Today In History
Historical Events
1789 – John Adams sworn in as 1st US Vice President (9 days before Washington)
1862 – Congress establishes US Mint in Denver, Colorodo
1960 – Founding of the Orthodox Bahá’í Faith in Washington, DC
1983 – £1 coin is introduced in the United Kingdom
1995 – FBI arrests Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing case; he is indicted on 160 state offenses and 11 federal offenses, including use of a weapon of mass destruction
Famous Birthdays
1911 – Leonard Warren [Warenoff], American baritone (Metropolitan Opera, 1939-60) who died on stage, born in The Bronx, New York City (d. 1960)
1924 – Ira Louvin [Loudermilk], American country singer and mandolin player (Louvin Brothers – “The Only Way Out (Is to Walk Over Me)”), born in Section, Alabama (d. 1965)
1942 – Brendan Malone, American basketball coach (RI Uni; Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers), born in New York City (d. 2023)
1945 – Diana Darvey [Rollof], British actress, singer and dancer (The Benny Hill Show), born in Cheadle, Cheshire, England (d. 2000)
1958 – Michael Zarnock, American author and Hot Wheels historian, born in Utica, New York
Famous Deaths
1073 – Alexander II [Anselmo da Baggio], Pope (1061-73), dies
1718 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer, known for his work on conic sections, dies at 78
1899 – Heinrich Kiepert, German cartographer and geographer (1st modern maps of classical world and Ottoman Empire), dies at 80
1975 – Jack Westrup, English composer, dies at 70
2008 – Al Wilson, American soul singer (“Show and Tell”; “The Snake”), dies of kidney failure at 68
Historical Events
1930 – Fire at Ohio State Penitentiary kills 322
1944 – NFL Chic Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers merge (dissolves on Dec 3)
1980 – Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWWW Detroit, Michigan
1991 – French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio discovers the San Diego, Dutch galleon sunk in 1600 off Fortune Island in the Philippines
1994 – Serbian army bombs distress clinic in Goradze Bosnia, 28 killed
1997 – 101st Boston Marathon: Lameck Aguta of Kenya wins men’s event in 2:10:34; Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia women’s champion in 2:26:23
2017 – Taliban attack army base at Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, killing more than 100
2018 – Oakland A’s left hander Sean Manaea no-hits the Boston Red Sox
Famous Birthdays
1729 – Catherine the Great [Catherine II], German-born Empress of Russia (1762-96) who expanded the Russian empire, born in Stettin, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1796)
1892 – Jaroslav Kvapil, Czech composer, born in Fryšták, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 1959)
1915 – Werner Groebli, Swiss ice skating clown, (Frick in ice skating act Frick and Frack), born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 2008)
1920 – Bruno Maderna, Italian conductor, and avant garde composer (Quadrivium; Satyricon), born in Venice, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1973)
1932 – Elaine May, American comedienne, writer and actress (New Leaf, Primary Colors), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1936 – Bob Cleary, American hockey HOF center (Olympic gold 1960; Harvard University), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 2015)
1944 – Adrian Hurley, Australian basketball coach (Australian Boomers 1988, 92 Olympics; 1986, 90 World C’ships), born in Bega, Australia
1956 – Rick DeMont, American 400m swimmer, drug disqualification (1972 Olympics)
1966 – Judy Diduck, ice hockey defenseman (Canada, Olympics 1998)
1991 – Karolis Chvedukas, Lithuanian soccer midfielder (20 caps; FK Sūduva 163 games, Waterford FC), born in Marijampolė, Lithuania (d. 2023)
Famous Deaths
1868 – Henry James O’Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
1898 – Louis Théodore Gouvy, French-German composer, dies at 78
1920 – Maria Stanford, American pioneering educator and professor, dies at 83
1970 – Earl Hooker, American blues slide guitar player (“Blue Guitar”), dies of tuberculosis at 40
1973 – Arthur Fadden, 13th Prime Minister of Australia, dies at 79
1990 – Erté [Romain de Tirtoff], Russian-French artist and designer, dies at 97
1995 – Bob Wyatt, English cricket all-rounder and captain (40 Tests, 2 x 100, HS 149, 18 wickets; Warwickshire CCC, Worcestershire CCC), dies at 93
2007 – Lobby Loyde [John Lyde], Australian rock guitarist and songwriter (The Purple Heart; Wild Cherries; Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs), dies at 65
2010 – Ludvigsen [Gustav Lorentzen], Norwegian pop and bilhdren;s music singer-songwriter (Knutsen and Ludvigsen), musical therapist, and UNCEF ambassador, dies of cardiac arrest at 63
2015 – Duncan Watson, British solicitor and disability activist (President of World Blind Union, 1988-92), dies at 88