Today In History
Historical Events
1914 – Montenegro declares war on Germany
1930 – MLB St. Louis Cardinals are 12 games back in the NL and go on to win the pennant
1938 – Great Trek Centenary Celebrations commence; the Great Trek was a migration involving Boers leaving the Cape Colony and settling in the interior of South Africa
1992 – Germany goes through the field hockey competition undefeated to win gold with a 2-1 victory over Australia in the men’s final at the Barcelona Olympics
2004 – John Elway is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Famous Birthdays
1899 – Victor Young, American violinist, arranger, orchestra leader, and composer (“Street of Dreams”; “Love Letters”; “I Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You”), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1956)
1908 – Chivu Stoica, Romanian politician (Premier of Romania 1955-61), born in Smeeni, Romania (d. 1975)
1928 – Ken Scowcroft, English insurance magnate and founder of Swinton Insurance (1957), born in England (d. 2018)
1977 – Szilárd Németh, Slovak soccer striker (58 caps; Slovan Bratislava, Middlesborough, Alemannia Aachen), born in Komárno, Slovakia
1979 – Richard Harwood, British cellist, born in Portsmouth, England
Famous Deaths
1863 – Angus MacAskill known as ‘Giant MacAskill’, circus performer (b.1825)
1969 – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German human biologist and Nazi physician, dies at 73
1988 – Félix Leclerc, French Canadian singer and composer (Moi, mes souliers), dies at 74
1992 – Alison L. Gertz, American aids-activist, Esquire women of year, dies of aids at 26
2018 – Richard Searby, Australian right-hand man of Rupert Murdoch and Chairman of News Corporation, dies at 87
Historical Events
1863 – American Civil War: Tennessee’s “military” Governor Andrew Johnson frees his personal slaves, celebrated as a holiday by Tennessee African Americans in the early 20th century
1870 – The Republic of Ploiești, a failed Radical-Liberal uprising against Domnitor Carol I of Romania
1943 – Common Chiefs of Staff meet in Quebec
1960 – Brian Hyland’s recording of “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini”, a novelty pop song written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
1975 – As a result of rainfall from Typhoon Nina, the Banqiao Dam in China fails, causing the collapse of almost 6 million buildings and 229,000 deaths
1984 – Future five-time America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts of New Zealand wins the Finn Class sailing gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics
1988 – US Senior Open Men’s Golf, Medinah CC: Gary Player of South Africa wins by two strokes over New Zealander Bob Charles in an 18-hole playoff, claiming his second consecutive US Senior title
2017 – The Walt Disney Company announces plans to create its own streaming service, cancelling ties with Netflix
Famous Birthdays
1746 – Hieronymus van Alphen, Dutch poet of children’s poems (Proeve van kleine gedigen voor Kinder), born in Gouda, The Netherlands (d. 1803)
1820 – Winfield Scott Featherston “Old Swet”, American politician and Army Brigadier General (Confederate), born near Murfreesboro, Tennessee (d. 1891)
1921 – Roger Nixon, American composer, born in Tulare, California (d. 2009)
1927 – Jim Weaver, American politician (US Representatives from Oregon, 1975-87), businessman, and WWII veteran, born in Brookings, South Dakota (d. 2020)
1935 – Donald P. Bellisario, American television producer (Magnum P.I., NCIS), born in Cokeburg, Pennsylvania
1942 – Jay David, American drummer, and arranger (Brenda Lee; Dr Hook and Medicine Show, 1968-73 – “The Cover of the Rolling Stone”), born in New Jersey
1955 – Diddú [Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir], Icelandic soprano and songwriter, born in Reykjavík, Iceland
1971 – Marcello Simmons, American CFL defensive back (Toronto Argonauts), born in Tomball, Texas
1981 – Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player (20 x Grand Slam singles titles; Olympic gold doubles 2008; Davis Cup 2014; 6 x Tour Finals), born in Bottmingen, Switzerland
1994 – Lauv [Ari Staprans Leff]. American singer-songwriter, and record producer (“I Like Me Better”), born in San Francisco, California
Famous Deaths
1553 – Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)
1824 – Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist (Prolegomena), dies at 65
1879 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher, dies at 83
1897 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss cultural historian, dies at 79
1934 – Wilbert Robinson, American Baseball HOF catcher (Philadelphia A’s, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals) and manager (Baltimore Orioles, Brooklyn Robins), dies at 71
1984 – Ellen Raskin, American author (b.1928)
1988 – Alan Napier, British actor (The Sword in the Stone, Batman), dies at 85
1997 – Duncan Swift, English jazz pianist, dies at 74
2008 – Joseph Gelineau, French Catholic Jesuit priest and composer, dies at 87
2025 – Peter Lester, New Zealand sailor (Admiral’s Cup 1987 helmsman ‘Propaganda’; OK Dinghy World C’ship 1977) and broadcaster, dies after a heart attack at 70