Today In History
Historical Events
1799 – Duke of York and Russians capture Alkmaar in the Netherlands
1889 – First Pan-American Conference is held in Washington, D.C.
1901 – First Royal Navy submarine launched at Barrow-in-Furness
1943 – New York Yankees sweep 14th MLB doubleheader of the year, beating St. Louis Browns 5-1 and 7-6 at Yankee Stadium
1971 – Homing pigeon averages a record 133 km/h in a 1,100 km race in Australia
Famous Birthdays
1800 – Nat Turner, American leader of a major slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831, born in Southampton County, Virginia (d. 1831)
1835 – Louis-Antoine Ranvier, French anatomist and historian, born in Lyon, France (d. 1922)
1920 – James Dobson, American actor (Impulse, Jet Attack), born in Greeneville, Tennessee (d. 1987)
1935 – Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., 1st African-American astronaut and U.S. Air Force major, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1967)
1967 – Floyd “Bud” Gaugh, American ska-punk rock drummer (Sublime), born in Kihei, Hawaii
Famous Deaths
1802 – Giuseppe Millico, Italian soprano castrato (Christoph Willibald Gluck operas), composer, and pedagogue, dies at 65
1899 – Percy Pilcher, British inventor and pioneer aviator (unpowered gliders), dies in a flight crash at 32
1955 – O. B. Clarence, English actor (Saint Joan), dies at 85
1970 – Alfred Swan, Russian composer, dies at 79
1996 – Robert Bourassa, Prime Minister of Quebec province (1970-76, 85-93), dies at 63
Historical Events
1904 – White Sox left-hander Doc White’s streak of 45 consecutive MLB scoreless innings is snapped by the New York Highlanders in Chicago; White Sox win 7-1 at South Side Park III
1947 – Revised International Telecommunication Convention is adopted
1972 – Danish population votes for membership in the European Common Market
1972 – Montreal Expos pitcher Bill Stoneman no-hits the New York Mets 7-0 at Parc Jarry, the first MLB no-hitter ever pitched in Canada
1972 – Ron Johnson becomes the first New York Giant to score four touchdowns (against Philadelphia)
1983 – Carl Yastrzemski’s last at-bat
1992 – VP Itamar Franco becomes President of Brazil
2014 – A gunpowder plant explodes in Gorni Lom, Bulgaria, killing 15 people
Famous Birthdays
1470 – Isabella of Aragon, Spanish heir of the Catholic Monarchs and Queen consort of Portugal (1497-98) had Jews expelled from Portugal, born in Dueñas, Castile (d. 1498)
1722 – Leopold Widhalm, Austrian luthier, born in Horn, Austria (d. 1776)
1827 – Edmund Jackson Davis, American lawyer, soldier, and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in St. Augustine, Florida (d. 1883)
1895 – Fritz Eberhard, [Helmut von Rauschenplat], German journalist, anti-fascist war resistor, and co-signer of modern constitution, born in Dresden, German Empire (d. 1982)
1926 – Ramona Fradon, American comic book artist (Metamorpho; Aquaman 1951-63), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2024)
1928 – Spanky McFarland, American actor (Our Gang; The Little Rascals), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 1993)
1938 – Rex Reed, American film critic (At the Movies), author (Do You Sleep in the Nude?) and actor (Myra Breckinridge), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2026)
1951 – Romina Power, American actress (Justine), Euro-pop singer, and daughter of Tyrone Power and Mexican actress Linda Christian, born in Los Angeles, California
1954 – Lani O’Grady, American actress (Mary Bradford in “Eight Is Enough”) and talent agent, born in Walnut Creek, California (d. 2001)
1974 – Michelle Krusiec, Taiwanese-American writer and actress (Saving Face, Hollywood), born in Taiwan
Famous Deaths
1113 – Mawdoed, Selchuk emir/governor of Mosul, dies
1678 – Wu San-kuei, gen, invited Manchus to China, dies trying to expel them
1920 – Max Bruch, German composer (Kol Nidre), dies at 82
1962 – Boris Y. Bukreev, Russian mathematician (b. 1859)
1967 – Albertina Rasch, Austrian-born American ballerina and choreographer, dies at 76
1985 – (Georgios) “George” Savalas, Greek-American actor (Kojak; Kelly’s Heroes), dies of leukemia at 58
1998 – Korla Pandit [John Roland Redd], American pianist and Hammond B-3 organist, exotica and television pioneer (Adventures in Music), dies at 77
2007 – (Elfriede) “Elfi” von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American opera singer, pianist, vocal coach, and film producer, dies of heart failure at 83
2022 – Shirley Englehorn, American golfer (Women’s PGA C’ship 1970), dies at 81
2025 – Roland Bertranne, French rugby union centre (69 Tests; Stade Bagnérais RFC, RC Toulon, Barbarians Rugby; World XV 1980), dies at 75