Today In History
Historical Events
1943 – British air raid sinks U-232
1956 – US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll
1961 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: In an all-British final Angela Mortimer wins her 3rd Grand Slam singles title; beats Christine Truman 4–6, 6–4, 7–5
1988 – American rockers and brothers Chico DeBarge and Bobby DeBarge indicted on drug trafficking charges
2021 – Japan says the Olympics will be held without spectators as Tokyo announces state of emergency due to a surge in COVID-19
Famous Birthdays
1830 – Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Altenburg, German-born Russian princess married to Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, born in Altenburg (d. 1911)
1928 – Norma Donaldson, American stage and screen singer and actress (Across 110th Street; Poetic Justice; The Young and the Restless), born in Harlem, New York City (d. 1994)
1928 – Jane Tehira, New Zealand sportsperson (triple international: basketball, softball, hockey), born in Kaikohe, New Zealand (d. 2023)
1942 – Phil Gramm, American economist and politician (US Representative for Texas, 1979-85; US Senator from Texas, 1985-2002), born in Fort Benning, Georgia
1960 – Valarie Pettiford, American actress (One Life to Live, Half and Half), born in Queens, New York
Famous Deaths
1496 – Benedetto Bonfiglio, Italian painter, dies
1941 – Philippe Gaubert, French flautist, conductor (Paris Opéra, 1919-41), composer, and teacher (Paris Conservatoire), dies of a stroke at 62
1988 – Ray Barbuti, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 400m relay 1928), dies at 83
1996 – Amschel Rothschild, British banker (executive chairman of Rothschild Asset Management of the Rothschild banking family of England), dies at 41
2011 – Mary Fenech Adami, First Lady of Malta (b. 1933)
Historical Events
1911 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Anthony Wilding of New Zealand wins 2nd of 4 consecutive Wimbledon singles titles beating Herbert Roper-Barrett 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2 ret
1951 – Yankee Joe DiMaggio and manager Casey Stengel feud after Stengel pulls DiMaggio out of game
1963 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Australian Margaret Smith wins her first of 3 Wimbledon titles beating Billie Jean Moffitt 6-3, 6-4
1965 – Joe Morgan is the first Houston player with six hits in a game
1969 – IBM CICS is made generally available for the 360 mainframe computer
1970 – Fantasy records releases “Cosmo’s Factory”, the fifth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival; it is critically acclaimed and becomes their biggest seller, spawning six singles that reach the top 5 of the Billboard charts
2000 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Venus Williams wins her first career Grand Slam singles title; beats fellow American Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-6
2005 – Marvel superhero film “The Fantastic Four,” starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis, premieres
Famous Birthdays
1638 – Matteo Coferati, Italian composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (d. 1703)
1766 – Dominique Jean Larrey, French surgeon under Napoleon, first modern military surgeon, born in Beaudéan, Pyrenees (d. 1842)
1871 – Clement Harris, British pianist and composer, born in Wimbledon, London (d. 1897)
1917 – Glenn Langan, American actor (Amazing Colossal Man, Margie, Jungle Heat, Rapture), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1991)
1921 – John Money, New Zealand-American psychologist and sexologist, born in Morrinsville, New Zealand (d. 2006)
1961 – Graham Jones, British rock guitarist (Haircut 100 – “Love Plus One”), born in Bridlington, England
1975 – Elias “E. Vil” Viljanen, Finnish heavy metal guitarist (Sonata Arctica), born in Tampere, Finland
1982 – Joshua Alba, American actor and brother of Jessica Alba (Alpha Dog, L.A.’s Finest), born in Biloxi, Mississippi
1986 – Renata Costa [Kóki], Brazilian soccer defender (30 caps; Botucatu FC, LdB FC Malmö, FK Kubanochka Krasnodar; Olympic silver 2004, 08), born in Assal, Brazil
1992 – Son Heung-min, South Korean soccer forward (Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur), born in Chuncheon, South Korea
Famous Deaths
1253 – Theobald de Champagne, French ruler (Count of Champagne; King of Navarre, 1234-53), poet, and troubadour, dies at 52
1784 – Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist and mineralogist notable for publishing the largest chemical affinity tables, dies at 49
1822 – Percy Bysshe Shelley, British romantic poet (Adonais; Prometheus Unbound), drowns at 29
1897 – Isham Green Harris, American and Confederate politician (US Senator from Tennessee, 1877-97; Governor of Tennessee, 1857-1862; US Representative from Tennessee, 1849-53), dies at 79
1913 – Louis Hémon, French novelist (Maria Chapdelaine), dies at 32
1957 – Grace Goodhue Coolidge, American First Lady (1923-29) wife of Calvin Coolidge, dies at 78
1974 – Morris “Moose” Charlap, American Broadway composer (Peter Pan; Kelly), dies at 45
1987 – Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet (Versos humanos), dies at 90
1988 – Ray Barbuti, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 400m relay 1928), dies at 83
2018 – Alan Johnson, American Emmy Award-winning screen and stage choreographer (The Producers – “Springtime for Hitler”; Legs Diamond), director (To Be Or Not To Be), and dancer (West Side Story), dies at 81