Today In History
Historical Events
1548 – La Paz, Bolivia, is founded
1945 – Australian Services win third Victory Test Cricket by four wickets
1967 – LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Pleasant Valley CC: Kathy Whitworth wins by 1 stroke from Shirley Englehorn
1990 – Bridgette LeAnn Wilson, 17, of Oregon, 8th crowned Miss Teen USA
2004 – Martha Stewart is sentenced to five months in prison plus five months in home confinement for lying to federal investigators
Famous Birthdays
1715 – Charles de Rohan, Prince de Soubise, Marshal of France, born in Paris (d. 1787)
1919 – Choi Kyu-hah, President of South Korea, born in Wŏnju, South Korea (d. 2006)
1950 – Dennis Priestley, English darts player (PDC World Champion 1994), born in Mexborough, England
1967 – Roger Duffy, American NFL guard and center (NY Jets), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1977 – Jamie Kern Lima, American entrepreneur, co-founder of IT Cosmetics, and first female chief executive officer of a L’Oréal brand (Forbes’ list of “America’s Richest Self-Made Women”), born in Seattle, Washington
Famous Deaths
1342 – King Charles I of Hungary and Croatia, dies at about 53 (exact birth date unknown, 1288)
1879 – Edward Deas Thomson, British-Australian politician, chancellor of the University of Sydney, and member of the Legislative Council of NSW, dies at 79
1981 – Harry Chapin, American folk-rock singer-songwriter (“Taxi”; “Cat’s In The Cradle”), dies in car crash at 38
1991 – Frank Rizzo, American politician (Mayor-D-Philadelphia, 1972-80), dies of a heart attack at 70
2025 – Barrie Robran, Australian Football HOF forward (AFL Legend Status; North Adelaide FC 201 games; Magarey Medal 1968, 70, 73), dies at 77
Historical Events
1439 – Kissing is banned in England to stop the spread of the Black Death
1863 – Utrecht-Swells railway opens
1897 – The South African Committee, investigating the Jameson Raid releases its report finding that it was conducted almost implicitly through the support and encouragement of Cecil Rhodes and the mining houses in the Transvaal
1920 – General Amos Fries is appointed as the first U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Service Chief
1950 – Single-day 16-team home run record set at 37 (NL-25, AL-12)
1960 – 205,000 (record sports attend) see Brazil-Uruguay World Cup soccer
1994 – Wendy Wasserstein’s stage play “The Sisters Rosensweig,” starring Madeline Kahn, closes at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC, after 556 performances
2023 – Jam rock band Dead and Company, an outgrowth of the Grateful Dead, plays the final show of its final concert tour, at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California
Famous Birthdays
1877 – Béla Schick, Hungarian-American paediatrician (Schick test), born in Balatonboglár, Hungary (d. 1967)
1882 – Felix Locher, Swiss insurance salesman, mapping system inventor, and late in life, actor (Frankenstein’s Daughter), born in Berne, Switzerland (d. 1969)
1896 – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German human biologist and Nazi physician, born in Wildeck, German Empire (d. 1969)
1896 – Trygve Lie, Norwegian politician and 1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (1946-52), born in Oslo, Sweden–Norway (d. 1968)
1918 – George Mueller, NASA Systems Engineer (managed 1969 Moon landing), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 2015)
1923 – Reg Prentice, British politician (Member of Parliament, 1957-87), born in Croydon, Surrey (d. 2001)
1935 – Tom Rosenthal, British publisher and broadcaster, born in London (d. 2014)
1944 – Thomas Boggs, American rock drummer (The Box Tops, 1968-70 – “Sweet Cream Ladies”), born in Wynne, Arkansas (d. 2008)
1948 – Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli-American violinist (Leventritt Prize, 1967), conductor (St. Paul Chamber, 1980-87; National Arts Centre (Canada), 1999-2015), and pedagogue, born in Tel Aviv, Israel
1973 – Tim Ryan, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio), born in Niles, Ohio
Famous Deaths
1890 – Gottfried Keller, German-Swiss novelist and poet, dies at 70
1897 – Levin Goldschmidt, German business law expert, dies at 1897
1972 – Max Zehnder, Swiss composer, dies at 70
1976 – Carmelo Soria, Spanish diplomat assassinated in 1976 by the Chilean DINA
1982 – Patrick Dewaere, French actor (Les Valseuses, Get Out Your Handkerchiefs), commits suicide at 35
1991 – Robert Motherwell, American painter (Elegies to Spanish Rep), dies at 76
1999 – John F. Kennedy Jr, American magazine publisher (George), lawyer and son of JFK, dies in a plane crash at 38
2001 – Terry Gordy, American professional wrestler, dies at 40
2007 – Tom Brooks, Australian cricket umpire (23 Tests 1970-78), dies at 88
2022 – Hobie Billingsley, American ISHOF diving coach (Indiana University 1959-89; 6 x NCAA team championships; US Olympic team 1968, 72, 76), dies from myasthenia gravis at 95