Today In History
Historical Events
1961 – Soviet Union tests a 58-megaton hydrogen bomb named Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated
1988 – Brazilian McLaren driver Ayrton Senna wins the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, his record 8th Grand Prix win of the season, and clinches his first Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship
1992 – MTA begins installing automated fare collection turnstiles in New York City
1997 – Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona announces his retirement from football on his 37th birthday
2014 – Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks win the 2014 Japan Series
Famous Birthdays
1576 – Enrico Caterino Davila, Italian writer (Storia delguerre civili Francia), born in Padua, Italy (d. 1631)
1840 – William Graham Sumner, American sociologist (Folkways), born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 1910)
1917 – Bobby Bragan, American baseball manager (Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves) and utility (Philadelphia Phillies, Brooklyn Dodgers), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2010)
1942 – Sven-David Sandström, Swedish composer (Jeppe: The Cruel Comedy), born in Motala, Sweden (d. 2019)
1954 – T. Graham Brown, American country music singer (“Come As You Were”), born in Arabi, Georgia
Famous Deaths
1912 – Jan Karol Gall, Polish conductor and composer of mostly vocal pieces (Mizerna, cicha), dies at 55
1972 – Alan Roth, American orchestra leader (Milton Berle Show), dies at 68
2002 – William Mitchell, British physicist, dies at 77
2006 – Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist (symbolic anthropology), dies at 80
2018 – María Irene Fornés, Cuban-American playwright (Fefu and Her Friends, Enter the Night), dies at 88
Historical Events
1340 – Battle of Rio Salado (or Tarifa): King Afonso IV of Portugal and King Alfonso XI of Castile defeat Sultan Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali of Morocco and Yusuf I of Granada in the last Marinid invasion of the Iberian Peninsula
1899 – British Morning Post reporter Winston Churchill reaches Cape Town
1970 – KVEW TV channel 42 in Kennewick, Washington (ABC), begins broadcasting
1975 – John Bucyk of the Boston Bruins becomes the seventh NHL player to score 500 goals
1987 – In Japan, NEC releases the first 16-bit home entertainment system, the TurboGrafx-16, known as PC Engine
1991 – The Madrid Peace Conference begins in Madrid, Spain, to negotiate peace in the Middle East
2019 – Kashmir officially loses its autonomous status, its flag and its constitution, as India brings it under federal control
2024 – English rock band Coldplay plays first show in their history without all four members on stage, as bassist Guy Berryman takes ill just before showtime at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia
Famous Birthdays
1513 – Jacques Amyot, French humanist, translator and Abbot of Bellozanne, born in Melun (d. 1593)
1668 – Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, 1st Queen consort of Prussia (1701-05), born in Iburg Castle, Osnabrück, Hanover (d. 1705)
1871 – Paul Valéry [Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry], French author, philosopher and poet (La Jeune Parque), born in Sète, France (d. 1945)
1881 – Lena Christ, German writer (The Rumplhanni), born in Glonn, Bavaria (d. 1920)
1895 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician (Nobel 1956 – development of cardiac catheterization and the characterisation of a number of cardiac diseases), born in Orange, New Jersey (d. 1973)
1912 – Preston Lockwood [Reginald], British actor (Time Bandits, Jeeves and Wooster), born in West Ham, Essex (d. 1996)
1925 – Errol Parker [Raphael Shecroun], French Algerian jazz pianist and drummer, born in Oran, French Algeria (d. 1998)
1939 – Leland H. Hartwell, American scientist (Nobel 2001 – discoveries of protein molecules that control the division (duplication) of cells), born in Los Angeles, California
1963 – Rebecca Heineman, American video game developer (Doom, Dragon Wars) and co-founder of Interplay Productions and Logicware, born in Whittier, California (d. 2025)
1970 – Nia Long, American actress (Guiding Light, Made in America, Soul Food), born in Brooklyn, New York
Famous Deaths
1680 – Antoinette Bourignon, Flemish-French mystic, dies at 64
1898 – Yakov Petrovich Polonsky Russian poet (Stichotvorenija), dies at 78
1960 – Alfred Hill, Australian-New Zealand composer and conductor (Hinemoa), dies at 90
1973 – Ernst-Lothar von Knorr, German composer, and music educator, dies at 77
1979 – Barnes Wallis, English scientist, engineer and inventor (bouncing bomb), dies at 92
1991 – Ken Hardin, producer, dies at 62
2002 – Rudolf Brucci [Bruči], Italian-Croatian composer (Gilgamesh; Lesta), and educator, dies at 85
2018 – [James] Whitey Bulger, American organized crime boss, killed at 89 shortly after arriving at US Penitentiary Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia
2019 – Don Fraser, American boxing promoter (LA venues; Sugar Ray Robinson, Ruben Olivares, George Foreman; known for colorful wardrobe, offbeat PR gimmicks), dies at 92
2020 – Herb Adderley, American Pro Football HOF cornerback (Super Bowl 1967, 68, 71; 5 x Pro Bowl; 4 × First-team All-Pro; Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys), dies from COVID-19 at 81