Today In History
Historical Events
1840 – American Charles Wilkes discovers the Shackleton Ice Shelf in Antarctica
1959 – Leonard Spigelgass’ “Majority of One” premieres in NYC
1965 – Pegasus 1 launched to detect micro-meteors
1973 – West Indies v Australia at Kingston, 1st time since 1955 without Garfield Sobers
2021 – Athens and parts of Greece covered in unusual heavy snowfall
Famous Birthdays
1953 – André St. Laurent, Canadian NHL hockey forward, 1973-90 (New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings, and 2 other teams), born in Rouyn, Quebec
1953 – George Martin, NFL defensive end, 1975-88 (NY Giants), born in Greenville, South Carolina
1958 – Ice-T [Tracy Marrow], American rapper (“O.G. Original Gangster”), and actor (New Jack City; Tank Girl; Law and Order: Special Victims Unit), born in Newark, New Jersey
1961 – Andy Taylor, British rock guitarist (Duran Duran – “Hungry Like the Wolf”; The Power Station), born in Tynemouth, England
1965 – Lucinda Riley, Northern Irish historical fiction and romance author (The Seven Sisters series, The Hidden Girl, The Italian Girl, The Angel tree), born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland (d. 2021)
Famous Deaths
1531 – Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer, dies at 78
1857 – Auguste-Gaspard-Louis Desnoyers, French engraver, dies at 77
1933 – Archie Jackson, Australian cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 164; NSWCA), dies from tuberculosis at 23
1968 – (James) Healey Willan, British-Canadian organist, composer, and educator, dies at 87
2023 – Chuck Jackson, American pop and RandB singer (“Any Day Now”; “I Don’t Want to Cry”; “I Keep Forgettin'”), dies at 85
Historical Events
1900 – Stanley Cup, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Montreal Shamrocks beat Winnipeg Victorias, 5-4 to take challenge series, 3-1
1942 – Bangka Island massacre: Japanese soldiers machine-gun 22 Australian Army nurses and 60 Australian and British soldiers and crew members from two sunken ships. Only one nurse and two soldiers survive.
1966 – Australian cricket batsman Bob Cowper makes a patient 307 (727 mins, 20 x 4s) in drawn 5th Test v England in Melbourne
1969 – “Andrei Rublev”, Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, starring Anatoly Solonitsyn and Ivan Lapikov, premieres in Moscow after a limited release in 1966
1972 – American guitar legend Chuck Berry and former Beatle John Lennon perform together, with Yoko Ono, on ‘The Mike Douglas Show’ TV program
1985 – Largest NBA crowd to date, 43,816, sees Philadelphia at Detroit
1999 – O.J. Simpson’s 1968 Heisman Trophy is sold for $230,000 to help settle a $33.5 million civil judgement against Simpson for the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend
2021 – Athens and parts of Greece covered in unusual heavy snowfall
Famous Birthdays
1921 – Vera-Ellen [Westmeier Rohe], American actress and dancer (White Christmas; Big Leaguer; On the Town), born in Norwood, Ohio (d. 1981)
1922 – Paul van ‘t Veer, Dutch journalist and writer (Het Vrije Volk), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1979)
1926 – John Schlesinger, English stage and Academy Award-winning film director (Midnight Cowboy; Darling), born in London, England (d. 2003)
1926 – David Austin, English rose breeder (Austin roses), born in Albrighton, England (d. 2018)
1942 – Bob Hammond AM, Australian rules key defender (AFL Hall of Fame; North Adelaide; SA) and coach (Sydney Swans 1984), born in Perth, Australia (d. 2020)
1948 – Séamus Brennan, Irish Fianna Fáil politician and Minister, born in Salthill, Galway, Ireland (d. 2008)
1953 – André St. Laurent, Canadian NHL hockey forward, 1973-90 (New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings, and 2 other teams), born in Rouyn, Quebec
1962 – Tony Kiley, British rock drummer (Blow Monkeys – “Wicked Ways”), born in England
1964 – Ching-Wan [Sean] Lau, Hong Kong actor (Life Without Principle), born in Hong Kong
1974 – Mahershala Ali [Mahershalalhashbaz George], American actor (Moonlight, Green Book), born in Oakland, California
Famous Deaths
1279 – Afonso III, King of Portugal (1248-79), dies at 68
1834 – Lionel Lukin, British life boat pioneer, dies at 91
1899 – Félix Faure, 6th President of the French Third Republic (1895-99), dies at 57
1928 – Eddie Foy Sr. [Edwin Fitzgerald], Irish-American actor, singer and dancer (A Favorite Fool), dies at 71
1992 – Janio Quadros, president of Brazil (1961), dies
1996 – Edmund Gerald “Pat” Brown, American politician and Governor of California (D: 1959-67), dies at 90
1999 – Michael Larson, American “Press Your Luck” scandal big-winning contestant, dies of cancer at 49
1999 – Betty Roché [Mary Elizabeth Roach], American jazz singer (Duke Ellington – “Take The ‘A’ Train”), dies at 81
2002 – Walter Winterbottom, England soccer manager (first manager England national football team 1946–62; FA Director of Coaching), dies at 88
2025 – Luis Estaba, Venezuelan boxer (WBC light flyweight champion 1975-78), dies at 86