Author: gil7

Historical Events

1913 – A Common Tern is banded in Maine and later found dead in Africa in 1919, making it the first bird known to have crossed the Atlantic
1946 – First Dutch government of Louis Beel forms
1994 – FIFA World Cup: In a huge upset Romania eliminates Argentina 3-2 from the round of 16 at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
2018 – French President Emmanuel Macron visits the New Afrika Shrine nightclub in Lagos during his two-day tour of Nigeria
2021 – Mudslides crash through town of Atami, Japan, after torrential rain, killing 19, with over 100 people initially missing

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1685 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, British cavalry officer, born in Roos Hall, Beccles, England (d. 1768)
1828 – John Austin Wharton, American lawyer and Major General (Confederate Army), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1865)
1927 – Charles Vandenhove, Belgian architect (Standard-Omnisporthal, Liège), born in Teuven, Belgium (d. 2019)
1937 – David Shire, American songwriter and composer of stage musicals, film and television scores (The Conversation; All the President’s Men), born in Buffalo, New York
1970 – Shawnee Smith, American actress (Saw), born in Orangeburg, South Carolina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1904 – Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist and father of modern political Zionism (World Zionist Organization), dies of cardiac sclerosis at 44
1918 – Mehmed V, 35th Ottoman Sultan (1909-18), dies at 73
1957 – Dolf Luque, Cuban Baseball HOF pitcher (World Series 1919, 33; MLB wins leader and MLB ERA leader 1923; Cincinnati Reds, NY Giants), dies at 66
2011 – Anna Massey, English actress (De Sade, Doll’s House), dies at 73
2024 – David Hofmans, American thoroughbred racehorse trainer (Belmont Stakes 1997 Touch Gold; 3 x Breeders Cup races), dies at 81

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1808 – Simon Fraser completes his trip down Fraser River, British Columbia, lands at Musqueam
1935 – Great Britain amateur boxing team beats United States in the first International Golden Gloves tournament in NYC, New York
1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta
1993 – Muslim fundamentalists in Sivas, Turkey, set hotel on fire, kill 36
2018 – English pop singers Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne announce they are splitting up after two years

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1821 – Charles Tupper, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (Conservative: 69-day term in 1896), born in Amherst, Nova Scotia (d. 1915)
1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist, born in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria (d. 1931)
1904 – Gerarda Rueter, Dutch sculptor, born in Amsterdam (d. 1993)
1928 – Line Renaud [Jacqueline Ente], French pop and cabaret singer, actress, and AIDS activist, born in Pont-de-Nieppe, France
1949 – Joe English, American musician and drummer (Wings; Sea Level), born in Rochester, New York

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-born French army commander (Thirty Years’ War), dies at 44
1743 – Spencer Compton 1st Earl of Wilmington, Prime Minister of Great Britain (Whig: 1742-43) statesman who served in government from 1715 until his death, dies at about 70
1917 – Herbert Beerbohm Tree, British actor and theatre manager (King John, Trilby), dies at 64
1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (Car 54 Where Are You, Munsters), dies of pancreatic cancer at 66
1994 – Ralph Rinzler, American folklorist, Greenbriar Boys, founded Smithsonian Folklife Festival, dies at 59

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1858 – Joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s papers on evolution to the Linnean Society renders audience awestruck and silent
1938 – The South African Press Association (SAPA) is established as a non-governmental institution by South Africa’s major newspapers to facilitate the sharing of news, both national and international
1944 – Von Rundstedt against Keitel: “Sign peace, idiots!”
1948 – Australian cricket captain Don Bradman scores 128 in 141 mins with 15 fours in a tour match vs Surry
1968 – US, Britain, USSR and 58 nations sign Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1873 – Alice Guy-Blaché, French film director who was the first woman to direct a film (The Fairy of the Cabbages), born in Paris (d. 1968)
1887 – Charles D. Brown, American actor (Barefoot Boy, Disbarred, Night Editor), born in Council Bluffs, Iowa (d. 1948)
1952 – Steve Shutt, Canadian Hockey HOF left wing (Stanley Cup 1973, 76, 77, 78, 79 Montreal Canadiens), born in North York, Ontario
1971 – Steven W. Bailey, American actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), born in San Diego, California
1983 – Brandee Younger, American session and touring classical, jazz, soul, and funk harpist, born in Hempstead, Long Island, New York

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1614 – Isaac Casaubon, English classical scholar (Atheneaus), dies at 55
1953 – Jacob D du Toit [Totius], South African poet/theologist, dies
1980 – Charles P. Snow, English novelist (Death Under Sail, Strangers and Brothers) and physical chemist, dies at 74
1987 – Snakefinger [Philip Lithman], British singer and songwriter. guitarist, and violinist (The Residents), dies of a heart attack at 38
2020 – Ida Haendel, Polish-British-Canadian child prodigy violinist, teacher, and author (Woman with Violin), dies of kidney cancer at 91

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1377 – Foundation stone laid for Ulm Minster, in Free Imperial City of Ulm, Holy Roman Empire, construction is not completed until 1890, when it becomes the tallest church in the world
1939 – Heinkel He 176 rocket plane flies for 1st time, at Peenemunde
1953 – 1st Chevrolet Corvette manufactured
1979 – “Good Times” single released by Chic (Billboard Song of the Year 1979)
2019 – President Donald Trump becomes first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea in the Korean Demilitarized Zone meeting Kim Jong-un

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1685 – John Gay, English poet and dramatist (The Beggar’s Opera), born in Barnstaple, England (d. 1732)
1892 – Pierre Blanchar, Algerian actor and director (Magnificent Sinner, Wooden Crosses, Pastoral Symphony), born in Philippeville, Constantine, France (d. 1963)
1951 – Geoff Wheel, Welsh rugby union lock (32 Tests; Mumbles RFC, Swansea RFC), born in Swansea, Wales (d. 2024)
1958 – Esa-Pekka Salonen, Finnish orchestral conductor (Giro), born in Helsinki, Finland
1982 – Andy Knowles, British musician (Franz Ferdinand), born in Bolton, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1685 – Archibald Campbell, Scottish politician, beheaded at about 55
1817 – Abraham Gottlob Werner, German geologist
1953 – Göte Carlid, Swedish composer (Eine kleine Teemusik), dies at 32
1953 – Vsevolod Pudovkin, Soviet film director and theorist (Mother, Deserter), dies of a heart attack at 60
2021 – Janet Moreau Stone, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1952), dies at 93

More Famous Deaths »