Today In History
Historical Events
1914 – Boston Braves begin drive from last to the NL pennant with a 3-2 win against the 2nd placed Cincinnati Reds
1942 – Transport #7 departs Drancy, France with 999 French Jews sent to Auschwitz Concentration camp; 17 survive until the war’s end
1980 – XXII Summer Olympic Games open in Moscow, Russia; led by United States, 66 nations boycott event because of Soviet-Afghan war
1998 – British Open Men’s Golf, Royal Birkdale GC: Mark O’Meara wins his 2nd major championship of the year (Masters) and first Open title by 2 in a 4-hole aggregate playoff with fellow American Brian Watts
2001 – Michael Brunet discovers the skull of Sahelanthropus tchadensis in the Djurab Desert, Chad, one of the oldest known species in the human family tree and 6-7 million years old
Famous Birthdays
1742 – Jean-Baptiste Davaux, French classical composer, born in La Côte-Saint-André, France (d. 1822)
1877 – Arthur Fielder, English cricket fast bowler (6 Tests 1903-08), born in Plaxtol, Tonbridge, Kent (d. 1949)
1894 – Joris van Severen, Flemish politician and founder of the Alliance of Dietsche National Solidarists, born in Wakken, Belgium (d. 1940)
1929 – Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, French historian (Carnival in Romans; Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error), born in Les Moutiers-en-Cinglais, France (d. 2023)
1961 – Maria Filatova, Soviet gymnast (Olympic 1976, 80 Gold), born in Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia
Famous Deaths
1545 – George Carew, English admiral, drowns
1625 – Samuel Besler, German-Polish composer, dies at 50
1939 – Rose Hartwick Thorpe, American poet (Curfew Must Not Ring) and writer, dies at 89
1989 – Kazimierz Sabbat, President of the Republic of Poland in Exile (1986-89), dies at 76
2013 – Poncie Ponce, American actor (Hawaiian Eye), dies of heart failure at 80
Historical Events
1870 – France declares war on Prussia; Franco-Prussian war begins
1884 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Maud Watson becomes inaugural female champion by beating her sister Lillian Watson 6–8, 6–3, 6–3
1908 – Dutch football club Feyenoord is established in Rotterdam as Wilhelmina; reverts to SC Feijenoord 1912; updated to SC Feyenoord 1974 and to Feyenoord Rotterdam 1978
1951 – “2 in the Aisle” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 276 performances
1967 – First air-conditioned NYC subway car (R-38 on the F line)
1977 – 48th MLB All-Star Game, Yankee Stadium, NYC, NY: NL wins, 7-5; MVP: Don Sutton, LA Dodgers, P
1979 – Patricia Harris becomes sect of HEW
1992 – “Price” closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 47 performances
Famous Birthdays
1800 – Juan José Flores, General and first President of Ecuador (1839-1845), born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela (d. 1864)
1890 – George II, King of Greece (1922-24 and 1935-47), born at Tatoi Palace in Parnitha, Kingdom of Greece (d. 1947)
1900 – Roscoe [Charles Barnet] Harvey, British soldier, born in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo (d. 1996)
1905 – Boyd Neel, English conductor (Story of an Orchestra), born in Blackheath, London (d. 1981)
1936 – Lucha Reyes ‘Morena de Oro’, Peruvian singer (Siempre criolla), born in Lima, Peru (d. 1973)
1938 – Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist (Hoyle–Narlikar theory), born in Maharashtra, India
1941 – Neelie Kroes, Dutch politician (VVD) (European Commissioner, 2004-14; Minister of Transport, 1982-89; House of Representatives, 1971-78, 1981-82, 1986) , born in Rotterdam, Netherlands-
1961 – Lisa Lampanelli, American stand-up comedian, insult comic, and actress (New York Friars’ Club, The Howard Stern Show, The Celebrity Apprentice 5), born in Trumbull, Connecticut
1973 – Saïd Taghmaoui, French actor (La Haine, Wonder Woman), born in Villepinte, France
1982 – Jared Padalecki, American actor (Supernatural, Gilmore Girls, Fire Country), born in San Antonio, Texas
Famous Deaths
1543 – Lady Mary Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII of England
1852 – Anne François Mellinet, French-Belgian general (Antwerp), dies at 83
1918 – Joost van Vollenhoven, Dutch-French colonial administrator (French West Africa) and solider, dies in the Second Battle of the Marne at 40
1951 – Max Ettinger, Jewish-German composer (Jiddische Requiem), dies at 77
1954 – Jean Roger-Ducasse, French composer, dies at 81
1990 – Lluís Maria Millet, Catalan composer, and musical director (Catalan Orfeón, 1945-77), dies at 84
1992 – Allen Newell, American computer scientist (Logic Theory Machine, General Problem Solver, Turing Award), dies at 65
1995 – Michael Andrews, British painter, dies at 66
2003 – Pierre Graber, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1970–1978), dies at 94
2014 – Peter Marquardt, American actor (El Mariachi), dies at 50