From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 350 days remaining until the end of the year (351 in leap years).

Events

• 588 BC – Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign. The siege lasts until July 23, 586 BC.
• 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but rules for only three months before committing suicide.
• 1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
• 1582 – Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
• 1759 – The British Museum opens.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
• 1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
• 1822 – Greek War of Independence: Demetrius Ypsilanti is elected president of the legislative assembly.
• 1844 – University of Notre Dame receives its charter from the state of Indiana.
• 1865 – American Civil War – Fort Fisher North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
• 1870 – A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly).
• 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.
• 1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
• 1908 – The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African-American college women.
• 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps.
• 1919 – Boston Molasses Disaster: A large molasses tank in Boston, Massachusetts, bursts and a wave of molasses rushes through the streets, killing 21 people and injuring 150 others.
• 1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
• 1943 – World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
• 1943 – The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
• 1947 – The brutalized corpse of Elizabeth Short ("The Black Dahlia") is found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California.
• 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Chinese Communist Party forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
• 1951 – Ilse Koch, "The Bitch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in West Germany.
• 1966 – The government of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in Nigeria is overthrown in a military coup d’état.
• 1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles, California. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10
• 1969 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
• 1970 – After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafra surrenders.
• 1970 – Muammar al-Qaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
• 1973 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
• 1974 – Dennis Rader aka the BTK Killer kills his first victims by binding, torturing and murdering Joseph, Joseph II, Josephine and Julie Otero in their house.
• 1976 – Gerald Ford's would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
• 1977 – The Kälvesta air disaster kills 22 people, the worst air crash in Sweden's history.
• 1986 – The Living Seas opens at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World, Florida.
• 1988 – Nidish Vashistha Born on this day, he believes in strong science & innovation & peace.
• 1990 – AT&T's long distance telephone network suffers a cascade switching failure.
• 1991 – The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
• 1992 – The international community recognizes the independence of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
• 1993 – Salvatore Riina, the Mafia boss known as "The Beast", is arrested in Sicily after three decades as a fugitive.
• 1999 – The Racak incident: 45 Albanians in the Kosovo village of Racak are killed by Yugoslav security forces.
• 2001 – Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
• 2005 – An intense solar flare blasts X-rays across the solar system.
• 2005 – ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon.
• 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
• 2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. All passengers and crew members survive.

Births

• 1342 – Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1404)
• 1432 – King Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
• 1481 – Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shogun (d. 1511)
• 1538 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
• 1622 – Molière, French playwright (d. 1673)
• 1671 – Abraham de la Pryme, English antiquarian (d. 1704)
• 1674 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French writer (d. 1762)
• 1716 – Philip Livingston, American founding father (d. 1778)
• 1747 – John Aikin, English doctor and writer (d. 1822)
• 1754 – Richard Martin, Irish animal rights activist (d. 1834)
• 1791 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (d. 1872)
• 1795 – Alexandr Griboyedov, Russian playwright (d. 1829)
• 1803 – Marjory Fleming, Scottish writer and poet (d. 1811)
• 1809 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French anarchist (d. 1865)
• 1812 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian writer (d. 1885)
• 1816 – Marie LaFarge, French murderer (d. 1852)
• 1824 – Marie Duplessis, French courtesan (d. 1847)
• 1834 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American politician (d. 1911)
• 1841 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
• 1842 – Blessed Mary McKillop, Australian candidate for sainthood (d. 1909)
• 1842 – Josef Breuer, Austrian psychiatrist (d. 1925)
• 1850 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (d. 1889)
• 1850 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician (d. 1891)
• 1850 – Leonard Darwin, son of Charles Darwin (d. 1943)
• 1855 – Jacques Damala, Greek military officer and actor (d. 1889)
• 1859 – Archibald Peake, Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
• 1863 – Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
• 1866 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1931)
• 1869 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish dramatist (d. 1907)
• 1869 – Ruby Laffoon, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)
• 1870 – Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman (d. 1954)
• 1872 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian writer (d. 1944)
• 1875 – Tom Burke, American runner (d. 1929)
• 1877 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist (d. 1956)
• 1878 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer and pedagogue (d. 1941)
• 1879 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author (d. 1961)
• 1882 – Princess Margaret of Sweden (d. 1920)
• 1885 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (d. 1973)
• 1885 – Huang Yuanyong, Chinese writer (d. 1915)
• 1885 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
• 1890 – Tommy Fleming, American soccer player (d. 1965)
• 1891 – Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
• 1891 – Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet (d. 1938)
• 1892 – Rex Ingram, Irish director (d. 1950)
• 1893 – Ivor Novello, Welsh composer and actor (d. 1951)
• 1895 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1973)
• 1897 – Xu Zhimo, Chinese poet (d. 1931)
• 1899 – Goodman Ace, American actor (d. 1982)
• 1900 – William Heinesen, Faroese writer, poet and artist (d. 1991)
• 1902 – King Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
• 1902 – Nazım Hikmet, Turkish poet (d. 1963)
• 1903 – Paul A. Dever, 58^th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
• 1905 – Torin Thatcher, English actor (d. 1981)
• 1905 – Kamatari Fujiwara, Japanese actor (d. 1985)
• 1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
• 1908 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-born physicist (d. 2003)
• 1909 – Jean Bugatti, German-born automobile designer (d. 1939)
• 1909 – Gene Krupa, American drummer (d. 1973)
• 1912 – Michel Debré, French politician (d. 1996)

