Today In History
Historical Events
1841 – British humorous and satirical magazine “Punch” is first published; it closes in 2002
1856 – The Great Train Wreck of 1856 between Camp Hill and Fort Washington, Pennsylvania kills over 60 people
1925 – Tris Speaker, is 5th to get 3,000 hits
1958 – US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands
2023 – Typhoon Talim, makes landfall on China’s Guandong coast with winds of nearly 140km/h (87mph), forcing the evacuation of nearly 230,000 people
Famous Birthdays
1889 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American detective writer (Perry Mason), born in Malden, Massachusetts (d. 1970)
1908 – (Alfons) “Fud” Candrix, Belgian jazz saxophonist, violinist, and bandleader, born in Tongeren, Belgium (d. 1974)
1918 – Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, Guatemalan army colonel and President of Guatemala (1970-74), born in Barberena, Guatemala (d. 2003)
1942 – Don Kessinger, American baseball shortstop (6 x MLB All Star; Gold Glove 1969, 70; Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago WS), born in Forrest City, Arkansas
1969 – Tommy Soderstrom, Swedish NHL goalie (Sweden, NY Islanders), born in Stockholm, Sweden
Famous Deaths
1894 – Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist, dies at 83
2005 – Geraldine Fitzgerald, Irish actress (Pawnbroker, Easy Money), dies of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at 91
2010 – Fred F. Carter Jr., American country session guitarist, singer, producer and composer (Nashville’s “A-Team”), dies of a stroke at 76
2015 – Jules Bianchi, French auto racer (Marussia Formula 1 Racing Team), dies from injuries during accident at 2014 Japanese F1 GP, at 25
2024 – Cheng Pei Pei, Hong Kong actress, cinema’s 1st female action star (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), dies at 78
Historical Events
1245 – Pope Innocent IV declares Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II deposed and excommunicated at the First Council of Lyon amid their struggle over papal and imperial authority
1393 – Osmanen occupy Turnovo, Bulgaria
1740 – Prospero Lambertini chosen Pope Benedictus XIV
1863 – Māori forces are defeated by British troops at Koheroa, Waikato, in the New Zealand Wars between Maori tribes and British colonials
1863 – Battle of Honey Springs – largest battle in Indian Territory
1981 – Glasdrumman ambush: the Provisional Irish Republican Army attack a British Army post in South Armagh, killing 1 soldier and injuring another
2023 – Russia pulls out of a deal allowing the export of Ukrainian grain past their naval blockade, threatening to push world food prices higher
2024 – US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro officially exonerates all 258 Black sailors who protested work conditions after the Port Chicago Disaster in 1944; none of them are alive for the ruling
Famous Birthdays
1839 – Friedrich Gernsheim, German composer, born in Worms, Grand Duchy of Hesse und bei Rhine (d. 1916)
1902 – Christina Stead, Australia, novelist (Man Who Loved Children), born in Rockdale, Australia (d. 1983)
1915 – Catherine “Cass” Daley, American actress (Star Spangled Rhythm, Red Garters), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1975)
1920 – Helen Walker, American actress (Brewster’s Million; Lucky Jordan), born in Worcester, Massachusetts (d. 1968)
1928 – Joe Morello, American jazz drummer (Dave Brubeck Quartet – “Blue Rondo à la Turk”), born in Springfield, Massachussets (d. 2011)
1963 – Regina Belle, American pop, and RandB singer-songwriter, and Grammy Award winner (with Peabo Bryson – “A Whole New World”), born in Engelwood, New Jersey
1971 – Calbert Cheaney, American NBA player (Washington Bullets/Wizards), born in Evansville, Indiana
1978 – Émilie Simon, French pop singer-songwriter and electronic music composer, born in Montpellier, France
1983 – Brooke Kinsella, British actress (Kelly Taylor in “EastEnders”), born in London
1984 – Sotiris Leontiou, Greek footballer, born in Ioannina, Greece
Famous Deaths
521 – Magnus Felix Ennodius, bishop and Latin poet (b. 474)
1763 – Wenzel Raimund Birck, Austrian organist and composer at the court of Marie Theresa, dies at 45
1859 – Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, German-born Queen of Portugal (1858-59), dies of diphtheria at 22
1918 – Alexei Trupp, Russian footman and assistant of Tsar Nicholas II, executed at 62
1970 – Juano Hernandez, Puerto Rican stage and film actor (St Louis Blues; Stars In My Crown), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 73
1994 – Sutan Takdir Alishahbana, Indonesian linguist and writer (Poedjangga Baroe), dies at 86
2011 – David Ngoombujarra, Australian actor (b. 1967)
2016 – Gary S. Paxton [Larry Wayne Stevens], American musician and songwriter (“Monster Mash”; “Alley Oop”), dies at 77
2023 – Nicholas Goodison, British businessman (CEO of TSB Group; Chairman of London Stock Exchange, 1976-86), and arts supporter (Chairman of the Courtauld Institute of Art, 1982-2002; Chair and of the National Art Collections Fund, 1986 -2002), dies at 97
2025 – Claude Teisseire, French rugby league centre (17 Tests; AS Carcassonne, FC Lézignan), dies at 94