Today In History
Historical Events
1946 – First night game at Yankee Stadium (Senators 2, Yankees 1)
1968 – MLB: NL grants San Diego Padres a franchise
1975 – Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is established by the Treaty of Lagos
1990 – David Robilliard achieves the longest bicycle wheelie at with 5 hours, 12 minutes, and 33 seconds
2002 – NHL Eastern Conference Final: Carolina Hurricanes beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 2
Famous Birthdays
1760 – Alexandre de Beauharnais, French politician, general of the revolution and first husband of Joséphine de Beauharnais, born in Fort-Royal, Martinique, France (d. 1794)
1883 – Luigi Perrachio, Italian pianist, composer (Nove Poemetti; 25 Preludi), and pedagogue (Liceo Musicale Torino), born in Turin, Italy (d. 1966)
1925 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German baritone (Doktor Faust), born in Zehlendorf, Germany (d. 2012)
1946 – K. Satchidanandan, Indian bilingual poet, writer, editor, and translator (While I Write, Words Matter), born in Pulloot, India
1967 – Glen Rice, American basketball guard and forward (3-time NBA All Star; NBA C’ship 2000; Charlotte Hornets, NY Knicks), born in Jacksonville, Arkansas
Famous Deaths
1891 – Winfield Scott Featherston “Old Swet”, American politician and Army Brigadier General (Confederate), dies at 70
1983 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American politician, longest serving mayor of a major American city as Mayor of Albany (1941-83), dies at 73
2007 – Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician (b. 1945)
2008 – Robert Justman, American television producer (b. 1926)
2014 – Maya Angelou [Marguerite Johnson], American author (“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”), poet and actress (Nyo-Roots), dies at 86
Historical Events
1731 – All Hebrew books in the Vatican Papal States are confiscated
1892 – Sierra Club formed by John Muir and others in San Francisco, for conservation of nature
1906 – Julian Edwards, Alfred E. Aarons, Ren Shields, and Will D. Cobb’s musical “His Honor, the Mayor” opens at New York Theatre and runs for 104 performances
1926 – Military coup by General Manuel Gomes da Costa in Portugal
1964 – Jawaharlal Nehru cremated in New Delhi
1995 – White Sox (5) and Tigers (7) combine for record 12 HRs at Tiger Stadium
2019 – Johnson and Johnson go on trial in Oklahoma accused of deceptively marketing painkillers and downplaying risks of addiction helping create “opioid epidemic”; first of 2,000 cases against US pharmaceutical firms
2023 – Surgeons complete the world’s first whole eyeball transplant with a partial facial transplant for a US veteran lineman injured in an accident at NYU Langone Health
Famous Birthdays
1765 – Jean Baptiste Cartier, French musician and composer, born in Avignon, France (d. 1841)
1782 – Wouter Johannes van Troostwijk, Dutch painter, born in Amsterdam (d. 1810)
1798 – Josef Dessauer, Austrian composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (d. 1876)
1894 – Sammy White, American comedian and actor (711 Ocean Drive, Sound Off), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1960)
1918 – Edith Massey (née Dornfeld), American actress (films of John Waters), born in New York City (d. 1984)
1931 – Stephen Birmingham, American author (Real Lace: America’s Irish Rich), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2015)
1931 – Carroll Baker, American actress (Andy Warhol’s Bad; Babydoll; Harlow), born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
1932 – Tim Renton, British politician (Conservative Minister under Thatcher and Major – came up with National Lottery), born in London, England (d. 2020)
1947 – Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archeologist, Egyptologist and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, born in Damietta, Egypt
1961 – Roland Gift, British pop-rock singer (Fine Young Cannibals – “She Drives Me Crazy”), and actor, born in Sparkhill, Birmingham, England
Famous Deaths
1089 – Lanfranc, Italian Archbishop of Canterbury (1070-89) and counsellor to William the Conqueror, dies
1891 – Winfield Scott Featherston “Old Swet”, American politician and Army Brigadier General (Confederate), dies at 70
1940 – Walter Connolly, American actor (It Happened One Night, Good Earth), dies from a stroke at 53
1973 – Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, German composer and conductor (Hassan), dies at 73
1979 – William Edmonson, American bass harmony and gospel vocalist (Southernaires), radio, stage and screen actor (Thirty Years Later), dies at 76
1994 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer, dies at 77
2009 – Terence Alexander, English actor (Bergerac), dies at 86
2014 – Maya Angelou [Marguerite Johnson], American author (“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”), poet and actress (Nyo-Roots), dies at 86
2017 – John Noakes, British TV presenter, dies at 83
2019 – Edward Seaga, Jamaican politician, 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica (1980-89) and record producer, dies at 89