Today In History
Historical Events
1858 – Hamilton Smith patents rotary washing machine in Pittsburgh
1947 – The British military occupation ends in Iraq
1972 – Guided tours of the former prison at Alcatraz by the National Park Service begin
1978 – Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat named joint winners of 1978 Nobel Peace Prize
1978 – Independent Counsel Act is signed into law.
Famous Birthdays
1818 – Stefano Golinelli, Italian pianist and composer, born in Bologna, Papal States (d. 1891)
1934 – Hans-Joachim Rödelius, German electronic and ambient music composer, keyboardist, and synthesizer player (Cluster; Harmonia), born in Berlin, Germany
1948 – Marshall Colt, American actor (Eric-Lottery), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
1975 – Katja Riipi, Finnish ice hockey left wing (Olympics bronze 1998), born in Sodankylä, Finland
1980 – Cristian Chivu, Romanian footballer, born in Reșița, Romania
Famous Deaths
1580 – Anna of Austria, fourth wife of Philip II of Spain, dies at 30
1944 – William Temple, English Archbishop of Canterbury, dies at 63
1945 – Paul Pelliot, French Sinologist and Orientalist best known for his explorations of Central Asia and his discovery of many important Chinese texts among the Dunhuang manuscripts, dies at 67
1971 – Robert Gordon, American silent film actor (Hearts and Spangles; King of the Pack), dies at 76
1984 – Laurie Langenbach, Dutch author, singer-songwriter (Ahora Maxda), dancer, and feminist activist, (Woman Power), dies of cervical cancer at 37
Historical Events
1912 – Woolwich Foot Tunnel under the Thames river in England opens
1918 – Cecil Chubb gives the prehistoric monument Stonehenge to the British nation
1919 – B C Hilliam’s musical “Buddies” premieres in NYC
1949 – US President Harry Truman increases minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents
1965 – Queen Elizabeth decorates The Beatles with medals making them members Order of the British Empire (MBE) at Buckingham Palace
1985 – CBS’ premiere of fact based TV film “Children of the Night”, based on sociology student Lois Lee’s
expose on female crime and inconsistent enforcement of prostitution laws in Los Angeles
2017 – Jacinda Ardern is sworn in as Prime Minister of New Zealand, becoming the then world’s youngest female head of government
2025 – At least 2,000 unarmed civilians are killed by Rapid Support Forces in the ongoing el-Fasher massacre in North Darfur, Sudan
Famous Birthdays
1758 – Louis-Charles-Joseph Rey, French classical cellist and composer, born in Lauzerte, France (d. 1811)
1794 – Konstantin Thon, Russian architect (Grand Kremlin Palace), born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1881)
1800 – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian general and fieldmarshal, born in Parchim, Mecklenburg-Schwerin (d. 1891)
1907 – Giovanni Salviucci, Italian composer, born in Rome, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1937)
1920 – T. C. Jones, American female impersonator, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania (d. 1971)
1934 – Ulrich Plenzdorf, German writer (Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.), born in Berlin (d. 2007)
1937 – Dave Gavitt, American basketball coach, formed Basketball’s Big East Conference (1979), born in Westerly, Rhode Island (d. 2011)
1944 – Mike Piano, American folk-rock singer (The Sandpipers – “Guantanamera”, “Come Saturday Morning”), born in Rochester, New York (d. 2014)
1967 – Keith Urban, New Zealand-Australian Grammy, CMA, and ARIA Award-winning country music singer-songwriter (“Somebody Like You”; “The Fighter”), and television personality (American Idol; The Voice Australia), born in Whangarei, New Zealand
1985 – Asin Thottumkal, Indian actress (Ghajini), born in Kochi, Kerala, India
Famous Deaths
1909 – Itō Hirobumi, Japanese samurai, 1st Prime Minister of Japan (4 terms between 1885 and 1901) and Resident-General of Korea (1905-09), assassinated by a Korean nationalist at 68
1918 – César Ritz, Swiss hotelier, opened the Ritz Hotels in Paris and London, dies at 68
1944 – Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria (b. 1857)
1945 – Alexei Krylov, Russian engineer and mathematician, dies at 82
1979 – Park Chung-hee, South Korean general and President (1963-79), assassinated by the director of the Korean Intelligence Agency at 61
1983 – Mike Michalske, American Pro Football HOF guard (NFL C’ship 1929, 30, 31; 7 × First-team All-Pro; Green Bay Packers), dies at 80
1992 – (Dorothy) “Dottie” Green, American AAGPBL baseball player (Rockford Peaches), dies of cancer at 71
2006 – Pontus Hultén, Swedish art collector and museum director (b. 1924)
2016 – Stuart Edwards, British guitarist (Edison Lighthouse – “Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes”), dies of cancer at 73
2025 – Jack DeJohnette, American Jazz drummer (Miles Davis; Ron Carter; Skyline), dies of congestive heart failure at 83