Famous birthdays, deaths and events of 1897
Birthdays January 2 - Jim Londos, Greek wrestler (d. 1975) January 3 - Marion Davies, American actress (d. 1961) January 8 - Dennis Wheatley, British author (d. 1977) January 15 - Xu Zhimo, Chinese poet (d. 1931) January 16 - Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (d. 1977) January 22 - Rosa Ponselle, American soprano (d. 1981) January 28 - Valentin Kataev, Russian writer (d. 1986) February 2 - Aimé Avignon, France's former oldest living man (d. 2007) February 2 - Howard Johnson, American hotelier (d. 1972) February 4 - Ludwig Erhard, 2nd Bundeskanzler of Germany (d. 1977) February 6 - Louis Buchalter, Jewish American mobster (d. 1944) February 9 - Charles Kingsford Smith, Australian pilot (d. 1935) February 10 - Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992) February 10 - John Franklin Enders, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1985) February 12 - Vola Vale, American actress (d. 1970) February 18 - Charles Kuentz, WW1 veteran February 19 - Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931) February 27 - Marian Anderson, American contralto (d. 1993) March 4 - Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (d. 1969) March 11 - Henry Cowell, American composer and impresario (d. 1965) March 15 - Jackson Scholz, American runner (d. 1986) March 16 - Conrad Nagel, American actor (d. 1970) March 20 - Ruby Muhammad, American matriarch of Black Islam March 24 - Wilhelm Reich, Austrian-born psychotherapist (d. 1957) March 25 - John Laurie, Scottish actor (d. 1980) April 1 - Nita Naldi, American actress (d. 1961) April 4 - Pierre Fresnay, French stage and film actor (d. 1975) April 9 - John B. Gambling, American radio talk-show host (d. 1974) April 10 - Ross Youngs, American baseball player (d. 1927) April 13 - Werner Voss, German World War I pilot (d. 1917) April 14 - Claire Windsor, American actress (d. 1972) April 18 - Ardito Desio, Italian topographer (d. 2001) April 19 - Constance Talmadge, American actress (d. 1973) April 26 - Eddie Eagan, American sportsman (d. 1967) April 26 - Douglas Sirk, German-born film director (d. 1987) April 30 - Humberto Mauro, Brazillina director and screenwriter (d. 1983) May 2 - J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985) May 6 - Paul Alverdes, German writer (d. 1979) May 11 - Kurt Gerron, German director (d. 1944) May 14 - Sidney Bechet, American musician (d. 1959) May 14 - Ed Ricketts, American marine biologist (d. 1948) May 18 - Frank Capra, American film producer May 19 - Frank Luke, American World War I pilot (d. 1918) May 20 - Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish anarchist (d. 1983) May 25 - Gene Tunney, American heavyweight champion (d. 1978) May 29 - Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Austrian composer (d. 1957) June 11 - Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia, (d. 1918) June 13 - Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner (d. 1973) June 16 - Elaine Hammerstein, American actress (d. 1948) June 19 - Moe Howard, American actor (d. 1975) June 20 - Elisabeth Hauptmann, German writer (d. 1973) June 22 - Norbert Elias, German sociologist (d. 1990) June 24 - Daniel K. Ludwig, American shipping magnate (d. 1992) July 10 - Jack "Legs" Diamond", American bootlegger (d. 1931) July 11 - Bull Connor, American law enforcement official (d. 1973) July 18 - E. A. D. Eldridge, British racing driver (d. 1935) July 26 - Paul Gallico, American author (d. 1976) August 2 - Max Weber, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1974) August 11 - Louise Bogan, American poet (d. 1970) August 11 - Enid Blyton, English author (d. 1968) August 12 - Maurice Fernandes, West Indian cricketer (d. 1981) August 20 - Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian writer (d. 1970) August 31 - Fredric March, American actor (d. 1975) September 1 - Andy Kennedy, Irish footballer (d. 1963) September 3 - Sally Benson, American writer (d. 1972) September 8 - Jimmie Rodgers, American singer and composer (d. 1933) September 10 - Georges Bataille, French writer (d. 1962) September 10 - Hilde Hildebrand, German actress (d. 1976) September 17 - Earl Webb, baseball player (d. 1965) September 23 - Walter Pidgeon, Canadian actor (d. 1984) September 25 - William