Today In History
Historical Events
1846 – Oregon Treaty signed, setting US-British boundary at 49°N
1918 – 1″ of snow falls in Northern Pennsylvania
1966 – Mexican record temperature of 52.5 °C (126.5 °F) in the shade is recorded in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora
1974 – Novelty song “The Streak” by Ray Stevens hits #1 on UK pop chart
1991 – Birth of the first federal political party in Canada that supports Quebec nationalism, le Bloc Québécois
Famous Birthdays
1763 – Franz Danzi, German composer and cellist, born in Schwetzingen, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1826)
1870 – Maud Barger-Wallach, American tennis player (US Nat C’ship 1908), born at New York, NY (d. 1954)
1890 – Georg Wüst, German Oceanographer (provided first complete understanding of the temperature, salinity and deep-current structure of the Atlantic Ocean), born in Posen, Germany (d. 1977)
1935 – Belinda Lee, English actress (Who Done It, Runaway Bus), born in Devon, England (d. 1961)
1981 – Billy Martin, American guitarist and songwriter (Good Charlotte – The Young and the Hopeless), born in Annapolis, Maryland,
Famous Deaths
1246 – Frederick II “the Warlike”, duke of Austria and Styria (1230-46), dies at the Battle of Leitha at 35
1962 – Alfred Cortot, French-Swiss pianist and teacher, dies at 84
1990 – George Nakashima, American furniture maker and architect (American Craft Movement), dies at 85
2016 – Lois Duncan, American young adult novelist (I Know What You Did Last Summer), dies at 82
2018 – Joe DeNardo, American meteorologist and television weatherman (KDKA and WTAE in Pittsburgh, 1957-2009), dies at 87
Historical Events
1667 – The first fully documented human blood transfusion is performed by French physician Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys when a small amount of sheep blood is transfused into a 15-year-old boy, who survives the procedure
1894 – Phillies beat Cincinnati Reds, 21-8
1957 – US Open Men’s Golf, Inverness Club: Dick Mayer defeats defending champion Cary Middlecoff by 7 strokes in an 18-hole playoff to win his only major title
1965 – South Africa begins economic boycott of Dutch products
1980 – Jorge Orta of Cleveland gets 6 hits in a baseball game
2014 – NBA Finals: San Antonio Spurs beat Miami Heat, 104-87 in Game 5 for 5th NBA Championship in franchise history; MVP: Kawhi Leonard
2019 – Anthony Davis’s opera “The Central Park Five” premieres at the Long Beach Opera Company, California (Pulitzer Prize for Music 2020)
2021 – US death toll from COVID-19 tops 600,000 (Johns Hopkins), with 65% of adults vaccinated with at least one dose
Famous Birthdays
1330 – Edward the Black Prince [Edward of Woodstock], English prince, knight and heir to King Edward III, born in Woodstock Palace, England (d. 1376)
1662 – Tokugawa Ienobu, 6th Japanese shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate (1709-12), born in Kōfu, Japan (d. 1712)
1920 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor (Miser, Taxi Driver in NY, Me and Caterina), born in Rome, Italy (d. 2003)
1933 – Mohammad Ali Rajai, President of Iran (1981) who was assassinated by a bomb while in office, born in Qazvin, Persia (d. 1981)
1934 – Ruby Nash Curtis [Garnett], American pop and RandB singer (Ruby and the Romantics – “Our Day Will Come”; “Hey There Lonely Boy”), born in Akron, Ohio
1949 – Simon Callow, English actor (Four Weddings and a Funeral; A Room With A View), born in London, England
1954 – James Belushi, American comedian (Saturday Night Live, Trading Places), born in Chicago, Illinois
1957 – Clio Goldsmith, actress (Gift, Heat of Desire), born in Paris, France
1961 – Kai Eckhardt, Liberian-German jazz-fusion bassist (Garaj Mahal), born in Mainz, Germany
1973 – Pia Miranda, Australian actress (Looking for Alibrandi, The Tender Hook), born in Melbourne, Australia
Famous Deaths
1772 – Louis-Claude Daquin [d’Acquin], French organist and composer (La Rose), dies at 77
1893 – Ferenc Erkel, Hungarian composer (Himnusz), dies at 82
1958 – François de Vries, Dutch economist, dies at 74
1961 – Giulio Cabianca, Italian racing driver (b. 1923)
1985 – Len Hopwood, cricketer (took 0-155 in two Tests Eng v Aust 1934), dies
1993 – James Hunt, English auto racer (Formula 1 World Drivers Champion 1976), dies of a heart attack at 45
1993 – Vera, scarf/linen designer, dies of cardiac arrest at 87
1996 – Clare Grundman, American composer and arranger (An Irish Rhapsody), dies at 83
2015 – Kirk Kerkorian, American CEO and “father of the mega-resort” (MGM, UA), dies at 98
2017 – John Robert Jones [John Dalmas], American sci-fi author (White Regiment, Lizard War), dies at 90