. |
April 9 | 1901–present | 1901–present
1909 – The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act.
1917 – World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
1918 – World War I: The Battle of the Lys: The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps is crushed by the German forces during what is called the Spring Offensive on the Belgian region of Flanders.
1937 – The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London. It is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
1939 – African-American singer Marian Anderson gives a concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
1940 – World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
1940 – Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of Bataan ends and the Bataan Death March begins.
1942 – World War II: An Indian Ocean raid by Japan's 1st Air Fleet sinks the British aircraft carrier and the Australian destroyer .
1945 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran pastor and anti-Nazi dissident, is executed by the Nazi regime.
1945 – World War II: The German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer is sunk by the Royal Air Force.
1945 – World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.
1945 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.
1947 – The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
1947 – The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court's 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.
1947 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 22 relating to Corfu Channel incident is adopted.
1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia.
1948 – Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist terror groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100 Palestinians.
1952 – Hugo Ballivián's government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalization of tin mines
1952 – Japan Air Lines Flight 301 crashes into Mount Mihara, Izu Ōshima, Japan, killing 37.
1957 – The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping following the Suez Crisis.
1959 – Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven".
1960 – Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid, narrowly survives an assassination attempt by a white farmer, David Pratt in Johannesburg.
1967 – The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.
1969 – The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford with Brian Trubshaw as the test pilot.
1980 – The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture.
1981 – The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it and killing two Japanese sailors.
1989 – Tbilisi massacre: An anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strike in Tbilisi, demanding restoration of Georgian independence, is dispersed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
1990 – An IRA bombing in County Down, Northern Ireland, kills three members of the UDR.
1990 – The Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement is signed for in the Mackenzie Valley of the western Arctic.
1990 – An Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia collides in mid-air with a Cessna 172 over Gadsden, Alabama, killing both of the Cessna's occupants.
1991 – Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
1992 – A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
1994 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-59.
2003 – Iraq War: Baghdad falls to American forces.
2009 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.
2011 – Six people and the perpetrator are killed and 17 injured in a mass shooting at a shopping mall in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands.
2013 – A 6.1–magnitude earthquake strikes Iran killing 32 people and injuring over 850 people.
2013 – At least 13 people are killed and another three injured after a man goes on a spree shooting in the Serbian village of Velika Ivanča.
2014 – A student stabs 20 people at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
2017 – The Palm Sunday church bombings at Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, take place.
2017 – After refusing to give up his seat on an overbooked United Express flight, Dr. David Dao Duy Anh is forcibly dragged off the flight by aviation security officers, leading to major criticism of United Airlines.
2021 – Burmese military and security forces commit the Bago massacre, during which at least 82 civilians are killed. |
April 9 | Births | Births |
April 9 | Pre-1600 | Pre-1600
1096 – Al-Muqtafi, caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate (d. 1160)
1285 – Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan, Emperor Renzong of Yuan (d. 1320)
1458 – Camilla Battista da Varano, Italian saint (d. 1524)
1498 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (d. 1550)
1586 – Julius Henry, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1665)
1597 – John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (d. 1670)
1598 – Johann Crüger, Sorbian-German composer and theorist (d. 1662) |
April 9 | 1601–1900 | 1601–1900
1624 – Henrik Rysensteen, Dutch military engineer (d. 1679)
1627 – Johann Caspar Kerll, German organist and composer (d. 1693)
1634 – Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau (d. 1696)
1648 – Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1720)
1649 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire (d. 1685)
1654 – Samuel Fritz, Czech Jesuit missionary to South America (d. 1725?)
1680 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright (d. 1754)
1686 – James Craggs the Younger, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1721)
1691 – Johann Matthias Gesner, German scholar and academic (d. 1761)
1717 – Georg Matthias Monn, Austrian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1750)
1770 – Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist and academic (d. 1831)
1773 – Étienne Aignan, French author and academic (d. 1824)
1794 – Theobald Boehm, German flute player and composer (d. 1881)
1794 – Søren Christian Sommerfelt, Norwegian priest and botanist (d. 1838)
1802 – Elias Lönnrot, Finnish physician and philologist (d. 1884)
1806 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, English engineer, designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge (d. 1859)
1807 – James Bannerman, Scottish theologian and academic (d. 1868)
1821 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet and critic (d. 1867)
1830 – Eadweard Muybridge, English photographer and cinematographer (d. 1904)
1835 – Leopold II of Belgium (d. 1909)
1835 – Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (d. 1913)
1846 – Paolo Tosti, Italian-English composer and educator (d. 1916)
1848 – Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz, Spanish Augustinian Recollect priest and saint (d. 1906)
1865 – Erich Ludendorff, German general and politician (d. 1937)
1865 – Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Polish-American mathematician and engineer (d. 1923)
1867 – Chris Watson, Chilean-Australian journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1941)
1867 – Charles Winckler, Danish tug of war competitor, discus thrower, and shot putter (d. 1932)
1872 – Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1950)
1875 – Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (d. 1912)
1880 – Jan Letzel, Czech architect (d. 1925)
1882 – Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (d. 1946)
1882 – Otz Tollen, German actor (d. 1965)
1883 – Frank King, American cartoonist (d. 1969)
1887 – Konrad Tom, Polish actor, writer, singer, and director (d. 1957)
1888 – Sol Hurok, Ukrainian-American talent manager (d. 1974)
1893 – Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (d. 1967)
1893 – Victor Gollancz, English publisher, founded Victor Gollancz Ltd (d. 1967)
1893 – Rahul Sankrityayan, Indian linguist, author, and scholar (d. 1963)
1895 – Mance Lipscomb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
1895 – Michel Simon, Swiss-French actor (d. 1975)
1897 – John B. Gambling, American radio host (d. 1974)
1898 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach (d. 1965)
1898 – Paul Robeson, American singer, actor, and activist (d. 1976)
1900 – Allen Jenkins, American actor and singer (d. 1974) |
April 9 | 1901–present | 1901–present
1901 – Jean Bruchési, Canadian historian and author (d. 1979)
1901 – Paul Willis, American actor and director (d. 1960)
1902 – Théodore Monod, French explorer and scholar (d. 2000)
1903 – Ward Bond, American actor (d. 1960)
1904 – Sharkey Bonano, American singer, trumpet player, and bandleader (d. 1972)
1905 – J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (d. 1995)
1906 – Rafaela Aparicio, Spanish actress (d. 1996)
1906 – Antal Doráti, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (d. 1988)
1906 – Hugh Gaitskell, British politician and leader of the Labour Party (d. 1963)
1906 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French painter (d. 1997)
1908 – Joseph Krumgold, American author and screenwriter (d. 1980)
1908 – Paula Nenette Pepin, French composer, pianist and lyricist (d. 1990)
1909 – Robert Helpmann, Australian dancer, actor, and choreographer (d. 1986)
1910 – Abraham A. Ribicoff, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 1998)
1912 – Lev Kopelev, Ukrainian-German author and academic (d. 1997)
1915 – Daniel Johnson Sr., Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Quebec (d. 1968)
1916 – Julian Dash, American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 1974)
1916 – Heinz Meyer, German Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) during World War II (d. 1987)
1916 – Bill Leonard, American journalist (d. 1994)
1917 – Johannes Bobrowski, German songwriter and poet (d. 1965)
1917 – Ronnie Burgess, Welsh international footballer and manager (d. 2005)
1917 – Brad Dexter, American actor (d. 2002)
1917 – Henry Hewes, American theater writer (d. 2006)
1918 – Jørn Utzon, Danish architect, designed the Sydney Opera House (d. 2008)
1919 – J. Presper Eckert, American engineer, invented the ENIAC (d. 1995)
1921 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (d. 2008)
1921 – Yitzhak Navon, Israeli politician (d. 2015)
1921 – Frankie Thomas, American actor (d. 2006)
1921 – Mary Jackson, African-American mathematician and aerospace engineer (d. 2005)
1922 – Carl Amery, German author and activist (d. 2005)
1923 – Leonard Levy, American historian and author (d. 2006)
1924 – Arthur Shaw, English professional footballer (d. 2015)
1925 – Virginia Gibson, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2013)
1925 – Art Kane, American photographer (d. 1995)
1926 – Gerry Fitt, Northern Irish soldier and politician; British life peer (d. 2005)
1926 – Hugh Hefner, American publisher, founded Playboy Enterprises (d. 2017)
