Today In History
Historical Events
1913 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands opens the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, an international law administrative building housing the Permanent Court of Arbitration
1967 – Asif Iqbal and Intikhab Alam make a 190-run stand for the 9th wicket against England
1977 – NY Yankee Ron Guidry faces just 28 batters in 1-0 win over Texas Rangers
2009 – Noel Gallagher, the guitarist of the British pop-rock band Oasis, quits the band, citing an inability to be with his brother Liam
2017 – North Korea launches a missile that flies over Japan, and the country’s J-Alert warning system warns people to take cover
Famous Birthdays
1828 – William Alexander Hammond, American military physician and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Annapolis, Maryland (d. 1900)
1892 – Elizabeth Hirsh Fleisher, American architect (Parkway House), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1975)
1915 – Max Robertson, British sports commentator (BBC Radio), born in Dacca, Bengal (d. 2009)
1966 – Jerry Fehily, Irish drummer (Hothouse Flowers – “Don’t Go”; “Thing Of Beauty”), born in Cork, Ireland
1970 – Rick Recht, Jewish-American rock singer-songwriter (“Tear Down The Walls”), born in St. Louis, Missouri
Famous Deaths
1798 – James Wilson, One of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, dies at 55
1927 – Li Dazhao [Ta-chao], Chinese intellectual, revolutionary and co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party with Chen Duxiu, executed as a political prisoner at 37
1937 – Frederick Burr Opper, American pioneering cartoonist (Happy Hooligan), dies at 80
2013 – Rob du Bois, Dutch composer, dies at 79
2025 – Randy Boone, American actor (Cimarron Strip, The Virginian), dies at 83
Historical Events
1907 – United Parcel Service is founded by James E. Casey in Seattle, Washington
1949 – Riot prevents Paul Robeson from singing near Peekskill, New York
1968 – Police and anti-war demonstrators clash at Chicago’s Democratic National Convention
1970 – “I’ll Be There” single by The Jackson 5 is released (Billboard Song of the Year 1970)
2011 – 28th MTV Video Music Awards: Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber win
2016 – Canadian Open Women’s Golf at Priddis Green Country Club: Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand wins by four strokes over Kim Sei-young of South Korea
2017 – North Korea launches a missile that flies over Japan, and the country’s J-Alert warning system warns people to take cover
2018 – Chinese ride-sharing firm Didi Chuxing issues a public apology after a second Hitch passenger is killed within three months
Famous Birthdays
1476 – Kanō Motonobu, Japanese painter and calligrapher (Kanō school of painting), born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 1559)
1905 – Sam Levene, American Broadway actor (Demon, Gung Ho, Boomerang), born in Russia (d. 1980)
1921 – John Herbert Chapman, Canadian physicist, and space researcher, born in London, Ontario (d. 1979)
1921 – Johan “Joop” Doderer, Dutch actor (Swiebertje; My Fair Lady), born in Velsen, Netherlands (d. 2005)
1931 – Cristina Deutekom [Stientje Engela], Dutch operatic coloratura soprano, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2014)
1958 – Scott Hamilton, American figure skater (Olympic gold singles 1984; World C’ship gold 1981, 82, 83, 84), born in Bowling Green, Ohio
1965 – Shania Twain [Eileen Edwards], Canadian Grammy Award-winning country music singer (“You’re Still The One”; “That Don’t Impress Me Much”; “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”), born in Windsor, Ontario
1973 – Theaster Gates, American installation artist, born in Chicago, Illinois
1980 – Rachel Khoo, English cook, author and broadcaster (The Little Paris Kitchen), born in London, England
1982 – Thiago Motta, Brazilian footballer, born in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
Famous Deaths
1618 – Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (1568–1618), dies at 65
1798 – James Wilson, One of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, dies at 55
1839 – William Smith, British geologist who is credited with creating the first nationwide geological map (Strata Identified by Organized Fossils), dies at 70
1910 – Paolo Mantegazza, Italian neurologist and anthropologist, dies at 78
1937 – Frederick Burr Opper, American pioneering cartoonist (Happy Hooligan), dies at 80
1948 – Eleni Gatzoyiannis, Greek heroine (subject of “Eleni” by son Nicholas Gage about how she saved her children), shot and killed by communists at 41
1964 – Lumsden Hare, Irish actor (Oregon Trail, Desert Fox, Young Bess), dies at 89
1987 – John Huston, US/Irish actor and director (Maltese Falcon), dies at 81
2018 – Tatyana Kuznetsova, Soviet cosmonaut (youngest person selected for space training at 20 but never flew), dies at 77
2023 – Len Chandler, American folk music singer-songwriter (“Beans in Ears”), and civil rights activist, dies at 88