Today In History
Historical Events
1629 – Dutch East India ship Batavia wrecks on Morning Reef off the Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia, with 200 survivors (only 70 survive after three months due to mutiny and murders)
1832 – 3rd national black convention meets (Philadelphia)
1972 – Angela Davis, African American activist, acquitted of killing a white guard
1985 – Supreme Court strikes down Alabama “moment of silence” law
2023 – Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Zippel’s musical “Bad Cinderella” closes at Imperial Theatre, NYC, after 85 performances; 1st time in 43 years that Webber is without a show on Broadway
Famous Birthdays
1701 – Nikolaj Eigtved, Danish architect (Christiansborg Castle), born in Egtved, Denmark (d. 1754)
1821 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet, born in Moscow, Imperial Russia (d. 1897)
1930 – Bill Treacher, British actor (EastEnders, 1985-96 – “Arthur Fowler”), born in London, England (d. 2022)
1971 – James Callis, British actor (Battlestar Galactica), born in London, England
1975 – Russell Brand, British comedian, television personality and actor (Arthur, Rock of Ages), born in Grays, England
Famous Deaths
1801 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American politician and first speaker of the US House of Representatives (1789-91, 1793-95), dies at 51
1929 – Harry Frazee, American MLB team owner (Boston Red Sox), dies of kidney failure at 48
1969 – Rafael Osuna, Mexican tennis player (US Nat C’ship 1963), dies in an airline crash at 30
2014 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American billionaire, principal heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and owner of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, dies of cancer at 82
2021 – Clarence Williams III, American actor (The Mod Squad – “Linc”; 52 Pick Up; Purple Rain), dies of colon cancer at 81
Historical Events
1647 – English Parliamentary army under Cornet George Joyce takes King Charles I as a prisoner during Second Civil War
1824 – First free press (without government approval) founded in Australia – the Hobart Town Gazette by ex-convict Andrew Bent
1942 – “Mrs Miniver” based on the novel by Jan Struther, directed by William Wyler and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon is released in the US (Best Picture 1943)
1962 – Lee Harvey Oswald departs Rotterdam aboard the SS Maasdam for the US
1979 – South African President John Vorster resigns due to a scandal
2012 – US drone attack kills 15 militants in Pakistan, including high ranking al-Qaeda official, Abu Yahya al-Libi
2014 – 10 Nigerian generals and five other senior military officers are court-martialed for providing arms and information to jihadist terrorist group Boko Haram
2020 – Memorial for George Floyd led by Rev. Al Sharpton, killed in police custody, in Minneapolis, as 10th night of protests at his death held around the country
Famous Birthdays
1821 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet, born in Moscow, Imperial Russia (d. 1897)
1902 – Richard Allen, Indian field hockey goalkeeper (Olympic gold 1928), born in Nagpur, India (d. 1969)
1907 – Patience Strong [Winifred Emma May], English poet and journalist, born in Catford, London (d. 1990)
1937 – Freddy Fender [Baldemar Huerta], American rock, country and Tejano singer (“Wasted Days And Wasted Nights”; “Before The Next Teardrop Falls”; Texas Tornados – “A Man Can Cry”), born in San Benito, Texas (d. 2006)
1940 – Ludwig Schwarz, Austrian Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Linz, born in Most pri Bratislave, Slovakia
1950 – Dagmar Krause, German singer (Slapp Happy; Henry Cow; Art Bears), born in Hamburg, Germany
1963 – Jim Lachey, American NFL tackle (Washington Redskins), born in St. Henry, Ohio
1966 – Cecilia Bartoli, Italian mezzo-soprano, born in Rome, Italy
1982 – Ronnie Prude, American football cornerback, born in Shreveport, Louisiana
1998 – Central Cee [Oakley Caesar-Su], English rapper and songwriter (Doja), born in London, England
Famous Deaths
1257 – Duke Przemysl I of Poland
1463 – Flavio Biondi, Italian writer (Rome instaurata), dies at about 65
1925 – Pierre Louÿs, French writer (Aphrodite), dies at 54
1972 – A.C. Bilbrew (née Harris), American poet, composer (“The Death of Emmett Till”), singer, choral conductor, and radio personality, dies at 81
1973 – Murray Wilson, father of the Beach Boys: Brian, Carl, and Dennis, dies at 55
2011 – Andreas P. Nielsen, Danish author and composer, dies at 58
2012 – Pedro Borbón, Dominican baseball pitcher (World Series 1975, 76; Cincinnati Reds), dies from cancer at 65
2017 – Juan Goytisolo Gay, Spanish novelist and essayist (Marks of Identity, Count Julian), dies at 86
2019 – Jiggs Kalra, Indian food writer “Czar of Indian cuisine”, dies at 72
2021 – Friederike Mayröcker, Austrian poet and author (Death by Muses, Requiem for Ernst Jandl), dies at 96