1926 – Harris Wofford, American politician, author, and civil rights activist (d. 2019)
1927 – Tiny Hill, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2019)
1928 – Paul Arizin, American basketball player (d. 2006)
1928 – Tom Lehrer, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and mathematician
1929 – Sharan Rani Backliwal, Indian sarod player and scholar (d. 2008)
1929 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist (d. 1993)
1929 – Paule Marshall, American author and academic (d. 2019)
1930 – Nathaniel Branden, Canadian-American psychotherapist and author (d. 2014)
1930 – F. Albert Cotton, American chemist and academic (d. 2007)
1930 – Jim Fowler, American zoologist and television host (d. 2019)
1930 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, founded McCain Foods (d. 2011)
1931 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1991)
1932 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (d. 2006)
1932 – Peter Moores, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
1932 – Carl Perkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
1933 – Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor and producer (d. 2021)
1933 – René Burri, Swiss photographer and journalist (d. 2014)
1933 – Fern Michaels, American author
1933 – Richard Rose, American political scientist and academic
1933 – Gian Maria Volonté, Italian actor (d. 1994)
1934 – Bill Birch, New Zealand surveyor and politician, 38th New Zealand Minister of Finance
1934 – Tom Phillis, Australian motorcycle racer (d. 1962)
1934 – Mariya Pisareva, Russian high jumper (d. 2023)
1935 – Aulis Sallinen, Finnish composer and academic
1935 – Avery Schreiber, American actor and comedian (d. 2002)
1936 – Jerzy Maksymiuk, Polish pianist, composer, and conductor
1936 – Drew Shafer, American LGBT rights activist from Missouri (d. 1989)
1936 – Valerie Solanas, American radical feminist author, attempted murderer (d. 1988)
1937 – Simon Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge (d. 2023)
1937 – Marty Krofft, Canadian screenwriter and producer (d. 2023)
1937 – Valerie Singleton, English television and radio host
1938 – Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian businessman and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Russia (d. 2010)
1939 – Michael Learned, American actress
1939 – Margo Smith, American singer-songwriter (d. 2024)
1940 – Hans-Joachim Reske, German sprinter
1940 – Jim Roberts, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
1941 – Kay Adams, American singer-songwriter
1941 – Hannah Gordon, Scottish actress
1942 – Brandon deWilde, American actor (d. 1972)
1943 – Leila Khaled, Palestinian activist
1943 – Terry Knight, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
1943 – Clive Sullivan, Welsh rugby league player (d. 1985)
1944 – Joe Brinkman, American baseball player and umpire
1944 – Heinz-Joachim Rothenburg, German shot putter
1945 – Steve Gadd, American drummer and percussionist
1946 – Nate Colbert, American baseball player (d. 2023)
1946 – Alan Knott, English cricketer
1946 – Sara Parkin, Scottish activist and politician
1946 – David Webb, English footballer, coach, and manager
1947 – Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Italian economist and academic (d. 2024)
1948 – Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress and politician
1948 – Tito Gómez, Puerto Rican salsa singer (d. 2007)Biografías:Tito Gómez from the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture
1948 – Michel Parizeau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1948 – Patty Pravo, Italian singer
1949 – Tony Cragg, English sculptor
1952 – Robert Clark, American author
1952 – Bruce Robertson, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2023)
1952 – Tania Tsanaklidou, Greek singer and actress
1953 – John Howard, English singer-songwriter and pianist
1953 – Hal Ketchum, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2020)
1953 – Stephen Paddock, American mass murderer responsible for the 2017 Las Vegas shooting (d. 2017)
1954 – Ken Kalfus, American journalist and author
1954 – Dennis Quaid, American actor
1954 – Iain Duncan Smith, British soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
1955 – Yamina Benguigui, Algerian-French director and politician
1955 – Joolz Denby, English poet and author
1956 – Miguel Ángel Russo, Argentinian footballer and coach
1956 – Nigel Shadbolt, English computer scientist and academic
1956 – Marina Zoueva, Russian ice dancer and coach
1956 – Nigel Slater, English food writer and author
1957 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer and architect (d. 2011)
1957 – Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer
1957 – Jamie Redfern, English-born Australian television presenter and pop singer
1958 – Nadey Hakim, British-Lebanese surgeon and sculptor
1958 – Tony Sibson, English boxer
1959 – Bernard Jenkin, English businessman and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
1960 – Jaak Aab, Estonian educator and politician, Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia
1961 – Mark Kelly, Irish keyboard player
1961 – Kirk McCaskill, Canadian-American baseball and hockey player
1962 – John Eaves, American production designer and illustrator
1962 – Ihor Podolchak, Ukrainian director, producer, and screenwriter
1962 – Imran Sherwani, English field hockey player
1962 – Jeff Turner, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
1963 – Marc Jacobs, American-French fashion designer
1963 – Joe Scarborough, American journalist, lawyer, and politician
1964 – Rob Awalt, German-American football player
1964 – Juliet Cuthbert, Jamaican sprinter
1964 – Doug Ducey, American politician and businessman, 23rd Governor of Arizona
1964 – Peter Penashue, Canadian businessman and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
1964 – Margaret Peterson Haddix, American author
1964 – Rick Tocchet, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
1965 – Helen Alfredsson, Swedish golfer
1965 – Paulina Porizkova, Czech-born Swedish-American model and actress
1965 – Jeff Zucker, American businessman
1965 – Mark Pellegrino, American actor
1966 – John Hammond, English weather forecaster
1966 – Cynthia Nixon, American actress
1967 – Natascha Engel, German-English translator and politician
1967 – Sam Harris, American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist
1968 – Jay Chandrasekhar, American actor, comedian, writer and director
1969 – Barnaby Kay, English actor
1969 – Linda Kisabaka, German runner
1970 – Chorão, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
1971 – Peter Canavan, Irish footballer and manager
1971 – Leo Fortune-West, English footballer and manager
1971 – Austin Peck, American actor
1971 – Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver
1972 – Bernard Ackah, German-Japanese martial artist and kick-boxer
1972 – Siiri Vallner, Estonian architect
1974 – Megan Connolly, Australian actress (d. 2001)
1974 – Jenna Jameson, American actress and pornographic performer
1974 – Alexander Pichushkin, Russian serial killer
1975 – Robbie Fowler, English footballer and manager
1975 – David Gordon Green, American director and screenwriter
1976 – Kyle Peterson, American baseball player and sportscaster
1977 – Gerard Way, American singer-songwriter and comic book writer
1978 – Kousei Amano, Japanese actor
1978 – Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
1978 – Rachel Stevens, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
1979 – Jeff Reed, American football player
1979 – Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress
1980 – Sarah Ayton, English sailor
1980 – Luciano Galletti, Argentinian footballer
1980 – Albert Hammond Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1981 – Milan Bartovič, Slovak ice hockey player
1981 – A. J. Ellis, American baseball player
1981 – Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer
1981 – Dennis Sarfate, American baseball player
1981 – Eric Harris, American mass murderer, responsible for the Columbine High School massacre (d. 1999)
1982 – Jay Baruchel, Canadian actor
1982 – Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer
1982 – Kathleen Munroe, Canadian-American actress
1983 – Ryan Clark, Australian actor
1984 – Habiba Ghribi, Tunisian runner
1984 – Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player
1984 – Óscar Razo, Mexican footballer
1985 – Antonio Nocerino, Italian footballer
1985 – David Robertson, American baseball player
1986 – Mike Hart, American football player
1986 – Leighton Meester, American actress
1987 – Kassim Abdallah, French-Comorian footballer
1987 – Graham Gano, American football player
1987 – Craig Mabbitt, American singer
1987 – Jesse McCartney, American singer-songwriter and actor
1987 – Jarrod Mullen, Australian rugby league player
1987 – Jazmine Sullivan, American singer-songwriter
1988 – Jeremy Metcalfe, English race car driver
1989 – Bianca Belair, American wrestler
1989 – Danielle Kahle, American figure skater
1990 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
1990 – Ryan Williams, American football player
1991 – Gai Assulin, Israeli footballer
1991 – Ryan Kelly, American basketball player
1991 – Mary Killman, American synchronized swimmer
1992 – Joshua Ledet, American singer
1992 – Raheem Mostert, American football player
1993 – Alexandra Hunt, American politician
1994 – Bladee, Swedish rapper and singer
1994 – Joey Pollari, American actor
1995 – Domagoj Bošnjak, Croatian basketball player
1995 – Robert Bauer, German-Kazakhstani footballer
1995 – Demi Vermeulen, Dutch Paralympic equestrian
1996 – Jayden Brailey, Australian rugby league player
1996 – Giovani Lo Celso, Argentine footballer
1997 – Luis Arráez, Venezuelan baseball player
1998 – Elle Fanning, American actress
1999 – Stanley Nsoki, French footballer
1999 – Lil Nas X, American rapper
1999 – Rúben Vinagre, Portuguese footballer
2000 – Tiago Djaló, Portuguese footballer
2000 – Jackie Evancho, American singer
2001 – Nika Mühl, Croatian basketball player
2004 – TommyInnit, English YouTuber and streamer |
April 9 | Deaths | Deaths |
April 9 | Pre-1600 | Pre-1600
585 BC – Jimmu, emperor of Japan (b. 711 BC)
436 – Tan Daoji, Chinese general and politician
491 – Zeno, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (b. 425)
682 – Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari, Egyptian politician, Governor of Egypt (b. 616)
715 – Constantine, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 664)
1024 – Benedict VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 980)
1137 – William X, duke of Aquitaine (b. 1099)
1241 – Henry II, High Duke of Poland (b. 1196)
1283 – Margaret of Scotland, queen of Norway (b. 1261)
1327 – Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, Scottish nobleman (ca. 1296)
1483 – Edward IV, king of England (b. 1442)
