August 15 is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 138 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events[link]

• 293 BC – The oldest known Roman temple to Venus is dedicated.
• 778 – The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed.
• 927 – The Saracens conquer and destroy Taranto.
• 982 – Holy Roman Emperor Otto II is defeated by the Saracens in the battle of Capo Colonna, in Calabria
• 1018 – Byzantine general Eustathios Daphnomeles blinds and captures Ibatzes of Bulgaria by a ruse, thereby ending Bulgarian resistance against Emperor Basil II's conquest of Bulgaria.
• 1040 – King Duncan I is killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeds him as King of Scotland.
• 1057 – King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.
• 1185 – The cave city of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia.
• 1281 – Mongol invasion of Japan: The Mongolian fleet of Kublai Khan is destroyed by a "divine wind" for the second time in the Battle of Kōan.
• 1248 – The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral, built to house the relics of the Three Wise Men, is laid. (Construction is eventually completed in 1880.)
• 1261 – Michael VIII Palaeologus is crowned Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.
• 1309 – The city of Rhodes surrenders to the forces of the Knights of St. John, completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves the Knights of Rhodes.
• 1430 – Francesco Sforza, lord of Milan, conquers Lucca.
• 1461 – The Empire of Trebizond surrenders to the forces of Sultan Mehmet II. This is regarded by some historians as the real end of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor David is exiled and later murdered.
• 1483 – Pope Sixtus IV consecrates the Sistine Chapel.
• 1511 – Afonso de Albuquerque of Portugal conquers Malacca, the capital of the Sultanate of Malacca.
• 1517 – Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.
• 1519 – Panama City, Panama, is founded.
• 1534 – Saint Ignatius of Loyola and six classmates take initial vows, leading to the creation of the Society of Jesus in September 1540.
• 1537 – Asunción, Paraguay, is founded.
• 1540 – Arequipa, Peru, is founded.
• 1549 – Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier comes ashore at Kagoshima (Traditional Japanese date: July 22, 1549).
• 1599 – Nine Years War: Battle of Curlew Pass – Irish forces led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell successfully ambush English forces, led by Sir Conyers Clifford, sent to relieve Collooney Castle.
• 1695 – French forces end the Bombardment of Brussels, leaving a third of the buildings in the city in ruins.
• 1760 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Liegnitz – Frederick the Great's victory over the Austrians under Ernst von Laudon.
• 1843 – The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii is dedicated. Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.
• 1843 – Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• 1863 – The Anglo-Satsuma War begins between the Satsuma Domain of Japan and the United Kingdom (Traditional Japanese date: July 2, 1863).
• 1869 – The Meiji government in Japan establishes six new ministries, including one for Shinto.
• 1893 – Ibadan area became a British Protectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton.
• 1907 – Ordination in Constantinople of Fr. Raphael Morgan, first African-American Orthodox priest, "Priest-Apostolic" to America and the West Indies.
• 1914 – A male servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright sets fire to the living quarters of the architect's Wisconsin home, Taliesin, murders seven people and burns the living quarters to the ground.
• 1914 – The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship SS Ancon.
• 1914 – The First Russian Army, led by Pavel Rennenkampf, enters Eastern Prussia.
• 1920 – Battle of Warsaw so called Miracle at the Vistula.
• 1935 – Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in Barrow, Alaska.
• 1939 – 13 Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer. There are no survivors.
• 1940 – An Italian submarine torpedoes and sinks the Greek cruiser Elli at Tinos harbour during peacetime, marking the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in October.
• 1941 – Corporal Josef Jakobs is executed by firing squad at the Tower of London at 7:12 am, making him the last person to be executed at the Tower for treason.
• 1942 – World War II: Operation Pedestal – The SS Ohio reaches the island of Malta barely afloat carrying vital fuel supplies for the island's defenses.
• 1944 – World War II: Operation Dragoon – Allied forces land in southern France.
• 1945 – World War II: Japan surrenders to end the war.
• 1947 – India gains Independence from the British Indian Empire and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1947 – Founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah is sworn in as first Governor General of Pakistan in Karachi.
• 1948 – The Republic of Korea is established south of the 38th parallel north.
• 1952 – A flash flood drenches the town of Lynmouth, England, killing 34 people.
• 1954 – Alfredo Stroessner begins his dictatorship in Paraguay.
• 1960 – Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) becomes independent from France.
• 1961 – Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall.
• 1962 – James Joseph Dresnok defects to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea after running across the Korean DMZ. Dresnok still resides in the capital, Pyongyang.
• 1963 – Execution of Henry John Burnett, the last man to be hanged in Scotland.
• 1963 – President Fulbert Youlou is overthrown in the Republic of Congo, after a three-day uprising in the capital.
• 1965 – The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, in an event later seen as marking the birth of stadium rock.
• 1969 – The Woodstock Music and Art Festival opens.
• 1971 – President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.
• 1971 – Bahrain gains independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1973 – Vietnam War: The United States bombing of Cambodia ends.
• 1974 – Yuk Young-soo, First Lady of South Korea, is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon President of South Korea, Park Chung-hee.
• 1975 – Bangladesh's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is killed along with most members of his family during a military coup.
• 1975 – Miki Takeo makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.
• 1977 – The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "Wow! signal" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.
• 1984 – The PKK in Turkey starts a campaign of armed attacks upon the Turkish military with an attack on police and gendarmerie bases in Şemdinli and Eruh
• 1995 – In South Carolina, Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet matriculated at The Citadel (she drops out less than a week later).
• 1998 – Omagh bomb in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles
• 1999 – Beni Ounif massacre in Algeria; some 29 people are killed at a false roadblock near the Moroccan border, leading to temporary tensions with Morocco.
• 2005 – Israel's unilateral disengagement plan to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank begins.
• 2007 – An 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastates Ica and various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring 1,090.

Births[link]

