Today In History
Historical Events
1804 – Jean Victor Marie Moreau, French general who plotted to overthrow Napoleon in the Pichegru Conspiracy, arrested, and exiled to the United States
1903 – President Theodore Roosevelt signs bill into law establishing US Department of Commerce and Labor
1973 – Muhammad Ali beats British heavyweight boxing champion Joe Bugner by unanimous points decision in 12 rounds at Las Vegas Convention Centre
1989 – World’s 1st satellite Skyphone opens
1991 – NL Cy Young winner Doug Drabek wins record $3 mil salary arbitration
1993 – 35th Daytona 500: Dale Jarrett, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, wins from Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine
Famous Birthdays
1515 – Frederick III, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine, born in Simmern, Germany (d. 1576)
1941 – Paul Tsongas, American politician (Sen-D-Mass), born in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 1997)
1945 – Vic Briggs, British guitarist (The Animals, 1966-68), and producer; later known as Antion Vikram Singh, he created Sikhi devotional and Hawaiian music, born in Twickenham, England (d. 2021)
1972 – Drew Bledsoe, American football quarterback (4 × Pro Bowl; NFL passing yards leader 1994 NE Patriots), born in Ellensburg, Washington
1978 – Dean Gaffney, British actor, born in Hammersmith, London
1994 – Paul Butcher, American actor, born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1929 – Tom Burke, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 400m 1896), dies at 53
1990 – Graeme Hole, Australian cricket batsman (18 Tests, 6 x 50; NSW CA), dies from cancer at 59
1996 – Lady Caroline Blackwood, British journalist and writer (The Last of the Duchess), dies at 64
1996 – Eva Hart, British Titanic passenger, one of last living survivors, dies at 91
2014 – Ferry Hoogendijk, Dutch politician and editor-in-chief of “Elsevier”, dies at 80
2021 – Ion Mihai Pacepa, Romanian three-star general in the Securitate, who defected to the US, dies of Covid-19 at 92
Historical Events
1865 – Congress passes, by a vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States except as punishment for a crime
1924 – Herma Szabo of Austria wins the ladies figure skating gold medal at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; only women’s event at the Games
1925 – Premier Ahmed Zogu becomes president of Angola
1944 – US forces invade Kwajalein Atoll
1961 – USAF launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights
1966 – USSR launches Luna 9 towards Moon
1972 – British Home Secretary Reginald Maudling to House of Commons on ‘Bloody Sunday’, “The Army returned the fire directed at them with aimed shots and inflicted a number of casualties on those who were attacking them with firearms and with bombs”
1981 – 38th Golden Globes: Ordinary People, Robert De Niro, and Mary Tyler Moore win
2010 – 26th Sundance Film Festival: “Winter’s Bone”, directed by Debra Granik, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
2015 – Atlanta Hawks set a new NBA monthly win record as they move to 17-0 for January, with a 91-85 win against the Philadelphia 76ers
Famous Birthdays
1688 – Maria Louise van Hessen-Kassel [Marijke Meu], Princess of Orange and ancestor of all currently reigning monarchs in Europe, born in Kassel (d. 1765)
1862 – Bernard Maybeck, American architect (Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco), born in New York City (d. 1957)
1904 – Milton Krims, American screenwriter (Prince of Foxes), born in New York City (d. 1988)
1919 – Desmond Doss, American soldier and 1st conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor who was the subject of the film Hacksaw Ridge, born in Lynchburg, Virginia (d. 2006)
1924 – Johnny Jordaan [Johannes van Musscher], Dutch pop and levenslied singer, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1989)
1935 – Herb Kohl, American businessman (Kohls department stores; Milwaukee Bucks, 1985-2014), politician (US Senator (D) from Wisconsin, 1989-2013), and philanthropist, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2023)
1954 – Dieter Bohlen, German pop singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality, born in Berne, West Germany
1975 – Alexandre Daigle, NHL center (Ottawa Senators), born in Montreal, Quebec
1979 – Cerina Vincent, American actress (Stuck In The Middle), and author (Hot Chick books), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
1992 – Maimi Yajima, Japanese J-pop singer (lead singer of Cute) and actress, born in Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Famous Deaths
869 – Saint Cyril [Constantine], Greek Byzantine Christian monk, missionary to the Slavs, scholar, linguist, and namesake of the Cyrillic alphabet, dies at about 42 (birthdate unconfirmed)27)
1737 – Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot of Hensol, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1685)
1845 – Joseph Lakanal, French Politician and Educator, dies at 82
1949 – Yusuf Salman Yusuf, Iraqi-Assyrian communist leader (b. 1901)
1975 – Julian S. Huxley, English biologist, 1st director-general of UNESCO, dies at 87
2015 – Philip Levine, American poet (1995 Pulitzer prize), dies at 87
2022 – Sandy Nelson, American rock drummer (“Teen Beat”; “Let There Be Drums”), dies of stroke complications at 83
2023 – Friedrich Cerha, Austrian composer (Baal) and conductor (Ensemble Die Reihe), dies at 96
2023 – Charley Ferguson, American football tight end (AFL All-Star 1965; AFL C’ship 1964, 65; Buffalo Bills), dies at 83
2024 – Don Gullett, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1970-78 (3 x World Series Champion – Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees), dies at 73