1484 – Edward of Middleheim, prince of Wales (b. 1473)
1550 – Alqas Mirza, Safavid prince (b. 1516)
1553 – François Rabelais, French monk and scholar (b. 1494)
1557 – Mikael Agricola, Finnish priest and scholar (b. 1510)
1561 – Jean Quintin, French priest, knight and writer (b. 1500) |
April 9 | 1601–1900 | 1601–1900
1626 – Francis Bacon, English jurist and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1561)
1654 – Matei Basarab, Romanian prince (b. 1588)
1693 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (b. 1618)
1747 – Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, Scottish soldier and politician (b. 1667)
1754 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (b. 1679)
1761 – William Law, English priest and theologian (b. 1686)
1768 – Sarah Fielding, English author (b. 1710)
1804 – Jacques Necker, Swiss-French politician, Chief Minister to the French Monarch (b. 1732)
1806 – William V, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic (b. 1748)
1872 – Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (b. 1794)
1876 – Charles Goodyear, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1804)
1882 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (b. 1828)
1889 – Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist and academic (b. 1786) |
April 9 | 1901–present | 1901–present
1904 – Isabella II, Spanish queen (b. 1830)
1909 – Helena Modjeska, Polish-American actress (b. 1840)
1915 – Raymond Whittindale, English rugby player (b. 1883)
1917 – James Hope Moulton, English philologist and scholar (b. 1863)
1922 – Hans Fruhstorfer, German entomologist and explorer (b. 1866)
1926 – Zip the Pinhead, American freak show performer (b. 1857)
1936 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1855)
1940 – Mrs Patrick Campbell, English actress (b. 1865)
1944 – Yevgeniya Rudneva, Ukrainian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1920)
1945 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (b. 1906)
1945 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (b. 1887)
1945 – Johann Georg Elser, German carpenter (b. 1903)
1945 – Hans Oster, German general (b. 1887)
1945 – Karl Sack, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1896)
1945 – Hans von Dohnányi, Austrian-German lawyer and jurist (b. 1902)
1948 – George Carpenter, Australian 5th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1872)
1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Colombian Minister of National Education (b. 1903)
1951 – Vilhelm Bjerknes, Norwegian physicist and meteorologist (b. 1862)
1953 – Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (b. 1877)
1953 – C. E. M. Joad, English philosopher and television host (b. 1891)
1953 – Hans Reichenbach, German philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1891)
1959 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (b. 1867)
1961 – Zog I of Albania (b. 1895)
1963 – Eddie Edwards, American trombonist (b. 1891)
1963 – Xul Solar, Argentinian painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
1970 – Gustaf Tenggren, Swedish-American illustrator and animator (b. 1896)
1976 – Dagmar Nordstrom, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1903)
1976 – Phil Ochs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
1976 – Renato Petronio, Italian rower (b. 1891)
1978 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed Portmeirion (b. 1883)
1980 – Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric and philosopher (b. 1935)
1982 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1896)
1988 – Brook Benton, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1931)
1988 – Hans Berndt, German footballer (b. 1913)
1988 – Dave Prater, American singer (b. 1937)
1991 – Forrest Towns, American hurdler and coach (b. 1914)
1993 – Joseph B. Soloveitchik, American rabbi and philosopher (b. 1903)
1996 – Richard Condon, American author and publicist (b. 1915)
1997 – Mae Boren Axton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1914)
1997 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
1998 – Tom Cora, American cellist and composer (b. 1953)
1999 – Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Nigerien general and politician, President of Niger (b. 1949)
2000 – Tony Cliff, Trotskyist activist and founder of the Socialist Workers Party (b. 1917)
2001 – Willie Stargell, American baseball player and coach (b. 1940)
2002 – Pat Flaherty, American race car driver (b. 1926)
2002 – Leopold Vietoris, Austrian soldier, mathematician, and academic (b. 1891)
2003 – Jerry Bittle, American cartoonist (b. 1949)
2006 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, manager (b. 1916)
2006 – Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
2007 – Egon Bondy, Czech philosopher and poet (b. 1930)
2007 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (b. 1907)
2009 – Nick Adenhart, American baseball player (b. 1986)
2010 – Zoltán Varga, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1945)
2011 – Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri, Bahraini journalist (b. 1971)
2011 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
2012 – Malcolm Thomas, Welsh rugby player and cricketer (b. 1929)
2012 – Boris Parygin, Soviet philosopher, psychologist, and author (b. 1930)In Memory of Boris Dmitriyevich Parygin // Social Psychology and Society. Issues 2012. Vol. 3, no. 2 ISSN: 2221-1527 / 2311-7052
2013 – David Hayes, American sculptor and painter (b. 1931)
2013 – Greg McCrary, American football player (b. 1952)
2013 – Mordechai Mishani, Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
2013 – McCandlish Phillips, American journalist and author (b. 1927)
2013 – Paolo Soleri, Italian-American architect, designed the Cosanti (b. 1919)
2014 – Gil Askey, American trumpet player, composer, and producer (b. 1925)
2014 – Chris Banks, American football player (b. 1973)
2014 – Rory Ellinger, American lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
2014 – Norman Girvan, Jamaican economist, academic, and politician (b. 1941)
2014 – Aelay Narendra, Indian politician (b. 1946)
2014 – A. N. R. Robinson, Trinbagonian politician, 3rd President of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1926)
2014 – Svetlana Velmar-Janković, Serbian author (b. 1933)
2015 – Paul Almond, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2015 – Margaret Rule, British marine archaeologist (b. 1928)
2015 – Nina Companeez, French director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
2015 – Alexander Dalgarno, English physicist and academic (b. 1928)
2015 – Ivan Doig, American journalist and author (b. 1939)
2015 – Tsien Tsuen-hsuin, Chinese-American academic (b. 1909)
2016 – Duane Clarridge, American spy (b. 1932)
2016 – Will Smith, American football player (b. 1981)
2017 – John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, writer, and satirist (b. 1948)
2019 – Charles Van Doren, American writer and editor (b. 1926)
2021 – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (b. 1921)
2021 – DMX, American rapper and actor (b. 1970)
2021 – Nikki Grahame, British reality-TV icon (b. 1982)
2021 – Ian Gibson, British scientist and Labour Party politician (b. 1938)
2021 – Ramsey Clark, American lawyer (b. 1927)
2022 – Dwayne Haskins, American football player (b. 1997)
2023 – Karl Berger, German-American jazz pianist (b. 1935)
2025 – Ray Shero, American ice hockey player and executive (b. 1962) |
April 9 | Holidays and observances | Holidays and observances
Christian feast day:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Anglicanism, Lutheranism)
Gaucherius
Materiana
Waltrude
April 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Baghdad Liberation Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
Constitution Day (Kosovo)
Day of National Unity (Georgia)
Day of the Finnish Language (Finland)
Day of Valor or Araw ng Kagitingan (Philippines)
Feast of the Second Day of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema)
Martyr's Day (Tunisia)
National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day (United States)
Remembrance for Haakon Sigurdsson (The Troth)
Vimy Ridge Day (Canada)
Valour Day (CRPF) |
April 9 | References | References |
April 9 | External links | External links
BBC: On This Day
Historical Events on April 9
Category:Days of April |
April 9 | Table of Content | About, Events, Pre-1600, 1601–1900, 1901–present, Births, Pre-1600, 1601–1900, 1901–present, Deaths, Pre-1600, 1601–1900, 1901–present, Holidays and observances, References, External links |
ABM | wiktionary | ABM or Abm may refer to: |
ABM | Aviation | Aviation
Air Battle Manager, US Air Force rated officer position
IATA airport code for Northern Peninsula Airport in Bamaga, State of Queensland, Australia |
ABM | Companies | Companies
ABM Industries, a US facility management provider
ABM Intelligence, a UK software company
Advantage Business Media, a US digital marketing and information services company
Associated British Maltsters, acquired by Dalgety plc |
ABM | Computing | Computing
Advanced Bit Manipulation, an instruction set extension for x86
Agent-based model, a computational model for simulating autonomous agents
Asynchronous Balanced Mode, an HDLC communication mode |
ABM | Military | Military
Anti-ballistic missile
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, 1972 arms control treaty between the US and USSR |
ABM | Organizations | Organizations
Abahlali baseMjondolo, movement of South African shack dwellers
Anglican Board of Mission - Australia, the national mission agency of the Anglican Church of Australia
Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, an Egyptian jihadist group |
ABM | Other uses | Other uses
Abanyom language of Nigeria, ISO 639-3 code
ABM (video game), 1980 video game
Account-based marketing, strategic approach to business marketing
Activity-based management, method of identifying and evaluating activities that a business performs
Agaricus blazei Murill, a species of mushroom
Automated banking machine, Canadian term for automated teller machine
Atmospheric Black Metal |
ABM | Table of Content | wiktionary, Aviation, Companies, Computing, Military, Organizations, Other uses |
Apuleius | Short description | Apuleius ( ; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170"Lucius Apuleius". Encyclopædia Britannica.) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He was born in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day M'Daourouch, Algeria. He studied Platonism in Athens, travelled to Italy, Asia Minor, and Egypt, and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the attentions (and fortune) of a wealthy widow. He declaimed and then distributed his own defense before the proconsul and a court of magistrates convened in Sabratha, near Oea (modern Tripoli, Libya). This is known as the Apologia.