• 1171 – King Alfonso IX of Leon (d. 1230)
• 1195 – Anthony of Padua, Portuguese saint (d. 1231)
• 1432 – Luigi Pulci, Italian poet (d. 1484)
• 1575 – Bartol Kašić, Croatian writer and linguist (d. 1650)
• 1613 – Gilles Ménage, French scholar (d. 1692)
• 1717 – Blind Jack, English roadbuilder (d. 1810)
• 1736 – Johann Christoph Kellner, German organist and composer (d. 1803)
• 1740 – Matthias Claudius, German poet (d. 1815)
• 1769 – Napoleon Bonaparte, Corsican-born French military officer and Emperor of France (d. 1821)
• 1771 – Sir Walter Scott, Scottish novelist and poet (d. 1832)
• 1785 – Thomas De Quincey, English author (d. 1859)
• 1798 – Sangolli Rayanna, a prominent freedom fighter from Karnataka, India (d. 1831)
• 1813 – Jules Grévy, French statesman (d. 1891)
• 1824 – John Chisum, American Cattle Baron (d. 1884)
• 1844 – Thomas-Alfred Bernier, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1908)
• 1856 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian writer (d. 1916)
• 1857 – Albert Ballin, German shipping tycoon (d. 1918)
• 1858 – E. Nesbit, English author (d. 1924)
• 1859 – Charles Comiskey, American baseball owner (d. 1931)
• 1860 – Henrietta Vinton Davis, American elocutionist (d. 1941)
• 1860 – Florence Harding, American First Lady (d. 1924)
• 1863 – Alexei Krylov, Russian engineer and mathematician (d. 1945)
• 1865 – Usui Mikao, Japanese spiritual figure (d. 1926)
• 1872 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian writer and philosopher (d. 1950)
• 1875 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English composer (d. 1912)
• 1876 – Stylianos Gonatas, Greek military officer and politician (d. 1966)
• 1877 – Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 22nd Yokozuna (d. 1941)
• 1878 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian counter-revolutionary (d. 1928)
• 1879 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (d. 1959)
• 1881 – Alfred Wagenknecht, German-born American activist (d. 1956)
• 1882 – Marion Bauer, American composer, teacher, writer, and music critic (d. 1955)
• 1883 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (d. 1962)
• 1885 – Edna Ferber, American novelist (d. 1968)
• 1886 – Bill Whitty, Australian cricketer (d. 1974)
• 1890 – Elizabeth Bolden, American Supercentenarian (d. 2006)
• 1890 – Jacques Ibert, French composer (d. 1962)
• 1892 – Louis, 7th duc de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1987)
• 1893 – Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and mechanical computation designer (d. 1950)
• 1896 – Gerty Cori, Austrian biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1957)
• 1896 – Catherine Doherty, Russian-born Canadian activist (d. 1985)
• 1896 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (d. 1958)
• 1896 – Leon Theremin, Russian inventor (d. 1993)
• 1898 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet (d. 1966)
• 1900 – Estelle Brody, American actress (d. 1995)
• 1901 – Pyotr Novikov, Russian mathematician (d. 1975)
• 1904 – George Klein, Canadian inventor (d. 1992)
• 1905 – Emile St. Godard, Canadian dog sled racer (d. 1948)
• 1909 – Hugo Winterhalter, American composer and bandleader (d. 1973)
• 1910 – Signe Hasso, Swedish actress (d. 2002)
• 1912 – Julia Child, American cook and TV personality (d. 2004)
• 1912 – Dame Wendy Hiller, English actress (d. 2003)
• 1914 – Paul Rand, American graphic designer (d. 1996)
• 1916 – Aleks Çaçi, Albanian writer (d. 1989)
• 1917 – Jack Lynch, Irish politician (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Óscar Romero, El Salvadorian Roman Catholic priest (d. 1980)
• 1919 – Huntz Hall, American actor (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Benedict Kiely, Irish author (d. 2007)
• 1919 – Dina Wadia, only child of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his wife Rattanbai Petit
• 1922 – Leonard Baskin, American sculptor and graphic artist (d. 2000)
• 1922 – Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek songwriter and musician (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Rose Marie, American actress
• 1924 – Robert Bolt, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1995)
• 1924 – Werner Abrolat, German actor (d. 1997)
• 1925 – Mike Connors, American actor
• 1925 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Bill Pinkney, American baritone singer (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Sami Michael, Iraqi-born Israeli author
• 1926 – Costis Stephanopoulos, Greek politician
• 1927 – Eddie Leadbeater, England cricketer (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Nicolas Roeg, English film director
• 1929 – Georgios Roubanis, Greek athlete
• 1930 – Ageeda Paavel, Estonian freedom fighter
• 1933 – Bobby Helms, American pop singer (d. 1997)
• 1933 – Jim Lange, American game show host
• 1934 – Bobby Byrd, American soul/funk singer (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Nino Ferrer, French-Italian singer (d. 1998)
• 1934 – Reginald Scarlett, West Indian cricketer
• 1935 – Jim Dale, English actor
• 1935 – Vernon Jordan Jr., American presidential advisor
• 1935 – Lionel Taylor, American football player
• 1938 – Maxine Waters, American politician
• 1938 – Janusz A. Zajdel, Polish writer
• 1940 – Gudrun Ensslin, German terrorist (d. 1977)
• 1940 – Rita Shane, American soprano
• 1941 – Manolis Mavrommatis, Greek politician
• 1942 – Larry Hartsell, American martial arts instructor (d. 2007)
• 1943 – María Rojo, Mexican actress and politician
• 1944 – Linda Ellerbee, American journalist
• 1944 – Tom Murphy, American politician
• 1944 – Dimitris Sioufas, Greek lawyer and politician
• 1944 – Sylvie Vartan, Bulgarian-French pop singer
• 1945 – Duffy Dyer, American baseball player
• 1945 – Gene Upshaw, American football player (d. 2008)
• 1945 – Begum Khaleda Zia, Bangladeshi politician
• 1946 – Tony Robinson, English actor and television presenter
• 1946 – Jimmy Webb, American musician and composer
• 1947 – Raakhee Gulzar, Indian actress
• 1947 – Jenny Hanley, British TV presenter
• 1948 – Uschi Digard, American pornographic actress and model
• 1948 – Patsy Gallant, Canadian pop singer
• 1948 – George Ryton, British engineer
• 1949 – Beverly Lynn Burns, American pilot
• 1949 – Richard Deacon, Welsh sculptor
• 1949 – Garry Disher, Australian author
• 1949 – Mark B. Rosenberg, American educator
• 1950 – Tommy Aldridge, American musician
• 1950 – Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom
• 1950 – Tom Kelly, American baseball manager
• 1951 – Ann Biderman, American film and television writer
• 1951 – Bobby Caldwell, American singer and musician
• 1951 – John Childs, England cricketer
• 1951 – Daba Diawara, Malian politician
• 1951 – Ranjan Gunatilleke, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1954 – Stieg Larsson, Swedish writer (d. 2004)
• 1954 – Mary Jo Salter, American poet
• 1956 – Lorraine Desmarais, French-Canadian jazz pianist and composer
• 1956 – Freedom Neruda, Ivorian journalist
• 1957 – Željko Ivanek, Slovenian-American actor
• 1958 – Simon Baron-Cohen, British psychiatrist and author
• 1958 – Craig MacTavish, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1958 – Simple Kapadia, Indian actress and designer (d. 2009)
• 1958 – Victor Shenderovich, Russian satirist
• 1958 – Rondell Sheridan, American actor and comedian
• 1958 – Laurie Bembenek, American convicted murderer and fugitive (d. 2010)
• 1961 – Ed Gillespie, American White House counsel to George W. Bush
• 1961 – Gary Kubiak, American football coach
• 1962 – Tom Colicchio, American chef
• 1963 – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican film director
• 1963 – Jack Russell, England cricketer
• 1963 – Valery Levaneuski, entrepreneur, politician, former political prisoner
• 1964 – Melinda French Gates, American wife of Bill Gates
• 1965 – Rob Thomas, American writer
• 1966 – Scott Brosius, American baseball player
• 1966 – Shirley Kwan, Hong Kong singer
• 1966 – Dimitris Papadopoulos, Greek basketball player
• 1967 – Peter Hermann American actor
• 1968 – Debra Messing, American actress
• 1969 – Kevin Cheng, Hong Kong actor and singer
• 1969 – Bernard Fanning, Australian singer/songwriter (Powderfinger)
• 1969 – Cris Judd, American actor/choreographer
• 1970 – Anthony Anderson, American comedian and actor
• 1970 – Maddie Corman, American actress
• 1970 – Ben Silverman, American TV executive
• 1972 – Ben Affleck, American actor
• 1972 – Jennifer Alexander, Canadian ballet dancer (d. 2007)
• 1972 – Chris Morrissey, American film director/actor
• 1972 – Matthew Wood, American actor and sound editor
• 1973 – Adnan Sami, British-born Pakastani music composer and singer
• 1973 – Adam Willard, American musician (The Offspring)
• 1974 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress
• 1974 – Tomasz Suwary, Polish footballer
• 1975 – Bertrand Berry, American football player
• 1975 – Vijay Bharadwaj, Indian cricketer
• 1975 – Brendan Morrison, Canadian hockey player
• 1975 – Kara Wolters, American basketball player
• 1976 – Boudewijn Zenden, Dutch football player
• 1977 – Martin Biron, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
• 1977 – Igor Cassina, Italian gymnast
• 1977 – Nicole Paggi, American actress
• 1978 – Tim Foreman, American bassist (Switchfoot)
• 1978 – Lilia Podkopayeva, Ukrainian gymnast
• 1978 – Stavros Tziortziopoulos, Greek footballer
• 1978 – Kerri Walsh, American beach volleyball player
• 1979 – Carl Edwards, American NASCAR driver
• 1980 – Brandon Harrod, American songwriter
• 1980 – Nathalie Press, English actress
• 1981 – Brendan Hansen, American swimmer
• 1981 – Song Ji-hyo, South Korean actress
• 1981 – Oliver Perez, American baseball player
• 1982 – Casey Burgener, American weightlifter
• 1984 - Quinton Aaron, American actor
• 1989 – Belinda, Mexican singer
• 1989 – Joe Jonas, American actor and singer
• 1989 – Carlos Pena, Jr., American signer (Big Time Rush)
• 1990 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress
• 1993 – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, English footballer

