Today In History
Historical Events
1632 – Battle at Castelnaudary: Henri de Montmorency’s rebel army loses to French royalist forces loyal to Louis XIII
1647 – French cardinal Mazarin and the Duke of Modena sign a treaty against Milan
1898 – First forestry school in America opens at Biltmore Estate, North Carolina
1946 – Greece votes in referendum to maintain the monarchy with 68.4% of the vote in support
2012 – US drone strike kills five people in North Waziristan, Pakistan
Famous Birthdays
1856 – Sergei Winogradsky, Russian microbiologist and ecologist, made important discoveries of the nitrogen cycle in nature, born in Kiev, Russian Empire (d. 1953)
1931 – Boxcar Willie [Travis Martin], American soldier (USAF) and singer (“King of the Road”), born in Ellis County, Texas (d. 1999)
1934 – Anatoly Yevtushenko, Ukrainian handball coach (Olympic gold USSR 1976, 88; silver 1980), born in Horlivka, Ukraine (d. 2026)
1952 – Phil Hendrie, American radio personality (The Phil Hendrie Show) and voice actor (The Unit, Rick and Morty, Futurama), born in Arcadia, California
1996 – Zendaya [Coleman], American actress (Spider-Man, Euphoria, Dune), singer and dancer, born in Oakland, California
Famous Deaths
1780 – Reynier de Klerk, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1778-80), dies at 69
1981 – Albert Speer, German architect and Nazi leader (Reich Minister for Armaments and War Production), dies of a stroke at 76
1993 – Aleksey Vakhonin, Russian weightlifter (Olympic gold USSR bantamweight 1964; World C’ship gold 1963, 64, 66), dies at 58
2006 – Sir Kyffin Williams, Welsh landscape painter (b. 1918)
2007 – Viliam Schrojf, Slovak soccer goalkeeper (39 caps Czechoslovakia; Slovan Bratislava 240 games), dies at 76
Historical Events
1915 – The German ambassador to the US pledges again that German submarines will no longer sink liners without warning and providing safety of passengers and crew following the sinking of the British liner “Arabic”
1916 – US President Woodrow Wilson signs the Keating-Owen Act, banning interstate sales of goods made by child labor
1926 – Turkish Civil Code comes into effect, making civil marriage compulsory and legally required across the country
1955 – KARD (now KSNW) TV channel 3 in Wichita, Kansas (NBC) begins broadcasting
1961 – First Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement is held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1982 – Mexico President José López Portillo nationalizes banks
1989 – Chris Evert becomes the first player to win 100 matches in the US National/Open Tennis Championship by defeating Patricia Tarabini 6-2, 6-4
1999 – Former Pittsburgh Penguins star player Mario Lemieux is approved as new owner of the struggling franchise; Penguins become first club in pro sports history to be owned by a former member of the team
Famous Birthdays
1453 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general known as El Gran Capitan, remade the Spain army in the age of the firearm, born at Córdoba (d. 1515)
1529 – Taddeo Zuccari, Italian Mannerist painter (Villa dei Farnese at Caprarola), born in Sant’Angelo in Vado (d. 1566)
1866 – James J. Corbett, American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1892-97), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1933)
1898 – Violet Carson, British actress (Ena Sharples in “Coronation Street”), born in Manchester, England (d. 1983)
1947 – Al Green, American politician (Rep-D-Texas 2005-), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
1968 – Mohammed Atta, Egyptian terrorist (9/11 attacks ringleader), born in Kafr El Sheikh, Egypt (d. 2001)
1972 – Doug Williams [Douglas Durdle], English professional wrestler (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling), born in Reading, England
1977 – David Albelda, Spanish soccer midfielder (51 caps; Valencia CF 351 games), born in La Pobla Llarga, Spain
1981 – Clinton Portis, American football running back (Pro Bowl 2003, 08; Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins), born in Laurel, Mississippi
1994 – Bianca Ryan, American pop singer and songwriter, 1st winner of “America’s Got Talent”, born in Ocean City, New Jersey
Famous Deaths
1862 – Isaac Ingalls Stevens, US Union general-major, dies in battle at 44
1926 – John Hunn, American businessman and 51st Governor of Delaware, dies at 77
1941 – “Kansas City” Frank [Melrose], American jazz and blues pianist, killed in a bar fight in Hammond, Indiana at 33
1991 – Mark Robinson, British actor (The Girl), dies at 30
1995 – Ernest Marke, Sierra Leonean seaman and club owner, dies at 93
1998 – Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount Rothermere, English press magnate (The Mail on Sunday), dies of a heart attack at 73
2003 – Terry Frost, British artist, dies at 87
2006 – Nellie Connally, wife of Texas governor John Connally (b. 1919)
2014 – Joseph Shivers, American chemist and inventor of Spandex, dies at 93
2021 – Marty Fried, American rock drummer (The Cyrkle – “Red Rubber Ball”), and attorney, dies of pancreatic cancer at 77