His most famous work is his bawdy picaresque novel the Metamorphoses, otherwise known as The Golden Ass. It is the only Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It relates the adventures of its protagonist, Lucius, who experiments with magic and is accidentally turned into a donkey. Lucius goes through various adventures before he is turned back into a human being by the goddess Isis. |
Apuleius | Life | Life
thumb|left|Imagined portrait of Apuleius on a medallion of the 4th century.
thumb|Apuleii Opera omnia (1621)
Apuleius was born in Madauros, a colonia in Numidia on the North African coast bordering Gaetulia, and he described himself as "half-Numidian half-Gaetulian."Apuleius, Apology, 24 Madaurus was the same colonia where Augustine of Hippo later received part of his early education, and, though located well away from the Romanized coast, is today the site of some pristine Roman ruins. As to his first name, no praenomen is given in any ancient source; late-medieval manuscripts began the tradition of calling him Lucius from the name of the hero of his novel. Details regarding his life come mostly from his defense speech (Apology) and his work Florida, which consists of snippets taken from some of his best speeches.
His father was a municipal magistrate (duumvir) who bequeathed at his death the sum of nearly two million sesterces to his two sons.Apuleius, Apology, 23 Apuleius studied with a master at Carthage (where he later settled) and later at Athens, where he studied Platonist philosophy among other subjects. He subsequently went to RomeApuleius, Florida, 17.4 to study Latin rhetoric and, most likely, to speak in the law courts for a time before returning to his native North Africa. He also travelled extensively in Asia Minor and Egypt, studying philosophy and religion, burning up his inheritance while doing so.
Apuleius was an initiate in several Greco-Roman mysteries, including the Dionysian Mysteries. He was a priest of AsclepiusApuleius, Florida 16.38 and 18.38 and, according to Augustine,Augustine, Epistle 138.19. sacerdos provinciae Africae (i.e., priest of the province of Carthage).
Not long after his return home he set out upon a new journey to Alexandria.Apuleius, Apology, 72. On his way there he was taken ill at the town of Oea (modern-day Tripoli) and was hospitably received into the house of Sicinius Pontianus, with whom he had been friends when he had studied in Athens. The mother of Pontianus, Pudentilla, was a very rich widow. With her son's consent – indeed encouragement – Apuleius agreed to marry her.Apuleius, Apology, 73 Meanwhile, Pontianus himself married the daughter of one Herennius Rufinus; he, indignant that Pudentilla's wealth should pass out of the family, instigated his son-in-law, together with a younger brother, Sicinius Pudens, a mere boy, and their paternal uncle, Sicinius Aemilianus, to join him in impeaching Apuleius upon the charge that he had gained the affections of Pudentilla by charms and magic spells.Apuleius, Apology, 53, 66, 70, etc The case was heard at Sabratha, near Tripoli, c. 158 AD, before Claudius Maximus, proconsul of Africa.Apuleius, Apology, 1, 59, 65 The accusation itself seems to have been ridiculous, and the spirited and triumphant defence spoken by Apuleius is still extant. This is known as the Apologia (A Discourse on Magic).
Apuleius accused an extravagant personal enemy of turning his house into a brothel and prostituting his wife.Apuleius, Apology, 75–76
Of his subsequent career, we know little. Judging from the many works of which he was author, he must have devoted himself diligently to literature. He occasionally gave speeches in public to great reception; he had the charge of exhibiting gladiatorial shows and wild beast events in the province, and statues were erected in his honour by the senate of Carthage and of other senates.Apuleius, Apology, 55, 73Apuleius, Florida, iii. n. 16Augustine, Ep. v.
The date, place and circumstances of Apuleius' death are not known. There is no record of his activities after 170, a fact which has led some people to believe that he must have died about then (say in 171), although other scholars feel that he may still have been alive in 180 or even 190. |
Apuleius | Works | Works
right|thumb|Frontispiece from the Bohn's Classical Library edition of The Works of Apuleius: a portrait of Apuleius flanked by Pamphile changing into an owl and the Golden Ass |
Apuleius | ''The Golden Ass'' | The Golden Ass
The Golden Ass (Asinus Aureus) or Metamorphoses is the only Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It relates the adventures of one Lucius, who introduces himself as related to the famous philosophers Plutarch and Sextus of Chaeronea. Lucius experiments with magic and is accidentally turned into an ass. In this guise, he hears and sees many unusual things, until escaping from his predicament in a rather unexpected way. Within this frame story are found many digressions, the longest among them being the well-known tale of Cupid and Psyche. This story is a rare instance of a fairy tale preserved in an ancient literary text.
The Metamorphoses ends with the (once again human) hero, Lucius, eager to be initiated into the mystery cult of Isis; he abstains from forbidden foods, bathes, and purifies himself. He is introduced to the Navigium Isidis. Then the secrets of the cult's books are explained to him, and further secrets are revealed before he goes through the process of initiation, which involves a trial by the elements on a journey to the underworld. Lucius is then asked to seek initiation into the cult of Osiris in Rome, and eventually is initiated into the pastophoroi – a group of priests that serves Isis and Osiris. |
Apuleius | ''Apologia'' | Apologia
() is the version of the defence presented in Sabratha, in 158–159, before the proconsul Claudius Maximus, by Apuleius accused of the crime of magic. Between the traditional exordium and peroratio, the argumentation is divided into three sections:
Refutation of the accusations levelled against his private life. He demonstrates that by marrying Pudentilla he had no interested motive and that he carries it away, intellectually and morally, on his opponents.
Attempt to prove that his so-called "magical operations" were in fact indispensable scientific experiments for an imitator of Aristotle and Hippocrates, or the religious acts of a Roman Platonist.
A recount of the events that have occurred in Oea since his arrival and pulverize the arguments against him.
The main interest of the is historical, as it offers substantial information about its author, magic and life in Africa in the second century. |
Apuleius | Other | Other
His other works are:
Florida. A compilation of twenty-three extracts from his various speeches and lectures.
De Platone et dogmate eius (On Plato and His Doctrine). An outline in two books of Plato's physics and ethics, preceded by a life of Plato
(On the God of Socrates). A work on the existence and nature of daemons, the intermediaries between gods and humans. This treatise was attacked by Augustine of Hippo in The City of God (Books VIII to X), while Lactantius reserved it for short-lived creatures. (related bibliographic record)Augustine played a decisive role in the transmission of Apuleius' texts up to the present day. Cfr. De Deo Socratis contains a passage comparing gods and kings which is the first recorded occurrence of the proverb "familiarity breeds contempt":
On the Universe. This Latin translation of Pseudo-Aristotle's work De Mundo is probably by Apuleius.
Apuleius wrote many other works which have not survived. He wrote works of poetry and fiction, as well as technical treatises on politics, dendrology, agriculture, medicine, natural history, astronomy, music, and arithmetic, and he translated Plato's Phaedo. |
Apuleius | Spurious | Spurious
Extant works wrongly attributed to Apuleius include:
Peri Hermeneias (On Interpretation). A brief Latin version of a guide to Aristotelian logic.
Asclepius. A Latin paraphrase of a lost Greek dialogue (The Perfect Discourse) featuring Asclepius and Hermes Trismegistus.
