Today In History
Historical Events
1260 – Hao Jing, envoy of Mongol leader Kublai Khan imprisoned by order of the high Chancellor of China, Jia Sidao at the Song Dynasty court of Emperor Lizong while attempting to negotiate with the Song
1966 – James Goldman’s stage drama “The Lion in Winter”, starring Robert Preston, Rosemary Harris, and Christopher Walken, closes at the Ambassador Theatre, NYC, after 92 performances, and a Tony Award win for Harris
1968 – WEKW TV channel 52 in Keene, NH (PBS) begins broadcasting
1983 – 108th Preakness: Donald Miller Jr on Deputed Testamony wins in 1:55.4
2017 – IPL Cricket Final, Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad: Mumbai Indians beat Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run; Krunal Pandya 47 (38)
Famous Birthdays
1835 – Newton Martin Curtis, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in De Peyster, New York (d. 1910)
1844 – Henri Rousseau, French post-impressionist painter (The Dream, The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope), born in Laval, France (d. 1910)
1921 – Reece “Goose” Tatum, American baseball and basketball player (Harlem Globetrotters; Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame), co-founder of the Harlem Magicians, born in El Dorado, Arkansas (d. 1967)
1947 – Jiggs Kalra, Indian food writer “Czar of Indian cuisine”, born in Punjab region, India (d. 2019)
1974 – Fairuza Balk, American actress (The Craft, Gas Food Lodging), born in Point Reyes, California
Famous Deaths
1886 – Stephen Pearl Andrews, American abolitionist, writer, and individualist anarchist, dies at 74
1980 – Ida Kamińska, Polish stage and screen actress, director, and writer (The Shop on Main Street; Mother Courage and Her Children), dies at 80
1993 – John Holland, American actor (My Fair Lady, Chinatown), dies at 85
1996 – Bobby Tulloch, Scottish ornithologist, and writer (Bobby Tulloch’s Shetland: An islander, his islands and their wildlife), dies at 67
2022 – Marco Cornez, Chilean soccer goalkeeper, (20 caps; FC Deportivo Palestino, Universidad Católica, Everton de Viña del Mar), dies from stomach cancer at 64
Historical Events
1910 – Louis Botha becomes the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa
1927 – Aviator Charles Lindbergh, in the Spirit of St. Louis, lands in Paris after the first solo air crossing of the Atlantic
1961 – Governor Patterson declares martial law in Montgomery, Alabama
1966 – American Muhammad Ali TKOs Great Britain’s Henry Cooper in 6th round for heavyweight boxing title
2003 – 38th Academy of Country Music Awards: Toby Keith, Martina McBride and Kenny Chesney win
2012 – 13 people are killed and 22 people injured after a bus falls 80 metres off a cliff in Albania
2017 – Barnum and Bailey Circus performs for the last time at the Nassau Coliseum in NYC after 146 years
2023 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Oak Hill CC: Brooks Koepka claims his third career PGA C’ship and fifth major title by 2 shots over Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler
Famous Birthdays
1796 – Reverdy Johnson, American politician and jurist (Dred Scott v. Sandford), born in Annapolis, Maryland (d. 1876)
1873 – Hans Berger, German neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and inventor of electroencephalography (EEG), born in Neuses, German Empire (d. 1941)
1904 – Thomas “Fats” Waller, American jazz organist, piano player, singer and composer (“Ain’t Misbehavin'”; “Honeysuckle Rose”; “Hot Chocolate”), born in New York City (d. 1943)
1906 – Keith Rigg, Australian cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 127; Victoria), born in Melbourne, Victoria (d. 1995)
1910 – Marie-Rose Tessier, current oldest living French supercentenarian and 2nd oldest living person in the world (115 years), born in Beaurepaire, France
1912 – Monty Stratton, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1937 Chicago WS; played minor leagues with prosthetic leg; 1949 film The Stratton Story), born in Palacios, Texas (d. 1982)
1942 – Danny Ongais, American auto racer (inducted Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 2000), born in Kahului, Hawaii (d. 2022)
1951 – Al Franken, US politician (Senate-D-Minnesota 2009-18) comedian, writer, actor (SNL, 1975-80; 1985-90), born in New York City
1960 – Mark Carnevale, American golfer (PGA Tour Rookie of the Year 1992) and broadcaster (Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio), born in Annapolis, Maryland (d. 2024)
1979 – Scott Smith, mixed martial arts fighter, born in Reno, Nevada
Famous Deaths
1703 – Roemer Vlacq, Dutch admiral, dies in battle
1789 – John Hawkins, English writer (A General History of the Science and Practice of Music; Life of Samuel Johnson), dies at 70
1858 – José de la Riva-Agüero, Peruvian soldier and politician, 1st President of Peru (1823), dies at 75
1994 – Johan Hendrik Weidner, Dutch-American resistance fighter (set up largest WWII underground network to smuggle people out of Nazi territory), dies at 81
2006 – Katherine Dunham, American dancer (Casbah; Stormy Weather), choreographer (Metroplitan opera, 1963; Joplin’s Treemonisha, 1972), and social activist, dies at 96
2015 – Louis Johnson, American rock bassist and vocalist (Brothers Johnson), dies at 60
2020 – Oliver Williamson, American economist (Nobel Prize for Economics 2009), dies at 87
2022 – Marco Cornez, Chilean soccer goalkeeper, (20 caps; FC Deportivo Palestino, Universidad Católica, Everton de Viña del Mar), dies from stomach cancer at 64
2025 – Nol de Ruiter, Dutch football coach (Netherlands, Egypt; FC Utrecht, ADO Den Haag), dies at 85
2025 – Robert Holton, American chemist credited with synthesizing the cancer drug Taxol, dies of emphysema at 81