Today In History
Historical Events
833 – Louis the Pious, King of the Franks, performs public act of penance at the Church of Saint Medard in Soissons
1946 – Bradman scores 106 for an Australian XI v the MCC
2000 – Philippine House Speaker Manuel B. Villar, Jr. passes the articles of impeachment against Philippine President Joseph Estrada
2001 – War on Terrorism: In the first such act since World War II, US President George W. Bush signs an executive order allowing military tribunals against foreigners suspected of connections to terrorist acts or planned acts on the United States.
2001 – Doha Round: The World Trade Organization ends a four-day ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar
Famous Birthdays
1801 – Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen consort of Prussia (1840-61), born in Munich, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1873)
1854 – George Whitfield Chadwick, American composer (Judi Van Winke), born in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 1931)
1874 – Henry Kolker, German-American actor and director (Holiday, Baby Face, Mad Love), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1947)
1946 – Ray Wylie Hubbard, American country and blues-rock singer-songwriter, born in Soper, Oklahoma
1954 – Chris Noth, American actor (Sex and the City, Law and Order), born in Madison, Wisconsin
Famous Deaths
1314 – Albert II, Margrave of Meissen
1997 – Dawud M. Mu’Min, American murderer (b. 1953)
1998 – Valerie Hobson, British actress (Great Expectations), dies at 81
1999 – Jaswick Taylor, West Indian cricket fast bowler (3 Tests, 10 wickets; 5/109 in Test debut 1958; Trinidad and Tobago), dies at 67
2017 – Bobby Doerr, American Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman (9 x MLB All Star; Boston Red Sox), dies at 99
Historical Events
1565 – Pope Pius IV publishes decree Professi fidei
1909 – Ben Simpson of Hamilton Tigers kicks 9 singles in 14-4 win over the Argos at Rosedale Field in Toronto
1941 – German military-intelligence service Abwehr meets with Yugoslav Chetnik guerilla leader Draza Mihailovic
1955 – Argentine general Pedro Aramburu succeeds E Lonardi as president
1985 – Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupts in Colombia, killing 25,000 in the town of Armero
1991 – Boston Red Sox Roger Clemens wins AL Cy Young Award
2002 – Eminem releases the single ‘Lose Yourself’ from the soundtrack of “8 Mile”, the first rap song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song
2024 – Historical epic film “Gladiator II,” directed and produced by Ridley Scott and starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington, receives a royal premiere with King Charles III in London
Famous Birthdays
1894 – Arthur Nebe, German SS officer and Holocaust perpetrator who took part in assassination plot against of Adolf Hitler, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1945)
1930 – Fred Harris, American politician (US Senator from Oklahoma, 1964-73), born in Walters, Oklahoma (d. 2024)
1934 – Jimmy Fontana [Enrico Sbriccoli], Italian singer-songwriter (“Il Mondo”, “Che sarà”), and actor, born in Camerino, Italy (d. 2013)
1942 – John P Hammond, American blues singer and guitarist (“So Many Roads”; “Wicked Grin”), born in New York City (d. 2026)
1943 – Jay Sigel, American golfer (US Amateur C’ship 1982-83), born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (d. 2025)
1944 – Ken Shuttleworth, English cricket fast bowler (5 Tests, 12 wickets, BB 5/37; Lancashire CCC, Leicestershire CCC), born in St Helens, England (d. 2025)
1953 – Tracy Scoggins, actress (Colbys, Gumshoe Kid), born in Galveston, Texas
1954 – Scott McNealy, American co-founder and CEO of Sun Microsystems, born in Columbus, Indiana
1971 – Noah Hathaway, American actor (Troll, The NeverEnding Story), born in Los Angeles, California
1972 – Takuya Kimura, Japanese singer and actor (SMAP), born in Tokyo, Japan
Famous Deaths
1319 – Erik VI Menved, king of Denmark (1286-1319), dies
1606 – Geronimo Mercuriali, Italian philologist and physician, wrote the first book on sports medicine “De Arte Gymnastica”, dies at 76
1726 – Princess Sophia Dorothea of Celle, repudiated wife of future King George I of Great Britain, and mother of George II, dies at 60
1909 – Aeneas Mackay, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1888-91), dies at 70
1983 – (Alvin) “Junior” Samples, American comedian and country singer (Hee Haw), dies of a heart attack at 57
1992 – Lucrecia Perez, Dominicans in Spain (Racist Murder), dies at 33
1997 – André Boucourechliev, Bulgarian-French composer, dies at 72
1999 – Donald Mills, American jazz and pop singer and vocal trombone (The Mills Brothers – “Paper Doll”, “Up A Lazy River”, “The Glow-Worm”), dies of pneumonia at 84
2001 – Raphaël Sommer, Czech cellist, and educator, dies of an aortic aneurysm at 64
2021 – Emi Wada [Noguchi Emiko], Japanese costume designer (Ran, Oedipus Rex), dies at 84