Deaths[link]

• 423 – Flavius Honorius, Roman Emperor (b. 384)
• 465 – Libius Severus, Roman Emperor
• 778 – Roland, Frankish commander
• 1038 – King Stephen I of Hungary
• 1057 – Macbeth, King of Scotland
• 1118 – Alexius I Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1048)
• 1196 – Conrad II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1173)
• 1274 – Robert de Sorbon, French theologian and educator (b. 1201)
• 1369 – Philippa of Hainault, Queen consort of Edward III of England
• 1528 – Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, French military leader (b. 1485)
• 1552 – Hermann of Wied, German Catholic archbishop (b. 1477)
• 1621 – John Barclay, Scottish writer (b. 1582)
• 1666 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German Jesuit missionary (b. 1591)
• 1714 – Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia (b. 1654)
• 1728 – Marin Marais, French composer and viol player (b. 1656)
• 1758 – Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician (b. 1698)
• 1799 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet (b. 1729)
• 1852 – Johan Gadolin, Finnish scientist (b. 1760)
• 1859 – Nathaniel Claiborne, American politician (b. 1777)
• 1880 – Adelaide Neilson, English actress (b. 1848)
• 1907 – Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (b. 1831)
• 1909 – Euclides da Cunha, Brazilian writer and sociologist (b. 1866)
• 1917 – Thomas J. Higgins, American Union Army soldier (b. 1831)
• 1925 – Konrad Mägi, Estonian artist (b. 1878)
• 1931 – Nigar Shikhlinskaya, Azerbaijani WWI nurse (b. ca. 1878)
• 1935 – Wiley Post, American pilot (b. 1898)
• 1935 – Will Rogers, American humorist and actor (b. 1879)
• 1935 – Paul Signac, French painter (b. 1863)
• 1936 – Grazia Deledda, Italian writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1871)
• 1942 – Mahadev Desai, personal secretary of Mahatma Gandhi (b.1892)
• 1945 – Korechika Anami, Japanese War Minister (b. 1887)
• 1951 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (b. 1882)
• 1953 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist (b. 1875)
• 1962 – Lei Feng, Chinese revolutionary (b. 1940)
• 1967 – René Magritte, Belgian painter (b. 1898)
• 1971 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian-born actor (b. 1887)
• 1975 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshi statesman (b. 1920)
• 1975 – Clay Shaw, American lawyer and John F. Kennedy assassination investigator (b. 1913)
• 1982 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish scientist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1903)
• 1989 – Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek Army officer (b. 1897)
• 1990 – Viktor Tsoi, Russian musician (b. 1962)
• 1995 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (b. 1906)
• 1999 – Sir Hugh Casson, British architect and artist (b. 1910)
• 2000 – Ginetta Sagan, Italian-American human rights activist (b. 1925)
• 2001 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan athlete (b. 1972)
• 2003 – Gösta Sundqvist, Finnish songwriter and singer (heart attack) (b. 1957)
• 2004 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Semiha Berksoy, first Turkish opera singer (b. 1910)
• 2004 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician (b. 1941)
• 2005 – Bendapudi Venkata Satyanarayana, Indian dermatologist (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Te Atairangikaahu, Māori queen (b. 1931)
• 2006 – Rick Bourke, Australian rugby league player (b. c. 1955)
• 2006 – Coenraad Bron, Dutch computer scientist (b. 1937)
• 2006 – Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer (b. 1923)
• 2007 – Richard Bradshaw, British opera conductor, (b. 1944)
• 2007 – John Gofman, American Manhattan Project scientist and advocate (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Geoffrey Orbell, New Zealand bush walker (b. 1908)
• 2007 – Sam Pollock, Canadian sports executive (b. 1925)
• 2008 – James Orthwein, American businessman (b. 1924)
• 2008 – Heinz-Ludwig Schmidt, German football manager (b. 1920)
• 2008 – Leroy Sievers, American journalist (b. 1955)
• 2008 – Vic Toweel, South African boxer (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Jerry Wexler, American music producer (b. 1917)
• 2011 – Michael Legat, English writer (b. 1923)
• 2011 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1984)

Holidays and observances[link]