• 1913 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
• 1913 – Miriam Hyde, Australian composer (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Alexander Marinesko, captain of the S-13 submarine, which sank the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff (d. 1963)
• 1914 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian (d. 2003)
• 1918 – João Figueiredo, President of Brazil (d. 1999)
• 1918 – Édouard Gagnon, Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 2007)
• 1918 – Gamal Abdal Nasser, President of Egypt (d. 1970)
• 1919 – Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer, first to ascend an 8000m peak, Annapurna in 1950
• 1920 – John Cardinal O'Connor, American Catholic cardinal (d. 2000)
• 1920 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Frank Thornton, English actor
• 1922 – Sir Eric Willis, Australian politician (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet (d. 2006)
• 1923 – Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician
• 1925 – Ruth Slenczynska, U.S. pianist
• 1926 – Florence Buchsbaum, French theater director (d. 1996)
• 1926 – Maria Schell, Austrian actress (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Phyllis Coates, American actress
• 1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1968)
• 1930 – Eddie Graham, American professional wrestler (d. 1985)
• 1933 – Ernest J. Gaines, American author
• 1935 – Malcolm Frager, American pianist
• 1937 – Margaret O'Brien, American actress
• 1938 – Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
• 1939 – Tony Bullimore, English sailor and adventurer
• 1941 – Captain Beefheart, American musician and visual artist
• 1943 – Ashraf Aman, first Pakistani to reach the summit of K2
• 1943 – Mike Marshall, American baseball player
• 1945 – Vince Foster, American lawyer (d. 1993)
• 1945 – William R. Higgins, USMC colonel (d. 1990)
• 1945 – Princess Michael of Kent, British royal
• 1947 – Andrea Martin, Canadian actress
• 1948 – Ronnie Van Zant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
• 1949 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2001)
• 1949 – Panos Mihalopoulos, Greek actor
• 1950 – Marius Trésor, French footballer
• 1953 – Kent Hovind, American evangelist
• 1953 – Ta-Tanisha, American actress
• 1953 – Randy White, American football player
• 1954 – Nikos Sarganis, Greek footballer
• 1954 – Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino writer
• 1955 – Nigel Benson, English author
• 1956 – Mayawati, Indian politician
• 1956 – Marc Trestman, CFL head coach
• 1956 – Miki Fujimura, Japanese singer
• 1957 – Patrick Dixon, English entrepreneur
• 1957 – Marty Lyons, American football player
• 1957 – Mario Van Peebles, American actor
• 1958 – Boris Tadić, President of Serbia
• 1959 – Pete Trewavas, English musician
• 1959 – Sister Carol, Jamaican reggae singer
• 1959 – Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian climber (d. 2008)
• 1960 – Kelly Asbury, American director and actor
• 1960 – Aaron Jay Kernis, American composer
• 1961 – Yves P. Pelletier, Canadian comedian and film director
• 1962 – Creflo Dollar, American televangelist
• 1963 – Conrad Lant, English musician
• 1963 – Bruce Schneier, American cryptographer, security expert, and writer
• 1964 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
• 1965 – Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
• 1965 – Bernard Hopkins, American boxer
• 1965 – Adam Jones, American musician (Tool)
• 1965 – James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
• 1968 – Chad Lowe, American actor
• 1968 – Iñaki Urdangarín, Spanish royalty
• 1969 – Delino DeShields, American baseball player
• 1969 – Huck Seed, American professional poker player
• 1970 – Shane McMahon, American professional wrestler
• 1971 – Max Beesley, English musician and actor
• 1971 – Regina King, American actress
• 1972 – Christos Kostis, Greek footballer
• 1972 – Ernie Reyes, Jr. American actor and martial artist
• 1972 – Kobe Tai, American porn star
• 1972 – Claudia Winkleman, English television presenter
• 1973 – Essam El-Hadary, Egyptian footballer
• 1974 – Ray King, American baseball player
• 1975 – Edith Bowman, Scottish television and radio presenter
• 1975 – Mary Pierce, French tennis player
• 1976 – Corey Chavous, American football player
• 1976 – Doug Gottlieb, American basketball analyst
• 1976 – Scott Murray, Scotland rugby player
• 1978 – Eddie Cahill, American actor
• 1978 – Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
• 1978 – Ryan Sidebottom, English Cricketer
• 1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
• 1979 – Ken Chu, Taiwanese singer-actor and taichi champ
• 1979 – Young Dro, American rapper
• 1979 – Michalis Morfis, Cypriot footballer
• 1979 – Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
• 1980 – Matt Holliday, American baseball player
• 1981 – Howie Day, American singer
• 1981 – El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer
• 1981 – Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby union footballer
• 1982 – Benjamin Agosto, American skater
• 1982 – Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1982 – Brett Lebda, American hockey player
• 1982 – Neil Nitin Mukesh, Indian actor
• 1982 – Prince Philip and Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia
• 1983 – Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
• 1983 – Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
• 1984 – Megan Jendrick, American swimmer
• 1984 – Victor Rasuk, American actor
• 1985 – Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
• 1985 – Rene Adler, German footballer
• 1986 – Fred Davis, American football player
• 1986 – Jessy Schram, American actress
• 1987 – Kelly Kelly, American WWE Diva
• 1987 – Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
• 1987 – Aria C Jalali, American musician
• 1987 – David Knight, English footballer
• 1987 – Michael Seater, Canadian actor
• 1988 – Sonny Moore, American musician From First to Last
• 1989 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian hockey player (d. 2008)
• 1989 – Keiffer Hubbell, American ice dancer
• 1990 – Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer

Deaths

• 69 – Galba, Roman Emperor (b. 3 BC)
• 570 – Saint Ita, Irish nun (b. 475)
• 936 – King Rudolph of France
• 1345 – Martin Zaccaria, Italo-Greek ruler
• 1595 – Murat III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
• 1623 – Fra Paolo Sarpi, Italian patriot, scholar, scientist and church reformer (b. 1552)
• 1672 – John Cosin, English clergyman (b. 1594)
• 1683 – Philip Warwick, English writer and politician (b. 1609)
• 1775 – Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian composer
• 1781 – Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain, queen regent of Portugal (b. 1718)
• 1790 – John Landen, English mathematician (b. 1719)
• 1804 – Dru Drury, English entomologist (b. 1725)
• 1815 – Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Lord Nelson (b. 1761)
• 1864 – Isaac Nathan, UK-Australian composer (b. 1792)
• 1876 – Eliza Johnson, U.S. First Lady (b. 1810)
• 1885 – Leopold Damrosch, German-American orchestral conductor (b. 1832)
• 1893 – Fanny Kemble, British actress and author (b. 1809)
• 1896 – Mathew Brady, U.S. photographer (b. 1822)
• 1909 – Arnold Janssen, German missionary (b. 1837)
• 1916 – Modest Tchaikovsky, Russian writer (b. 1850)
• 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg, German politician (b. 1870)
• 1919 – Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
• 1926 – Enrico Toselli, Italian composer (b. 1883)
• 1926 – August Sedláček, Czech historian (b. 1843)
• 1936 – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
• 1944 – Robert J. Kirby, Warden of New York's Sing Sing Prison (b. 1890)
• 1945 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian mathematician (b. 1865)
• 1947 – Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia (b. 1924)
• 1950 – Gen Henry "Hap" Arnold, U.S. General of the Air Force (b. 1886)
• 1952 – Ned Hanlon, Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
• 1955 – Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)
• 1964 – Jack Teagarden, American musician (b. 1905)
• 1967 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian artist (b. 1882)
• 1968 – Bill Masterton, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
• 1970 – William T. Piper, American aircraft designer (b. 1881)
• 1972 – Daisy Ashford, English child writer (The Young Visiters) (b. 1881)
• 1973 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
• 1973 – Coleman Francis, American film director (b. 1919)
• 1983 – Meyer Lansky, Russian-born gangster (b. 1902)
• 1983 – Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
• 1987 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
• 1988 – Seán MacBride, Irish statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1904)
• 1990 – Dame Peggy van Praagh, British ballet dancer, choreographer, director (b. 1910)
• 1992 – Dee Murray, English bassist (b. 1946)
• 1993 – Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
• 1994 – Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist (b. 1921)
• 1994 – Harry Nilsson, American musician (b. 1941)
• 1994 – Harilal Upadhyay, Gujarati-Indian Author, Poet, Astrologist (b. 1916)
• 1995 – Vera Maxwell, American fashion designer (b. 1901)
• 1996 – Minnesota Fats, American billiards player (b. 1913)
• 1996 – Les Baxter, American musician and composer (b. 1922)
• 1996 – Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
• 1998 – Junior Wells, American musician (b. 1934)
• 1999 – Betty Box, British film producer (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
• 2000 – Fran Ryan, American actress (b. 1916)
• 2000 – Željko Ražnatović, aka Arkan, Serbian paramilitary leader (b. 1952)
• 2001 – Ted Mann, American screenwriter (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Leo Marks, English cryptographer, screenwriter and playwright (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Elizabeth Janeway, American author (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
• 2005 – Victoria de los Angeles, Catalan soprano (b. 1923)
• 2005 – Deem Bristow, American video game voice actor (b. 1947)
• 2005 – Dan Lee, Canadian animator (b. 1969)
• 2006 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Bo Yibo, Chinese politician (b. 1908)
• 2007 – James Hillier, Canadian inventor of electron microscope (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Iraqi Revolutionary Court (b. 1945) (executed)
• 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein (b. 1951) (executed)
• 2007 – David Vanole, American soccer player (b. 1963)
• 2007 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino writer and diplomat (b. 1905)
• 2008 – Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, Game Designer (b. 1964)
• 2008 – Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)

