Today In History
Historical Events
1907 – Canadian Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) plays its first game; Montreal defeats Toronto 17-8 in Montreal
1942 – Budy Massacre at Auschwitz sub-camp, 90 French-Jewish women are beaten to death by prison guards
1947 – Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Al Gionfriddo makes a famous catch off Joe DiMaggio in Game 6 of the Baseball World Series; Dodgers beat Yankees 8-6; the catch inspires the “back-back-back” expression
1994 – Magnitude 7.9 earthquake strikes the Kuril Islands, killing at least 10 people
2020 – Nobel Prize for Medicine awarded jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of hepatitis C virus
Famous Birthdays
1703 – Jonathan Edwards, Christian preacher, philosopher, and theologian (Original Sin), born in East Windsor, Connecticut Colony (d. 1758)
1795 – Alexander Keith, Scottish-Canadian politician (4th Mayor of Halifax) and brewer (founder of the Alexander Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery), born in Halkirk, Caithness, Highland, Scotland (d. 1873)
1917 – Robert Adams, English sculptor and designer, born in Far Cotton, Northampton (d. 1984)
1932 – Richard Lamparski, American interviewer and author (Whatever Became Of…?), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2025)
1942 – Maureen Waaka, first Māori Miss World contestant, second Māori woman to win Miss New Zealand (1962), and council politician (1998–2013), born in Ohinemutu, New Zealand (d. 2013)
Famous Deaths
1056 – Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (1046-56), dies at 38
1883 – Joachim Barrande, French paleontologist and geologist (fossils in Bohemia, opposed Darwin’s Theory of Evolution), dies at 84
1892 – Bob Dalton, American outlaw of the Old West (leader of the Dalton Gang), killed in failed bank robbery attempt in Coffeyville, Kansas at 23
1954 – Oscar Charleston, American Baseball HOF CF (NgL Triple Crown 1921 St. Louis Giants, 1924, 25 Harrisburg Giants) and manager (NgL WS 1933, 35, 36 Pittsburgh Crawfords), dies of a stroke at 57
2003 – Denis Quilley, British actor (Anything Goes, The Lady’s Not For Burning, Masada), dies from liver cancer at 75
Historical Events
1750 – Carlo Goldoni’s comedy play “Il Teatro Comico” premieres in Venice
1793 – French Revolution: Christianity is disestablished in France
1869 – A strong hurricane known as the Saxby Gale devastates the Bay of Fundy region in Maritime Canada. Incredibly, British naval officer Stephen Martin Saxby predicts the storm 10 months earlier in December 1868 through astronomy.
1887 – 1st US National Championship Women’s Tennis, Philadelphia Cricket Club: Ellen Hansell wins inaugural event; beats Laura Knight 6-1, 6-0
1916 – Adolf Hitler is wounded in the left thigh by an exploding shell during the Battle of the Somme
1983 – Polish Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa wins the Nobel Peace Prize
1991 – USSR reduces its nuclear weapons arsenal
1994 – 52 members of the cult Order of the Solar Temple (Zonnetempel) die in a mass murder-suicide in Salvan, Switzerland
Famous Birthdays
1875 – Cyril Rootham, English organist, composer, and educator, born in Redland, Bristol, England (d. 1938)
1898 – Linus McAtee, American Hall of Fame jockey (Preakness Stakes 1916; Kentucky Derby 1927, 29; US Champion Jockey by earnings 1928), born in Frenchtown, New Jersey (d. 1963)
1912 – Fritz Fischer, German physician and Nazi war criminal, born in Berlin (d. 2003)
1923 – Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer and politician (Minister of Finance), born in Reykjavík, Iceland (d. 1994)
1930 – Rahmon Nabiyev, Tajik politician, First Secretary of The Communist Party (1982-85) and President of Tajikistan (1991-92), born in Leninabad, Tajik SSR (now Khujand, Tajikistan) (d. 1992)
1942 – Richard Street, American RandB musician (The Temptations, 1971-93 – “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2013)
1958 – Shell Kepler [Michelle Alaine Kepler], American actress (General Hospital), born in Painesville, Ohio (d. 2008)
1961 – Sharon Cheslow, American musician, composer and artist, born in Los Angeles, California
1965 – Patrick Roy, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame goalie (4-time Stanley Cup, 3-time Vezina Trophy winner), born in Québec City, Québec
1966 – Peter Fonseca, Canadian politician and marathon runner (Toronto, Houston Marathon 1995), born in Lisbon, Portugal
Famous Deaths
1056 – Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (1046-56), dies at 38
1892 – Bob Dalton, American outlaw of the Old West (leader of the Dalton Gang), killed in failed bank robbery attempt in Coffeyville, Kansas at 23
1933 – Nikolaj N Joedenitsj, Russian general/contra revolutionary, dies at 71
1943 – Leon Roppolo, American early jazz clarinetist, dies at 41
1976 – Lars Onsager, Norwegian-American physical chemist, theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate for his work on thermodynamics, dies of an aneurysm at 72
1981 – Jud Strunk, American singer-songwriter (“Daisy a Day”), and comedian (Laugh-In), dies of aheart attack while piloting a private plane in Maine at 45
2001 – Lou Zara, American writer (Stump the Authors), dies at 91
2011 – Fred Shuttlesworth, American civil rights activist, dies at 89
2014 – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, choreographer, singer, director and painter (Annie; The Wiz), dies at 84
2025 – Alfa-Betty Olsen, American recording secretary and confidant of Mel Brooks, dies at 88