• Armed Forces Day (Poland)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, one of the Catholic Holy Day of Obligation. (Christianity, a public holiday in Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mauritius, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu), and its related observances:
    • Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches)
    • Ferragosto (Italy)
    • Mother's Day (Antwerp and Costa Rica)
    • National Acadian Day (Acadians)
    • Navy Day (Romania)
    • Virgin of Candelaria, patron of the Canary Islands. (Tenerife, Spain)
  • Stanislaus Kostka
  • Tarcisius
  • August 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Equatorial Guinea)
• Earliest day on which Day of Hearts can fall, while August 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in August. (area around Haarlem and Amsterdam)
• Founding of Asunción (Paraguay)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Republic of the Congo from France in 1960.
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of India from the United Kingdom in 1947.
• Liberation Day, celebrates the independence of Korea from Japan in 1945:
  • Gwangbokjeol, "Liberation Day" (South Korea)
  • Jogukhaebangui nal, "Fatherland Liberation Day" (North Korea)
• The first day of Flooding of the Nile, or Wafaa El-Nil.(Egypt and Coptic Church)
• The main day of Bon Festival (Japan)
• Victory over Japan Day (United States)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: August 15

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

Timothy P. Green (born June 29, 1963) is a Democratic politician from Missouri. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has had two children, Patrick Timothy and Megan, with his wife, Lisa Ann.

He was first elected to public office in 1988, when he won election to the Missouri House of Representatives. He was reelected in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000. He served as the powerful chairman of the Budget Committee from 2000 to 2002. In 2004, he was elected to the Missouri State Senate. He is a member of the following committees:

• Appropriations
• Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment
• Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics
• Small Business, Insurance and Industry
• Joint Committee on Capital Improvements and Leases Oversight
• Joint Committee on Gaming and Wagering
• Joint Committee on Legislative Research
• Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement
• Joint Committee on Government Accountability
• Missouri State Employees' Retirement System Board

References[link]

• Official Manual, State of Missouri, 2005-2006. Jefferson City, MO:Secretary of State.

External links[link]

• Missouri Senate - Timothy P. Green official government website

• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Follow the Money - Timothy P. Green
  • 2008 2006 2004 Missouri Senate campaign contributions
  • 2000 1998 1996 Missouri House campaign contributions

v t e Members of the Missouri State Senate 96th General Assembly (2011–2012) President of the Senate: Peter Kinder (R) President pro Tempore: Rob Mayer (R) Majority Leader: Tom Dempsey (R) Minority Leader: Victor Callahan (D)        Jim Lembke (R)    Scott Rupp (R)    Kevin Engler (R)    Joseph Keaveny (D)    Robin Wright-Jones (D)    Mike Kehoe (R)    Jane Cunningham (R)    Will Kraus (R)    Kiki Curls (D)    Jolie Justus (D)    Victor Callahan (D)    Brad Lager (R)    Timothy Green (D)    Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D)    Eric Schmitt (R)    Dan W. Brown (R)    Luann Ridgeway (R)    Brian Munzlinger (R)    Kurt Schaefer (R)    Jay Wasson (R)    Bill Stouffer (R)    Ryan McKenna (D)    Tom Dempsey (R)    John Lamping (R)    Robert Mayer (R)    Brian Nieves (R)    Jason Glennon Crowell (R)    Mike Parson (R)    Jack Goodman (R)    Bob Dixon (R)    David Pearce (R)    Ron Richard (R)    Chuck Purgason (R)    Robert Schaaf (R)    Republican (26)    Democratic (8) Missouri General Assembly Missouri House of Representatives Missouri State Senate

This article about a Missouri politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Tarak Mehta (born 1930) is an Indian columnist, humorist, writer and playwright. best known for the column Duniya Na Undha Chasma in Gujarati Language. He has translated and adapted several comedies into Gujarati, and has been well-known figure in the Gujarati theatre.^[1]

The humorous weekly column first appeared in Chitralekha in March 1971 and ever since has been looking at contemporary issues from a different perspective. He has published 80 books, over the years, three books are based on the columns he wrote in Gujarati newspaper, Divya Bhaskar while rest were compiled from the stories in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.^[2]

In 2008 SAB TV, a popular entertainment channel in India, started a show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah that is based on his column.,^[3] and soon it became the flagship show of the channel.^[4]

Personal life[link]

He stays in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where he moved in year 2000, with second wife, Indu of over 30 years, His first wife, Ila who later married Manohar Doshi, (died 2006), also stayed in the same apartment building. He has daughter from his first marriage, Ishani, who stays in US, and has two children, Kushan and Shaili.^[2][5]

Bibliography[link]

• Duniya ne Oondha Chashmah
• Aa Duniya Panjarapole
• Action Reply ½
• Albelun America Vanthelun America
• Bagicha Ni Hadvi Havama
• Bahero Hase Be Vay...!
• Champaklal Tapuni Jugalbandhi
• Betaj Batali Baj Popatlal Taraj
• Taarak mehta ka oolta chashmah

References[link]

• "Tarak Mehta". The Statesman. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=26&id=245516&usrsess=1. Retrieved 2009-04-20. 
• http://www.glamsham.com/dramas/features/tarak_mehta.pdf - contains a lot of information about Tarak Mehta

This article about an Indian writer or poet is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article about an Asian journalist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

John Cena
John Cena, 2008
Ring name(s)	John Cena[1]
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Billed weight	251 lb (114 kg)[2]
Born	(1977-04-23) April 23, 1977 (age 35)[3] West Newbury, Massachusetts[2]
Resides	Tampa, Florida[4]
Billed from	Classified (UPW)[5] West Newbury, Massachusetts (WWE)[2]
Trained by	Ultimate Pro Wrestling[5] Ohio Valley Wrestling[6]
Debut	2001[6]

John Felix Anthony Cena^[7] (/ˈsiːnə/; born April 23, 1977)^[3] is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its Raw brand.^[8]

In WWE, Cena has won 19 championships in total, including 12 world titles (having won the WWE Championship a record 10 times^[9] and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times,^[10] and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once each with Shawn Michaels and Batista),^[11] and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once each with David Otunga and The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010).^[12] He also has the fourth highest number of combined days as WWE Champion behind Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino.

Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).

Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album You Can't See Me, which debuted at No.15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and starred in the feature films The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009), and Legendary (2010).^[13] Cena has also made appearances on television shows including Manhunt, Deal or No Deal, MADtv, Saturday Night Live, Punk'd, and Psych. Cena was also a contestant on Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall competition.

