Today In History
Historical Events
1632 – Britain grants Lord Baltimore rights to Chesapeake Bay area
1895 – First woman to earn a PhD in Physics from an American university, Caroline Willard Baldwin (25), receives her degree from Cornell University
1943 – Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) founded in Chicago
1968 – Austin Currie, then Nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) at Stormont, and other Irish civil rights activists, protest discrimination in the allocation of housing by ‘squatting’ (illegally occupying) in a house in Caledon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
2012 – A Syrian fighter pilot lands in Jordan and defects from the Syrian uprising
Famous Birthdays
1756 – Joseph Martin Kraus, German-Swedish composer, known as “the Swedish Mozart”, conductor, and pedagogue, born in Miltenberg am Main, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1792)
1868 – Helen Miller Shepard, American philanthropist who established Hall of Fame, born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1938)
1894 – George Delacorte, American philanthropist and publisher (Dell Books), born in New York City (d. 1991)
1894 – Lloyd Hall, African-American chemist and pioneer in food chemistry (science of food preservation), born in Elgin, Illinois (d. 1971)
1947 – Candace “Candy” Clark, American actress (Man Who Fell to Earth, Q, American Graffiti), born in Norman, Oklahoma
Famous Deaths
1846 – Pieter Adams, architect of Rotterdam, dies at about 67
1958 – Kurt Alder, German chemist (Nobel 1950), dies at 55
1960 – Mahlon Hamilton, American actor (Peg O’My Heart, High School Girl), dies at 80 (b. 1880)
2016 – James Victor, Dominican-American actor (Boulevard Night, Streets of LA), dies at 76
2021 – Luis del Sol, Spanish soccer midfielder (16 caps; Betis, Real Madrid, Juventus, Roma) and manager (Betis), dies at 86
Historical Events
1789 – French Revolution: The Third Estate of the French Estates-General swears the Tennis Court Oath at the Palace of Versailles, vowing not to disband until a new constitution is formed
1863 – West Virginia admitted as 35th US state of the Union
1944 – Great storm of 1944: Heavy Atlantic storm destroys Mulberry Harbor – allies artificial harbour used during D-Day at Omaha Beach
1949 – Tennis star Gussie Moran shocks Wimbledon by wearing a short dress “to look good and move more freely on the court”
1969 – A constitutional referendum in Rhodesia on declaring a republic is approved by 72% of the voting population
1975 – Film “Jaws,” based on Peter Benchley’s novel, directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Roy Scheider, is released
1980 – Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán takes WBC welterweight title from Sugar Ray Leonard at Olympic Stadium in Montreal by unanimous points decision
1990 – Nelson Mandela lands in NYC to begin a tour of US
Famous Birthdays
1005 – Ali az-Zahir, 7th Caliph of the Fātimids (1021-36), born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 1036)
1647 – Johann Georg III, Elector of Saxony (1680-91), born in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1691)
1894 – Lloyd Hall, African-American chemist and pioneer in food chemistry (science of food preservation), born in Elgin, Illinois (d. 1971)
1899 – Jean Moulin, French hero of the Résistance during World War II, born in Béziers, France (d. 1943)
1930 – John Wheeler, American vocalist, and stage and screen character actor, born in Corsicana, Texas (d. 2026)
1933 – Danny Aiello, American stage and screen actor (Moonstruck; Do the Right Thing; Broadway Danny Rose), and singer, born in New York City (d. 2019)
1946 – André Watts, American-Hungarian concert pianist, and educator, born in Nuremberg, Germany (d. 2023)
1952 – Larry Riley, American actor (Harry-Stir Crazy, Knots Landing), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1992)
1954 – Alan Lamb, South African cricket batsman (79 Tests England, 14 x 100, HS 142; Western Province; Northamptonshire CCC, Orange Free State), born in Langebaanweg, Cape Province, South Africa
1969 – Malivai Washington, American tennis player (Wimbledon 1998 runner-up), born in Glenn Cove, New York
Famous Deaths
1837 – Giovanni Furno, Italian composer and famous music teacher in Naples, dies at 89
1933 – Clara Zetkin, German feminist, Socialist, and Communist leader, dies at 75
1964 – Edgar Barrier, American actor (Phantom of the Opera, Macbeth, Rocky, Cornered), dies from a heart attack at 57
1978 – Mark Robson, Canadian-American film director (Peyton Place, Valley of the Dolls), dies of a heart attack at 64
1996 – Michel Lebrun [Cade], French crime novelist (Pleins Feux sur Sylvie), screenwriter, and literary critic, dies at 66
1996 – Joseph Green, Polish-American filmmaker, dies at 96
1996 – Walter Guevara Arze, provisional president of Bolivia (1979), dies
1999 – Clifton Fadiman, American editor, radio and TV host (Information, Please!; Quiz Kids), dies of pancreatic cancer at 95
2012 – Andrew Sarris, American movie critic (Village Voice), dies at 83
2018 – Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi, Pakistani satirical and humor writer, dies at 94