Today In History
Historical Events
1930 – Richard Drew invents masking tape
1949 – MLB Cleveland Indians start 12-17, owner Bill Veeck arranges a “Second Opening Day”
1956 – US performs nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll (atmospheric tests)
1984 – Beth Henley’s “Miss Firecracker contest” premieres in NYC
2001 – Indianapolis 500: race rookie Hélio Castroneves of Brazil leads for the final 52 laps to win first of 4 Indy 500s; Penske Racing sweeps 1st-2nd with Gil de Ferran the runner-up
Famous Birthdays
1863 – Arthur Mold, English cricket fast bowler (England 3 Tests; 1,673 1st class wickets), born in Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire (d. 1921)
1867 – Arnold Bennett, English novelist (Anna of the Five Towns), born in Hanley, Staffordshire, England (d. 1931)
1909 – Isador Goodman, South African-Australian pianist and composer (New Guinea Fantasy), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 1982)
1926 – Kees Rijvers, Dutch soccer midfielder (33 caps; NAC Breda, Saint-Étienne, Feyenoord) and manager (FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), born in Breda, Netherlands (d. 2024)
1962 – Ray Borner, Australian basketball center (Olympics 1984, 88, 92, 96)
Famous Deaths
366 – Procopius, Roman usurper (b. 326)
1770 – Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, Queen consort of Denmark and Norway (1730-46), dies at 69
1975 – Ezzard Charles, American world heavyweight boxing champion (1949-51), dies of ALS at 53
2017 – Gregg Allman, American Hammond organist, guitarist and vocalist (The Allman Brothers Band – “Whipping Post”), dies of cancer at 69
2018 – Connie Kurtz, American Gay Rights advocate, dies at 81
Historical Events
1896 – Tornado hit St Louis, killing 255, leaving thousands homeless
1950 – Morton Gould and Dorothy Field’s colonial-era musical “Arms and the Girl”, starring Nanette Fabray and Pearl Bailey, closes at 46th St Theater, NYC, after 134 performances
1984 – Indianapolis 500: 1979 champion Rick Mears wins second Indy 500 two laps ahead of the field after contenders Tom Sneva and Mario Andretti drop out in second half of the race
1984 – Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria wins three singles tennis matches in one day at the Italian Open, defeating Virginia Ruzici, Carling Bassett, and Chris Evert in the final, 6-3, 6-3; she becomes only the seventh player to defeat Evert on clay
1985 – Bands from across the US parade for President Reagan during his inauguration, filling the route with music, precision, and patriotic pageantry
1985 – Britain agrees to return Hong Kong to China in 1997
1997 – Major league revenue sharing begins, NY Yankees pay out most $28M
2006 – Super Rugby Final, Christchurch: Canterbury Crusaders retain the title with a 19-12 win over the Wellington Hurricanes; Dan Carter kicks four penalties and a conversion for the winners
Famous Birthdays
1823 – John Gray Foster, American Major General (Union Army), born in Whitefield, New Hampshire (d. 1874)
1867 – Arnold Bennett, English novelist (Anna of the Five Towns), born in Hanley, Staffordshire, England (d. 1931)
1887 – Erich Kuttner, German journalist and historian (Vorwarts), born in Berlin (d. 1942)
1900 – Uładzimir Žyłka, Belarusian poet, born in Makaszy, Nesvizh, Russian Empire (d. 1933)
1936 – Marcel Masse, Canadian politician and federal cabinet minister, born in Saint-Jean-de-Matha, Quebec (d. 2014)
1936 – Richard Holme, Baron Holme of Cheltenham, British politician, Liberal Party president (1980-1), born in London (d. 2008)
1939 – Sir Gerald Ronson, English businessman involved in the Guinness Four trading fraud, born in Paddington, London
1966 – Sean Kinney, American rock drummer (Alice in Chains – “Check My Brain”; “Hollow”), born in Renton, Washington
1973 – Jack McBrayer, American comedian and actor (Conan O’Brien; 30 Rock – “Kenneth”), born in Macon, Georgia
1977 – Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lankan cricket batsman (149 Tests, 34 x 100, 50 x 50; HS 374; 448 ODIs; Sinhalese SC), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Famous Deaths
1708 – Jacques Danican Philidor, French composer, dies at 51
1887 – Coenraad Johannes van Houten, Dutch chemist and cocoa manufacturer (Dutch process chocolate), dies at 86
1947 – Ed Konetchy, American MLB player, dies at 61
1972 – Roy K. Marshall, American astronomer, TV host (Nature of Things), and first director of Morehead Planetarium, dies at 64
1986 – Gaston Duribreux, Flemish writer (Sour Dove), dies at 82
1995 – László Kalmár, Hungarian composer (Triangles), dies at 63
1995 – Ulysses Kay, American neoclassical composer (Of New Horizons: Overture), dies of Parkinson’s disease complications at 78
2007 – Ed Yost, American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and known as “Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon.”, dies at 87
2014 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director and writer (Apple Trees; Germany, Pale Mother), dies of cancer at 73
2020 – Larry Kramer, American playwright and AIDS activist, dies at 84