Early life[link]

John Cena was born April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts,^[3] the son of Carol and John Cena, Sr.^[14] He is the second eldest of five brothers – Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean.^[15] After graduating from Cushing Academy, Cena attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts.^[16] In college he was a Division III All-American center on the college football team,^[17] wearing the number 54,^[16] which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise.^[18][19] He graduated from Springfield in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology,^[20] after which he pursued a career in bodybuilding,^[21][22] and also worked as a chauffeur for a limousine company.^[23]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Training (2000–2001)[link]

UPW[link]

Cena started training to become a professional wrestler in 2000 at the California-based "Ultimate University" operated by Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Once he was placed into an in-ring role, Cena began using a semi-robotic character known as The Prototype.^[24][25] Some of this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program Inside Pro Wrestling School.^[26] While in UPW, Cena held the UPW Heavyweight Championship for just shy of a month in April 2000.^[27]

OVW[link]

In 2001, he signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).^[28] During his time there, Cena wrestled as both The Prototype and Mr. P, and held the OVW Heavyweight Championship for three months and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino) for two months.^[29][30][31]

World Wrestling Entertainment[link]

Debut (2002–2004)[link]

Cena performing an FU (now "Attitude Adjustment") to Kurt Angle.

Cena made his television debut answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002.^[32] Inspired by a speech given by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the rising stars of the company, exhorting them to show "ruthless aggression" to earn a place among the legends, Cena took advantage of the opportunity to face Angle. Cena managed to counter the Angle Slam and the ankle lock submission hold,^[33] but ultimately lost to a hard amateur wrestling-style pin.^[33] Following the near-win, Cena became a fan favorite and started feuding with Chris Jericho, defeating Jericho at Vengeance.^[32] In October, Cena and Billy Kidman took part in a tag team tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown! brand, losing in the first round.^[34] The next week, Cena turned on and attacked Kidman, blaming him for their loss, becoming a villain.^[32]

Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed episode of SmackDown, Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap.^[32] The next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while rhyming.^[32] As the gimmick grew, Cena began adopting a variant of the 1980s WWF logo – dropping the "F" – as his "signature symbol", along with the slogan "Word Life".^[35] Moreover, he was joined by an enforcer, Bull Buchanan, who was rechristened B-2 (also written B² and pronounced "B-Squared").^[32] Buchanan was later replaced by Red Dogg,^[32] until he was sent to the Raw brand in February.

For the first half of 2003, Cena sought the WWE Championship and chased the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar, performing weekly "freestyles" challenging him to matches.^[36][37][38] During the feud, Cena unveiled a new finishing maneuver: the FU, a Fireman's carry powerslam, named to Brock Lesnar's F-5, with his first victim being Rikishi.^[39] Cena won a number one contenders tournament against Lesnar at Backlash. However, Cena was defeated by Lesnar. At Vengeance Cena lost a singles match against The Undertaker.^[32][40] At the end of the year, Cena became a fan favorite again when he joined Kurt Angle as a member of his team at Survivor Series.^[41][42]

United States and WWE Champion (2004–2005)[link]

Cena, wearing his customized U.S. Championship belt

In early 2004, Cena participated in the Royal Rumble match at the 2004 Royal Rumble,^[43] making it to the final six before being eliminated by Big Show and the Match being won by Chris Benoit.^[44] The Royal Rumble elimination led to a feud with Big Show,^[45][46] which Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show at WrestleMania XX.^[47] During his reign, Cena came into contention with SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle over issues arising with René Duprée and Torrie Wilson.^[48] The reign ended almost four months later, when he was stripped of the belt on July 8 by Angle after he accidentally knocked him over, thus attacking an official.^[49] Cena won the championship back defeating Booker T in a best of five series that culminated at No Mercy,^[50] only to lose it to the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week.^[51] After the loss to Carlito, the duo began a feud, which Cena was stabbed in the kidney while at a Boston-area nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard, Jesús.^[52][53] This worked injury was used to keep Cena out of action for a month, while Cena was filming The Marine.^[30] Immediately on his return in November, Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito debuting a "custom made" spinner-style championship belt.^[54][55]

Cena took part in the 2005 Royal Rumble match, making it to the final two. Cena and Raw brand wrestler Batista went over the top rope at the same time, ostensibly ending the match. Vince McMahon, however, appeared on stage and re-started the match in sudden death rules, with Batista eventually eliminating Cena.^[56] The next month, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown brand's WrestleMania 21 main event match,^[57] beginning a feud with WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and his Cabinet in the process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan,^[58] who proceeded to "blow up" the spinner championship with JBL and returning a more traditional style belt.^[59] Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania winning the WWE Championship, giving Cena his first world championship.^[60] Cena then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made,^[61] while JBL took the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion,^[61] until Cena reclaimed the original belt in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day.^[62]

Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on the June 6, 2005, becoming the first wrestler selected by General Manager Eric Bischoff in the annual draft lottery.^[63] Cena immediately entered a feud with Bischoff, after refusing to participate in the "war" against the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) roster at One Night Stand.^[64] With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he hand picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from him.^[65] During their feud, even though Cena was portrayed as the fan favorite and Jericho as the villain, a vocal section of live crowds, nonetheless, were booing Cena during their matches.^[66] More crowds followed suit during Cena's next feud with Kurt Angle,^[67] who took over as Bischoff's hand-picked number-one contender after Cena defeated Jericho in a You're Fired match on the August 22 Raw.^[68] As the feud continued and the dissenters grew more vocal, sometimes seeming to outnumber fans by wide margins,^[69] the announce team was forced to acknowledge the booing on television and began calling Cena a "controversial champion", claiming some people disliking him on account of his "in-ring style" and his chosen fashion.^[70] Despite the mixed and negative reactions, Cena held on to his championship through his feud with Angle, losing to him by disqualification^[71] – which titles do not change hands in WWE – at Unforgiven and pinning him at Survivor Series.^[72] The feud with Angle also saw Cena add a secondary, submission based, finishing maneuver – the STFU (a Stepover Toehold Sleeper, though named for a Stepover Toehold Facelock) – when he was put into a Triple Threat Submissions Only match on the November 28 Raw.^[73]

WWE Championship feuds and injury (2006–2007)[link]

Cena facing off against Edge at a WWE house show.

Cena lost the WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution, but not in the Elimination Chamber match that he had been advertised to participate in beforehand. Instead, immediately after winning the Elimination Chamber, he was forced into a match against Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract – a "guaranteed title match for the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owners choosing." After two quick spears pinned Cena, winning the championship.^[74] Three weeks later, Cena won the championship back at the Royal Rumble.^[74] After winning the championship, Cena began feuding with Triple H, which the crowd began booing Cena and cheering the intended villain, Triple H.^[75][76] Cena beat Triple H at Wrestlemania 22 to retain his WWE Title.^[6] The negative reaction towards Cena intensified when facing Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. Taking place in front of a crowd of mostly "old school" ECW fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Cena was met with raucous jeering and chants of "Fuck you, Cena", "You can't wrestle", and "Same old shit". When he began performing different moves into the match, the fans began chanting "You still suck". Cena lost the WWE Championship at One Night Stand, with Van Dam pinning Cena after interference from Edge.^[77]

