Today In History
Historical Events
1900 – Japan’s primary school law is amended to provide four years of mandatory schooling
1915 – Chicago White Sox acquire “Shoeless” Joe Jackson from Cleveland for Robert Roth, Larry Chappell, Ed Klepfer, and $31,500; Jackson becomes involved in the “Black Sox Scandal” in 1919
1958 – Chicago Cubs use first baseman Dale Long as their first major league lefty catcher since 1906
2011 – Senior Players Championship Men’s Golf, Westchester CC: Fred Couples wins the first of two Champions Tour major titles with a birdie on the third playoff hole against John Cook
2023 – Guatemala’s presidential election is won by anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo, who defeats former first lady Sandra Torres
Famous Birthdays
1811 – Gilman Marston, American Brigadier General (Union Army) and politician (R-NH), born in Orford, New Hampshire (d. 1890)
1832 – Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, American aeronaut and inventor, born in Jefferson Mills, Coos County, New Hampshire (d. 1913)
1937 – George Thoma, German cross country ski jumper (Olympic gold 1960), born in Newstadt, Germany
1968 – Klas Ingesson, Swedish footballer and manager, born in Ödeshög, Sweden (d. 2014)
1987 – Zakir Khan, Indian comedian (On Air with AIB), born in Indore, India
Famous Deaths
1672 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician and naval commander (Raid on the Medway – Chatham Dockyard), lynched at 49
1707 – Nicolas Gigault, French Baroque organist and composer, dies at about 80
1986 – Donn Bennett, TV host (The Big Idea), dies at 76
1994 – Kalman Kahana, Polish co-founder of state Israel, dies at 81
2005 – Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish heavy metal drummer, dies of heart failure at 34
Historical Events
1945 – Soviet troops occupy Harbin and Mukden
1964 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Economic Opportunity Act, an anti-poverty measure totaling nearly $1 billion
1979 – The East Coast Main Line rail route between England and Scotland is restored with the opening of the Penmanshiel Diversion
1989 – American Janet Evans swims the women’s 800 m freestyle world record of 8:16.22 at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, Japan
2006 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Medinah CC: Tiger Woods wins his 3rd PGA C’ship by 5 strokes from Shaun Micheel
2008 – Spanair Flight 5022 from Madrid to Gran Canaria skids off the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport, killing 146 people in the crash and 8 more afterward. Only 18 people survive
2016 – Star British runner Mo Farah wins the men’s 5000 m in 13:03.30 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and wraps up the 5k/10k double, which he also completed in London 2012
2016 – N. K. Jemisin is the first African American author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel with her work “The Fifth Season”
Famous Birthdays
1561 – Jacopo Peri, Italian composer and singer who wrote the 1st recognized opera “Dafne”, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1633)
1868 – Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (US Nat C’ship 1890), born in Rosedale, New York (d. 1954)
1905 – Jean Gebser [Hans Gebser], German-Swiss philosopher, author (Ursprung und Gegenwart (The Ever-Present Origin)), linguist, and poet, born in Posen, German Empire (d. 1973)
1927 – Yootha Joyce, British actress (Man About the House, George and Mildred), born in Wandsworth, London (d. 1980)
1942 – Hans-Joachim Klein, German 100m swimmer (Olympic bronze 1964), born in Darmstadt, Germany
1947 – Ray Wise, American actor (Twin Peaks, Dead End), born in Akron, Ohio
1952 – Doug Fieger, American singer–songwriter (The Knack – “My Sharona”), born in Oak Park, Michigan (d. 2010)
1954 – Don Stark, American actor (That ’70s Show – “Bob”), born in New York City
1966 – Steven Finn, Canadian NHL defenseman (LA Kings), born in Laval, Quebec, Canada
1981 – Bernard Mendy, French footballer (Paris Saint-Germain), born in Évreux, France
Famous Deaths
1153 – Bernard of Clairvaux, French monk and saint (founded Clairvaux abbey, preached famous sermon advocating for the Second Crusade), dies (b. 1090)
1823 – Pius VII [Luigi Barnaba Gregorio Chiaramonti], Italian bishop of Imola and Pope (1800-23), dies at 81
1905 – David Wark, Irish-born Canadian senator (1867-1905) who served almost 38 years in office, dies at 101
1961 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist (Nobel 1946 – physics of high pressure), dies at 79
1972 – A. M. Klein, Canadian modernist Jewish poet (Hath Not a Jew), dies at 63
1994 – Kalman Kahana, Polish co-founder of state Israel, dies at 81
1995 – Vladimír Škutina, Czechoslovakian writer and actor (Hvezda jede na jih), dies of cancer at 64
2013 – Richard Angas, British operatic bass singer (English National Opera, 1980-2000), dies at 71
2013 – Marian McPartland, British jazz pianist, and radio host (Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz), dies at 95
2017 – Fredell Lack, American concert violinist, and teacher (University of Houston, 1959-2009), dies at 95