Herbarium Apuleii Platonici by Pseudo-Apuleius. |
Apuleius | Apuleian Sphere | Apuleian Sphere
The Apuleian Sphere described in Petosiris to Nechepso, also known as "Columcille's Circle" or "Petosiris' Circle", is a magical prognosticating device for predicting the survival of a patient. |
Apuleius | See also | See also
Boethius
Square of opposition |
Apuleius | Notes | Notes |
Apuleius | References | References |
Apuleius | Further reading | Further reading
|
Apuleius | External links | External links
Works by Apuleius at Perseus Digital Library
L. Apuleii Opera Omnia, Lipsia, sumtibus C. Cnoblochii, 1842, pars I (the Metamorphoses) and pars II (Florida, De Deo Socratis, De Dogmate Platonis, De Mundo Libri, Asclepius, Apologia et Fragmenta), in a critical edition with explanatory notes
The works of Apuleius, London, George Bell and sons, 1878 (English translation)
Apuleius (123–180 CE) the Famous Berber writer
Apulei Opera (Latin texts of all the surviving works of Apuleius) at The Latin Library
English translation of Florida by H. E. Butler
English translation of the Apologia by H. E. Butler
English translation of the God of Socrates by Thomas Taylor
Apuleius – Apologia: Seminar (Latin text of the Apologia with H. E. Butler's English translation and an English crib with discussion and commentary)
Apology as Prosecution: The Trial of Apuleius
Apuleius' works: text, concordances and frequency list
Ongoing website for "Apuleius and Africa" conference
Apuleius and Africa Bibliography
The Spectacles of Apuleius: a digital humanities project
Free public domain audiobook version of ''Apuleius on the Doctrines of Plato translated by George Burges
Category:2nd-century Berber people
Category:124 births
Category:2nd-century clergy
Category:2nd-century writers
Category:2nd-century philosophers
Category:2nd-century Romans
Category:2nd-century writers in Latin
Category:Ancient Roman rhetoricians
Category:Appuleii
Category:Berber writers
Category:Classical Latin novelists
Category:History of magic
Category:Middle Platonists
Category:People from Souk Ahras Province
Category:Priests from the Roman Empire
Category:Romans from Africa
Category:Silver Age Latin writers |
Apuleius | Table of Content | Short description, Life, Works, ''The Golden Ass'', ''Apologia'', Other, Spurious, Apuleian Sphere, See also, Notes, References, Further reading, External links |
Alexander Selkirk | short description | Alexander Selkirk (167613 December 1721) was a Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer who spent four years and four months as a castaway (1704–1709) after being marooned by his captain, initially at his request, on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean.
Selkirk was an unruly youth and joined buccaneering voyages to the South Pacific during the War of the Spanish Succession. One such expedition was on Cinque Ports, captained by Thomas Stradling, under the overall command of William Dampier. Stradling's ship stopped to resupply at the uninhabited Juan Fernández Islands, west of South America, and Selkirk judged correctly that the craft was unseaworthy and asked to be left there. Selkirk's suspicions were soon justified, as Cinque Ports foundered near Malpelo Island 400 km (250 mi) from the coast of what is now Colombia.
By the time he was eventually rescued by the privateer Woodes Rogers, who was accompanied by Dampier, Selkirk had become adept at hunting and making use of the resources that he found on the island. His story of survival was widely publicized after his return, becoming one of the reputed sources of inspiration for the English writer Daniel Defoe's fictional character Robinson Crusoe
.
According to Dampier’s journal he was not the person on IJF. |
Alexander Selkirk | Early life and privateering | Early life and privateering
Alexander Selkirk was the son of a shoemaker and tanner in Lower Largo, Fife, Scotland, born in 1676. In his youth, he displayed a quarrelsome and unruly disposition. He was summoned before the Kirk Session in August 1693 for his "indecent conduct in church", but he "did not appear, being gone to sea". He was back at Largo in 1701 when he again came to the attention of church authorities for assaulting his brothers.
Early on, he was engaged in buccaneering. In 1703, he joined an expedition of English privateer and explorer William Dampier to the South Pacific Ocean, setting sail from Kinsale in Ireland on 11 September. They carried letters of marque from the Lord High Admiral authorizing their armed merchant ships to attack foreign enemies as the War of the Spanish Succession was then going on between England and Spain. Dampier was captain of St George and Selkirk served on Cinque Ports, St Georges companion ship, as sailing master under Captain Thomas Stradling. By this time, Selkirk must have had considerable experience at sea.
In February 1704, following a stormy passage around Cape Horn, the privateers fought a long battle with a well-armed French vessel, St Joseph, only to have it escape to warn its Spanish allies of their arrival in the Pacific. A raid on the Panamanian gold mining town of Santa María failed when their landing party was ambushed. The easy capture of Asunción, a heavily laden merchantman, revived the men's hopes of plunder, and Selkirk was put in charge of the prize ship. Dampier took off some much-needed provisions of wine, brandy, sugar, and flour, then abruptly set the ship free, arguing that the gain was not worth the effort. In May 1704, Stradling decided to abandon Dampier and strike out on his own. |
Alexander Selkirk | Castaway | Castaway
thumb|left|alt=Shaded relief map of Robinson Crusoe Island with blue ocean background|Map of Robinson Crusoe Island (formerly Más a Tierra island), where Selkirk lived as a castaway
In September 1704, after parting ways with Dampier, Captain Stradling brought Cinque Ports to an island known to the Spanish as Más a Tierra located in the uninhabited Juan Fernández archipelago off the coast of Chile for a mid-expedition restocking of fresh water and supplies.
Selkirk had grave concerns about the seaworthiness of their vessel and wanted to make the necessary repairs before going any further. He declared that he would rather stay on Juan Fernández than continue in a dangerously leaky ship. Stradling took him up on the offer and landed Selkirk on the island with a musket, a hatchet, a knife, a cooking pot, a Bible, bedding and some clothes. Selkirk immediately regretted his rashness, but Stradling refused to let him back on board.
Cinque Ports later foundered off the coast of what is now Colombia. Stradling and "six or seven of his Men" survived the loss of their ship but were forced to surrender to the Spanish. They were taken to Lima where they endured a harsh imprisonment. Stradling attempted escape after stealing a canoe in Lima, but was recaptured and punished. The Spanish governor threatened to send all the survivors to the mines. The survivors ultimately returned to England after four years of imprisonment. |
Alexander Selkirk | Life on the island | Life on the island
At first, Selkirk remained along the shoreline of Más a Tierra. During this time, he ate spiny lobsters and scanned the ocean daily for rescue, suffering all the while from loneliness, misery, and remorse. Hordes of raucous sea lions, gathering on the beach for the mating season, eventually drove him to the island's interior. Once inland, his way of life took a turn for the better. More foods were available there: feral goats—introduced by earlier sailors—provided him with meat and milk, while wild turnips, the leaves of the indigenous cabbage tree and dried Schinus fruits (pink peppercorns) offered him variety and spice. Rats would attack him at night, but he was able to sleep soundly and in safety by domesticating and living near feral cats.
thumb|right|alt=Engraving of Selkirk sitting in the doorway of a hut reading a Bible|Selkirk reading his Bible in one of two huts he built on a mountainside
Selkirk proved resourceful in using materials that he found on the island: he forged a new knife out of barrel hoops left on the beach; built two huts out of pepper trees, one of which he used for cooking and the other for sleeping; and employed his musket to hunt goats and his knife to clean their carcasses. As his gunpowder dwindled, he had to chase prey on foot. During one such chase, he was badly injured when he tumbled from a cliff, lying helpless and unable to move for about a day. His prey had cushioned his fall, probably sparing him a broken back.
Childhood lessons learned from his father, a tanner, now served him well. For example, when his clothes wore out, he made new ones from hair-covered goatskins using a nail for sewing. As his shoes became unusable, he did not need to replace them, since his toughened, calloused feet made protection unnecessary. He sang psalms and read from the Bible, finding it a comfort in his situation and a prop for his English.
During his sojourn on the island, two vessels came to anchor. Unfortunately for Selkirk, both were Spanish. Being British and a privateer, he would have faced a grim fate if captured and therefore did his best to hide. Once, he was spotted and chased by a group of Spanish sailors from one of the ships. His pursuers urinated beneath the tree in which he was hiding but failed to notice him. The would-be captors then gave up and sailed away. |
Alexander Selkirk | Rescue | Rescue
thumb|alt=Selkirk, seated in a ship's boat, being taken aboard Duke.|The rescued Selkirk, seated at right, being taken aboard Duke.
Selkirk's long-awaited deliverance came on 2 February 1709 by way of Duke, a privateering ship piloted by William Dampier, and its sailing companion Duchess. Thomas Dover led the landing party that met Selkirk. After four years and four months without human company, Selkirk was almost incoherent with joy. The Duke captain and leader of the expedition was Woodes Rogers, who wryly referred to Selkirk as the governor of the island. The agile castaway caught two or three goats a day and helped restore the health of Rogers' men, who had developed scurvy.
Captain Rogers was impressed by Selkirk's physical vigour, but also by the peace of mind that he had attained while living on the island, observing: "One may see that solitude and retirement from the world is not such an insufferable state of life as most men imagine, especially when people are fairly called or thrown into it unavoidably, as this man was." He made Selkirk Dukes second mate, later giving him command of one of their prize ships, Increase, before it was ransomed by the Spanish.