Cena, addressing fans at a Raw show

In July, after Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a Triple Threat match that also involved Cena,^[78] re-ignited the feud between him and Cena from earlier in the year. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means – getting himself disqualified^[79] (for which Championships do not change hands) and using brass knuckles^[77] – he introduced his own version of Cena's "custom" belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner.^[80] Cena eventually won the championship back in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at Unforgiven. The match had an added stipulation that had Cena lost he would leave the Raw brand and go to SmackDown.^[81][82] Cena returned his version of the spinner belt on the next night's Raw.^[83]

On the heels of his feud with Edge, Cena was placed in an inter-brand angle to determine the "Champion of Champions" – or which was the most dominant champion in WWE's three brands. Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and the ECW World Champion The Big Show engaged in a mini-feud leading to a Triple Threat match at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line.^[84] At the same time, Cena became involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, when he began appearing on Raw with Johnny Nitro and Melina. After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on Raw,^[84] Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship.^[77] 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship,^[85] while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline. On the first Raw of the new year, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga, although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline performing an FU on him.^[86]

One night after the Royal Rumble, an impromptu team of Cena and Shawn Michaels defeated Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) for the World Tag Team Championship, making Cena a double champion.^[87] On the April 2 episode of Raw, after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania 23,^[88] Michaels turned on Cena, costing them the championship in the second of two 10 team battles royals, by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) eventually won the match and the championship.^[89] For the rest of the month, Cena feuded with Michaels, Orton, and Edge until The Great Khali declared his intentions to challenge for Cena's championship attacking and "laying out" all three of the top contenders^[90] before assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt.^[91] For the next two months, Cena feuded with Khali over the championship, eventually becoming the first person in WWE to defeat him by submission at Judgment Day^[92][93] and then by pinfall at One Night Stand.^[94][95] Later that summer, Randy Orton was named the number one contender for the WWE championship,^[96] starting a feud between the two. Leading up to SummerSlam, Orton delivered a number of sneak-attacks, performing three RKOs to Cena, but in the actual match, Cena retained the championship.^[97] A rematch between the two occurred at Unforgiven, with Orton winning by disqualification after Cena ignored the referee's instructions and continued to beat on him in the corner.^[98]

During a match with Mr. Kennedy on the October 1, 2007 episode of Raw, Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss.^[99] Though finishing the match and taking part in the scripted attack by Randy Orton after the match, surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone, estimating at the time to require seven months to a year of rehabilitation.^[100][101] As a result, Cena was stripped of the title in an announcement by Vince McMahon on the next night's episode of ECW,^[102] ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years.^[103] Cena's surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.^[99] Two weeks later, in a video update on WWE.com, Dr. Andrews and Cena's physical trainer both said that he was several weeks ahead of where he was expected to be in his rehabilitation at that time.^[104] Despite his injury, Cena attended the annual WWE Tribute to the Troops show filmed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq on December 7, and aired on December 24.^[105]

Return and various feuds (2008–2010)[link]

Cena made an unannounced return as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match, winning the match, and the traditional WrestleMania title shot, by last eliminating Triple H.^[12] Instead of waiting until WrestleMania, the title shot was cashed in against WWE Champion Randy Orton at February's No Way Out pay-per-view^[106] in a match where Cena won by disqualification, resulting in him not getting the championship.^[107] The night after No Way Out, Cena was placed back into WrestleMania XXIV's WWE Championship match, making it a Triple Threat match also involving Triple H,^[108] during which he was pinned by Orton.^[109] At Backlash, Cena failed to regain the title in a Fatal Four-Way elimination match, in which he was pinned by Orton.^[110] Triple H won the title during that match. During the match, Cena eliminated JBL,^[110] renewing their feud from 2005. Cena defeated JBL at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood match.^[111][112] JBL, however, defeated him in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash in July.^[113]

Cena as one half of the World Tag Team Champions

On the August 4 episode of Raw, Cena became a World Tag Team Champion for a second time, teaming with Batista to defeat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase,^[114] but failed to retain the titles the following week against the former champions.^[115] Batista defeated Cena at SummerSlam;^[116] shortly after, he was named one of four contenders for CM Punk's World Heavyweight Championship in the Championship scramble match at Unforgiven. He was replaced by Rey Mysterio, however, after announcing Cena had suffered a herniated disc in his neck, which would require surgery.^[117] Cena underwent successful surgery to repair the injury.^[118][119]

Cena made his in-ring return at the November pay-per-view event, Survivor Series, defeating Chris Jericho to win his first World Heavyweight Championship.^[120] The two continued their rivalry up to Armageddon, where Cena retained his championship.^[121] Cena lost the championship at No Way Out, to Edge after Kofi Kingston was attacked by Edge, who took his place in the Elimination Chamber match.^[122] Cena was given an opportunity to regain the title at WrestleMania XXV in a Triple Threat match also involving Big Show, which Cena won.^[123]

Cena lost the championship back to Edge in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash after interference from Big Show, who chokeslammed Cena through a big spotlight.^[124] This angle resulted in Cena beginning a feud with Big Show. Cena defeated Big Show at Judgment Day^[125] and at Extreme Rules in a Submission match by applying the STFU.^[126]

At the July pay-per-view, Night of Champions, he participated in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship, which also involved Triple H and WWE Champion Randy Orton. Cena, however, did not win the match.^[127] Two months later, at Breaking Point, Cena defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in an "I Quit" match to win his fourth WWE Championship.^[128] At Hell in a Cell, Cena dropped the title to Orton in a Hell in a Cell match.^[129] Three weeks later, at WWE Bragging Rights, Cena defeated Orton in a 60-minute Iron Man match.^[130]

Two months later, Cena would lose the title to Sheamus at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Tables match.^[131]

John Cena as WWE Champion in 2010

In February 2010, Cena regained the WWE title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in an Elimination Chamber match after last eliminating Triple H. However, immediately after the match Mr. McMahon declared that he would immediately defend his title against Batista, who had been involved with Cena in Vince McMahon and Bret Hart's rivalry. Cena lost that match to Batista, and the WWE Championship and marking one of the shortest WWE Championship reigns in history.^[132] The following night after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Cena asked for a rematch for the title at WrestleMania, which McMahon gave him the opportunity to as long as he defeated Batista that night. Later that night, Batista intentionally got himself disqualified by kicking Cena in the groin to set up their match at WrestleMania XXVI.^[133] At the event, Cena defeated Batista to win back the WWE title.^[134] At the April pay-per-view, Extreme Rules, Cena defeated Batista in a rematch for the WWE title in a Last Man Standing match.^[135] He faced Batista one more time in an I Quit match at Over the Limit which he won.^[136]

Feuding and joining The Nexus (2010–2011)[link]

On the June 7, 2010 episode of Raw, Cena was suddenly thrust into a new storyline when during his main event match against CM Punk, he was attacked by all eight former contestants of WWE NXT Season 1, with Wade Barrett as their leader. Punk, his follower Luke Gallows, and other personnel around the ring were attacked as well, but Cena took the worst of the attack and was carried out on a stretcher. This group would later refer to themselves as The Nexus.^[137]

At June's Fatal 4-Way event, Cena lost the WWE title to Sheamus in a fatal four-way match that also involved Edge and Randy Orton due to interference by Nexus.^[138] The following month, in a WWE title rematch against Sheamus in a steel cage match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, the group interfered, thus costing Cena the chance of regaining the championship.^[139] Cena later formed an alliance with Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great Khali and Bret Hart to face the Nexus at SummerSlam, where Cena's team defeated Nexus with the returning Daniel Bryan, a former member of Nexus, who replaced Khali after getting injured.^[140]

Cena being forced to read a public address by Wade Barrett while a member of Nexus.

