Today In History
Historical Events
1504 – Michelangelo’s statue of David is unveiled in Florence
1796 – Battle of Bassano: Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army defeats the Austrian forces during the French Revolutionary Wars
1960 – US 4 x 400 m relay team of Jack Yerman, Earl Young, Glenn Davis, and Otis Davis run a world record 3:02.2 to win the gold medal at the Rome Olympics
1972 – East German Annelie Ehrhardt sets a world record of 12.59 seconds to win the 100 m hurdles gold medal at the Munich Olympics, beating Romanian Valeria Bufanu by 0.25 seconds
2008 – US Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer beats Scotsman Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 for his fifth consecutive US title
Famous Birthdays
1915 – Frank Cady, American actor (The Beverly Hillbillies; Petticoat Junction; Green Acres – all as “Sam Drucker”), born in Susanville, California (d. 2012)
1958 – Michael Lardie, American rock keyboard player, guitarist and producer (Great White; Night Ranger), born in Anchorage, Alaska
1983 – Chris Judd, Australian rules football player, born in Melbourne, Australia
1986 – Matt Grothe, American football player, born in Lakeland, Florida
1991 – Joe Sugg, English Youtuber and actor (Strictly Come Dancing), born in Lacock, England
Famous Deaths
1675 – Amalia, countess of Solms-Braunfels and wife of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, dies at 73
1871 – Etienne-Joseph Soubre, Belgian composer, dies at 57
1949 – Richard Strauss, German composer (Also sprach Zarathustra, Don Quixote), dies at 85
1956 – Fred Rich, Polish-American jazz pianist and dance band bandleader (“I’m Tickled Pink with a Blue-Eyed Baby”; The Abbott and Costello Show), dies at 58
1985 – John Franklin Enders, American microbiologist (1954 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for culturing poliovirus, developed measles vaccine), dies at 88
Historical Events
1930 – First appearance of the comic strip “Blondie,” created by American cartoonist Chic Young
1945 – US invades Japanese-held Korea
1960 – US 4 x 400 m relay team of Jack Yerman, Earl Young, Glenn Davis, and Otis Davis run a world record 3:02.2 to win the gold medal at the Rome Olympics
1991 – Macedonia votes for independence from Yugoslavia
2014 – Haider al-Abadi becomes the 75th Prime Minister of Iraq
2018 – Egypt sentences over 700 people, including 75 to death, for the 2013 pro-Muslim Brotherhood sit-in at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square
2022 – NFL football playing brothers Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce launch their sports and pop-culture “New Heights” podcast
2024 – Fifty-nine people die in a crash between an oil tanker and a lorry carrying passengers in Niger State, Nigeria
Famous Birthdays
1474 – Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet (Orlando Furioso), born in Reggio Emilia, Italy (d. 1533)
1857 – Georg Michaelis, German lawyer and politician (Chancellor of German Empire and Prime Minister of Prussia, July-November 1917), born in Haynau, Germany (d. 1936)
1914 – Doug Freeman, New Zealand cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 1 wicket; Wellington), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1994)
1925 – Alexander Kholminov, Russian composer, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2015)
1927 – Harmonica Fats [Harvey Blackston], American blues session and touring harmonica player (“Tore Up”), born in McDade, Louisiana (d. 2000)
1956 – David Carr, American journalist (New York Times), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2015)
1966 – Peter Furler, Australian musician (Newsboys), born in McLaren Vale, Australia
1975 – Larenz Tate, American actor (Rescue Me, Power), born in Chicago, Illinois
1983 – Will Blalock, American basketball player, born in Boston, Massachusetts
1992 – Za’Darius Smith, American football defensive end (Pro Bowl 2019, 20, 22; Second-team All-Pro 2020 Green Bay Packers), born in Montgomery, Alabama
Famous Deaths
780 – Leo IV de Khazar, Byzantine Emperor (775-80), dies of tuberculosis at 30
1100 – Antipope Clement III [Guibert of Ravenna], Italian archbishop, and1st anti-pope (1084-1100), dies at about 75 [birthdate uncertain]
1425 – King Charles III of Navarre (b. 1361)
1858 – Jacopo Foroni, Italian opera composer (I gladiatori; Advokathen Panthelin), and conductor, dies during cholera epidemic at 34
1993 – Lorrin “Whitey” Harrison, American surfer, dies of a heart attack at 80
2009 – Raymond “Ray” Barrett, Australian actor (The Troubleshooters, Gillette Summer Sports Reel), dies at 82
2014 – Magda Olivero, Italian soprano (Adriana Lecouvreur; La Voix Humaine), dies at 104
2018 – Tito Capobianco, Argentinian stage impresario, dies at 87
2020 – Gene A. Budig, American baseball executive (last American League [AL] president 1994-99), dies from liver disease at 81
2024 – Ed Kranepool, American Major League Baseball first baseman (New York Mets; All-Star, World Series champion, Mets Hall of Fame), dies of cardiac arrest at 79