Today In History
Historical Events
1923 – Bernie Neis hits the 1,000th Dodger home run
1928 – Philadelphia Athletics’ Ty Cobb pops out in his last MLB at-bat in a 5-3 loss to the Yankees in New York
1956 – Vladimir Kuts runs a world record 10,000 m in 28:42.8
1965 – The 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army arrives in Vietnam
2010 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Belgian defending champion Kim Clijsters beats Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-2, 6-1 for her third US singles crown
Famous Birthdays
1524 – Pierre de Ronsard, French poet (Ode à Cassandre; Les Amours), born in Couture-sur-Loir, Vendômois, France (d. 1585)
1681 – Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, German jurist, born in Eisenberg, Germany (d. 1741)
1876 – Stan Rowley, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m team, bronze 60m, 100m, 200m 1900), born in Young, Australia (d. 1924)
1933 – Baby Face Willette [Roosevelt Willet], American hard bop and soul-jazz Hammond organ player, born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 1971)
1971 – Shelton Quarles, American NFL linebacker, executive (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Director Football Ops), born in Nashville, Tennessee
Famous Deaths
1915 – William Cornelius Van Horne, American-Canadian railway executive (Canadian Pacific Railway), dies at 72
1956 – Billy Bishop, Canadian First World War flying ace with 72 kills, dies at 62
1966 – Collett E. Woolman, American airline founder (Delta Air Service), dies at 76
1988 – Luis Alvarez, American physicist (subatomic particles, Nobel 1968), dies of cancer at 77
2012 – Sergio Livingstone, Chilean soccer goalkeeper who played 52 internationals (CD Universidad Católica) and TV personality (Televisión Nacional de Chile), dies at 92
Historical Events
1649 – Massacre of Drogheda, Ireland: Oliver Cromwell kills 3,000 Royalists
1937 – US National Championship Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Anita Lizana of Chile becomes first Latin American to win a major; beats Jadwiga Jędrzejowska of Poland 6-4, 6-2
1951 – Igor Stravinsky’s opera “The Rake’s Progress,” with libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, premieres at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy
1966 – Johnny Miller becomes the first New York Yankee to hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat; his second home run comes in his final MLB at-bat in 1969
1967 – US Surveyor 5 makes the first chemical analysis of lunar material
1971 – US Open Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: In an all-American final, Billie Jean King beats doubles partner Rosemary Casals 6-4, 7-6
1994 – 46th Emmy Awards: Frasier, Picket Fences, and Kelsey Grammer win
2019 – Water is detected for the first time on a planet outside our solar system, on exoplanet K2-18b, 110 light-years away; findings are published in “Nature Astronomy”
Famous Birthdays
1804 – Aleksandr Polezhayev, Russian poet (Sasjka), born in Penza Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1838) [OS 30 Sep]
1838 – John Ireland, Irish-American archbishop of St Paul (1888-1918), born in Burnchurch, Ireland (d. 1918)
1861 – Juhani Aho, Finnish journalist and writer (Panu, Tuomio), born in Lapinlahti, Finland (d. 1921)
1862 – Hawley Harvey Crippen [Dr Crippen], American homeopath and first killer to be caught with the aid of wireless telegraphy, born in Coldwater, Michigan (d. 1910)
1917 – Herbert Lom, Czech-born British actor (Pink Panther, Dorian Gray), born in Prague, Austria-Hungary (d. 2012)
1937 – Robert Crippen, American astronaut (STS 1, 7, 41C, 41G), born in Beaumont, Texas
1942 – Tom Dreesen, American stand-up comedian best known for his act with Tim Reid (Tim and Tom), born in Harvey, Illinois (d. 2026)
1962 – Filip Dewinter, Belgian politician (Vlaams Belang), born in Bruges, Belgium
1965 – Graeme Obree, Scottish racing cyclist (World Hour Record 1993, 94; World C’ships gold 4000m pursuit 1993, 95), born in Nuneaton, England
1982 – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarusian human rights activist and politician who claimed victory in the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election, born in Mikashevichy, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Famous Deaths
1968 – René Cogny, French General (b. 1904)
1971 – Curtis Jones, American blues pianist and songwriter (“Lonesome Bedroom Blues”, “Highway 51 Blues”), dies of heart failure at 65
1988 – John Sylvester White, American actor (Welcome Back, Kotter), dies at 68
1992 – Frank Singuineau, Trinidadian actor (Firepower, Pressure, Mummy), dies at 79
1997 – Hannah Weiner, American experimental poet, dies at 68
2006 – Joachim Fest, German historian and journalist (Hitler biography, Speer: The Final Verdict), dies at 79
2006 – William Auld, Scottish poet, writer and supporter of Esperanto, dies at 81
2007 – Gene Savoy, American author, explorer and religious leader, Head Bishop of the International Community of Christ (1971-2007), dies at 80
2015 – Marcel Zeeuw, Surinamese soldier (participant in the Sergeant Coup, 1982), dies at 61
2024 – Chad McQueen, American actor (Nightforce; The Karate Kid), dies at 63