Today In History
Historical Events
1926 – Hurricane in Florida and Alabama kills 372
1940 – Leo Durocher is suspended from Ebbets Field for “inciting a riot”
1940 – US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Selective Training and Service Act, the first US peacetime draft
1996 – Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Panama City, Florida, on WTBB 97.7 FM
1999 – First-ever season of “Big Brother” reality show begins on the Veronica channel in the Netherlands
Famous Birthdays
1812 – Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist and plant hunter (established East India tea company in India), born in Kelloe, Scotland (d. 1880)
1832 – George Washington Custis Lee, American Major General (Confederate Army), born in Fort Monroe, Virginia (d. 1913)
1940 – Hamiet Bluiett, American jazz baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer (World Saxophone Quartet – “Hattie Wall’), born in Brooklyn, Illinois (d. 2018)
1953 – Alan Barton, English musician (Black Lace, Smokie), born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England (d. 1995)
1973 – Alexander Vinokourov, Russian-Kazakhtani road cyclist, born in Petropavl, Kazakh S.S.R.
Famous Deaths
1736 – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Dutch-German-Polish physicist, inventor and scientific instrument maker, who invented the thermometer and the Fahrenheit scale, dies at 50
1983 – Roy Andries de Groot, Dutch-British-American culinary writer and wine critic, takes his own life at 73
1984 – Richard Brautigan, American novelist and poet (Trout Fishing in America), takes his own life at 49 [exact date estimated based on forensic investigation]
1992 – Millicent Fenwick, American politician (Rep-R-NJ 1975-82), dies at 82
2016 – Dorothy Cann Hamilton, American businesswoman and founder of the French Culinary Institute, dies in a car accident at 67
Historical Events
1597 – Albert VII Archduke of Austria’s Spanish forces lose control of the city of Amiens to French King Henry VI
1955 – US Auto Club forms to oversee four major auto racing categories
1955 – Bauer and Berra hit home runs in the 9th, beating the Red Sox 5-4 and taking over first
1962 – Brian Kilby wins the marathon in 2:23:18.8 at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1988 – Javed Miandad completes 211, his fifth Test cricket double century, against Australia
1992 – FCC votes to allow competition for local phone service
2007 – Solheim Cup Women’s Golf, Halmstad GK, Sweden: US retains Cup 16-12; after trailing by a point, the US dominates the singles 8½-3½
2016 – Chris Sharma free solos Alasha in Mallorca, Spain, the world’s first 9a+ (5.15a) deep-water solo route
Famous Birthdays
1507 – Jiajing, 12th Emperor of Ming Dynasty of China (1521-1567), born in Anluzhou, Huguang (d. 1567)
1891 – Karl Dönitz, German naval admiral and last leader of Nazi Germany, born in Grünau, German Empire (d. 1980)
1906 – Jack Churchill, British Army commando, born in Colombo, British Ceylon (d. 1996)
1914 – Allen Funt, American TV host and creator (Candid Camera), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1999)
1941 – Richard Perle, American political advisor, born in New York City
1956 – David Copperfield [Kotkin], American magician and illusionist known for vanishing the Statue of Liberty, born in Metuchen, New Jersey
1968 – Marc Anthony [Marco Antonio Muñiz], American salsa and pop singer-songwriter, born in New York City
1972 – Ramon van Haaren, Dutch soccer player (RKC), born in Waalwijk, Netherlands
1981 – Alexis Bledel, American actress (Gilmore Girls, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, The Handmaid’s Tale), born in Houston, Texas
1988 – Teddy Geiger, American singer and songwriter (Stitches – Shawn Mendes), born in Rochester, New York
Famous Deaths
655 – Pope Martin I, Umbrian cleric, Pope of the Imperial Church (649-53) who was banished due to his opposition to Monothelitism, and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint, dies at between 55 and 65 [birthdate unceratin]
1775 – Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst, English privy councillor (b. 1684)
1865 – Christian Julius De Meza, Danish general (b. 1792)
1936 – Karl Buresch, Austrian lawyer and politician, dies at 57
1946 – Mamie Smith, American vaudeville singer, dancer and actress (Crazy Blues), dies at 63
1948 – Ferdinand I MKLM, prince of Saxony-Coburg/tsar of Bulgaria, dies
1977 – Marc Bolan, English rock vocalist and guitarist (T-Rex – “Bang a Gong (Get It On)”), dies in a car crash at 29
2020 – Stanley Crouch, American social critic and writer (Notes of a Hanging Judge; The All-American Skin Game, or, The Decoy of Race), dies at 74
2023 – Arild Hetleøen, Norwegian soccer central defender (4 caps; SK Brann), dies at 80
2025 – D. D. Lewis, American College Football HOF linebacker (Mississippi State University; Super Bowl VI, XII Dallas Cowboys), dies at 79