Today In History
Historical Events
1640 – English Long Parliament forms
1883 – US Supreme Court decides federal courts have no jurisdiction over Native American tribal Council (Ex parte Crow Dog)
1886 – Friars of Tilburg arrives on Curacao
1930 – Bank of Italy is renamed the Bank of America
1968 – Oregon voters elect lawyer Bob Packwood (36) as their US Senator
Famous Birthdays
1799 – William Sprague III, American politician (U.S. Senator from Rhode Island 1842-44)), born in Cranston, Rhode Island (d. 1856)
1910 – Richard Hurndall, British actor (Doctor Who, The Inheritors, It’s Murder But Is It Art), born in Darlington, Durham, England (d. 1984)
1928 – Nick Holonyak Jr., American electrical engineer and inventor of the first visible light-emitting diode, born in Zeigler, Illinois (d. 2022)
1962 – Gabe Newell, American computer programmer, businessman and co-founder of Valve Corporation (Half-Life, Steam), born in Colorado
1973 – Ben Fogle, British broadcaster and author (Channel 5, BBC), born in London, England
Famous Deaths
1913 – Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf, Prussian pianist, composer and music director (Royal Theatre of Hanover, 1867-87), dies at 83
1944 – Jack Miner, Canadian naturalist and conservationist, dies at 79
2002 – Jonathan Harris [Charasuchin], American stage and screen character actor (The Bill Dana Show – “Mr. Phillips”; Lost In Space – “Dr Zachary Smith”), dies at 87
2009 – Francisco Ayala, Spanish novelist (b. 1906)
2011 – Bob Forsch, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1974-1989 (St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros), dies of a thoracic aortic aneurysm at 61
Historical Events
1905 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia signs a document of amnesty for the political prisoners
1934 – NY Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig wins American League Triple Crown after hitting .363 with 49 HRs and 165 RBI; but Detroit Tigers catcher-manager Mickey Cochrane (.320, 2 HRs, 76 RBI) is named American League MVP
1935 – Philadelphia Eagles beat Boston Redskins, 7-6 at Fenway Park; respective quarterbacks combine to throw an NFL record 11 interceptions
1944 – Pro-German government of Hungary flees
1968 – David Pearson is declared NASCAR Grand National champion as Cale Yarborough wins season ending Peach State 200 at Jefferson, Georgia; Pearson finishes 126 points ahead of Bobby Isaac to secure his 2nd title
1985 – Bill Elliott wins Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta Raceway to become first driver to win 11 super-speedway races in 1 season; also first driver to win $2m in prize money in a single season
1994 – Dutch and British astronomers find spiral nebula Dwingeloo 1
2013 – New York City Marathon: Geoffrey Mutai becomes first repeat winner in 15 years in slow 2:08:24; fellow Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo wins women’s race in 2:25:07
Famous Birthdays
1619 – Willem Kalf, Dutch painter (still lifes), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1693)
1880 – Edward Barrett, Irish heavyweight wrestler and all-round sportsman (Olympic gold tug-of-war 1908), born in Ballyduff, County Kerry (d. 1932)
1897 – Karel Salmon, Israeli composer, born in Heidelberg, Germany (d. 1974)
1933 – Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts (1975-79 and 1983-91) and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, born in Brookline, Massachusetts
1933 – Ken Berry, American actor (F Troop; Mayberry RFD; Mama’s Family), dancer, and singer, born in Moline, Illinois (d. 2018)
1953 – Kate Capshaw [Nail], American actress (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), born in Fort Worth, Texas
1954 – Brigitte Lin, Taiwanese actress (Red Dust, Swordsman II), born in Taipei, Taiwan
1957 – (Hans) “Dolph” Lundgren, Swedish actor (Rocky IV; Masters of Universe: The Expendables), martial artist, and filmmaker, born in Stockholm, Sweden
1968 – Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazilian film director (Bacurau, The Secret Agent), born in Recife, Brazil
1993 – Benito Skinner, American comedian, actor and the executive producer of “Overcompensating”, born in Boise, Idaho
Famous Deaths
1456 – Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond and patriarch of the Tudor Dynasty, dies of bubonic plague imprisoned in Carmarthen Castle at 26
1960 – Bobby Wallace, Baseball HOF shortstop, pitcher (Temple Cup 1895 Cleveland Spiders) and manager (St. Louis Browns, Cincinnati Reds), dies at 86
1971 – Étienne Gailly, Belgian long distance runner (famous Olympic bronze finish 1948), dies at 48
1982 – E. H. Carr, English historian (History of Soviet Russia), dies at 90
1995 – Isang Yun, Korean-born German composer, dies at 78
2006 – Marie Rudisill, American author and “Fruitcake Lady” (b. 1911)
2008 – Jean Fournet, French conductor (Rotterdam Philharmonic, 1968-73; Orchestre National de l’Île, 1973-82; Tokyo Metropolitan, 1983-86), dies at 95
2009 – Francisco Ayala, Spanish novelist (b. 1906)
2014 – Gordon Tullock, American economist (public choice theory), dies at 92
2021 – Zuo Fang [Huang Keji], Chinese journalist and the founding editor of Southern Weekly (1983-94), dies at 86