2014 Event Maya Angelou, American author of 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' and many other works, dies of natural causes at age 86 2014 Event Storied American actor Mickey Rooney dies at age 93 of natural causes 2014 Event A Mt. Gox security breach that enabled hackers to defraud customers of over 700,000 in Bitcoins causes the Bitcoin exchange to file for bankruptcy 2013 Event Flooding in New Zealand's district of Whanganui causes authorities to declare a state of emergency 2013 Event Austrian researchers successfully grew 'cerebral organoids' or mini-brains, containing several distinct regions of the brain; the mini-brains will help scientists understand how brains develop, and what causes schizophrenia and autism 2013 Event A training exercise emergency causes two U.S. marine harrier jets to drop several hundred unarmed bombs on the Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage site 2013 Event Reports that Pope John Paul II will be canonized are confirmed as his case awaits approval from Pope Francis, and confirmation of an alleged second miracle from the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints 2013 Event An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, causes 15 deaths and major damage to nearby buildings, residences, a nursing home and middle school 2013 Event A magnitude 8.0 earthquake causes significant damage to villages along the coast of the Solomon Islands 2013 Event Heavy snowfall in Great Britain and Ireland causes Heathrow airport in London to cancel 100 flights; many passengers spend the night sleeping on the floor in the terminal 2012 Event President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi causes a call for large protests after he passed a degree giving himself sweeping new powers 2012 Event A dense fog near Beaumont, Texas, causes a a 100-vehicle pileup , leaving 120 people injured and 2 killed; the incident forced the Interstate 10 in Southeast Texas to close in both directions 2012 Event An issue with airbag deployment causes U.S. automaker Ford to recall 154,000 Fiestas 2012 Event Unseasonal flooding in Morocco causes three people to drown 2012 Event The expiration of a collective bargaining agreement causes the National Hockey League player lock out 2012 Event A recurrence of a bladder infection causes Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to be taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure 2012 Event News that European Union members agree on a deal to help some struggling Eurozone members causes world stock markets to soar 2012 Event A power blackout in Northern England causes as many as 50,000 homes to have a power blackout after heavy winds, snow and ice bring down electricity cables 2012 Event A 6.8 magnitude earthquake causes a small tsunami to hit the coast of Aomori prefecture on the Japanese island of Hokkaido 2012 Event A serious cold snap across Europe causes 110 deaths 2012 Event A referendum on Scottish independence causes a clash between the United Kingdom's Westminster and Scottish governments 2011 Event A report claiming nearly all research on chimpanzees is scientifically unjustified causes the U.S. National Institute of Health to place a moratorium on new studies using chimpanzees 2011 Event A lockout causes the Australia's Qantas airlines to ground its entire fleet while it handles the ongoing industrial dispute 2011 Event Typhoon Nesat causes 43 deaths in the Philippines; forecasts predict Typhoon Nalgae will cause further flooding problems 2011 Event The ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe causes European and Asian stock markets to open lower 2011 Event Heavy rain in Pennsylvania causes 1,000 Hershey Middle School students in the Derry Township School District to be stranded 2011 Event Snow on New Zealand's North and South Islands disrupts power supplies, causes road closures and closure of the Wellington International Airport 2011 Event According to the WHO, leading causes of death in the world include chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes 2011 Event The North American winter storm causes persistent cold temperatures in Mexico and power outages in the U.S. 2011 Event Over 5,000 red-winged blackbirds suddenly die in Beebe, Arkansas, on New Year's Eve; scientists investigate causes of the bird die-off 2010 Event Heavy snowfall causes large-scale disruptions in Europe 2010 Event A food crisis in Niger causes Nigerians to flee across the border into Nigeria 2010 Event Iceland's volcano causes Britain's two busiest airports to close in addition to Dublin Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 2010 Event Ash from the Iceland volcano causes new flight restrictions at airports including Shannon Airport and Ireland West Airport Knock 2008 Death John Michael Hayes, dies in New Hampshire, of natural causes, at 89 2008 Death Estelle Getty, dies in Los Angeles, California, of natural causes, at 84 2008 Death Albert Hofmann, dies in Switzerland, of natural causes, at 102 2008 Death Gordon B. Hinckley, dies in Salt Lake City, Utah, of natural causes, at 97 2007 Death Jane Wyman, dies in California, of natural causes, at 90 2007 Death Madeleine L'Engle, dies at 88, of natural causes 2007 Death Claudia