Today In History
Historical Events
1893 – English author Beatrix Potter writes the story of Peter Rabbit for a 5-year-old boy
1918 – Jhr. Ch. Ruys de Beerenbrouck becomes the first Dutch Catholic prime minister
1962 – The Beatles record “How Do You Do It” at EMI Studios in London
1963 – Swissair Flight 306 crashes near Dürrenäsch, Switzerland, killing all 80 people on board
1967 – Jerry Lewis’s 2nd Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $1,126,846
Famous Birthdays
1746 – Bernardus Bosch, Dutch vicar and poet, born in Deventer, Netherlands (d. 1803)
1915 – Rudolf Schock, German opera tenor, born in Duisburg, Germany (d. 1986)
1918 – Bill Talbert, American tennis player (9 x Grand Slam doubles titles; US Open singles 1944, 45 runner-up; International Tennis HOF), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1999)
1937 – Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle 1956, 60, 64; 4×100m freestyle relay 1956), born in Sydney, Australia
1981 – Beyoncé Knowles, American pop and RandB singer, songwriter, producer and actress (Destiny’s Child), born in Houston, Texas
Famous Deaths
1571 – Matthew Stuart, Earl of Lennox, regent of Scotland for his grandson King James VI, shot and killed during a skirmish in Stirling at 54
2000 – John Beith, British diplomat who served as the ambassador to Israel and Belgium, dies at 86
2014 – Ron Mulock, Australian politician (Deputy Premier of New South Wales, 1984-88; Mayor of Perth, Penrith, 1968-71), dies at 84
2014 – Wolfhart Pannenberg, German theologist (Gingham Girl), dies at 85
2018 – Bill Daily, American actor and comedian (I Dream of Jeannie – “Roger”; The Bob Newhart Show – “Howard”), dies at 91
Historical Events
1786 – William of Orange’s troops overthrow the Dutch towns of Hattem and Elburg
1932 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Keller GC: Olin Dutra wins the first of 2 major titles, beating Frank Walsh, 4 and 3
1944 – Finland breaks diplomatic contact with Nazi Germany
1951 – First transcontinental TV broadcast by US President Harry Truman
1972 – American swimmer Melissa Belote, with a world record of 2:19.19, wins the 200 m backstroke gold medal at the Munich Olympics and wraps up the backstroke double, having won the 100 m in Olympic record time
1979 – Iranian army conquers Baneh
1994 – Tom Tupa scores the first two-point conversion in NFL history, running a fake extra point attempt for the Cleveland Browns in a 28-20 win at Cincinnati
2019 – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam withdraws the controversial extradition bill to China after three months of massive protests
Famous Birthdays
1907 – Leo Castelli, Italian-American art dealer, born in Trieste, Austrian Littoral, Austria-Hungary (d. 1999)
1913 – Stanford Moore, American biochemist (Nobel 1977), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1982)
1913 – Mickey Cohen, American gangster (Cohen crime family), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1976)
1927 – John McCarthy, American computer scientist (coined the term “artificial intelligence,” created the Lisp programming language), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2011)
1931 – Antoine Bonifaci, French soccer midfielder (12 caps; OGC Nice, FC Inter Milan, Bologna FC, Torino FC), born in Bezons, France (d. 2021)
1934 – Carlos Timoteo Griguol, Argentine soccer midfielder (Atlanta, Rosario Central) and manager (Ferro Carril Oeste, Real Betis, River Plate), born in Las Palmas, Argentina (d. 2021)
1936 – Judea Pearl, Israeli-American computer scientist (Turing Award), born in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine
1957 – Khandi Alexander, American dancer, choreographer and actress (Scandal, CSI: Miami), born in Jacksonville, Florida
1976 – Katreeya English, Thai singer and actress (The Gifted, Khon 2 Khom), born in Oxford, England
1979 – Kosuke Matsuura, Japanese auto racer (IndyCar and Indy 500 Rookie of the Year 2004; Formula Dream 2000), born in Aichi, Japan
Famous Deaths
1784 – César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer (geodesic labor), dies at 70
1864 – John Hunt Morgan, American Confederate military leader of ‘Morgan’s Raiders’, killed by Union troops at Greeneville at 39
1977 – Stelios Perpiniadis, Greek folk singer, songwriter and guitarist, dies at 78
1988 – Oda Schaefer, German writer and journalist (Die Windharfe, Ladies Only), dies at 87
1994 – Laurens van Deenen, Dutch biochemist, dies at 66
1997 – Jeffrey Bernard, British writer (Spectator Magazine – Low Life), dies at 65
2007 – Ryūzō Sejima, Japanese army officer and educator, dies at 95
2023 – Ferid Murad, American physician and pharmacologist (Nobel Prize for Medicine – 1998), dies at 86
2023 – Steve Harwell, American rock singer-songwriter (Smash Mouth, 1994-2021 – “All Star”, “I’m A Believer”), dies of liver failure at 56
2025 – Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer (American Gigolo) and founder of the Armani luxury fashion house, dies at 91