Today In History
Historical Events
1981 – Bill C Davis’ “Mass Appeal” premieres in NYC
1986 – Roger Clemens wins AL Cy Young Award unanimously
1998 – Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, symbolically signs the Kyoto Protocol, but the US never ratifies it
2022 – US Mid-term elections: Democrats retain control of the Senate with Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in Nevada 50-49, with run-off in Georgia still to be decided
2025 – Final US penny is minted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; manufacturing cost of the1-cent coin, produced for 232 years, had risen to nearly 3.7 cents, an estimated 1.4 billion remain in circulation
Famous Birthdays
1881 – Maximilian von Weichs, German aristocrat and army officer (WWII Field Marshal; WWI Cavalryman), born in Dessau, German Empire (d. 1954)
1937 – Richard H. Truly, American US Navy Rear Admiral, NASA astronaut (STS T-2, T-4, 2, 8), and administrator (Head of NASA, 1989-92), born in Fayette, Mississippi (d. 2024)
1944 – Al Michaels, American sportscaster (Miracle on Ice, American Football), born in Brooklyn, New York
1945 – Michael Bishop, American sci-fi author (Nebula, Stolen Faces), born in Lincoln, Nebraska
1961 – Greg Gagne, American MLB infielder (LA Dodgers), born in Fall River, Massachusetts
Famous Deaths
1754 – Jacob de Wit, Dutch Rococo painter, dies at 58
1955 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (Olympic gold 100/200m 1896), soccer forward (1 cap) and manager (Hungary 1906), dies at 77
2017 – Michel Chapuis, French classical organist and pedagogue, dies at 87
2021 – Bob Bondurant, American auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans GT +3.0 1964; Shelby American, Ferrari, Eagle teams), dies at 88
2025 – Fern Michaels [Mary Kuczkir], American novelist (Weekend Warriors, Texas Rich), dies at 92
Historical Events
1661 – Robert Hooke appointed Curator of Experiments to the Royal Society, England
1941 – Alma Heflin becomes the first female test pilot for commercial aircraft at Piper Corporation, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
1942 – The SS Robert E. Peary, a Liberty ship built in 4 days and 15.5 hours at Henry J. Kaiser’s Richmond Shipyard #2, is launched, setting a new record
1947 – KPO-AM in San Francisco CA changes call letters to KNBC (now KNBR)
1956 – The largest observed iceberg, 208 by 60 miles, is first sighted
1990 – “The Body Bag Game” – after Eagles coach Buddy Ryan threatens beating Redskins so badly “they’ll have to be carted off in body bags” the Eagles defense score 3 touchdowns winning 28–14, knocking 8 Redskins out of the game
2008 – 42nd Country Music Association Awards: Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley win
2021 – At least 68 inmates killed in new fighting at Ecuadorean prison, the Litoral Penitentiary, Guayaquil, following earlier violence in September
Famous Birthdays
1790 – Letitia Christian Tyler, American 1st wife of President Tyler, born in Cedar Grove, Virginia (d. 1842)
1841 – John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, English physicist and discoverer of argon (Nobel Prize 1904), born in Maldon, Essex, England (d. 1919)
1933 – Borislav Ivkov, Yugoslav chess Grandmaster, first World Junior Champion (1951), one of the most decorated Chess Olympiad players, born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (d. 2022)
1941 – Jenny McLeod, New Zealand composer (Earth and Sky; Seven Tone Clock Pieces; Hohepa), and educator, born in Wellington, New Zealand
1944 – Al Michaels, American sportscaster (Miracle on Ice, American Football), born in Brooklyn, New York
1950 – James Pugh, American session and touring trombonist (Thundering Herd; Chick Corea; Steely Dan), composer, and educator, born in Camden, New Jersey
1955 – (Isaac) “Ike” Willis, American vocalist and guitarist (Frank Zappa, 1978-88 – “Joe’s Garage”), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2026)
1956 – Rhonda Shear, American comedian (Up All Night), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
1957 – Gail Castro, American WPVA volleyballer (US Open-1991, Olympics 1996), born in Glendale, California
1961 – Nadia Comăneci, Romanian gymnast (5X Olympic gold 1976, 1980), born in Onești, Romania
Famous Deaths
1567 – Anne de Montmorency, French duke, soldier and statesman (Marshal and Constable of France, influential at court), dies at 74
1606 – Matthäus Ludecus, German composer, dies at 79
1712 – Tokugawa Ienobu, 6th Japanese shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate (1709-12), dies at 50
1962 – Alexander Spitzmüller, Austrian composer, educator, radio broadcaster, and music critic, dies at 68
1980 – Andrei Amalrik, Russian writer and dissident (Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984), dies in a car accident at 42
1995 – Jack Mann, British fighter pilot and hostage, kidnapped by Islamists in Lebanon in May 1989, dies at 81
1998 – Kenny Kirkland, American jazz pianist (Wynton Marsalis; Branford Marsalis) and funk keyboardist (Buckshot Lefonque), dies of congestive heart failure at 43
2012 – Deborah Raffin, American model, actress (The Ransom; 40 Carats; Touched By Love, 7th Heaven), and audiobook publisher, dies of leukemia at 59
2018 – Igor Mikhailovich Luchenok, Belarusian composer and teacher, dies at 80
2022 – Carroll Hubbard Jr., American politician (Rep-D-Kentucky, 1975-93), dies at 85