Nexus's actions, however, did not stop after SummerSlam. Hoping to end Nexus for good, Cena challenged Wade Barrett to a match at Hell in a Cell only to lose due to interference by two fans, later identified as Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty. Due to the stipulations in place, Cena was forced to join Nexus.^[141] Cena had originally planned to destroy Nexus from within as a member of the group, but the Raw general manager ordered him to follow orders from Barrett, or else he would be fired. At Bragging Rights, Cena and Nexus member David Otunga defeated "Dashing" Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the Tag Team Championship.^[142]

Later in the show Cena was forced to help Barrett to win his WWE Championship match against Randy Orton. If Barrett didn't win the match Cena would be fired. Cena twisted his words around and attacked Barrett, giving Barrett the win via disqualification but not Orton's title.^[142] The following day, Cena and Otunga lost the Tag Team Championship to fellow Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, when Barrett ordered Otunga to lay down and lose the title.^[143] At Survivor Series, Cena officiated a match for the WWE Championship between Wade Barrett and Randy Orton. As a part of a pre-match stipulation, if Barrett didn't win the championship, Cena would be fired from the WWE.

Orton defeated Barrett to retain the title, thus ending Cena's career in the WWE.^[144] The following day on Raw, Cena gave a farewell speech, before costing Wade Barrett the WWE Championship by interfering in his rematch with Randy Orton.^[145] A week later, Cena invaded Raw, first as a spectator, but he then attacked members of Nexus, explaining that he would still take down Nexus one by one, despite not having a job in the WWE anymore.^[146] On the December 13 episode of Raw, Cena was rehired by Barrett, in exchange that he would face him at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Chairs Match.^[147] Prior to TLC, Cena teamed up with Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio to defeat Wade Barrett, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio at The WWE Tribute to the Troops. On December 19 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, John Cena was victorious against Wade Barrett in a Chairs match in the main event of the evening.

John Cena at WWE Tribute to the Troops in 2010.

On the December 27 episode of Raw, The Nexus, minus Wade Barrett, announced they were under new management and offered to bury the hatchet with John Cena, to which Cena refused. The Nexus attacked Cena, leaving a Nexus armband in the ring during the process. As the group retreated, CM Punk, who had attacked Cena with a steel chair twice the week before, came to the ring to, what looked like attack John Cena, but instead put on the armband left behind to symbolically announce his allegiance with The Nexus.^[148] The next week, Wade Barrett returned to Raw and confronted CM Punk over the issue of who the leader of The Nexus was and who was responsible for Cena's attack the week before. Barrett was placed into a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match that night that would determine the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship. CM Punk added his own stipulation to the match saying if Barrett lost, he would be banished from the group, but if he won he would remain leader. Wade Barrett would lose the match after CM Punk interfered by ripping of Barrett's armband.^[149]

On the January 17 episode of Raw, Cena returned and faced Punk in a match. During the match, a man, who would later be revealed to be Mason Ryan, attacked Cena. During the 2011 Royal Rumble match, Cena would eliminate most of the Nexus, ending his feud with them.

Record-breaking WWE Champion; various feuds (2011–present)[link]

The Rock and John Cena agree to face each other at WrestleMania XXVIII.

Cena competed in the 2011 Royal Rumble match at the pay-per-view, making it to the final five before being eliminated by The Miz, the current WWE Champion at the time, who wasn't an official participant in the match. At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Cena won the Elimination Chamber match to face The Miz at WrestleMania XXVII for the WWE Championship.^[150] On the February 21 episode of Raw, Cena replied to The Rock's comments about him from the previous week, as The Rock returned as the announced guest host of WrestleMania, where he made a rap about Rock. That same night, Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match, with him teaming with The Miz, where they defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to become WWE Tag Team Champions. After the match, Wade Barrett invoked Gabriel and Slater's rematch clause straight away, where they won their titles back, after Miz attacked Cena.^[151] After weeks of insults to each other, Cena met Rock face-to-face on the March 28 episode of Raw, where Cena would hit his Attitude Adjustment finishing move on Rock.^[152] At WrestleMania, Cena and Miz would fight to a double count-out, but guest host Rock would restart the match, only for him to hit his Rock Bottom finishing move on Cena, allowing Miz to retain his title.^[153] The next night on Raw, Cena and Rock agreed to face each other at WrestleMania XXVIII, making it the first match to be set up at WrestleMania one year in advance. At Extreme Rules, Cena would defeat Miz and Morrison to become WWE Champion.^[153] Cena went on to defend the title against The Miz at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match^[154] and R-Truth at Capitol Punishment^[155]

At Money in the Bank, CM Punk defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship, and left the company with the title.^{[156][157][158]} A tournament was then conducted to determine the new WWE Champion for the "vacant" WWE title, which was won by Rey Mysterio on the July 25 episode of Raw. That same night, Cena challenged and defeated Mysterio to become WWE Champion for a record breaking ninth time.^[159] Following the match, CM Punk returned to the company, with the WWE Championship he won at Money in the Bank, leading to a title unification match at SummerSlam, where Punk defeated Cena to become "undisputed" WWE Champion. Punk would lose the championship following the match to Mr. Money in the Bank Alberto Del Rio.^[160] On the August 22 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Punk to become number one contender for the WWE Championship, and would defeat Del Rio at Night of Champions to become WWE Champion.^[161] Cena would then lose the title back to Del Rio two weeks later at Hell in a Cell, in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match also involving Punk, after Ricardo Rodriguez and Del Rio locked Cena outside of the Cell.^[162] Cena lost his rematch at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing match, due to interference by The Miz and R-Truth.^[163] After a few weeks of Miz and Truth attacking Cena and other employees, Cena was allowed to choose his partner to challenge Miz and Truth at Survivor Series. Cena would announce that he had chosen The Rock to be his partner. At the pay-per-view, after Cena and Rock defeated Miz and Truth, Rock gave Cena another Rock Bottom.^[164]

On the December 12 episode of Raw, during his match with Mark Henry, Cena was attacked by the returning Kane.^[165] The following week on Raw, Cena would call out Kane for his actions last week, but Henry would come out instead. Kane would then come out soon after, and once again attacked Cena.^[166] The following week, Kane would explain to Cena that the reason he had attacked him was in disgust of Cena's "Rise Above Hate" t-shirt slogan, stating that hate is a "natural impulse" and shouldn't be contained. He then led the fans in attendance who were not fond of Cena into chanting "Cena Sucks!" as Raw went off the air.^[167] Kane would then attack Cena's friend Zack Ryder, which led him to lose his United States Championship.^[168][169] At the Royal Rumble, Kane and Cena would fight each other to a double countout only for Kane to get the upper hand on Cena and Ryder, who was watching in a private room in a wheelchair, after the match.^[170] At Elimination Chamber, Cena defeated Kane in an Ambulance match to end the feud.^[171]

Cena and the Rock face off at WrestleMania XXVIII.