Johnson, dies at 94, of natural causes 2007 Death Kiichi Miyazawa, dies in Tokyo, Japan, of natural causes, at 87 2006 Death John M. Ford, author, science fiction and fantasy, poet, game designer, wrote, 'The Final Reflection', 'How Much Just for the Planet?', dies of natural causes, at age 49 2005 Death James H. Scheuer, Representative-D-New York 1965 - 1973, 1975 - 1983 and 1983 - 1993, died of natural causes at age 85 2005 Event Hurricane Katrina causes sever damage to the Gulf Coast killing 1836 2003 Death Tom Lewis, Representative-R-Florida 1983 - 1995, died of natural causes 2003 Death David Bloom, TV journalist, died in Iraq of non-war-related causes, dies at 39 2001 Death Edward Boland, Representative-D-Massachusetts 1953 - 1989, died at the age of 90 from natural causes 2000 Death Herbert H. Bateman, Representative-R-Virginia 1982 - 2000, died of natural causes 1998 Event Thick Fog causes highway carnage in Belgium and Netherlands, 6 die 1992 Death Hank Worden, actor (Red River), dies of natural causes at 91 1992 Death Robert Reese, producer, dies of natural causes at 66 1992 Death Shirley Booth, actress (Hazel), dies of natural causes at 85 1992 Death Arline Bletcher, entertainer, dies of natural causes at 99 1992 Death Helen Deutsch, screenwriter, dies of natural causes 1990 Death Jill Bennett, actress (Skull, Hawks), dies of undisclosed causes at 58 1989 Event Hurricane Hugo causes extensive damage in Puerto Rico 1989 Event Leaking pipe of Asha, U.S.S.R. causes 2 trains to catch fire; 460 die 1988 Death Morgan Farley, actor (Open Secret), dies of natural causes at 90 1988 Event Fire in Seattle's Space Needle causes evacuation, $2,000 damage 1988 Death Harris Glenn Divine, dies of natural causes at 42 1987 Event New York Met Darryl Strawberry charges Red Sox pitcher Al Nipper during spring training exhibition game, causes bench clearing brawl 1984 Event Centers for Disease Control says virus discovered in France causes AIDS 1980 Event Oil tanker explosion off Pilos, Greece, causes 37-million-gallon spill 1979 Event "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park, causes fans to go wild and causes White Sox to forfeit 2nd game of a doubleheader to Tigers 1978 Event New York Yankee Reggie Jackson causes World Series controversy by getting in the way of a throw to 1st and deflects the ball away 1978 Event Yankees score 5 runs in top of 7th. but rain causes game to be halted and thus score goes back to previous inning, Baltimore wins 3-0 1978 Event Reggie Jackson refusal to bunt causes manager Billy Martin to suspend him 1977 Event 42 die in fire inmate causes at Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tennessee 1973 Event Heavy fog causes 65 car collision killing 9 on New Jersey Turnpike 1972 Event Rock fall inside Vierzy Tunnel (France) causes 2 train crash; 107 die 1971 Birthday Tom Green, born in Pembroke, Canada, actor, media personality, rapper, host of Tom Green's House Tonight' internet talk show, autobiography, 'Hollywood Causes Cancer' 1971 Event Quake in San Fernando Valley kills 64 and causes over $ B damage 1966 Event 75 MPH air currents causes BOAC 707 crash into Mount Fuji, 124 die 1965 Event At a cost of $20,000, the outer Astrodome ceiling is painted because of sun's glare, this causes the grass to die 1953 Event Tornado kills 114 in Waco Texas and causes $39M damage 1947 Event Mississippi Valley flooding kills 16 and causes $850M in damage 1947 Event Chemical mixing error causes explosion that destroys 42 blocks in Los Angeles 1944 Event British order to disarm, causes general strike in Greece 1941 Event U.S.S.R. begins a counter offensive causes Germany to retreat 1934 Event Black-McKeller Bill passes causes Bill Boeing empire to break up into Boeing United Aircraft [Technologies] and United Air Lines 1929 Event Cloudburst causes stampede in Yankee Stadium crushes 2 people to death 1917 Birthday Jean-Louis Curtis, French writer, Just Causes 1917 Birthday Carl Karcher, born in Ohio, restauranteur, founder of Carl's Jr. hamburger chain, supported Conservative causes 1910 Event Passage of Earth through tail of Halley's Comet causes near-panic 1908 Event Giant Fred (Bonehead) Merkle fails to touch 2nd, causes 3rd out in 9th and disallows winning run (game ends tied, Cubs win replay and pennant) 1904 Event Professor Schron finds microbe that causes photosynthesis 1882 Event Dr. Robert Koch discovers germ that causes tuberculosis 1880 Death Jeannette Rankin, Representative-R-Montana 1917 - 1919 and 1941 - 1943, 1st female member of Congress, died at age 92 from natural causes 1868 Event Battle of Alcolea, causes Queen Isabella 2 of Spain to flee to France 1868 Event Earthquakes kill 25,000 and causes $300 million damages (Peru and Ecuador) 1852 Event Just past midnight, a sharp jolt causes Lake Merced to drop 30' (9m) 1841 Event John Couch Adams decides to determine position of an unknown planet by irregularities it causes in the motion of Uranus 1834 Birthday Ernst Heinrich Haeckel, Potsdam Germ, biologist, Causes of Evolution 1824 Event Storm causes St. Petersburg flood, killing 10,000 1775 Event Congress issues "Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms," listing grievances but denying intent to be independent
