Today In History
Historical Events
1657 – Oliver Cromwell constrains English army leader John Lambert
1934 – Babe Ruth hits 700th career home run against Detroit
1985 – Doctors at Bethesda Naval hospital remove two small benign polyps from US President Ronald Reagan’s colon
2003 – Senior Players Championship Men’s Golf, TPC of Michigan: Craig Stadler wins his first of two Champions Tour major titles by three strokes over Tom Kite, Jim Thorpe, and Tom Watson
2021 – Violent protests and looting following the jailing of Jacob Zuma leave 337 dead in South Africa, with more than 200 shopping malls set on fire
Famous Birthdays
1770 – Alexander Balashov, Russian general and statesman, born in Moscow (d. 1837)
1946 – Andrew Pryce Jackman, British progressive rock keyboardist, arranger, and composer (The Syn), born in England (d. 2003)
1949 – Helena Fibingerová, Czech athlete (World C’ship gold shot put 1983; Olympic bronze 1976; 3 x WR), born in Víceměřice, Czechoslovakia
1953 – Violeta Dinescu, Romanian pianist, composer (Tabar), and music professor, born in Bucharest, Romania
1994 – Ridge Canipe, American actor (Walk the Line; A Single Man; Music Within), born in Laguna Beach, California
Famous Deaths
1842 – Jesse Bennett, American physician who performed 1st successful US Caesarean (1794), dies at 72
1860 – John Ackersdijk, Dutch state house builder, dies at 69
1863 – John S. Bowen, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 32
1955 – Beulah Ecton Woodard, African-American sculptor, dies at 59
1960 – Joy Davidman, American poet, writer and wife of C. S. Lewis, dies at 45
Historical Events
1837 – Queen Victoria is the first monarch to live in present-day Buckingham Palace
1923 – The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally reads “Hollywoodland,” but the last four letters are dropped after renovation in 1949.
1930 – First football World Cup competition begins in Uruguay
1967 – Race riots break out in Newark, New Jersey killing 27
1971 – 42nd MLB All-Star Game, Tiger Stadium, Detroit, MI: AL beats NL, 6-4; MVP: Frank Robinson, Baltimore Orioles, OF
1972 – NFL franchises LA Rams (Irsay) and Baltimore Colts (Rosenbloom) swap owners
1978 – Alexander Ginzburg is sentenced by a Soviet court to eight years in a labor camp
2018 – HBO announces that it has obtained the rights to “The Nevers,” a project by Joss Whedon
Famous Birthdays
1909 – Washington Castro, Argentine cellist, conductor, composer, and pedagogue, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2004)
1922 – Anker Jørgensen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (1972-3, 75-82), born in Copenhagen (d. 2016)
1943 – Leroy Hodges, American soul and RandB bassist (Hi Rhythm Section; Al Green), born in Germantown, Tennessee
1944 – Ernő Rubik, Hungarian inventor (Rubik’s cube), born in Budapest, Hungary
1953 – Larry Gomes, West Indian cricket batsman (60 Tests, 9 x 100, HS 143; Trinidad and Tobago, Middlesex CCC), born in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago
1962 – Rhonda Vincent, American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and musician, born in Kirksville, Missouri
1968 – Silke Meier, German tennis player (1994 Futures-Bad Gogging), born in Wiesbaden, Germany
1977 – Ashley Scott, American actress (Maria Miller in video game “The Last of Us”), born in Metairie, Louisiana
1983 – Liu Xiang, Chinese athlete (Olympic gold 110m hurdles 2004), born in Shanghai, China
1988 – Steven R. McQueen, American Actor (The Vampire Diaries), born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
939 – Leo VII, Italian Pope (936-39), dies
1621 – Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and cardinal-archbishop of Toledo, dies at 61
1628 – Robert Shirley, English adventurer (b. 1581)
1640 – Henry Casimir I, Dutch count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadholder of Freisland, dies a day after being injured at the Battle of Hulst at 28
1844 – Johann Baptist Gansbacher, Austrian composer, dies at 66
1903 – August Reissmann, Prussian composer, dies at 77
1973 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (Spies, Women in the Moon), dies from a heart attack at 72
1981 – Kirby Stone, American jazz combo leader (Kirby Stone Four – “Baubles Bangles and Beads”), dies at 63
2007 – Zdeněk Lukáš, Czech composer, dies at 78
2013 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (Glee; Monte Carlo), dies of heroin and alcohol overdose at 31