Today In History
Historical Events
1965 – US soap opera “Days of Our Lives” premieres
1977 – Harvey Milk becomes the first openly gay person elected to public office in California, winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
1984 – NASA astronaut Anna Lee Fisher becomes the first mother to go into orbit when she flies on the STS-51A mission
1989 – Hong Kong’s MTR Lam Tin Station comes into service
2018 – Authorities report more than 150 people have been killed in week-long assault by government forces on port of Hudaydah in Yemen
Famous Birthdays
1904 – Horace Mann Bond, American educator, administrator (President of Lincoln University (Pa), 1945-57), and historian, born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1972)
1921 – Douglas Townsend, American composer, born in Manhattan, New York City (d. 2012)
1924 – Joe Flynn, American character actor (McHale’s Navy – “Capt. Binghamton; The Love Bug; The Rescuers), born in Youngstown, Ohio (d. 1974)
1968 – Parker Posey, American actress (Party Girl, Superman Returns), born in Baltimore, Maryland
1991 – DanTDM [Daniel Middleton], British professional gamer and YouTube personality (The Diamond Minecraft), born in Aldershot, England
Famous Deaths
1830 – Francis I, King of the Two Sicilies (1825-30), dies at 53
1876 – Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, Queen consort of Spain (1870-73), dies at 29
1944 – Walter Nowotny, Austrian-born fighter pilot ace (258 aerial victories for Luftwaffe), dies in a plane crash at 23
1978 – Norman Rockwell, American artist and illustrator (Saturday Evening Post covers), dies at 84
1994 – Michael O’Donoghue, American comedy writer (SNL), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 54
Historical Events
1575 – French Roman Catholics and Huguenots sign treaty
1576 – Eighty Years’ War: Pacification of Ghent – 17 Dutch provinces sign anti-Spanish covenant
1598 – Spanish troops under Bernardino de Mendoza conquer Doetinchem
1798 – Irish revolutionary Wolfe Tone is sentenced to death by hanging for his part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Tone requests to be shot instead so as to die a soldier’s death.
1873 – Ciro Pinsuti’s opera “Il mercante di Venezia”, based on William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” is first performed, at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Italy
1967 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1990 – Unconfirmed rumors emerge that Bush might announce an airlift of supplies to US embassy in Kuwait, which could ultimately trigger a military clash
2017 – In unprecedented move, Indian officials close all Delhi schools for rest of the week due to smog
Famous Birthdays
1723 – John Byron, British Royal Navy officer and explorer who circumnavigated the globe, grandfather to the poet, born in the United Kingdom (d. 1786)
1885 – Emil Fahrenkamp, German architect (Shell-Haus in Berlin), born in Aachen, Germany (d. 1966)
1928 – Des Corcoran, Australian politician (Premier of South Australia. 1979; Member of Parliament, 1962-82), born in Millicent, South Australia (d. 2004)
1931 – Morley Safer, Canadian-American TV newscaster (60 Minutes), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2016)
1935 – Alfonso López Trujillo, Colombian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, born in Villahermosa, Colombia (d. 2008)
1936 – Claudio Bravo Camus, Chilean born painter, born in Valparaiso, Chile (d. 2011)
1962 – Joe Lombardo, American former law enforcement officer (Sheriff of Clark County (Nevada), 2015-23), and politician (31st Governor of Nevada, 2023-present), born in Sapporo, Japan
1974 – Seishi Kishimoto, Japanese manga author, born in Nagi, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
1982 – Mika Kallio, Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer, born in Valkeakoski, Finland
1987 – Erica Mena, American TV personality (Love and Hip Hop: New York), born in New York City
Famous Deaths
1228 – Dirk I, ruler of Heinsberg/Valkenburg, dies
1860 – Charles Fellows, English Archaeologist who discovered ruins of the cities of ancient Lycia and brought to Lycian marbles to England, dies at 61
1880 – Jacob Edvard Gille, Swedish composer, dies at 66
1917 – Colyn Blythe, English cricketer (2509 F-C wickets), dies at 38 fighting during WW I
1984 – Carl Gustav Sparre Olsen, Norwegian composer, dies at 81
1986 – Vyacheslav Molotov [Skryabin], Russian politician (Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1939-49, 1953-6), dies at 96
1988 – Kingman Brewster, American educator and president of Yale University, dies at 69
1990 – Grampy Davis, American actor, dies of a heart attack at 87
1999 – Lester Bowie, American jazz trumpeter, dies at 58
2000 – Brian Boydell, Irish composer, dies at 83