Today In History
Historical Events
1531 – Battle of Kappel: Swiss Roman Catholic cantons beat protestant forces of Zurich; Huldrych Zwingli Swiss reformation leader is killed
1634 – Burchardi flood, known as the second “Grote Mandrenke,” kills about 15,000 people in North Friesland, Denmark, and Germany
1958 – Musical “Goldilocks” opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in NYC for 161 performances
1969 – Soyuz 6 launches; Soyuz 7 and 8 follow in the next two days as part of a triple spacecraft missile
1979 – East Germany frees political dissidents Rudolf Bahro and Nico Hübner
Famous Birthdays
1821 – Angelo Mariani, Italian composer, born in Ravenna, Papal States (d. 1873)
1844 – Henry John Heinz, German-American entrepreneur who founded prepared-foods company (H.J. Heinz Company-57 varieties), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1919)
1903 – Charles P. Cabell, American military and intelligence officer (US Air Force general; Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1953–1962), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 1971)
1956 – Nicanor Frutos, Paraguayan politician (47th President of Paragua, 2003-08), born in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay
1966 – Rikishi [Solofa F. Fatu Jr.], Samoan American professional wrestler, born in San Francisco, California
Famous Deaths
1303 – Boniface VIII [Benedetto Gaetani], Italian pope and ruler of the Papal States (1294-1303), dies at 72 or 73
1811 – Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician, naturalist, and instructor of non-verbal deaf persons, dies at 86
1970 – Anis Fuleihan, Lebanese-American classical pianist, composer (Theremin Concerto), conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 70
2007 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian singer (Trapp Family Singers), dies at 91
2008 – Neal Hefti, American jazz trumpeter, arranger (Woody Herman; Count Basie); bandleader (Kate Smith Show) and composer (“Li’l Darlin”; The Odd Couple; Batman theme), dies at 85
Historical Events
1573 – Battle of the South Seas: Dutch rebels defeat the Spanish navy
1915 – Bulgarian Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov announces the country’s entrance into the First World War on the side of the Central Powers
1939 – US President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets with economic advisor Alexander Sachs to discuss Albert Einstein’s letter warning about the possibilities of an atomic bomb
1942 – Battle of Cape Esperance: naval battle between the Imperial Japanese navy and US navy begins
1967 – “Yoko Plus Me” art exhibition by Yoko Ono opens in London (the “Me” is John Lennon)
2006 – US sitcom “30 Rock,” created by and starring Tina Fey alongside Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan, first premieres on NBC in the US
2022 – Ringo Starr resumes his All-Starr Band tour with a show in Seattle, Washington, after his testing positive for COVID-19
2023 – Wild beavers are reintroduced to Ealing, London, from Scotland after being absent from the city for 400 years
Famous Birthdays
1573 – Jacob Boonen, South Netherlands clergyman and lawyer, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1655)
1926 – Earle Hyman, American stage and screen actor (The Cosby Show – “Russell Huxtable”; ThunderCats; Coriolanus), born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina (d. 2017)
1942 – Vic Fazio, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California), born in Winchester, Massachusetts
1947 – Thomas Boswell, American sports columnist (Washington Post), born in Washington, D.C.
1952 – Mark Goodman, American radio host, one of the original five video jockeys on MTV (1981–87), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1955 – Norm Nixon, American NBA point guard (Los Angeles Lakers, San Diego Clippers; 2x NBA champion, 2x All-Star, No. 10 retired by Duquesne Dukes), born in Macon, Georgia
1961 – Neil Buchanan, English television presenter (Finders Keepers), born in Aintree, Liverpool, England
1966 – Gregg Olson, American baseball pitcher (Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers), born in Omaha, Nebraska
1977 – Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Indian-Canadian Sikh separatist leader of the Khalistan movement for an independent Sikh state, born in Bhar Singh Pura, Punjab, India (d. 2023)
1993 – Brandon Flynn, American actor (13 Reasons Why), born in Miami, Florida
Famous Deaths
1424 – Jan Zizka, Czech (army)leader (Hussieten), dies of plague at 46
1531 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Swiss Protestant Reformation, dies at 47
1666 – Henry de Fleury dee Coulan, mister of Buat/ritmeester, dies
1994 – Maja Bulgakova, Ukrainian actress (Krylja), dies in auto-accident at 62
2007 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian singer (Trapp Family Singers), dies at 91
2015 – Dean Chance, American MLB baseball pitcher (All-Star 1964, 1967; Cy Young Award 1964; no-hitter 1967; LA/California Angels, Minnesota Twins), dies at 74
2017 – Arthur Cinader, American businessman and founder of J. Crew, dies of complications of a fall at 90
2018 – Doug Ellis, British entrepreneur (Chairman of Aston Villa), dies at 94
2020 – Jon Gibson, American flute and saxophone player (Philip Glass Ensemble, 1968-2019), and composer (The Voyage of The Beagle), dies at 80
2025 – Ian Watkins, Welsh rock singer-songwriter (Lostprophets), and convicted sex offender, murdered in prison at 48