Today In History
Historical Events
1540 – Holy Roman Emperor Charles V deprives the city Ghent of its definitive rights and privileges
1822 – Domitila de Castro meets her long-term lover Dom Pedro I, then Prince of Portugal and later Emperor of Brazil, for the first time in São Paulo
1906 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Newport, RI: William Clothier beats defending champion Beals Wright 6-3, 6-0, 6-4
1992 – Largest wrestling crowd outside the US: 75,000 at Wembley Stadium, London
2007 – 64th Venice Film Festival: “Lust, Caution” directed by Ang Lee wins Golden Lion
Famous Birthdays
1899 – George Macready, American actor (Martin Peyton-Peyton Place), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1973)
1917 – Isabel Sanford, American actress (Louise-Jeffersons/All in the Family), born in New York City (d. 2004)
1920 – Joseph Lesniewski, American Easy Company, soldier in 101st Airborne, born in Erie, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
1968 – Darren Joseph, Canadian football fullback (Saskatchewan Roughriders), born in Ottawa, Canada
1989 – Charlotte Richie, English actress (Call the Midwives; Ghosts; You) and singer, born in Clapham, London
Famous Deaths
1940 – Arthur De Greef, Belgian composer, dies at 77
1973 – Stringer Davis, English actress (Mouse on the Moon; Miranda), dies at about 77
1980 – Louis Darquier de Pellepoix, French politician and Nazi collaborator (anti-Semite minister in WWII Vichy government), dies at 92
1983 – William Goyen, American writer, dies at 68
2021 – Ed Asner, American Emmy Award-winning actor (The Mary Tyler Moore Show – “Mr. Grant”; Lou Grant, Roots; Up), and activist, dies at 91
Historical Events
1932 – United Cigar Stores shuts 800 shops
1954 – San Francisco International Airport (SFO) opens
1964 – James Baldwin’s stage drama “Blues for Mister Charlie,” directed by Burgess Meredith, closes at the ANTA Playhouse in NYC after 148 performances
1969 – Joe Pepitone quits NY Yankees after being fined $500 for leaving the bench
1982 – The synthetic chemical element Meitnerium, atomic number 109, is first synthesized at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany
1987 – 44th Venice Film Festival: “Au revoir les enfants” (“Goodbye, Children”), directed by Louis Malle, wins Golden Lion
2004 – 21st MTV Video Music Awards: OutKast, Beyoncé, and Usher, featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, win
2018 – Germany returns the human remains of Namibian Herero and Nama people killed during the 1904-08 genocide at a church service in Berlin
Famous Birthdays
1844 – Edward Carpenter, English poet and philosopher (Civilisation, Its Cause and Cure), born in Hove, Sussex, England (d. 1929)
1900 – Oscar Nitzchke, German architect (Alcoa building, Centre Pompidou), born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany (d. 1991)
1913 – Jackie Mitchell, American baseball pitcher, one of the first female pitchers in professional baseball history (Chattanooga Lookouts; National Baseball Hall of Fame, Women’s Sports Hall of Fame), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (d. 1987)
1913 – Sylvia Fine (Kaye), American lyricist (“Knock on Wood”, “The Five Pennies”), composer, Peabody Award and Emmy Award television producer (Musical Comedy Tonight), and wife of Danny Kaye, born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 1991)
1923 – Lester Trimble, American composer, music critic and educator, born in Bangor, Wisconsin (d. 1986)
1933 – Arnold Koller, Swiss politician (member of Swiss Federal Councilor), born in St. Gallen, Switzerland
1936 – Gilbert Amy, French composer (Mouvements; Épigrammes), conductor, and educator, born in Paris
1938 – Bobby Carcassés, Cuban jazz and Latin music singer, multi-instrumentalist, and bandleader, born in Kingston, Jamaica
1957 – Pim Kops, Dutch rock piano, organ and accordion player (De Dijk – Bloedend Hart; Avalanche Quartet), born in The Netherlands
1980 – William Levy, Cuban-American model and actor (The Single Mom’s Club), born in Havana, Cuba
Famous Deaths
1542 – Cristovão da Gama, Portuguese soldier who led a force with Ethiopia against the Adal Sultanate, captured and executed at 25 or 26
1769 – Edmond Hoyle, English games expert, dies (birth date unknown)
1782 – Richard Kempenfelt, Royal Navy Admiral drowns in sinking of HMS Royal George at about 64 (exact birthday uncertain)
1799 – Pope Pius VI [Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi], Italian Pope (1775-99), dies at 81
1853 – Charles Napier, British soldier and Major General of the Bombay Army who conquered Sindh and became its Governor (1843-47), dies at 71
1865 – John Brough, US publisher/(gov-R-Ohio), dies at about 54
1983 – Simon Oakland [Weiss], American stage and screen character actor (Toma; Kolchak), dies of colon cancer at 68
1991 – (Christina) “Dixie” Dunbar, American stage and screen dancer, singer and actress (George White’s Scandals; Pigskin Parade), dies of a heart attack at 72
2003 – Michel Constantin, French film actor, dies at 79
2018 – Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer (Paul Taylor Dance Company), dies at 88