Author: gil7

Historical Events

1796 – Battle of Bassano: Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army defeats the Austrian forces during the French Revolutionary Wars
1923 – Honda Point Disaster: Nine US Navy destroyers run aground off the California coast, and seven are lost
1966 – The Severn Bridge between England and Wales is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II
1985 – Alayson Gibbons sets a 24-hour women’s swim record of 42.05 miles in a 25-meter pool
2022 – Australian Stephanie Gilmore wins her eighth world surfing title at Lower Trestles, California, making her the most successful women’s champion in history

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Famous Birthdays

1857 – Ida Henrietta Hyde, American physiologist who invented the micro-electrode and the first woman allowed to do research at Harvard Medical School and to be elected to the American Physiology Society, born in Davenport, Iowa (d. 1945)
1894 – Willem Pijper, Dutch composer and music critic, born in Zeist, Netherlands (d. 1947)
1927 – Charles “Specs” Wright, American jazz drummer (Dizzy Gillespie; Cannonball Adderly; Red Garland), born in Philadelphia, Philadelphia (d. 1963)
1930 – Jeannette Altwegg, English figure skater (Olympic gold 1952), born in Bombay, India (d. 2021)
1991 – Joe Sugg, English Youtuber and actor (Strictly Come Dancing), born in Lacock, England

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Famous Deaths

1656 – Joseph Hall, English bishop and writer (Virgidemiarum: Six Books), dies at 82
1935 – Carl Weiss, American physician who murdered US Senator Huey Long, shot and killed by the senator’s bodyguards at 28
1995 – Halldis Moren Vesaas, Norwegian author and poet (Harp and Dagger), dies at 87
2005 – Noel Cantwell, Irish cricketer and footballer (b. 1932)
2018 – Tito Capobianco, Argentinian stage impresario, dies at 87

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Historical Events

1941 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: 1939 champion Bobby Riggs beats Frank Kovacs 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3
1942 – First flight of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator
1945 – Joe Kuhel hits an inside-the-park home run, the only homer hit by a member of the Washington Senators team all season at their home field, Griffith Stadium
1985 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Hana Mandlíková beats Martina Navratilova 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 for her first US title
1988 – Guy Lafleur, Tony Esposito, and Brad Park are inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame

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Famous Birthdays

1923 – Louise Suggs, American golfer and co-founder of LPGA (11 major titles, US Open 1949, 52), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2015)
1941 – Mogoboya Noko Nelson Ramodike, South African politician in Lebowa, born in South Africa (d. 2012)
1959 – Jermaine Stewart, American RandB singer (“We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off”), born in Columbus, Ohio (d. 1997)
1967 – Leslie Jones, American comedian and actress (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters), born in Memphis, Tennessee
1980 – Sara Carrigan, Australian cyclist (Olympic gold, road race 2004), born in Gunnedah, New South Wales

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Famous Deaths

1819 – Jean-Louis Duport, French cellist and composer, dies at 69
1892 – Joseph Reid Anderson, American Confederate general and owner of munitions company Tredegar Iron Company, dies at 79
2006 – Robert Earl Jones, American actor (The Sting, Witness, Sleepaway Camp), dies of natural causes at 96
2008 – Don Haskins, American College Basketball Hall of Fame coach (Texas El Paso 1961-99; NCAA Tournament 1966), dies at 78
2017 – Gene Michael, American baseball shortstop, and general manger (NY Yankees), dies of a heart attack at 79

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Historical Events

1791 – Wolfgang Mozart’s dramatic opera “La Clemenza di Tito” premieres at the Estates Theatre in Prague
1920 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills NY: Bill Tilden wins his first of six consecutive US singles titles, beating Bill Johnston 6-1, 1-6, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
1920 – Jack Dempsey knocks out Billy Miske in the third round for the heavyweight boxing title in the first radio broadcast of a prizefight
1943 – “Congressional Limited” train derails near Frankford, Philadelphia, killing 79
1962 – US performs a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

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Famous Birthdays

1923 – William Kraft, American timpanist, percussionist (Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble), conductor, and composer (The Demise of Suriyodhaya; Avalanche), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2022)
1962 – Chris Christie, American Republican politician, Governor of New Jersey (2010-18) and presidential candidate, born in Newark, New Jersey
1968 – Pat Meares, American baseball infielder (Minnesota Twins), born in Salina, Kansas
1978 – Cisco Adler, American singer and record producer, born in Los Angeles, California
1996 – Lil Xan [Nicholas Diego Leanos], American rapper and singer-songwriter (Betrayed), born in Redlands, California

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Famous Deaths

1951 – Joe Falcaro, American bowler (National Match Game champion 1929-33), dies at 55
1978 – Adolf Dassler, German entrepreneur (founder sportswear company Adidas), dies at 78
2016 – Raymond Hide, British geophysicist (geomagnetism, meteorology, geodesy and oceanography), dies at 87
2022 – Guy Morriss, American football coach (Kentucky, Baylor, Texas AandM–Commerce) and guard (Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots), dies from Alzheimer’s disease at 71
2023 – Richard Davis, American jazz double bassist described as “the greatest bass ever heard on a rock album” (Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1942 – American sailor Charles J. French (22) swims for over six hours in waters near Guadalcanal while towing a life raft with fifteen survivors from his US Navy ship, which is sunk by Japanese gunfire
1973 – Limited-run revival of Sigmund Romberg, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Frank Mandel’s musical “The Desert Song” opens at Uris Theater, NYC, for 15 performances
1982 – US Men’s Amateur Golf Championship, The Country Club: Jay Sigel wins 8 and 7 over David Tolley
1994 – Jingyi Le swims a world record in the 100 m women’s freestyle in 54.01 seconds
2018 – UK Prime Minister Theresa May confirms in Parliament that two Russian military intelligence officers undertake a Novichok nerve agent attack, prompting international condemnation

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Famous Birthdays

1876 – Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal, born in Landsberg am Lech, Germany (d. 1956)
1946 – Freddie Mercury [Farrokh Bulsara], British singer-songwriter (Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”), born in Stone Town, Sultanate of Zanzibar (d. 1991)
1946 – Dennis Dugan, American actor and director (Can’t Buy Me Love, Howling), born in Wheaton, Illinois
1951 – Paul Breitner, German footballer, born in Kolbermoor, Germany
1971 – Carlester Crumpler, American NFL tight end (Seattle Seahawks), born in Greenville, North Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1890 – Ludwig Deppe, German composer, dies at 61
1931 – John Thomson, football player who died in an accidental collision during a match (b. 1909)
1939 – Cornelis J “Cor” van Ast, Dutch actor and director (Ghost Hotel, Two Boys), dies at 67
1965 – Thomas Johnston, Scottish-born politician (b. 1882)
2016 – Duane Graveline, American doctor and astronaut, dies at 85

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