Holidays and observances

• Roman Empire – Second day of the Carmentalia in honor of Carmenta.
• Malawi – John Chilembwe Day.
• North Korea – Korean Alphabet Day.
• United States – Traditionally, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
• Kerala in India – Makaravilakku or Makara Sankranthy at Sabarimala.
• Jallikattu in South India.
• St. Abeluzius in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
• Roman Catholic Church – Saint Ita, virgin, died January 15, 570.
• St. Macarius of Egypt
• St. Paul the Hermit
• January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Feast Day of Saint Maurus.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On this day in Canada

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. ... There is another theory which states that this has already happened. ~ Douglas Adams

• selected by Kalki

2005

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. (born 15 January 1929)

• selected by Kalki

2006

Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing. ~ Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia Day — Wikipedia started 15 January 2001)

• proposed by Smurrayinchester

2007

I build no system. I ask an end to privilege, the abolition of slavery, equality of rights, and the reign of law. Justice, nothing else; that is the alpha and omega of my argument: to others I leave the business of governing the world. ~ Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

• selected by Kalki (no other proposals existed)

2008

I'm concerned about justice. I'm concerned about brotherhood. I'm concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about these, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer but you can't murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar but you can't establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

• proposed by Kalki

2009

I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn't popular to talk about it in some circles today. I'm not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love, I'm talking about a strong, demanding love. And I have seen too much hate... I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love. And the beautiful thing is that we are moving against wrong when we do it, because John was right, God is love. He who hates does not know God, but he who has love has the key that unlocks the door to the meaning of ultimate reality. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

• proposed by Kalki

2010 

Rank or add further suggestions…

Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:

• I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Used 11 June 2003, as first Wikiquote "Quote of the Day".

• The time is always right to do what is right. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Used 27 December 2003

• Cowardice asks the question, "Is it safe?" Expediency asks the question, "Is it politic?" And Vanity comes along and asks the question, "Is it popular?" But Conscience asks the question "Is it right?" And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Used 21 March 2004

• Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Used 7 September 2004

• The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Used 17 January 2005 (Martin Luther King Day 2005 in U.S.)

• I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood... I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today... ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Used 28 August 2005 (42nd anniversary of MLK's I Have a Dream speech, made on 28 August 1963)

• What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love... I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Used 16 January 2006 (Martin Luther King Day 2006 in U.S.)

Ranking system:

4 : Excellent - should definitely be used.

3 : Very Good - strong desire to see it used.

2 : Good - some desire to see it used.

