Today In History
Historical Events
1904 – Charles Klein’s “The Music Master” premieres in New York City
1982 – Larry Grossman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green’s musical “A Doll’s Life” closes at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, NYC, after 5 performances
1989 – Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze calls for the total destruction of Soviet and US chemical weapons
1997 – An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi to collapse
2019 – WHO announces 800,000 children in DR Congo will be vaccinated in nine days in the world’s largest measles epidemic that has taken over 3,500 lives
Famous Birthdays
1688 – Willem ‘s-Gravesande, Dutch mathematician and physicist, born in s-Hertogenbosch, Duchy of Brabant (d. 1742)
1932 – Giacomo Manzoni, Italian composer, born in Milan, Italy
1945 – Louise Beaudoin, French Canadian politician, born in Quebec City, Quebec
1956 – Steve Butler, American auto racer (USAC Silver Crown Champion 1988, 1992; USAC Sprint Car Champion 1986-88, 1990), born in Amarillo, Texas
1979 – Jaycie Phelps, American gymnast (Olympic gold team 1996), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
Famous Deaths
1023 – Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine (1012-23), dies at about 58
1620 – Taichang Emperor [Zhu Changluo], 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, dies at 38
1944 – Ernst Isler, Swiss organist and critic, dies at 64
1982 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 11 wickets, BB 4/22; Queensland), dies at 80
2006 – Tokyo Rose [Iva Toguri D’Aquino], American-born Japanese propagandist (WWII), dies at 90
Historical Events
1371 – A small Ottoman force makes a devastating surprise night raid on the Serbian camp by the Maritsa River, killing thousands of drunken soldiers, including Serbian King Vukašin Mrnjavčević and his brother, Despot Jovan Uglješa
1824 – Kapiolani defies Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, and lives
1901 – Boer General Botha fails to capture Fort Itala in Natal
1917 – British assault on Menin Street, France
1979 – 1984 Summer Los Angeles Olympic coverage is sold to ABC for $225 million
1993 – French Williams driver Alain Prost finishes second in the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril to clinch his fourth F1 World Drivers’ Championship; after the race, Prost announces his retirement at the end of the season
1994 – Switzerland bans racist propaganda
2019 – Abortion is decriminalized in New South Wales, the last remaining Australian state to do so
Famous Birthdays
1894 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (Long Pants, Oliver Twist), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1929)
1925 – Marty Robbins, American country singer (“El Paso”; “Devil Woman”; “I Walk Alone”), born in Glendale, Arizona (d. 1982)
1926 – Manfred Mayrhofer, Austrian Indo-European philologist (Indo-Iranian languages), born in Linz, Austria (d. 2011)
1927 – Carolyn Brown, American dancer, and choreographer (founding member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company), born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts (d. 2025)
1927 – Robert Blackburn, Irish educationist (International Baccalaureate Organisation), born in Kilkenny, Ireland (d. 1990)
1939 – Judith Appelbaum, American magazine and newspaper editor and educator, born in New York (d. 2018)
1945 – Gal Costa, Brazilian bossa nova and Tropicália singer, born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (d. 2022)
1965 – Alexandra Lencastre, Portuguese actress (Ana e os Sete, A Única Mulher), born in Lisbon, Portugal
1969 – Aurelio [Martínez], Honduran folk-rock and Garifuna music singer-songwriter, and politician, born in Plaplaya, Honduras (d. 2025)
1970 – Rachel Jacobs, American actress (It’s Not Easy), born in Ririe, Idaho
Famous Deaths
1417 – Francesco Zabarella, Italian cardinal and jurist, dies at 57
1620 – Taichang Emperor [Zhu Changluo], 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, dies at 38
1780 – Bernard Paul Moll, German diplomat, map collector and cartographer, dies at 83
1959 – S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, 4th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (1956-59), assassinated by a Buddhist monk at 60
1961 – Juanita Hansen, actress (Fast Company), dies of heart ailment at 67
1979 – John Cromwell, American actor and director (Spitfire, Of Human Bondage), dies at 91
1990 – Alberto Moravia [Pincherle], Italian writer (Woman in Red), dies at 82
1996 – Mark Frankel, British actor (Leon the Pig Farmer), dies in a motorcycle accident at 34
2011 – Harry Muskee, Dutch blues-rock vocalist (Cuby and Blizzards), dies of cancer at 70
2018 – Roger Robinson, American stage actor (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Some Old Black Man), dies at 78