Selkirk returned to privateering with a vengeance. At Guayaquil in present-day Ecuador, he led a boat crew up the Guayas River where several wealthy Spanish ladies had fled, and looted the gold and jewels they had hidden inside their clothing. His part in the hunt for treasure galleons along the coast of Mexico resulted in the capture of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación y Desengaño, renamed Bachelor, on which he served as sailing master under Captain Dover to the Dutch East Indies. Selkirk completed the around-the-world voyage by the Cape of Good Hope as the sailing master of Duke, arriving at the Downs off the English coast on 1 October 1711. He had been away for eight years. |
Alexander Selkirk | Later life and influence | Later life and influence
thumb|left|upright=0.65|alt=Engraving of Robinson Crusoe standing on the shore of an island, dressed in hair-covered goatskin clothing|An illustration of Crusoe in goatskin clothing shows the influence of Selkirk
Selkirk's experience as a castaway aroused a great deal of attention in Britain. His fellow crewman Edward Cooke mentioned Selkirk's ordeal in a book chronicling their privateering expedition, A Voyage to the South Sea and Round the World (1712). A more detailed recounting was published by the expedition's leader, Rogers, within months. The following year, prominent essayist Richard Steele wrote an article about him for The Englishman newspaper. Selkirk appeared set to enjoy a life of ease and celebrity, claiming his share of Duke plundered wealth—about £800 (equivalent to £ today). However, legal disputes made the amount of any payment uncertain.
After a few months in London, he began to seem more like his former self again. However, he still missed his secluded and solitary moments, remarking, "I am now worth eight hundred pounds, but shall never be as happy as when I was not worth a farthing."Howell (1829) chap.V, p.127, 129 In September 1713, he was charged with assaulting a shipwright in Bristol and might have been kept in confinement for two years. He returned to Lower Largo, where he met Sophia Bruce, a young dairymaid. They eloped to London early and married on 4 March 1717. He was soon off to sea again, having enlisted in the Royal Navy. While on a visit to Plymouth in 1720, he married a widowed innkeeper named Frances Candis. He was serving as an officerHowell (1829) chap. V, p. 135 on board , engaged in an anti-piracy patrol off the west coast of Africa. The ship arrived near the mouth of the River Gambia in March 1721 and lingered due to damage from bad weather. The locals took several crew hostage and ransomed them for "gold and food." As the ship sailed down the coast of West Africa, men went into the forests to cut wood and began to contract yellow fever from the swarms of mosquitoes, and perhaps typhoid. Four died in June and, by September, "so many men were dying a makeshift hospital was erected on shore" near Cape Coast Castle. Selkirk became sick in November with the same symptoms as his crewmates. He died on 13 December 1721 along with shipmate William King, and both were buried at sea; three more died the following day.
When Daniel Defoe published The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719), few readers could have missed the resemblance to Selkirk. An illustration on the first page of the novel shows "a rather melancholy-looking man standing on the shore of an island, gazing inland", in the words of modern explorer Tim Severin. He is dressed in the familiar hirsute goatskins, his feet and shins bare. Yet Crusoe's island is located not in the mid-latitudes of the South Pacific but away in the Caribbean, where the furry attire would hardly be comfortable in the tropical heat. This incongruity supports the popular belief that Selkirk was a model for the fictional character, though most literary scholars now accept that he was "just one of many survival narratives that Defoe knew about". |
Alexander Selkirk | In other literary works | In other literary works
thumb|Title page from The Life and Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe (1835), by an unknown author |
Alexander Selkirk | In film | In film
Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe is a stop motion film by Walter Tournier based on Selkirk's life. It premièred simultaneously in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay on 2 February 2012, distributed by The Walt Disney Company. It was the first full-length animated feature to be produced in Uruguay. |
Alexander Selkirk | Commemoration | Commemoration
thumb|alt=Bronze plaque in memory of Selkirk affixed to a building|Plaque for Selkirk in Lower Largo, Scotland, which reads: "In memory of Alexander Selkirk, mariner, the original of Robinson Crusoe who lived on the island of Juan Fernández in complete solitude for four years and four months. He died , lieutenant of HMS Weymouth, . This statue is erected by David Gillies, net manufacturer, on the site of the cottage in which Selkirk was born."
Selkirk has been memorialized in his Scottish birthplace. Lord Aberdeen delivered a speech on 11 December 1885, after which his wife, Lady Aberdeen, unveiled a bronze statue and plaque in memory of Selkirk outside a house on the site of his original home on the Main Street of Lower Largo. David Gillies of Cardy House, Lower Largo, a descendant of the Selkirks, donated the statue created by Thomas Stuart Burnett.
The Scotsman is also remembered in his former island home. In 1869 the crew of placed a bronze tablet at a spot called Selkirk's Lookout on a mountain of Más a Tierra, Juan Fernández Islands, to mark his stay. On 1 January 1966 Chilean president Eduardo Frei Montalva renamed Más a Tierra Robinson Crusoe Island after Defoe's fictional character to attract tourists. The largest of the Juan Fernández Islands, known as Más Afuera, became Alejandro Selkirk Island, although Selkirk probably never saw that island since it is located to the west. |
Alexander Selkirk | Archaeological findings | Archaeological findings
An archaeological expedition to the Juan Fernández Islands in February 2005 found part of a nautical instrument that likely belonged to Selkirk. It was "a fragment of copper alloy identified as being from a pair of navigational dividers" dating from the early 18th (or late 17th) century. Selkirk is the only person known to have been on the island at that time who is likely to have had dividers and was even said by Rogers to have had such instruments in his possession. The artifact was discovered while excavating a site not far from Selkirk's Lookout where the famous castaway is believed to have lived.
In 1825, during John Howell's research of Alexander Selkirk's biography, his "flip-can" was in the possession of his great-grand-nephew John Selkirk, and Alexander's musket was "in the possession of Major Lumsden of Lathallan."Howell (1829) chap. V, p. 136, 137 |
Alexander Selkirk | See also | See also
List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea |
Alexander Selkirk | Notes | Notes |
Alexander Selkirk | References | References
|
Alexander Selkirk | Further reading | Further reading
|
Alexander Selkirk | External links | External links
"Trapped on a Pacific Island: Scientists Research the Real Robinson Crusoe" by Marco Evers (6 February 2009) in Spiegel Online
"Island Gives Up Secret of Real Robinson Crusoe" in The Scotsman (22 Septem ber 2005)
"The Real Robinson Crusoe" by Bruce Selcraig (July 2005) in Smithsonian
An account of a trip to Selkirk's Island by James S. Bruce and Mayme S. Bruce (Spring 1993) in The Explorers Journal
"On a Piece of Stone: Alexander Selkirk on Greater Land" by Edward E. Leslie (1988) in Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: True Stories of Castaways and Other Survivors (pp. 61–85)
Satellite imagery of the Juan Fernández Islands from Google Maps
Category:1676 births
Category:1700s missing person cases
Category:1721 deaths
Category:18th century in Chile
Category:18th-century Scottish people
Category:Scottish privateers
Category:Burials at sea
Category:Castaways
Category:Circumnavigators of the globe
Category:Date of birth unknown
Category:Deaths from yellow fever
Category:Formerly missing British people
Category:Juan Fernández Islands
Category:Maritime folklore
Category:People from Lower Largo
Category:People who died at sea
Category:Piracy in the Pacific Ocean
Category:Robinson Crusoe
Category:Scottish sailors |
Alexander Selkirk | Table of Content | short description, Early life and privateering, Castaway, Life on the island, Rescue, Later life and influence, In other literary works, In film, Commemoration, Archaeological findings, See also, Notes, References, Further reading, External links |
Anti-ballistic missile | short description | thumb|right|A Ground-Based Interceptor of the United States' Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, loaded into a silo at Fort Greely, Alaska, in July 2004
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to destroy in-flight ballistic missiles. They achieve this explosively (chemical or nuclear), or via hit-to-kill kinetic vehicles, which may also have self-maneuvering.
Tactical systems are widely deployed to counter short and intermediate-range ballistic missiles that carry conventional warheads.
Strategic systems, deployed by the United States, Russia, and Israel, are capable of intercepting intercontinental ballistic missiles, typically used to carry strategic nuclear warheads. During the Cold War, the 1972 ABM Treaty limited the nuclear arms race; excessive ICBM production would have been favoured to overwhelm ABM systems. Of the modern strategic ABM systems, only Russia's are themselves armed with nuclear warheads. |
Anti-ballistic missile | Current counter-ICBM systems | Current counter-ICBM systems
thumb|Israel's Arrow 3
There are a limited number of systems worldwide that can intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles:
The Russian A-135 anti-ballistic missile system (upgraded in 2017 to A-235) is used for the defense of Moscow. It became operational in 1995 and was preceded by the A-35 anti-ballistic missile system. The system uses Gorgon and Gazelle missiles previously armed with nuclear warheads. These missiles have been updated (2017) and use non-nuclear kinetic interceptors instead, to intercept any incoming ICBMs.
The Israeli Arrow 3 system entered operational service in 2017. It is designed for exo-atmosphere interception of ballistic missiles during the spaceflight portion of their trajectory, including those of ICBMs.Israel successfully tests David's Sling's interceptor By Yaakov Lappin. Jpost.com, 25 November 2012 It may also act as an anti-satellite weapon.