1 : Acceptable - but with no particular desire to see it used.

0 : Not acceptable - not appropriate for use as a quote of the day.

Suggestions

Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

• 4 Kalki (talk · contributions) 16:07, 12 January 2010 (UTC) * 3 Kalki 15:02, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 05:32, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 18:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

• 3 Kalki 15:02, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 05:32, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 18:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Communism violates the sovereignty of the conscience, and equality: the first, by restricting spontaneity of mind and heart, and freedom of thought and action; the second, by placing labor and laziness, skill and stupidity, and even vice and virtue on an equality in point of comfort. For the rest, if property is impossible on account of the desire to accumulate, communism would soon become so through the desire to shirk. ~ Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

• 3 Kalki 15:02, 19 January 2007 (UTC) with a lean toward 4, but I would now extend this to:

Man is very willing to obey the law of duty, serve his country, and oblige his friends; but he wishes to labor when he pleases, where he pleases, and as much as he pleases. He wishes to dispose of his own time, to be governed only by necessity, to choose his friendships, his recreation, and his discipline; to act from judgment, not by command; to sacrifice himself through selfishness, not through servile obligation. Communism is essentially opposed to the free exercise of our faculties, to our noblest desires, to our deepest feelings. Any plan which could be devised for reconciling it with the demands of the individual reason and will would end only in changing the thing while preserving the name. Now, if we are honest truth-seekers, we shall avoid disputes about words.
Thus, communism violates the sovereignty of the conscience, and equality: the first, by restricting spontaneity of mind and heart, and freedom of thought and action; the second, by placing labor and laziness, skill and stupidity, and even vice and virtue on an equality in point of comfort. For the rest, if property is impossible on account of the desire to accumulate, communism would soon become so through the desire to shirk.

• 3 InvisibleSun 05:32, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 18:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Those whose conduct gives room for talk
Are always the first to attack their neighbors.
~ Molière (born January 15, 1622)

• 3 InvisibleSun 05:32, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 00:29, 16 January 2008 (UTC)) with a lean toward 4.
• 2 Zarbon 18:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

If everyone were clothed with integrity,
If every heart were just, frank, kindly,
The other virtues would be well-nigh useless,
Since their chief purpose is to make us bear with patience
The injustice of our fellows.
~ Molière

• 3 InvisibleSun 05:32, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 00:29, 16 January 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 18:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant one. ~ Molière

• 3 InvisibleSun 05:32, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 00:29, 16 January 2008 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 2 Zarbon 18:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

There's no system foolproof enough to defeat a sufficiently great fool. ~ Edward Teller (born January 15)

• 3 because a sufficiently great fool will assume control of any system. Zarbon 22:49, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 15:58, 6 January 2009 (UTC) but to leap form Teller's valid statement to your invalid conclusion is very foolish, as it is simply not true.
• 2 InvisibleSun 22:39, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly. ~ Edward Teller (born January 15)

• 2 because there is a dynamic shroud of imagery surrounding angels, flight, and furthermore, the unknown. Zarbon 22:49, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 15:58, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

It is necessary to have lived in this insulator which is called the national assembly, in order to perceive how the men who are the most completely ignorant of the state of the country are almost always the ones who represent it. ~ Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

• 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 16:07, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

To be governed is to be watched over, inspected, spied on, directed, legislated at, regulated, docketed, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, assessed, weighed, censored, ordered about, by men who have neither the right, nor the knowledge, nor the virtue. ... To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under the pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, trained, ransomed, exploited, monopolized, extorted, squeezed, mystified, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, despised, harassed, tracked, abused, clubbed, disarmed, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and, to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, outraged, dishonoured. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality. ~ Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

• 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 16:07, 12 January 2010 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.

Of what consequence to you, reader, is my obscure individuality? I live, like you, in a century in which reason submits only to fact and to evidence. My name, like yours, is truth-seeker. My mission is written in these words of the law: Speak without hatred and without fear; tell that which thou knowest. ~ Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

• 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 16:07, 12 January 2010 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

I stand ready to negotiate, but I want no part of laws: I acknowledge none; I protest against every order with which some authority may feel pleased on the basis of some alleged necessity to over-rule my free will. Laws: We know what they are, and what they are worth! They are spider webs for the rich and mighty, steel chains for the poor and weak, fishing nets in the hands of government. ~ Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

• 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 16:07, 12 January 2010 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

As man seeks justice in equality, so society seeks order in anarchy. ~ Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

• 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 16:07, 12 January 2010 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.