Today In History
Historical Events
1861 – Battle of Carnifex Ferry in Virginia; 170 casualties
1898 – Empress Elisabeth of Austria is assassinated by anarchist Luigi Lucheni
1969 – NY Mets sweep Montreal Expos putting them in first place for the first time
1984 – First episode of the daily syndicated TV game show “Jeopardy!” with Alex Trebek as host
2012 – 10,000 miners demonstrate at Lonmin Mines in Marikana, South Africa
Famous Birthdays
1861 – Niels Hansen Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and ceramist (Trold, der vejrer kristenblod), born in Vejen, Denmark (d. 1941)
1912 – William Oliver Everson, American poet, born in Sacramento, California (d. 1994)
1939 – Elisabeth Chojnacka, Polish harpsichordist, with works dedicated to her by over 80 composers, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 2017)
1960 – Alison Bechdel, American cartoonist (Fun Home), born in Beech Creek, Pennsylvania
1982 – Misty Copeland, American ballerina (1st African American Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre), born in Kansas City Missouri
Famous Deaths
1922 – Arpad Szendy, Hungarian composer, dies at 59
1931 – Dmitri Egorov, Russian mathematician (differential geometry and mathematical analysis), dies at 61
2007 – Ted Stepien, American businessman and basketball team owner, dies at 82
2018 – Peter Donat, Canadian-American actor (Flamingo Road, Different Story), dies of complications of diabetes at 90
2022 – Frank Cignetti Sr., American College Football HOF coach (West Virginia Uni, Indiana University of Pennsylvania; career college record 199–77–1), dies at 84
Historical Events
422 – St. Celestine I begins his reign as the Catholic Pope
1798 – British Honduras defeats Spain in the Battle of St. George’s Caye
1961 – Italian F1 Grand Prix, Monza: A crash causes the death of German driver Wolfgang von Trips and 15 spectators who are hit by his Ferrari
1973 – NFL New York Jets trade pro football’s leading receiver Don Maynard to St. Louis Cardinals
1974 – Portugal recognizes the independence of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, its former West African colony
1977 – US Open Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Chris Evert wins her third consecutive US singles title, beating Wendy Turnbull of Australia 7-6, 6-2; final time event played at West Side Tennis Club
1977 – Susan Perkins (Ohio) is crowned the 50th Miss America 1978
2018 – Australian newspaper “Herald Sun” is criticized for “racist” cartoon of American tennis star Serena Williams
Famous Birthdays
1169 – Alexios II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1180-83), born in Constantinople (d. 1183) [sources vary on exact day]
1753 – John Soane, English architect (Bank of England, Soane Museum), born in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England (d. 1837)
1897 – David L. Snell, American pianist and composer for films (MGM Studio), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1967)
1915 – Redmond “Edmond” O’Brien, American actor (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Sam Benedict, Johnny Midnight), born in New York City (d. 1985)
1924 – Hans Olof “Putte” Wickman, Swedish jazz clarinetist, born in Falun, Sweden (d. 2006)
1945 – Rein van den Broek, Dutch trumpet player (Ekseption), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 2015)
1949 – Don Muraco, American professional wrestler (WWF), born in Sunset Beach, Hawaii
1960 – Colin Firth, English actor (Bridget Jones’ Diary, The King’s Speech), born in Grayshott, Hampshire
1973 – Ghada Shouaa, Syrian athlete (Syria’s 1st Olympic gold heptathlon 1996; World C’ship gold 1995), born in Mhardeh, Syria
1988 – Jordan Staal, Canadian ice hockey center (World C’ship gold 2007; Stanley Cup 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins; Carolina Hurricanes captain), born in Thunder Bay, Ontario
Famous Deaths
1547 – Pier Luigi Farnese, Italian Duke of Parma and Piacenza (1545-47) and illegitimate son of Pope Paul III, murdered at 43 by a group of his nobles tired of his oppressive and tyrannical rule
1604 – Hamida Banu Begum, Persian Mughal Empress, chief consort of the Emperor Humayun and mother of Akbar, dies at 77
1770 – José de Escandón, Spanish colonizer and the first governor of the Nuevo Santander province, dies at 70
1828 – Antoine-Francçois Andreossy, French General and diplomat under Napoleon, dies at 67
1845 – Karl August von Lichtenstein, German composer, dies at 78
1942 – Nachman N “Neddy” Bamberg, actor, dies in Auschwitz at 63
1982 – Max Winders, Belgian architect (WWII), responsible for bringing the Belgian gold stock, dies at 100
1983 – Felix Bloch, Swiss-American nuclear physicist (1st Director of CERN, Nobel Prize for Physics 1952), dies at 77
1996 – Joanne Dru [LaCock], American actress (Red River, All the King’s Men), dies of lymphedema at 74
2010 – Edwin Charles Tubb, British sci-fi writer (Earth is Heaven, Earthfall), dies at 90