Today In History
Historical Events
1932 – Yankees’ Ben Chapman hits two inside-the-park home runs, tying the record
1991 – South Africa re-admitted to Olympics
1992 – Kim Basinger gets 1,959th star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame
2002 – The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as African leaders replace the Organization of African Unity. South African President Thabo Mbeki serves as its first chair.
2022 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan claims her first Grand Slam title with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur; first Kazakhstani player to win a major title
Famous Birthdays
1753 – William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, Governor of Newfoundland, born in England (d. 1825)
1941 – Takehide Nakatani, Japanese lightweight judoka (Olympic gold 1964), born in Hiroshima, Japan
1951 – Eugeniusz Knapik, Polish pianist and classical music composer (Islands; Up Into The Silence), born in Ruda Śląska, Poland
1955 – Lisa Banes, American actress (Cocktail; Look Back in Anger), born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio
1965 – Frank Bello, American heavy metal bassist (Anthrax), born in The Bronx, New York
Famous Deaths
1386 – Leopold III, Duke of Austria (1365-68), dies at 34
1668 – Jacob Balde, German poet (Jephthe), dies at 64
1922 – Mori Ōgai, Japanese novelist (The Wild Geese), poet and surgeon, dies at 60
1981 – Wilhelm H C Tenhaeff, para-psychologist, dies at 87
2011 – Würzel [Michael Burston], English guitarist (Motörhead, 1984-95), dies of ventricular fibrillation at 61
Historical Events
1386 – Battle at Sempach: Swiss beat Duke Leopold III of Austria
1867 – An unsuccessful expedition led by E.D Young sets out to search for Dr David Livingstone (Scottish missionary and explorer)
1891 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Lottie Dod beats Blanche Bingley-Hillyard 6-2, 6-1 in a repeat matchup and result of the 2 previous finals
1933 – Construction begins on the San Fransisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
1965 – Senators’ Frank Howard ties record with seven strikeouts in a doubleheader
1980 – Dutch war criminal Pieter Menten sentenced to 10 years in prison
2002 – The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as African leaders replace the Organization of African Unity. South African President Thabo Mbeki serves as its first chair.
2018 – Hedge fund billionaire David Tepper buys Carolina Panthers for an NFL record $2.275 billion
Famous Birthdays
1791 – Nicolás Ledesma, Spanish organist and composer, born in Grisel, Spain (d. 1883)
1911 – Mervyn Peake, British writer and illustrator (Gormenghast books), born in Lushan District, Jiangxi, China (d. 1968)
1918 – Rowley Israel Arenstein, South African attorney, communist and activist (under house arrest for 18 years), born in Durban, Natal (d. 1996)
1936 – David Zinman, American composer and conductor (Baltimore Symphony, 1985-98), born in New York City
1942 – Edy Williams, American actress (Dr Minx), born in Salt Lake City, Utah
1943 – Sergey Diomidov, Uzbek gymnast (World C’ship gold USSR Parallel bars 1966; Olympic silver team 1964, 68; bronze vault 1968), born in Turtkul, Uzbekistan (d. 2024)
1955 – Fred Norris [Nukis], American comedy writer (Howard Stern Show), singer, guitarist, and actor, born in Willimantic, Connecticut
1969 – Venkatapathy Raju, Indian cricket spin bowler (28 Tests, 93 wickets, BB 6/12; Hyderabad), born in Alamuru, India
1974 – Sian Berry, British politician (Green Part), born in Cheltenham, England
1978 – Linda Park, Korean-born American actress (Stra Trek: Enterprise), born in Seoul, South Korea
Famous Deaths
1228 – Stephen Langton, English Cardinal and scholar, Archbishop of Canterbury (1207-1228), negotiated the Magna Carta, thought to have divided Bible into chapters (b. c. 1150)
1673 – Johann Rudolph Ahle, German organist, composer, and music theorist, dies at 47
1704 – Yan Ruoqu, Chinese scholar of Qing dynasty, dies at 67
1828 – Gilbert Stuart, American portrait painter (unfinished portrait of George Washington), dies at 72
1850 – Bab [Shirazi, Sayyid Ali Muhammad], Persian founder of Babism, executed by firing squad on orders of the Persian government at 30
1852 – Thomas M. T. McKennan, American politician who served as the 2nd United States Secretary of the Interior for only 11 days (1850), dies at 58
1923 – William R. Day, American diplomat and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, dies at 74
1960 – Vallance Jupp, cricketer (28 wkts in 8 Tests for England 1921-28), dies
1980 – Vinicius de Moraes, Brazilian poet and lyricist, dies at 66
1986 – Lê Duẩn, Vietnamese communist politician (General Secretary of Vietnam 1960-86), dies at 78