Faulkner, American writer September 26 - Arthur Rhys Davids, English pilot (d. 1917) October 3 - Louis Aragon, French writer (d. 1982) October 8 - Rouben Mamoulian, Armenian-American film director (d. 1987) October 18 - Isabel Briggs Myers, American psychological theorist (d. 1980) October 20 - Crown Prince Eun of Korea, (d. 1970) October 30 - Rex Cherryman, American actor (d. 1928) November 7 - Herman J. Mankiewicz, American writer November 9 - Harvey Hendrick, American baseball player (d. 1941) November 13 - Gertrude Olmstead, American actress (d. 1975) November 15 - Sacheverell Sitwell, English writer (d. 1988) November 16 - Choudhary Rehmat Ali, Pakistani nationalist (d. 1951) November 17 - Frank Fay, American actor (d. 1961) November 21 - Mollie Steimer anarchist agitator, (d. 1980) November 23 - Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Indian writer (d. 1999) November 23 - Karl Gebhardt, Nazi doctor (d. 1948) November 24 - Lucky Luciano, American gangster (d. 1962) November 27 - Vito Genovese, American mafioso (d. 1969) December 5 - Nunnally Johnson, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1977) December 9 - Hermione Gingold, English actress (d. 1987) December 18 - Fletcher Henderson, American arranger and composer (d. 1952) December 30 - Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author (d. 1976)
Deaths February 23 - Woldemar Bargiel, German composer (b. 1828) March 9 - Sondre Norheim, Norwegian skier (b. 1825) March 20 - Apollon Maykov, Russian poet (b. 1821) April 3 - Johannes Brahms, German composer (b. 1833) July 20 - Jean Ingelow, English poet (b. 1820) October 11 - Léon Boëllmann, French composer (b. 1862) December 16 - Alphonse Daudet, French novelist and short story writer (b. 1840) December 28 - Rev. William Corby, American Catholic priest (b. 1833) December 29 - William James Linton, American wood engraver and political reformer. (b. 1812)
Events January 23 - Elva Zona Heaster is found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The resulting murder trial of her husband is perhaps the only case in United States history where the alleged testimony of a ghost helped secure a conviction. February 1 - Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul. February 28 - Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force. March 11 - A meteorite enters the earth's atmosphere and explodes over New Martinsville, West Virginia. The debris causes damage but no human injuries are reported. March 13 - San Diego State University is founded. April 5 - The Greco-Turkish War, also called "Thirty Days' War", is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire. May 15 - The Greek army retreats with heavy losses in the Greco-Turkish War. May 18 - Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker is published. May 19 - Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol. May 22 - The Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames was officially opened June 16 - A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later. July 2 - Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi obtains patent for radio in London. July 11 - Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North pole by balloon. He later crashes and dies. July 25 - Writer Jack London sails to join the Klondike Gold Rush where he will write his first successful stories. August 14 - The town of Anosimena is captured by French troops from Menabe defenders in Madagascar. August 30 - The town of Ambiky is captured by France from Menabe in Madagascar. August 31 - Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector. September 1 - The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America. September 10 - Lattimer Massacre September 11 - After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of Kaffa, bringing an end to that ancient kingdom. September 12 - Tirah Campaign: Battle of Saragarhi September 21 - The "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is published in the New York Sun. December 6 - London becomes the world's first city to host licenced taxicabs. December 9 - Activist Marguerite Durand founds the feminist daily newspaper, La Fronde in Paris. December 12 - Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is founded. December 30 - Natal annexes Zululand.
