Today In History
Historical Events
1633 – 14-year-old Mughal prince Aurangzeb, the future Emperor Alamgir I, survives an elephant attack
1958 – Battles between Turkish and Greeks Cypriots break out
1993 – 27th Music City News Country Awards: Alan Jackson and Vince Gill win
2016 – Iris Apfel is awarded the Women Together Special Award of the Year at the 12th Annual Women Together Gala in New York City
2018 – Mars Curiosity Rover finds organic matter, including methane, on Mars in studies published in journal “Science”
Famous Birthdays
1920 – Georges Marchais, French political leader (French Communist Party), born in La Hoguette, France (d. 1997)
1955 – William Forsythe, American actor (Raising Arizona; Once Upon a Time in America; Boardwalk Empire), born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
1960 – Jim Hartung, American gymnast (Olympic gold Team 1984), born in Omaha, Nebraska (d. 2026)
1976 – Cassidy Rae, American actress (Sarah-Models Inc, Clarissa), born in Clermont, Florida
1981 – Larisa Oleynik, American actress (10 Things I Hate About You, The Secret World of Alex Mack), born in Santa Clara County, California
Famous Deaths
1697 – John Aubrey, English antiquary, natural philosopher, and writer, dies from apoplexy at 71
1711 – Henry Dodwell, Irish theologian (b. 1641)
1936 – Stjepan Seljan, Croatian explorer, dies at 60
1945 – Nishida Kitaro, Japanese philosopher (Kyoto School), dies at 74
1965 – Judy Holliday, American comedienne and actress (Born Yesterday, Adam’s Rib), dies of cancer at 43
Historical Events
1898 – Social Democracy of America party holds 1st national convention, Chicago
1924 – George Leigh-Mallory disappears 775′ from Everest’s summit
1942 – Germany Army marches into Sebastopol, Russia
1962 – NASA civilian test pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 31,580 m
1980 – 112th Belmont Stakes: Eddie Maple aboard Temperence Hill wins in 2:29.8
1987 – Andy Van Slyke HRs off R McDowell in both ends of double header
1989 – For one second this morning, the time is 01:23:45, 6-7-89
2018 – Mars Curiosity Rover finds organic matter, including methane, on Mars in studies published in journal “Science”
Famous Birthdays
1811 – James Young Simpson, Scottish obstetrician who popularized chloroform for medicinal use, born in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland (d. 1870)
1923 – Jules Deschênes, Canadian Quebec Superior Court judge, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2000)
1929 – Antonio Carbajal, Mexican soccer goalkeeper (32 caps; Club León 364 games) and manager (León, Unión de Curtidores, Atlético Morelia), born in Mexico City (d. 2023)
1962 – Takuya Kurosawa, Japanese racing driver, born in Ibaraki, Japan
1966 – Dan Payne, Canadian football tackle (Grey Cup: Saskatchewan Roughriders 1989; Toronto Argonauts 1996, 97; B.C. Lions 2000), born in New Westminster, British Columbia
1967 – Dave Navarro, American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter, (Jane’s Addiction – “Just Because”; Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1993-98), born in Santa Monica, California
1974 – Dave Filoni, American director, producer, screenwriter, and president and CCO of Lucasfilm, born in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania
1978 – Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Indian founder and CEO of mobile payments company Paytm, born in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
1979 – Kevin Hofland, Dutch soccer defender (7 caps; PSV, VfL Wolfsburg, Feyenoord) and coach (Limburgia, Fortuna Sittard, Willem II), born in Heerlen, Netherlands
1993 – George Ezra [Barnett], British guitarist, and singer-songwriter (“Budapest”; “Paradise”), born in Hertford, Hertfordshire, England
Famous Deaths
1555 – Maarten van Rossum, Dutch army leader who fought for the Duke of Guelders, dies at about 76
1893 – Edwin Booth, American Shakespearean actor (Hamlet), dies at 59
1927 – Edmund James Flynn, Canadian politician (10th Premier of Quebec), dies at 79
1948 – Georges Hüe, French composer, dies at 90
1974 – Émilie Charmy, French avant-garde artist, dies at 96
1988 – Vernon Washington, American actor (Roots, The Last Starfighter, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning), dies at 60
1994 – Dennis Potter, British TV dramatist (The Singing Detective, Karaoke, Midnight Movie), dies of cancer at 59
2012 – Phillip Tobias, South African palaeoanthropologist and three time Nobel Prize nominee (hominid fossil sites), dies at 86
2023 – The Iron Sheik (Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri), Iranian pro wrestler (WWF Heavyweight C’hip 1983-84; WWF Tag Team C’ship 1985 [Nikolai Volkoff], dies at 81
2024 – Ernstalbrecht Stiebler, German minimalist composer (Unisono Diviso; Im Klang), dies at 90