Today In History
Historical Events
1831 – British explorer James Clark Ross discovers the magnetic North Pole on the west coast of Boothia peninsula
1888 – California gets its 1st seismograph
1941 – Germany occupies Crete after Allied evacuation
1975 – LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Pine Ridge GC: Kathy Whitworth wins her 3rd LPGA C’ship by 1 stroke from Sandra Haynie
1979 – Los Angeles passes its first homosexual rights bill
Famous Birthdays
1804 – Mikhail Glinka, Novosspaskoye Russian composer (Kamarinskaya; Ruslan and Ludmilla), born in Novospasskoye, Smolensk, Russian Empire (d. 1857) [birth OS=May 20]
1952 – Şenol Güneş, Turkish soccer goalkeeper (31 caps; Trabzonspor) and manager (Trabzonspor, Bursaspor, Beşiktaş, Turkey), born in Trabzon, Turkey
1968 – Larry Centers, American NFL fullback (Pro Bowl 1995, 96, 2001; All-Pro 1996; Super Bowl 2003; Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, NE Patriots), born in Tyler, Texas
1974 – Alanis Morissette, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and musician (Jagged Little Pill, “Ironic”; “You Oughta Know”), born in Ottawa, Ontario
1975 – James Storm, American pro wrestler (TNA World Heavyweight Champion 2011; record 7 x TNA World Tag Team Champion), born in Franklin, Tennessee
Famous Deaths
1710 – David Mitchell, Scottish admiral in the British Royal navy (b. 1642)
1740 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (reasonable orthodoxy), dies at 83
1769 – Edward Holyoke, American academic and 9th President of Harvard University, dies at 79
1841 – David Wilkie, British painter, dies at 55
1992 – Howard Ralston, actor (Pollyana), dies
Historical Events
1862 – General Robert E. Lee assumes command after Joe Johnston is injured at Seven Pines
1913 – The Serbian government concludes a ten-year treaty with Greece against Bulgaria; Serbia wishes to pursue Macedonian aspirations with Greece’s help
1955 – Tunisian nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba returns to Tunisia after imprisonment and exile in France
1970 – MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn reprimands Houston Astros pitcher Jim Bouton for writing the memoir *Ball Four*, a candid season-long diary that Kuhn deems “detrimental to baseball”
1975 – John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical “Chicago” opens at 46th St Theater, NYC; runs for 947 performances
1987 – Cleveland Indians pitcher Phil Niekro beats Detroit Tigers, 9-6 for his 314th MLB victory; combines with Joe Niekro (216) for most combined wins by brothers in baseball history (530)
2007 – Jack Kevorkian is released from prison after serving eight years of his 10-25 year prison term for the 1998 second-degree murder of Thomas Youk
2018 – Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy forced out of office by a no-confidence vote in parliament, filed by Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez
Famous Birthdays
1679 – Johan Runius, Swedish poet (Dudaim), born in Larvs parish, Sweden (d. 1713)
1776 – George Schetky, Scottish-American cellist, music teacher, and composer, born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1831)
1790 – Salomon Judah Rappoport, Galician-Czech rabbi and scholar (Ereg miliem), born in Lemberg, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (d. 1867)
1804 – Mikhail Glinka, Novosspaskoye Russian composer (Kamarinskaya; Ruslan and Ludmilla), born in Novospasskoye, Smolensk, Russian Empire (d. 1857) [birth OS=May 20]
1943 – Ely van Tongeren, Dutch pop guitarist and singer (The Buffoons – “Tomorrow Is Another Day; “It’s The End”), born in Enschede, Netherlands
1947 – Ronnie Wood, English rock guitarist (Faces; Jeff Beck Group; The Rolling Stones), born in Hillingdon, England
1947 – Jan Harvey, British actress (Howards’ Way; Family Affairs), born in Penzance, Cornwall, England
1952 – Şenol Güneş, Turkish soccer goalkeeper (31 caps; Trabzonspor) and manager (Trabzonspor, Bursaspor, Beşiktaş, Turkey), born in Trabzon, Turkey
1963 – Shawn Pelton, American session and touring drummer and percussionist (SNL band; Sheryl Crow; Shawn Colvin: Darryl Hall, Rod Stewart; Rosanne Cash), born in Kansas City, Missouri
1987 – Mike Protich, American rock musician (Red Sun Rising), born in Akron, Ohio
Famous Deaths
1660 – Louis d’Ailleboust de Coulonge, French engineer and Governor of New France (1648-51, acting 1657-58), buried at 47 or 48
1676 – Uggla, Swedish admiral (Öland), dies in battle
1729 – Matthaeus de Cock, governor general of Dutch Indies (1725-29), dies at about 65
1825 – Lady Elizabeth Finch-Hatton, British aristocrat and subject of the David Martin painting “Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray”, dies at 65
1969 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (Olympic gold 5,000m 1928; 500m, 5,000m 10,000m 1936), dies at 65
1987 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese statesman (elected Prime Minister 8 times between 1958-87), assassinated by a bomb rigged in his helicopter at 65
1994 – Juan J H Rovira, Spanish general, murdered
1997 – Nikolai Tikhonov, Soviet politician (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union 1980-85), dies at 92
2001 – Queen Aiswarya of Nepal, killed by her son Dipendra in the Nepalese Royal Massacre at 51
2008 – Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician (b. 1931)