Väinö Siikaniemi, Finnish javelin thrower, poet, and translator (d. 1932)
Väinö Villiam Siikaniemi (27 March 1887 – 24 August 1932) was a Finnish athlete who competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He finished fifth in the conventional javelin throw and won the silver medal in the two-handed javelin throw, a one-time Olympic event in which the total was counted as a sum of best throws with the right hand and with the left hand.Siikaniemi retired from sports after the 1912 Games and became a math teacher, poet and translator. In 1923 he published his first poem and 1929 a collection of poetry. In 1916 he married singer Oili Silventoinen (1888–1932) and later also wrote lyrics for songs. He died of pneumonia, aged 45. It was said that he caught a cold during a marathon swim, which he took in an attempt to fight depression caused by a sudden death of his wife two weeks earlier.
1887Mar, 27
Väinö Siikaniemi
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Events on 1887
- 20Jan
Pearl Harbor
The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base. - 2Feb
Groundhog Day
In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed. - 10Apr
Pope Leo XIII
On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of the Catholic University of America. - 28Apr
Guillaume Schnaebelé
A week after being arrested by the Prussian Secret Police, French police inspector Guillaume Schnaebelé is released on order of William I, German Emperor, defusing a possible war. - 11Nov
Haymarket affair
August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer and George Engel are executed as a result of the Haymarket affair.