Today In History
Historical Events
1859 – Great auroral display in the US
1975 – American television game show “Three for the Money,” hosted by Dick Enberg, debuts on NBC-TV but is cancelled after 8 weeks
2004 – Asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth
2006 – US Representative Mark Foley resigns after allegations of inappropriate emails to House pages are introduced
2020 – Ben Ainslie wins the Olympic gold medal in the Laser class, beating previous Laser Olympic champion Robert Scheidt
Famous Birthdays
1753 – Johann Gottfried Schicht, German composer, born in Reichenau, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1823)
1899 – Billy Butlin, South African-British holiday camp promoter (Butlins), born in Cape Town, Cape Colony (d. 1980)
1941 – Don Nix, American ‘Memphis Soul’ saxophonist (Last Night), born in Memphis, Tennessee
1951 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (¡Que viva la música!), born in Cali, Colombia (d. 1977)
1972 – Oliver Gavin, British auto racer (5 x American Le Mans Series class C’ships; 5 x 24 Hours of Le Mans class wins; 6 x 12 Hours of Sebring class wins; Corvette Racing), born in Huntingdon, England
Famous Deaths
1867 – Sterling “Old Pap” Price, American lawyer, U.S. Army Brigadier General and politician (11th Governor of Missouri), dies at 58
1889 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and colonel administrator in Senegal, dies at 71
1900 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American politician and temperance movement leader (Rep-IR-Ohio), dies at 86
2009 – Pavel Popovich, Ukrainian cosmonaut (Vostok IV; Soyuz 14), dies at 78
2016 – Shirley Jaffe [née Sternstein], American abstract artist (Four Squares Black; Pandora’s Box), dies at 92
Historical Events
235 – St. Pontianus ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1668 – English expedition to Hudson Bay led by Frenchman Médard Chouart Des Groseilliers arrives at the Nemiscau (Rupert) River aboard the Nonsuch, beginning of the Hudson’s Bay Company
1859 – Great auroral display in the US
1937 – Frans Slaats cycles a world hour record time (45,563 km)
1949 – “Front Page” debuts on CBS-TV
1962 – Algerian government of Ben Bella forms
2009 – An 8.0 magnitude earthquake near the Samoan Islands causes a tsunami
2019 – In the Austrian general election, the conservative People’s Party, led by Sebastian Kurz, is the leading party with 37.5% of the vote
Famous Birthdays
1518 – Tintoretto, Italian Mannerist painter and notable exponent of the Renaissance school, born in Venice, Republic of Venice (d. 1594)
1583 – John VIII, the Younger, Count of Nassau-Siegen and field marshal, born in Dillenburg (d. 1638)
1760 – William Beckford, British writer (Vathek), politician, plantation owner, and art collector, born in Soho Square, London (d. 1844) [some sources give birth date as Oct 1]
1895 – Louise Granville, Australian actress (How Green Paid the Rent), born in Sydney, New South Wales (d. 1968)
1907 – Gene Autry, American cowboy singer, songwriter, actor, musician, (“Back In The Saddle Again”; “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer”) and business tycoon (owner MLB Angels team, 1961-97), born near Tioga, Texas (d. 1998)
1934 – Lance Gibbs, West Indian cricket spin bowler (79 Tests, 309 wickets, BB 8/38; British Guyana, South Australia CA, Warwickshire CCC), born in Georgetown, British Guyana
1942 – Perry Lederman, American folk and blues singer and guitarist, born in Brooklyn, Nw York City (d. 1995)
1942 – Bill Nelson, American astronaut (STS 61C), attorney,and politician (U.S. Representative (D) Florida, 1979-1999; U.S. Senate (D) Florida, 2001-19; NASA Administrator, 2021- ), born in Miami, Florida
1968 – Mika Häkkinen, Finnish auto racer (World F1 Champion 1998, 99; 20 x F1 GP wins 1991-2001), born in Vantaa, Finland
2002 – Chloe Moriondo, American indie rock singer-songwriter (“Girl On TV”), born in Detroit, Michigan
Famous Deaths
1867 – Sterling “Old Pap” Price, American lawyer, U.S. Army Brigadier General and politician (11th Governor of Missouri), dies at 58
1915 – Rudi Stephan, German composer (Die ersten Menschen), dies fighting in World War I at 28
1959 – Harold Huber [Huberman], American radio, stage, a,d screen actor (I Cover Times Square), dies at 49
1991 – Sam Ntuli, South African trade unionist and anti-apartheid activist, assassinated
1992 – Paul Jabara, American singer-songwriter and actor (Last Dance), dies of AIDS at 44
1995 – Gerd Bucerius, German lawyer, newspaper publisher (Die Zeit, 1946-95), and politician, dies at 89
1996 – Leslie Crowther, English comedian and TV host (The pPrice is Right), dies at 63
1997 – Bobby Campbell, Scottish journalist and musician, dies at 55
2006 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricket batsman (11 Tests, 1 x 100, 2 x 50; Canterbury; father of Richard, Dayle and Barry), dies from a stroke at 91
2024 – Martin Lee [Barnes], British pop singer (Brotherhood of Man – “Save Your Kisses For Me”), dies of heart failure at 77