Today In History
Historical Events
1954 – German airline Lufthansa forms
1964 – The Beatles’ 4th appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show”, features an interview and pre-recorded performance of “You Can’t Do That”
1968 – American boxer Bob Foster defeats holder Dick Tiger for the world light-heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Gardens, New York (goes on to defend title x 14)
1981 – Hostage situation ends at the Central Bank in Barcelona, Spain
2004 – North Korea bans mobile phones
Famous Birthdays
1881 – Mikuláš S chneider-Trnavský, Slovak composer (Missa pastoralis), born in Trnava, Slovakia (d. 1958)
1925 – Pedro Gonzales-Gonzalez, American actor (Rio Bravo), born in Aguilares, Texas (d. 2006)
1932 – Graham Arnold, British artist (Brotherhood of Ruralists), born in Sydenham, London (d. 2019)
1950 – Jo Ann Washam, American golfer (3 LPGA Tour titles), born in Auburn, Washington
1978 – Brian Ching, American footballer (U.S. National Team), born in Hale’iwa, Hawaii
Famous Deaths
1918 – Evan Williams, American oratorio tenor, dies at 50
1972 – Ismail Yasseen, Egyptian comedian and actor (Isamil Yassine as Tarzan, Ibn Hamidu), dies of a heart attack at 59
1987 – Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold, British actress (Gigi; The Music Man), dies at 89
1991 – Miriam di San Servolo, Italian actress (b. 1912)
2025 – Susan Brownmiller, American activist and feminist author (Against Our Wills), dies at 90 due to complications after a fall
Historical Events
1830 – First regular passenger rail service on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line features horse-drawn railcars connecting Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills
1956 – 1st Eurovision Song Contest: Lys Assia for Switzerland wins singing “Refrain” in Lugano
1959 – First house with built-in bomb shelter exhibited (Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania)
1962 – The Beatles record “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Swanee” in Hamburg, Germany to close out their contract with producer Bert Kaempfert; Tony Sheridan later dubs vocal over tracks
1974 – 27th Cannes Film Festival: “The Conversation” directed by Francis Ford Coppola wins the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
1986 – Reginald Huffstetler treads water for 985 hrs
1998 – 51st Cannes Film Festival: “Mia aioniotita kai mia mera / Eternity and a Day” by Theo Angelopoulos wins the Palme d’Or
2018 – US President Donald Trump cancels summit with North and South Korea because of hostile statements from North Korea
Famous Birthdays
1689 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea and 3rd Earl of Nottingham, English politician, born in England (d. 1769)
1925 – Pedro Gonzales-Gonzalez, American actor (Rio Bravo), born in Aguilares, Texas (d. 2006)
1941 – Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, English Labour politician, born in Plympton, Plymouth (d. 2018)
1947 – Cynthia Plaster Caster [Cynthia Albritton], American artist who made plaster casts of celebrity penises and breasts, born in Chicago, Illinois
1950 – Jo Ann Washam, American golfer (3 LPGA Tour titles), born in Auburn, Washington
1954 – Mitch Kupchak, American NBA executive (Charlotte Hornets) and power forward (Washington Bullets, Los Angeles Lakers; 3x NBA champion, 1976 Olympic gold medalist), born in Brentwood, New York
1964 – Elizabeth McColgan, British running star (world record 5 km indoor), born in Dundee, Scotland
1973 – Ruslana [Lyzhychko], Ukrainian pop singer and songwriter, born in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
1974 – Will Sasso, Canadian-American actor and comedian (The Three Stooges 2012), born in Ladner, British Columbia, Canada
1994 – Emma McKeon, Australian swimmer (Olympic gold 50/100m freestyle, 4×100 medley relay 2020; 4x100m free relay 2016, 20, 24), born in Wollongong, Australia
Famous Deaths
1843 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician, dies at 78
1844 – William Crockford, clubman/gambler, dies
1879 – William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist, social reformer and publisher (The Liberator), dies at 73
1979 – Ernest Bullock, British organist (Exeter Cathedral, 1917-28; Westminster Abbey, 1928-41), composer, and academic (Director of Royal College of Music, 1952-60), dies at 88
1988 – Tom Burtt, New Zealand cricketer (NZ slow left-arm bowler in 11 Tests 1947-53), dies at 73
1996 – John Abbott, British actor (The Jungle Book, Gigi, Smogasboard), dies from cancer at 90
1997 – Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (Knight Rider), dies of lung cancer at 74
2005 – Vivian Liberto, first wife of Johnny Cash (b. 1934)
2007 – David Renton, British politician (one of the final National Liberal MPs), dies at 98
2019 – Murray Gell-Mann, American physicist who predicted quarks (1969 Nobel Prize for Physics for theory of elementary particles), dies at 89