Economist John Maynard Keynes born (1883), and Orapin Chaiyakan becomes Thailand's first woman MP (1949). Born on this day: John Maynard Keynes, Federico García Lorca and Mark Wahlberg. Died: Ronald Reagan, Ray Bradbury and O. Henry.
30 events, 63 births and 57 deaths on this date.
The economist who argued that total spending in an economy drives employment, and that governments should step in during slumps, was born. He is often called the father of macroeconomics, and his ideas still underpin mainstream thinking about recessions.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainVoters chose Orapin Chaiyakan as a member of parliament, making her the first woman to hold that role in Thailand. It gave women their first voice in the national legislature.
Singapore's first government took office as the island moved to self-rule within the British Empire. The step led toward its 1963 merger into Malaysia and full independence in 1965.
The US Centers for Disease Control published the first clinical case reports of what became AIDS, a condition that develops when HIV damages the immune system. Those early records were the first public sign of an epidemic later traced to HIV.
Within a year of land investors founding it on Buffalo Bayou, the Republic of Texas granted it city status. It was named for Sam Houston, whose victory at San Jacinto won Texas its independence from Mexico, and it is now the state's largest city.
Kraków was granted city rights, setting it on the path to becoming one of Poland's most important urban centres. The charter marked the start of a long run as the country's capital, lasting until the late sixteenth century.
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Keynes was an English economist whose ideas on aggregate demand and government spending reshaped mainstream macroeconomics. Trained in mathematics at Cambridge, he argued that governments should act to soften recessions and depressions rather than wait for markets to correct themselves.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Spanish poet and playwright, remembered for Blood Wedding and The House of Bernarda Alba, and for Romancero gitano, a book of poems set in his native Andalusia. He was later killed during the Spanish Civil War.
Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain
Mark Wahlberg is an American actor and producer, known for leading roles across comedy, drama and action. He started out as a rapper in Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch before earning critical praise for Boogie Nights.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jorge A. Rosales · Public domain
Ronald Reagan was an American actor and Republican politician who led the United States as its fortieth president, from 1981 to 1989. He is remembered for his economic policies, known as Reaganomics, and for his hardline approach to the Cold War.
Michael Evans · Public domain
Ray Bradbury was an American writer whose novel Fahrenheit 451 and short story collection The Martian Chronicles brought science fiction into mainstream literature. He also wrote fantasy, horror and screenplays, including work on the film version of Moby Dick.
Alan Light · CC BY 2.0
American short story writer known for surprise endings and witty narration, best remembered for The Gift of the Magi. He first used the pen name O. Henry while in prison, and later wrote 381 stories in New York.
W.M. Vanderweyde, New York · Public domain
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