Today In History
Historical Events
1923 – New Egyptian law allows suffrage for men, except soldiers
1926 – 30th Boston Marathon won by Canadian Johnny Miles in 2:25:40.4
1944 – 1944 NFL Draft: Angelo Bertelli from University of Notre Dame first pick by Boston Yanks
1965 – 1st all news radio station (WINS 1010 AM in NYC) begins operating
1965 – T.A.M.I. Show premieres in London
Famous Birthdays
1821 – Mortimer Dormer Leggett, American Major General (Union Army), born in Ithaca, New York (d. 1896)
1931 – Walter Stewart, Canadian writer and journalist, born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2004)
1945 – Michael Stewart, American folk music producer, arranger, banjo player and guitarist (We Five – “You Were On My Mind”), born in Riverside County, California (d. 2002)
1972 – Jeff Wilkins, American football kicker (Super Bowl XXXIV St Louis Rams; Pro Bowl and NFL scoring leader 2003), born in Youngstown, Ohio
1977 – Lucien Mettomo, Cameroonian footballer (2002 World Cup), born in Douala, Cameroon
Famous Deaths
1776 – Jacob Israel Emden [Jacob ben Tswi], German rabbi, dies at 78
1870 – William Henry Havergal, composer, dies at 77
1874 – Owen Jones, architect, dies
1949 – Stephen Samuel Wise, American Rabbi and President of Zionist Org of America, dies at 75
2022 – Mike Gregory, English darts player (BDO World C’ship 1992 runner-up), dies from dementia at 65
Historical Events
1932 – US President Herbert Hoover suggests five-day work week
1954 – 7-time winner of Boston Marathon, 65-year-old Clarence Demar, runs his last race at Boston finishing 78th
1959 – Uprising in La Paz Bolivia, fails
1971 – Charles Manson sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Sharon Tate
1972 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1974 – Oriole Al Bumbry hits an inside-the-park HR against NY Yankees
1982 – Former Cuban marathon cheat Rosie Ruiz is arrested for embezzling $60,000
1987 – Brendon Kuruppu scores 201* on Test Cricket debut (Sri Lanka v NZ)
Famous Birthdays
1830 – Karl Josef Rudolph Cornely, German Jesuit biblical scholar, born in Breyell, Germany (d. 1908)
1858 – May Robson [Mary J Robison], Australian actress (Apple Annie), born in Moama, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1942)
1898 – Constance Talmadge, American comedienne and actress (Intolerance; Her Primitive Lover), born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 1973)
1915 – Dorian Le Gallienne, Australian composer (Four Holy Sonnets of John Donne; Jinker Ride), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1963)
1927 – Don Barbour, American singer (The Four Freshmen), born in Columbus, Bartholomew County, Indiana (d. 1961)
1928 – Richard L. Garwin, American polymathic physicist who worked on the hydrogen bomb, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2025)
1944 – Saleem Altaf, Pakistan cricket medium-pace bowler (21 Tests, 46 wickets; Lahore, Punjab Uni, Pakistan Int. Airlines), born in Lahore, Pakistan
1970 – Kelly Holmes, British athlete (Olympic gold 800m, 1500m 2004), born in Hildenborough, England
1983 – Victoria Yeates, English actress (Call the Midwife, Fantastic Beasts), born in Bournemouth, England
2001 – PinkPantheress [Victoria Walker], English-Kenyan singer-songwriter and record producer (“Stateside”, “Boy’s a Liar”, “Tonight”), first woman to win a BRIT Award for Best Producer, born in Bath, England
Famous Deaths
1831 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German mathematician, dies at 65
1892 – Fr. Thomas Dale SSC, Anglican clergyman prosecuted for Ritualist practices in the 1870s (b. 1821)
1937 – William Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English historian and explorer (Spitzbergen), dies at 81
1956 – Lionel Crabb “Buster”, British Royal Navy diver (WWII), disappears presumed dead on a job for M16 at 47
1978 – Emile de Strycker, Belgian philosopher and founder of the Antwerp University Faculty of Philosophy and Literature, dies at 70
1981 – Ernst Levy, Swiss composer, dies at 85
1992 – Alice Mary Riley, entertainer, dies of cancer at 51
1995 – Igor Hajek, Czech translator and writer, dies at 64
2011 – Grete Waitz, Norwegian long distance athlete (9 x NYC Marathon titles; World C’ship gold 1983; 5 x gold World Cross Country; WR x 4), dies of cancer at 57
2020 – Peter Beard, American wildlife photographer and diarist (The End of the Game, Eyelids of Morning), found dead in Camp Hero State Park at 82