After Elimination Chamber, Cena and The Rock would start verbally attacking each other. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Cena faced the Rock in the main event match which had been building for a year and that was billed as "once in a lifetime" and as the biggest and most important match in John Cena's career. The climax of the match came when Cena let his arrogance get in the way of victory causing him to make the mistake of attempting the People's Elbow on the Rock, as the Rock countered with a Rock Bottom to seal the victory.^[172]

Brock Lesnar faces off with John Cena after his return in April 2012.

The following night on Raw, Cena would address the Rock, with the crowd chanting "Your a Loser". Stating that though he lost his career's most important match, he would own up and accept his loss. Cena would call out the Rock to congratulate him only to be interrupted by Brock Lesnar, who proceeded to hit Cena with an F5.^[173] On the April 9 episode of Raw Cena attacked Lesnar at the opening,^[174] after John Laurinaitis announced that Cena would face Lesnar at the main event of Extreme Rules.^[175] John defeated David Otunga later in the main event only to get hit with another F5 by Lesnar.^[176] On April 16, it was announced on WWE.com that Lesnar versus Cena would be an Extreme Rules match.^[177] On the next episode of Raw, Cena was confronted by Edge who would acknowledge Cena's loss to the Rock causing him to have a lack of focus, Edge would go on to tell Cena to wake up from his loss to the Rock and beat Brock Lesnar for all the superstars that supported the WWE is Lesnar's absence.^[178] Later that night, Cena showed his lack of confidence by bringing a chain to the contract signing and refusing to fight Lesnar.^[179] Cena received a Kimura lock and lacerations to the head during the match, but managed a victory against Lesnar,^[180] though he strained the muscles in his arm.^[181] This dovetailed into a rivalry with John Laurinaitis, who was angered at Cena because of his victory against Lesnar and his mockery and declared himself as Cena's opponent at Over the Limit.^[182] Cena would go on to lose the match against Lauranitis due to interference from Big Show. ^[183] The following night on Raw, Lauranitis would announce that Cena would be facing Show at No Way Out.^[184]

Other media[link]

Film[link]

Cena, with actual Marines, at the premiere of his film The Marine.

WWE Studios, a division of WWE which produces and finances motion pictures, produced Cena's first movie — The Marine, which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13, 2006. In its first week, the film made approximately US$7 million at the United States box office.^[185] After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7 million.^[185] Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million in rentals in the first twelve weeks.^[185]

John Cena filming on the set of 12 Rounds.

His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was 12 Rounds.^[186] Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans;^[186][187] the film was released on March 27, 2009.

Cena co-starred in his third film produced by WWE Studios, titled Legendary, which was played in selected theaters starting on September 10, 2010, for a limited time,^[188] then it was released on DVD on September 28, 2010.^[189]

That same year, Cena starred in the children's film Fred: The Movie, a film based on Lucas Cruikshank's YouTube videos of the same name, where he plays Fred's father.^[190] The movie was released on the Nickelodeon channel in September 2010.^[191]

Guest appearances[link]

Before his WWE debut, Cena made an appearance on the Internet stream show Go Sick as Bruebaker, an angry, cursing wrestler in 2001.^[192]

During his WWE career, Cena has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! three times. Cena has also appeared on morning radio shows; including the CBS and XM versions of Opie and Anthony as part of their "walkover" on October 10, 2006. Other appearances have included Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Fuse's Celebrity Playlist, Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period, MADtv, G4's Training Camp (with Shelton Benjamin), and two appearances on MTV's Punk'd (August 2006 and May 2007), as the victim of a practical joke. He also served as a co-presenter, with Hulk Hogan, at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, as a guest judge during the third week of the 2006 season of Nashville Star, and appeared at the 2007 Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards.^[193]

In January 2007, Cena, Batista, and Ashley Massaro appeared representing WWE on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,^[194] giving the children of the family whose house was being renovated WWE merchandise and eight tickets to WrestleMania 23.^[195] Two months later, he and Bobby Lashley appeared on the NBC game show Deal or No Deal as "moral support" to long time WWE fan and front row staple, Rick "Sign Guy" Achberger. Edge and Randy Orton also appeared, but as antagonists.^[196] On April 9, 2008, Cena, along with fellow wrestlers Triple H and Chris Jericho, appeared on the Idol Gives Back fund-raising special.^[197] In March 2009, Cena made an appearance on Saturday Night Live during the show's cold opening sequence.^[198] On March 7, 2009, he was a guest on NPR's quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in a Not My Job sequence titled "Sure, pro wrestling is a good gig, but when you win, do they throw teddy bears into the ring?"^[199]

Television[link]

In 2001, between his training in Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling,^[21] Cena was involved in the UPN produced reality show Manhunt. Cena portrayed Big Tim Kingman, leader of the group of bounty hunters who chased down the contestants who acted as fugitives. The show, however, was mired in controversy when it was alleged that the portions of the show were rigged to eliminate certain players, scenes were re-shot or staged to enhance drama and contestants read from scripts.^{[200][201][202]}

Cena was also featured on the ABC reality series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, which aired in June 2007,^[203] making it to the final round before being eliminated on June 24, placing third in the competition overall.^[204]

In 2007 Cena was also interviewed for the CNN Special Investigations Unit documentary, "Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling", which focused on steroid and drug use in professional wrestling. When asked if he had taken steroids he was heard to reply, "I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never prove that I have."^[205] The day after the documentary aired WWE accused CNN of taking Cena's comments out of context to present a biased point of view, backing up their claim by posting an unedited video of his answering the same question—filmed by WWE cameras from another angle—in which he is heard beginning the same statement with "Absolutely not".^[206] A text interview on the website with Cena later had him saying the news outlet should apologize for misrepresenting him,^[207] which CNN refused in a statement, saying they felt the true answer to the question began with the phrase "My answer to that question".^[208] They did, however, edit the documentary on subsequent airings to include the "Absolutely not".^[208]

Cena hosted the Australian Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards with Natalie Bassingthwaighte on October 11, 2008 in Melbourne, Australia.^[209]