Today In History
Historical Events
1954 – Integration begins in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, public schools
1986 – Desmond Tutu becomes Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa
2008 – 25th MTV Video Music Awards: Britney Spears and Chris Brown win
2013 – Tony Abbott becomes Prime Minister of Australia after the Liberal-National Coalition wins the election
2013 – Fourteen Syrian rebels and two civilians are killed by heavy government shelling in Damascus
Famous Birthdays
1951 – Morris Albert [Maurício Alberto Kaisermann], Brazilian singer (“Feelings”), born in São Paulo, Brazil
1951 – Chrissie Hynde, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Pretenders – “Brass In Pocket”), born in Akron, Ohio
1967 – Leslie Jones, American comedian and actress (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters), born in Memphis, Tennessee
1976 – Oliver Hudson, American actor (Rules of Engagement), born in Los Angeles, California
1983 – Mehmet Topuz, Turkisher footballer (Kayserispor), born in Caferli Köyü, Yozgat, Turkey
Famous Deaths
1775 – Johann Georg Holzbogen, German violinist and composer, dies at 48
1920 – Simon-Napoléon Parent, Canadian politician and 12th Premier of Quebec (1900-05), dies at 64
1944 – Eduardo Sanchez de Fuentes, Cuban composer, dies at 70
1994 – Terence Young, British film director (Dr No, Thunderball), dies of at 79
2008 – Miljenko “Dino” Dvornik, Croatian singer known as “the Croatian King of Funk”, dies of an overdose at 44
Historical Events
1812 – Battle of Borodino: Napoleon Bonaparte wins a Pyrrhic victory against Russian General Mikhail Kutuzov in the most ferocious battle of the Napoleonic era; 70,000 are killed
1942 – First flight of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator
1952 – Outfielder Don Grate of Tennessee throws a baseball a record 434 ft 1 in (132.3 m)
1954 – Integration begins in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, public schools
1966 – KTNE TV Channel 13 in Alliance, NE (PBS) begins broadcasting
1972 – East German sprinter Renate Stecher runs a world record-equaling 22.40 in the 200 m final to repeat her 100 m win over Australia’s Raelene Boyle at the Munich Olympics
1986 – Desmond Tutu becomes Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa
1991 – Die Laughing wins Messenger Stakes
Famous Birthdays
1524 – Thomas Erastus, Swiss physician and theologist, born in Baden, Switzerland (d. 1583)
1805 – Samuel Wilberforce, English bishop and one of the greatest public speakers of his day (remembered for his opposition to Darwin’s theory of evolution), born in London (d. 1873)
1887 – Edith Sitwell, English poet and author (Wheels), born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire (d. 1964)
1940 – Abdurrahman Wahid, 4th President of Indonesia, born in Denanyar, East Java, Dutch East Indies (d. 2009)
1951 – Mark McCumber, American golfer (10 PGA Tour titles; Tour C’ship 1994), born in Jacksonville, Florida
1971 – Briana Scurry, American soccer goalkeeper (175 caps; Olympic gold 1996, 2004; FIFA World Cup gold 1999; Atlanta Beat, Washington Freedom), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1975 – Bess Wohl, American playwright (Grand Horizons; Liberation), screenwriter, and actress, born in Brooklyn, New York City
1980 – Sara Carrigan, Australian cyclist (Olympic gold, road race 2004), born in Gunnedah, New South Wales
1983 – Mehmet Topuz, Turkisher footballer (Kayserispor), born in Caferli Köyü, Yozgat, Turkey
1998 – Cindy Ngamba, Cameroon-born UK refugee (1st refugee athlete to win an Olympic medal – 2024 Olympic Bronze Boxing), born in Cameroon
Famous Deaths
1799 – Louis Guillaume Lemonnier, French botanist and contributor to the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, dies at 82
1819 – Jean-Louis Duport, French cellist and composer, dies at 69
1929 – Frederic Weatherly, British barrister, author, translator, and lyricist (“Danny Boy”, “The Holy City”, “Roses of Picardy”), dies at 80
1939 – Kyoka Izumi, Japanese novelist and kabuki playwright, dies at 65
1961 – Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy [Gerbrandij], Dutch lawyer, resistance fighter, and Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1940-45), dies at 76
2001 – Igor Buketoff, American conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra, 1964-65), dies at 86
2002 – Erma Franklin, American gospel and RandB singer (“Piece Of My Heart”), dies at 64
2016 – Norbert Schemansky, American weightlifter (Olympic gold heavyweight 1952, silver 1948, bronze 1960, 64), dies at 92
2017 – John Maxwell Geddes, Scottish composer and pedagogue, dies at 76
2025 – John Penton, American motorcycle racer and designer considered “the godfather of off-road motorcycling”, dies at 100