Today In History
Historical Events
1929 – Russian-Chinese border fights
1950 – 17th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: All-Stars 17, Philadelphia 7 (88,885 attendees)
1978 – Funeral of Pope Paul VI is held in Vatican
1980 – Mohammed Ali Radjai is appointed premier of Iran
1982 – The South African Defence Force (SADF) raids Southern Angola
Famous Birthdays
1833 – Kido Takayoshi, Japanese politician, samurai and leader of the Meiji Restoration, born in Chōshū, Nagato province, Japan (d. 1877)
1837 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, President of France (1887-94), born in Limoges, France (d. 1894)
1900 – Philip Phillips, American archaeologist focusing on the Lower Mississippi Valley, born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1994)
1913 – Paul Dupuis, French Canadian actor (The Fortress; Passport to Pimlico), born in Montréal, Québec (d. 1976)
1950 – Glenn Jarrett, American auto racer (67 x NASCAR starts) and broadcaster (TNN, Speed Channel. MRN), born in Conover, North Carolina
Famous Deaths
1589 – Maarten Schenck van Nydeggen, military commander for the Dutch Republic, dies in an assault on Nijmegen at about 49
1844 – Jernej Kopitar, Slovene philologist and linguist (Slavic Grammatica), dies at 63
1951 – Ebbe Hamerik, Danish opera composer (Stepan; Marie Grubbe), drowns in a sailing accident at 52
1995 – Alonzo Church, American mathematician whose work provided foundation for computer science, dies at 92
2003 – Diana Mitford, British biographer, famous beauty, wife of Oswald Mosley and one of the Mitford sisters, dies at 93
Historical Events
117 – Roman army proclaims Hadrian as Roman Emperor in Syria after news reaches them of Trajan’s death
1888 – California Theatre in San Francisco closes, built in 1869, it was replaced by a more modern facility in 1889 (later destroyed in the 1907 earthquake)
1937 – “The Life of Émile Zola,” directed by William Dieterle and starring Paul Muni, premieres in New York (Best Picture 1938)
1949 – Gaston Eyskens forms the Belgian government
1951 – New York Giants (NFL) beat Ottawa Rough Riders (CFL) 38-6 in Ottawa
1971 – Construction begins on the Louisiana Superdome
1990 – Egyptian and Moroccan troops land in Saudi Arabia to prevent an Iraqi invasion
2015 – Japan’s Sendai Nuclear Power Plant restarts the first nuclear reactor since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
Famous Birthdays
1467 – Mary of York, English princess, daughter of King Edward IV, born at Windsor Castle (d. 1482)
1898 – Arthur Leslie Noel Douglas Houghton, British politician and trade unionist, born in Long Eaton, England (d. 1996)
1911 – Prem Bhatia, Indian journalist and diplomat (friend of Jawaharlal Nehru), born in Lahore, British India (d. 1995)
1929 – Cora de Man-Canne Meyer, Dutch mezzo-soprano (Figaro, Carmen), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2020)
1932 – Eric Varley, British politician and cabinet minister, born in Poolsbrook, Derbyshire (d. 2008)
1933 – Jerry Falwell Sr., American TV evangelist (Moral Majority), born in Lynchburg, Virginia (d. 2007)
1933 – Tamás Vásáry, Hungarian concert pianist and conductor, born in Debrecen, Hungary
1937 – Allegra Kent [Iris Cohen], American ballet dancer (New York City Ballet), teacher, and author (Ballerina Swan), born in Santa Monica, California
1942 – Otis Taylor, American football wide receiver (Super Bowl IV Kansas City Chiefs; First-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl 1971, 72), born in Houston, Texas (d. 2023)
1954 – Sinan Savaskan, Turkish-British contemporary classical music composer and educator (The Age of Analysis; Octandre Ensemble), born in Istanbul, Turkey
Famous Deaths
1890 – John Henry Newman, British thologian (Tract 90), educator, poet (Dream of Gerontius), Anglican priest, Catholic priest, cardinal and saint, dies of pneumonia at 89
1942 – Richard Heinrich Stein, German composer, and music theorist (La musica moderna), dies at 60
1952 – Riccardo Martin, American tenor and composer, dies at 77
1965 – Ethel Larcombe, British tennis player (Wimbledon 1912), dies at 86
1969 – Miriam Licette [Lycett], British operatic soprano, voice teacher, and arts patron, dies at 83
1974 – Maria Maksakova (née Sidorova), Soviet Russian operatic mezzo-soprano (Bolshoi Theatre, 1923–1953), dies at 72
1991 – Rodolfo Cornejo, Filipino classical pianist, composer, and conductor, dies at 82
1991 – Helmut Walcha, blind German organist (church music), dies at 83
2008 – Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician (Chancellor of Austria, 1983-86; Vice-Chancellor, 1981-83; Minister of Education 1971-83), dies at 79
2015 – Harald Nielsen, Danish soccer forward (14 caps; Olympic silver 1960; Frederikshavn fI, Bologna FC), dies at 73