Today In History
Historical Events
1926 – England regains Ashes with fifth Test cricket win to take series 1-0
1954 – James E. Wilkins is the first Black person to attend a US cabinet meeting
1958 – Fidel Castro delivers a speech on Radio Rebelde, the clandestine station founded by Che Guevara to broadcast news and revolutionary messages from the Sierra Maestra mountains
2013 – Six people are killed by a bomb blast on a bus in West Bengal, India
2025 – Leaders from across Europe join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a hastily arranged summit meeting with US President Trump at the White House
Famous Birthdays
1938 – Orestes Quércia, Brazilian politician (Governor of São Paulo, 1987-91), born in Pedregulho, Brazil (d. 2010)
1939 – Molly Bee, American actress (Pinky Lee Show), born in Oklahoma City (d. 2009)
1966 – Gustavo Charif, Argentine artist, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
1968 – Mark Robinson, American politician, 2024 North Carolina nominee for Governor, born in Greensboro, North Carolina
1973 – Clarence Benford, American football tight end (Seattle Seahawks), born in Windsor Forest, Georgia
Famous Deaths
1797 – Josiah Spode, English potter and founder of Spode pottery works, dies at 64
1901 – Richard Kleinmichel, composer, dies at 54
1943 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general, dies at 78
1952 – Ralph Byrd, American actor (Dick Tracy TV Show, SOS Coast Guard), dies from a heart attack at 43
2014 – Don Pardo, American television announcer (Jeopardy, Saturday Night Live), dies at 96
Historical Events
440 – St Sixtus III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1612 – Pendle Witch Trial begins with 10 people accused of witchcraft in Lancaster, England; the key witness is a nine-year-old boy
1958 – Verne Gagne defeats Edouard Carpentier in Omaha to become NWA champion
1960 – The first photograph bounces off a satellite between Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Richardson, Texas
1976 – Korean axe murder incident: two US soldiers tasked with cutting down a poplar tree blocking the view of UN observers are killed by North Koreans, claiming it was planted by Kim Il-Sung in the Korean Demilitarized Zone
1986 – WYSP 94.1 FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, begins simulcasting the Howard Stern Radio Show from New York City’s WXRK
1996 – Record 6,654 tap dancers in a single routine at Macy’s Tap-O-mania in New York City
1996 – British Open Women’s Golf, Woburn, Duke’s Course: Emilee Klein wins by 7 strokes ahead of fellow Americans Amy Alcott and Penny Hammel
Famous Birthdays
1754 – François, Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, French general and military engineer, born in Saint-Sornin, France (d. 1833)
1823 – Willem Jan Frans Nuyens, Dutch physician and Roman Catholic historian, born in Avenhorn, Netherlands (d. 1894)
1916 – Moura Lympany [Mary Johnstone], British concert pianist (OBE-1979), born in Saltash England (d. 2009)
1928 – Marge Schott, American MLB owner (Cincinnati Reds), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2004)
1953 – Louie Gohmert, American politician, born in Pittsburg, Texas
1964 – Edith Frost, American psychedelic alt-country singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, born in San Antonio, Texas
1966 – Sarita Choudhury, English actress (And Just Like That…), born in London, England
1968 – Lee Seung-yeon, South Korean actress (The Secret House, 3-Iron), born in Seoul, South Korea
1972 – Keiko Yamada, Japanese pop singer (Globe; A Song Is Born), born in Oita, Japan
1992 – Frances Bean Cobain, American artist and daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1642 – Guido Reni, Italian Baroque painter, dies at 66
1803 – James Beattie, Scottish poet and philosopher (Essay on Truth), dies at 67
1896 – Frederick Crouch, British-American cellist, composer (“Kathleen Mavourneen”), Confederate soldier, and music teacher, dies at 88
1980 – Norman Cazden, American composer, educator, and music theorist, dies at 65
1989 – Luis Carlos Galan, Colombian presidential candidate, murdered
2004 – Hiram Fong, American businessman and politician (U.S. Senator from Hawaii), dies at 97
2009 – Kim Dae-jung, 8th President of South Korea (1998-2003) and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, dies at 85
2010 – Kenneth “Kenny” Edwards, American musician and singer-songwriter (The Stone Poneys, Bryndle), dies of cancer and a blood disorder at 64
2023 – Garry Adey, English rugby union number 8 (2 Tests; Leicester Tigers 381 games) and businessman (Executive Chairman The Adey Group), dies at 78
2025 – Vivian Ayers Allen, American cultural activist, novelist and poet (Hawk, Spice of Dawns), dies at 102