The American Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, formerly known as National Missile Defense (NMD), was first tested in 1997 and had its first successful intercept test in 1999. Instead of using an explosive charge, it launches a hit-to-kill kinetic projectile to intercept an ICBM. The current GMD system is intended to shield the United States mainland against a limited nuclear attack by a rogue state such as North Korea. GMD does not have the ability to protect against an all-out nuclear attack from Russia, as there are currently only 44 ground-based interceptors available to counter projectiles headed towards the US. (This interceptor count does not include the THAAD, or Aegis, or Patriot defenses which provide shorter range defence against incoming projectiles.)
The Aegis ballistic missile defense-equipped SM-3 Block II-A missile demonstrated it can shoot down an ICBM target on 16 Nov 2020.FTM-44 (17 Nov 2020) U.S. Successfully Conducts SM-3 Block IIA Intercept Test Against an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Target Flight Test Aegis Weapon System-44 (FTM-44). The C2BMC network detected an ICBM launch; U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS John Finn (DDG-113) then launched an SM-3 Block IIA missile which destroyed the ICBM in mid-course.
In a November 2020 test, the US launched a surrogate ICBM from Kwajalein Atoll toward Hawaii in the general direction of the continental US, which triggered a satellite warning to a Colorado Air Force base. In response, launched a missile which destroyed the surrogate ICBM, while still outside the atmosphere. MDA (18 Nov 2020) FTM-44 mission overview 20-MDA-10624 (Not to scale nor in real time) |
Anti-ballistic missile | American plans for Central European site | American plans for Central European site
During 1993, a symposium was held by western European nations to discuss potential future ballistic missile defence programs. In the end, the council recommended deployment of early warning and surveillance systems as well as regionally controlled defence systems.Assembly of the Western European Union. Technological and Aerospace Committee. Lenzer. via FAS.Anti-missile defence for Europe – guidelines drawn from the symposium . 17 May 1993.
During spring 2006 reports about negotiations between the United States, Poland, and the Czech Republic were published.
The plans propose the installation of a latest generation ABM system with a radar site in the Czech Republic and the launch site in Poland. The system was announced to be aimed against ICBMs from Iran and North Korea. This caused harsh comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) security conference during spring 2007 in Munich. Other European ministers commented that any change of strategic weapons should be negotiated on NATO level and not 'unilaterally' [sic, actually bilaterally] between the U.S. and other states (although most strategic arms reduction treaties were between the Soviet Union and U.S., not NATO). The German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, expressed severe concerns about the way in which the U.S. had conveyed its plans to its European partners and criticised the U.S. administration for not having consulted Russia prior to announcing its endeavours to deploy a new missile defence system in Central Europe.Gaspers, J. (2007). A US Missile Defence Shield in Europe? Opinions and Arguments in the German Political Debate. Natolin Analyses 7(20)/2007. According to a July 2007 survey, a majority of Poles were opposed to hosting a component of the system in Poland.
By 28 July 2016 Missile Defense Agency planning and agreements had clarified enough to give more details about the Aegis Ashore sites in Romania (2014) and Poland (2018). |
Anti-ballistic missile | Current tactical systems{{anchor | Current tactical systems |
Anti-ballistic missile | People's Republic of China | People's Republic of China
thumb|HQ-19 launcher in Zhuhai airshow 2024 |
Anti-ballistic missile | Historical Project 640 | Historical Project 640
Project 640 had been the PRC's indigenous effort to develop ABM capability. The Academy of Anti-Ballistic Missile & Anti-Satellite was established from 1969 for the purpose of developing Project 640. The project was to involve at least three elements, including the necessary sensors and guidance/command system, the Fan Ji (FJ) missile interceptor, and the XianFeng missile-intercepting cannon. The FJ-1 had completed two successful flight tests during 1979, while the low-altitude interceptor FJ-2 completed some successful flight tests using scaled prototypes. A high altitude FJ-3 interceptor was also proposed. Despite the development of missiles, the programme was slowed down due to financial and political reasons. It was finally closed down during 1980 under a new leadership of Deng Xiaoping as it was seemingly deemed unnecessary after the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States and the closure of the US Safeguard ABM system. |
Anti-ballistic missile | Operational Chinese systems | Operational Chinese systems
In March 2006, China tested an interceptor system comparable to the U.S. Patriot missiles.
China has acquired and is license-producing the S-300PMU-2/S-300PMU-1 series of terminal ABM-capable SAMs. The HQ-9 SAM system and HQ-15 may possess terminal ABM capabilities. PRC Navy's operating modern air-defense destroyers known as the Type 052C Destroyer and Type 051C Destroyer are armed with naval HQ-9 missiles.
The HQ-19, roughly analogous to the THAAD, was first tested in 2003, and subsequently a few more times, including in November 2015. The HQ-29, a counterpart to the MIM-104F PAC-3, was first tested in 2011.
China carried out a land-based anti-ballistic missile test on 11 January 2010. The test was exoatmospheric and the intercept performed in midcourse phase by a kinetic kill vehicle. The interceptor missile was a SC-19. The sources suggest the system was not operationally deployed as of 2010.
On 27 January 2013, China conducted another anti-ballistic missile test. According to the Chinese Defense Ministry, the missile launch was defensive in character and was not aimed against any countries. On 4 February 2021, China reportedly conducted a mid-course intercept anti-ballistic missile test. |
Anti-ballistic missile | Europe | Europe |
Anti-ballistic missile | Aster | Aster
thumb|right|Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers (pictured), and French Navy and Italian Navy and FREMM frigates operate Aster 30 missiles
The Aster is a family of missiles jointly developed by France and Italy. The Aster 30 variants are capable of ballistic missile defense. An export customer, the United Kingdom also operates the Aster 30 Block 0.
On 18 October 2010, France announced a successful tactical ABM test of the Aster 30 missile and on 1 December 2011 a successful interception of a Black Sparrow ballistic target missile. The s in French and Italian service, the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyers, and the French and Italian FREMM-class frigates are all armed with PAAMS (or variants of it) integrating Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles. France and Italy are developing a new variant, the Aster 30 Block II, which can destroy ballistic missiles up to a maximum range of . It will incorporate a kill vehicle warhead. |
Anti-ballistic missile | HYDIS² | HYDIS²
Involving France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, the HYDIS² (HYpersonic Defence Interceptor Study) was announced on June 20, 2023, and is a project led by MBDA. It was selected in March 2023 and is partially funded by the European Defense Fund (EDF). Its aim is to propose an architecture and technology maturation concept study for an endo-atmospheric interceptor to counter new, highly sophisticated emerging threats. HYDIS² is centered around the MBDA's Aquila hypersonic missile interceptor concept and will involve a consortium of 19 partners and over 30 subcontractors from 14 European countries. France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have already confirmed their support and commitment, by signing a letter of intent and agreeing to initial joint requirements. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop a countermeasure that could be integrated into the French-led EU TWISTER (Timely Warning and Interception with Space-based TheatER surveillance) capability program. TWISTER, launched in 2019 with MBDA France acting as lead contractor as well, is intended to be an air defense system capable of early warning, tracking and intercepting high-performance air threats, including defense against ballistic missiles (BMD) and hypersonic vehicles. The program involves France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and Germany. |
Anti-ballistic missile | EU HYDEF | EU HYDEF
Competing against HYDIS², the EU HYDEF (European Hypersonic Defence Interceptor) also covers the concept phase to develop an endo-atmospheric interceptor and is related to TWISTER. Selected in July 2022, it is also partially funded by the EDF. It is coordinated by Spain's SENER Aeroespacial Sociedad Anonima, while Germany's Diehl Defence is serving as the overall technical lead. They are heading a consortium of partners and subcontractors from various EU countries. |
Anti-ballistic missile | India | India
thumb|left|Second phase of Anti-ballistic Missile defense test with AD-1 missile
In November 2006, India successfully conducted the PADE (Prithvi Air Defence Exercise) in which an anti-ballistic missile, called the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD), an exo-atmospheric (outside the atmosphere) interceptor system, intercepted a Prithvi-II ballistic missile. The PAD missile has the secondary stage of the Prithvi missile and can reach altitude of . During the test, the target missile was intercepted at a altitude.Prithvi Mission Milestone in Missile Defence . On 6 December 2007, the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile system was tested successfully. This missile is an endo-atmospheric interceptor with an altitude of . First reported in 2009, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing a new Prithvi interceptor missile code-named PDV. The PDV is designed to take out the target missile at altitudes above . The first PDV was successfully test fired on 27 April 2014. On 15 May 2016, India successfully launched AAD renamed Ashwin from Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
As of 8 January 2020, the BMD programme has been completed and the Indian Air Force and the DRDO are awaiting government's final approval before the system is deployed to protect New Delhi and then Mumbai. After these two cities, it will be deployed in other major cities and regions. PAD and PDV are designed for mid-course interception, while AAD is for terminal phase interception. India had previously planned to acquire NASAMS-II but the Indian Air Force instead is now seeking a domestic alternative (potentially the land-based VL-SRSAM). |
Anti-ballistic missile | Iran | Iran
thumb|right|Iranian made Arman anti-ballistic missile interceptor.
