Today In History
Historical Events
1917 – First Americans to see action on front lines of WWI: US troops enter front lines at Sommervillier under French command
1942 – Film musical “For Me and My Gal,” starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in his screen debut, and directed by Busby Berkeley, premieres in New York City
1979 – Bill Rodgers wins his fourth consecutive men’s title in the New York City Marathon with a time of 2:11:42; defending champion Grete Waitz of Norway wins the women’s event in 2:27:33
1984 – Welsh runner Steve Jones runs the Chicago Marathon in a world record time of 2:08:05, in his first race at this distance
2024 – The “Great Cheese Robbery”: A scam is reported to police involving the theft of rare English Cheddar worth about 300,000 pounds from Neal’s Yard Dairy in London
Famous Birthdays
1762 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch military leader (Brigadier-General) and Governor-General (Dutch-East Indies, 1808-11; Dutch Gold Coast, 1811-15), born in Hattem, Gelderland, Dutch Republic (d. 1818)
1790 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French writer (Poetical Mediations) and politician (briefly led the Second Republic 1848), born in Mâcon, France (d. 1869)
1942 – Christopher A. Sims, American economist known for his work on macroeconomics and Nobel Prize recipient (2011), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2026)
1944 – Tommy Wright, English soccer right-back (12 caps; Everton 308 games), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2026)
1971 – Jade Jagger, English jewelry designer and daughter of Mick and Bianca Jagger, born in Paris, France
Famous Deaths
1773 – Johann Conrad Schlaun, German baroque architect, dies at 78
1953 – Muirhead Bone, Scottish etcher and painter (WWI and WWII war artist), dies at 77
1961 – Nils Johan Einar Ferlin, Swedish poet (Barfotabarn), dies at 62
1980 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and eponym of Asperger syndrome, dies at 74
1998 – Alan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury, British business executive, dies at 96
Historical Events
1803 – English scientist John Dalton reads his paper “On the Absorption of Gases by Water and Other Liquids” to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, outlining his atomic theory
1948 – Facsimile high-speed radio transmission is demonstrated in Washington, D.C.
1948 – Beersheba is liberated by the Israeli army
1961 – Barbra Streisand opens Off-Broadway musical-comedy revue “Another Evening With Harry Stoones”
1986 – Hugh Whitemore’s “Breaking the Code” premieres in London
1989 – Bertram Lee and Peter Bynoe purchase the Denver Nuggets for $65 million, becoming the first African American owners of a major sports team
1998 – Baseball World Series: New York Yankees beat San Diego 3-0 in Game 4 at Qualcomm Stadium to sweep the Padres and win their second title in three years; MVP: Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius
2015 – Alex Puccio ascends Free Range in Boulder Canyon, Colorado, climbing V13 (8B) after recovering from a knee injury
Famous Birthdays
1675 – Higashiyama [Asahito], 113th Emperor of Japan (1687-1709) during the Genroku era, born in Kyōto, Japan (d. 1710)
1823 – Emilio Arrieta, Spanish opera and zarzuela composer (Marina), born in Puente la Reina, Spain (d. 1894)
1884 – (Don Stephen) “D.S.” Senanayake, Ceylonese politician and leader of Sri Lankan independence movement (1st Prime Minister of Ceylon, 1947-52), born in Botale, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) (d. 1952)
1933 – Matt Bennett, American actor (Hickey and Boggs; The Unholy Rollers), born in Greenup, Kentucky (d. 1991)
1940 – Frances FitzGerald, American journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author (Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam), born in New York City
1940 – Osamu Watanabe, Japanese freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold 63kg 1964; World C’ship gold 1962, 63), born in Wassamu, Hokkaido, Japan (d. 2022)
1946 – Phil Chen, Chinese-Jamaican rock session and touring bassist (Jeff Beck, 1974-76; Rod Stewart, 1977-80; Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger), born in Kingston, Jamaica (d. 2021)
1946 – Lee Loughnane, American horn player and songwriter (Chicago), born in Elmwood Park, Illinois
1987 – Anele Ngcongca, South African soccer defender (53 caps; Genk), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2020)
1988 – Glen Powell, American screenwriter and actor (Top Gun: Maverick, Twisters, Anyone But You), born in Austin, Texas
Famous Deaths
1266 – Birger jarl, Swedish statesman (b. 1210)
1765 – Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Italian painter and architect, dies at 73
1881 – Eduard Heine, German mathematician known for the Heine-Borel theorem, dies at 60
1961 – Nils Johan Einar Ferlin, Swedish poet (Barfotabarn), dies at 62
1967 – Ejnar Hertzsprung, Danish astronomer (Hertzsprung-Russell diagram), dies at 94
1993 – James Leo Herlihy, American novelist (Midnight Cowboy), commits suicide at 66
1996 – Wang Li, politician, dies at 78
2009 – Louise Cooper, British fantasy author (Nemesis, Inferno, Infanta, Nocturne), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 57
2020 – Frank Bough, British sports and current affairs television presenter, dies at 87
2022 – Peter Schjeldahl, American poet (Since 1964) and art critic (The New Yorker, 1998-2022), dies at 80