Today In History
Historical Events
1543 – Mary Stuart, at nine months old, is crowned Queen of Scots in the central Scottish town of Stirling
1892 – Edward Emerson Barnard at Lick Observatory discovers Amalthea, Jupiter’s fifth moon
1972 – US Open Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Billie Jean King retains her title, beating Kerry Melville Reid of Australia 6-3, 7-5
1992 – MLB player Robin Yount is the 17th to reach 3,000 hits
2017 – 74th Venice Film Festival: “The Shape of Water” directed by Guillermo del Toro wins the Golden Lion
Famous Birthdays
1819 – Martin Luther Smith, American Major General (Confederate Army), born in Danby, New York (d. 1866)
1890 – Colonel Harland Sanders, American founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, born in Henryville, Indiana (d. 1980)
1939 – Howard “Buck” McKeon, (Rep-R-California 1993-2015), born in Los Angeles, California
1944 – Mike Patrick [Michael Carduff], American sportscaster and voice of ESPN’s Sunday Night Football (1987-2005), born in Clarksburg, West Virginia (d. 2025)
1962 – Aleta Rzepecki Sill, American bowler (1983 WIBC single), born in Detroit, Michigan
Famous Deaths
1612 – Nakagawa Hidenari, Japanese warlord (b. 1570)
1946 – Mynona [Salomo Friedlaender], German-Jewish philospher and writer (The Creator), dies at 74
1954 – Alfred Gradstein, Polish composer, dies at 49
2020 – Henrietta Boggs, American activist, journalist and First Lady of Costa Rica (1948-49), dies at 102
2025 – Polly Holliday, American actress known for her catchphrase “Kiss my grits!” (Flo Castlebberry in “Alice” and “Flo”), dies at 88
Historical Events
701 – St Sergius I reign as Catholic Pope ends
1493 – Battle of Krbava Field: Ottoman Empire decisively defeats an army of the Kingdom of Croatia
1944 – US 113th cavalry passes Belgian-Dutch borders
1990 – US Open Men’s Tennis: 19-year-old Pete Sampras wins his first Grand Slam title, beating fellow American Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, becoming the youngest male US Open winner
2018 – Green Bay Packers start their 100th season with a historic 24-23 comeback win over the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field; it is the first Packers recovery from a 17+ point deficit at three-quarter time (20-3)
2019 – Australia experiences its earliest and most severe start to the fire season, fighting dozens of bushfires in Queensland and New South Wales
2019 – Nigerian government says it will repatriate 600 people from South Africa after two people are killed in a wave of xenophobic violence in Johannesburg
2021 – Tom Brady becomes the first player in NFL history to start 300 regular-season games as he guides the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to an opening day 31-29 win at home against the Dallas Cowboys
Famous Birthdays
1629 – Cornelis Tromp, Dutch naval officer and son of Maarten Tromp, born in Rotterdam, Dutch Republic (d. 1691)
1850 – Leopoldo Miguez, Brazilian composer, born in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro (d. 1902)
1875 – Jack O’Connor, Australian cricket fast bowler (4 Tests, 13 wickets, BB 5/40; NSW CA, SA CA), born in Boorowa, Australia (d. 1941)
1919 – Jacques Marin, French character actor (The Vintage, Charade), born in Paris, France (d. 2001)
1924 – Rik Van Steenbergen, Belgian cyclist and youngest winner of the Tour of Flanders, born in Arendonk, Belgium (d. 2003)
1935 – Gopal Baratham, Singaporean author known for “A Candle or the Sun” and neurosurgeon, born in Singapore (d. 2002)
1946 – Hayato Tani [Hajime Iwatani], Japanese actor (Kii Hantâ, Light Squadron Maskman), born in Kirishima, Japan
1952 – Angela Cartwright, English-American actress (The Sound of Music, Lost in Space), born in Altrincham, England
1960 – Hugh Grant, English actor (4 Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones’ Diary), born in London, England
1973 – Troy Rudolph, Canadian actor and production assistant (Suburbanators, Viper), born in Calgary, Canada
Famous Deaths
1596 – Anna Jagiellon, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania (1575-87), dies at 72
1841 – Augustin Pyrame de Candolle, Swiss botanist, established a plant classification system and coined the term taxonomy, dies at 63
1959 – Max d’Ollone, French composer and writer (Le Ménestrel), dies at 84
1979 – Wilbur Ware, American jazz double bassist (Riverside Records; Thelonious Monk; Sonny Rollins), included in photographer Art Kane’s photo “A Great Day In Harlem”, dies of emphysema at 56
1981 – Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and semanticist, dies at 80
1994 – Patrick O’Neal, American actor (Under Siege; The Stepford Wives; King Rat; Night of the Iguana), dies at 66
1996 – Jack Pepys, South African British immunologist (allergy and allergic diseases), dies at 82
1998 – Bill Cratty, American modern dancer and choreographer, dies of liver cancer at 47
2006 – Richard Burmer, American composer and musician, dies at 50
2008 – Warith Deen Muhammad, American Muslim leader and theologian (American Society of Muslims), dies at 74