Iran used Arman and S-300 missile systems for ballistic missile defense. |
Anti-ballistic missile | Israel | Israel |
Anti-ballistic missile | Arrow 2 | Arrow 2
thumb|170px|right|An Arrow 2 anti-ballistic missile interceptor
The Arrow project was begun after the U.S. and Israel agreed to co-fund it on 6 May 1986.
The Arrow ABM system was designed and constructed in Israel with financial support by the United States by a multibillion-dollar development program called "Minhelet Homa" (Wall Administration) with the participation of companies like Israel Military Industries, Tadiran and Israel Aerospace Industries.
During 1998 the Israeli military conducted a successful test of their Arrow missile. Designed to intercept incoming missiles travelling at up to 2-mile/s (3 km/s), the Arrow is expected to perform much better than the Patriot did in the Gulf War. On 29 July 2004 Israel and the United States carried out a joint experiment in the US, in which the Arrow was launched against a real Scud missile. The experiment was a success, as the Arrow destroyed the Scud with a direct hit. During December 2005 the system was deployed successfully in a test against a replicated Shahab-3 missile. This feat was repeated on 11 February 2007. |
Anti-ballistic missile | Arrow 3 | Arrow 3
thumb|Arrow 3 in testing.
The Arrow 3 system is capable of exo-atmosphere interception of ballistic missiles, including of ICBMs. It also acts as an anti-satellite weapon.
Lieutenant General Patrick J. O'Reilly, Director of the US Missile Defense Agency, said: "The design of Arrow 3 promises to be an extremely capable system, more advanced than what we have ever attempted in the U.S. with our programs."
On 10 December 2015 Arrow 3 scored its first intercept in a complex test designed to validate how the system can detect, identify, track and then discriminate real from decoy targets delivered into space by an improved Silver Sparrow target missile. According to officials, the milestone test paves the way toward low-rate initial production of the Arrow 3. |
Anti-ballistic missile | David’s sling | David’s sling
thumb|Israel's David's Sling, designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles
David's Sling (Hebrew: קלע דוד), also sometimes called Magic Wand (Hebrew: שרביט קסמים), is an Israel Defense Forces military system being jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American defense contractor Raytheon, designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, as well as medium- to long-range rockets and slower-flying cruise missiles, such as those possessed by Hezbollah, fired at ranges from 40 km to 300 km. It is designed with the aim of intercepting the newest generation of tactical ballistic missiles, such as Iskander. |
Anti-ballistic missile | Japan | Japan
thumb|upright|right|Japanese guided missile destroyer firing a Standard Missile 3 anti-ballistic missile.
Since 1998, when North Korea launched a Taepodong-1 missile over northern Japan, the Japanese have been jointly developing a new surface-to-air interceptor known as the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) with the US. Tests have been successful, and there are 11 locations that are planned for the PAC-3 to be installed. The approximate locations are near major air bases, like Kadena Air Base, and ammunition storage centers of the Japanese military. The exact location are not known to the public. A military spokesman said that tests had been done on two sites, one of them a business park in central Tokyo, and Ichigaya – a site not far from the Imperial Palace.
Along with the PAC-3, Japan has installed a US-developed ship-based anti-ballistic missile system, which was tested successfully on 18 December 2007. Japan has 4 destroyers of this type capable of carrying RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 and equipped with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Japan is currently modifying another 4 destroyers so that they can take part of their defense force against ballistic missiles, bringing the total number to 8 ships. |
Anti-ballistic missile | Soviet Union/Russian Federation | Soviet Union/Russian Federation
thumb|S-300PMU-2 vehicles. From left to right: 64N6E2 detection radar, 54K6E2 command post and 5P85 TEL.
The Moscow ABM defense system was designed with the aim of being able to intercept the ICBM warheads aimed at Moscow and other important industrial regions, and is based on:
A-35 Aldan
ABM-1 Galosh / 5V61 (decommissioned)
A-35M
ABM-1B (decommissioned)
A-135 Amur
ABM-3 Gazelle / 53T6
ABM-4 Gorgon / 51T6 (decommissioned)
A–235 Nudol (In development)
S-300P (SA-10)
S-300V/V4 (SA-12)
S-300PMU-1/2 (SA-20)
S-400 (SA-21)
S-300VM (SA-23)
S-500 Prometey (serial production began in 2021) |
Anti-ballistic missile | United States | United States
thumb|right|200px|United States Navy RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 anti-ballistic missile.
In several tests, the U.S. military have demonstrated the feasibility of destroying long and short range ballistic missiles. Combat effectiveness of newer systems against 1950s tactical ballistic missiles seems very high, as the MIM-104 Patriot (PAC-1 and PAC-2) had a 100% success rate in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The U.S. Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (Aegis BMD) uses RIM-161 Standard Missile 3, which hit a target going faster than ICBM warheads. On 16 November 2020 an SM-3 Block IIA interceptor successfully destroyed an ICBM in mid-course, under Link-16 Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC).MDA Newsroom (17 Nov 2020) U.S. Successfully Conducts SM-3 Block IIA Intercept Test Against an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Target SM-3 Block IIA Intercept Test animation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUDQrLcY5oI
The U.S. Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system began production in 2008. Its stated range as a short to intermediate ballistic missile interceptor means that it is not designed to hit midcourse ICBMs, which can reach terminal phase speeds of mach 8 or greater. The THAAD interceptor has a reported maximum speed of mach 8, and THAAD has repeatedly proven it can intercept descending exoatmospheric missiles in a ballistic trajectory.
The U.S. Army Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system was developed by the Missile Defense Agency. It combines ground-based AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning Radar installations and mobile AN/TPY-2 X-band radars with 44 exoatmospheric interceptors stationed in underground silos around California and Alaska, to protect against low-count ICBM attacks from rogue states. Each Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) rocket carries an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) kinetic kill interceptor, with 97% probability of intercept when four interceptors are launched at the target.
Since 2004, the United States Army plans to replace Raytheon's Patriot missile (SAM) engagement control station (ECS), along with seven other forms of ABM defense command systems, with Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) designed to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase by intercepting with a hit-to-kill approach.
Northrop Grumman was selected as the prime contractor in 2010; the Army spent $2.7 billion on the program between 2009 and 2020. IBCS engagement stations will support identification and tracking of targets using sensor fusion from disparate data streams, and selection of appropriate kill vehicles from available launcher systems.Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) vendor summaryDaniel Cebul (9 October 2018) Army looks to a future of integrated fire by integrating THAAD IBCS LRPFAndrew Eversden (23 Dec 2021) Army awards Northrop Grumman $1.4 billion contract for IBCS
In February 2022 THAAD radar and TFCC (THAAD Fire Control & Communication) demonstrated their interoperability with Patriot PAC-3 MSE missile launchers, engaging targets using both THAAD and Patriot interceptors.Jen Judson (10 Mar 2022) Missile Defense Agency fires Patriot missile from THAAD system |
Anti-ballistic missile | Republic of China | Republic of China
Procurement of MIM-104 Patriot and indigenous Tien-Kung anti-ballistic missile systems. With the tense situations with China, Taiwan developed the Sky Bow (or Tien-Kung), this surface-to-air missile can intercept and destroy enemy aircraft and ballistic missiles. These system was created in partnership with Raytheon Technologies, using Lockheed Martin ADAR-HP as inspiration to create the Chang Bai S-band radar system. The missiles have a range of 200 km and was designed to take on fast moving vehicles with low radar cross-section. The latest variant of this system is the Sky Bow III (TK-3). |
Anti-ballistic missile | South Korea | South Korea
Since North Korea started developing its nuclear weapon program, South Korea has been under imminent danger. South Korea started its BDM program by acquiring 8 batteries of the MIM-104 Patriot (PAC-2) missiles from the United States. The PAC-2 was developed to destroy incoming aircraft and is now unreliable in defending a ballistic missile attack from North Korea, as they have developed further their nuclear program. As of 2018, South Korea decided to improve its defense system by upgrading to the PAC-3, which has a hit-to-kill capability against incoming missiles. The main reason that the South Korean anti-ballistic defense system is not very developed is because they have tried to developed their own, without help from other countries, since the beginning of the 1990s. The South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has confirmed that it has test launched the L-SAM system in February 2022. This particular missile has been in development since 2019 and is South Korea's next anti-ballistic missile generation. It is expected to have a range of 150 km and be able to intercept targets between 40 km and 100 km of altitude, and it can also be used as an aircraft interceptor. The L-SAM system is expected to be complete and ready to use in 2024. |