Today in History for 2nd May 2025

Historical Events

1876 – Ross Barnes hit 1st home run in National League
1906 – 32nd Kentucky Derby: Roscoe Troxler aboard Sir Huon wins in 2:08.8
1968 – 22nd NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 2
1981 – Radio Shack re-releases Model III TRSDOS 1.3 with 2 fixes
1999 – John Elway announces his retirement from the NFL

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Famous Birthdays

1844 – Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American inventor of African descent, notable for his 57 US patents (lubrication of steam engines), born in Colchester, Ontario (d. 1929)
1904 – Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian composer, born in Belogradchik, Bulgaria (d. 1979)
1929 – Edward Levy, American composer, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
1973 – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German film director and screenwriter (The Lives of Others), born in Cologne, Germany
1987 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer and songwriter, born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

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Famous Deaths

373 – Athanasius, Greek early church Father, theologian and Patriarch of Alexandria (298-373) (b. 298)
1985 – Bridget D’Oyly Carte, British theater and hotel director, dies of lung cancer at 77
1990 – Oleg Anatolyevich Yakovlev, Russian cosmonaut, dies at 49
1992 – Wilbur Mills, American politician (US Representative from Arkansas, 1939-77), famous for his involvement in a sex scandal with Fanne Foxe, dies at 82
2017 – Leo Thorsness, American Vietnam War pilot (Medal of Honor), dies at 85

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Famous Deaths for 1st May 2025

1471 – Thomas a Kempis, German Dutch spiritual writer (Navolging of Christ), dies at 91
1679 – Esaias Reusner, German lutenist and composer, dies at 43
1903 – Luigi Arditi, Italian violinist and composer, dies at 80
1903 – Arthur Haygarth, English cricket batsman (Middlesex and Surrey, cricket historian), dies at 77
1921 – Louis Campbell-Tipton, American composer, dies at 43
1959 – Oscar Torp, Norwegian premier, dies
1985 – George Pravda, Czech actor, dies at 68
2018 – Bob Woffinden, British journalist and author, dies of mesothelioma at 89
2022 – Charles Siebert, American television actor (One Day at A Time; Trapper John, M.D. – “Stanley”), and director, dies at 84
2024 – Austin Savage, Welsh field hockey goaltender player (1972 Olympics), dies at 84

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Historical Events for 1st May 2025

1778 – American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
1863 – Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi
1927 – Imperial Airways is the first British airliner to serve cooked meals
1946 – The Paris Peace Conference concludes that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy
1950 – Gwendolyn Brooks is the first African American awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for “Annie Allen”
1977 – American golfer Gene Littler wins the Houston Open, his 29th and final PGA title
1980 – 15th Academy of Country Music Awards: Larry Gatlin and Crystal Gayle win
1995 – Montreal Canadiens lose 2-0 at Buffalo to miss Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 25 years
2004 – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.
2005 – 17-year old Lionel Messi scores his 1st senior league goal for FC Barcelona in 2-0 win against Albacete Balompié, at the Spotify Camp Nou in Barcelona

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Today in History for 1st May 2025

Historical Events

1759 – British fleet occupies Guadeloupe, West Indies, capturing it from France
1795 – Kamehameha I, King of Hawaiʻi defeats Kalanikupule and conquers island of Oʻahu at Battle of Nuʻuanu [approx. date]
1921 – Drusian sultan Pasja al-Atrasj elected governor of Suwayda
1947 – Radar for commercial and private planes is first demonstrated
1954 – WAPA TV channel 4 in San Juan, PR (NBC/SFN) begins broadcasting

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Famous Birthdays

1915 – Archie Williams, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1936), born in Oakland, California (d. 1993)
1928 – Raoul Servais, Belgian cartoonist and filmmaker (Harpya, Palme d’Or 1979), born in Ostend, Belgium (d. 2023)
1930 – Little Walter [Marion Walter Jacobs], blues singer-songwriter and harmonica player, born in Marksville, Louisiana (d. 1968)
1941 – Juraj Hatrík, Slovak composer (Monumento malinconico; Dispute Over a Plastered Dwarf), and educator, born in Orkucany, Slovak Republic (d. 2021)
1987 – Shahar Pe’er, Israeli tennis player (5 WTA singles titles), born in Jerusalem, Israel

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Famous Deaths

1896 – Nasr-ed-Din, shah of Persia (184.-96), murdered at 65
1963 – Lope K. Santos, Filipino writer and Father of the Philippine National Language and Grammar, dies at 83
1971 – Glenda Farrell, American actress (Golddiggers of 1935: Grand Slam; Exposed), dies of lung cancer at 66
2014 – Assaf Dayan, Israeli actor (He Walked Through the Fields), dies at 68
2017 – Mike Lowry, American politician (Rep-D-WA, 1979-89, Governor of Washington 1993-97), dies at 78

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Famous Deaths for 30th April 2025

535 – Amalaswintha, queen of Ostrogoths, murdered in the bath at about 37
1792 – Hans Adolf Friedrich von Eschstruth, composer and lawyer, dies at 36
1958 – Alvan T. Fuller, American automotive dealer and politician, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (1925-29) during Sacco and Vanzetti case, dies at 80
1993 – Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)
1996 – Hélène Cordet, French actress (The Limping Man), dies at 78
2003 – Peter “Possum” Bourne, New Zealand race car driver, dies at 47
2007 – Tom Cartwright, English cricket medium pace bowler (5 Tests, 15 wickets, BB 6/94; Warwickshire CCC, Somerset CCC), dies at 71
2016 – Phil Ryan, Welsh keyboardist and composer (Man; Pete Brown), dies at 69
2020 – Rishi Kapoor, Indian Bollywood actor and director (Bobby, Do Dooni Chaar), dies at 67
2021 – Anthony Payne, British composer (Phoenix Mass; Visions and Journeys), critic, and musicologist, dies at 84

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Historical Events for 30th April 2025

1804 – The New Hague Theater opens in The Hague, Netherlands
1864 – Battle of Jenkin’s Ferry, Arkansas; Confederate General William Reid Scurry is killed
1922 – Chicago pitcher Charlie Robertson throws a perfect game as the White Sox beat Detroit Tigers, 2-0 at Navin Field
1945 – Adolf Hitler commits suicide along with his new wife Eva Braun in the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin as the Red Army captures the city
1967 – MLB Baltimore Orioles’ Stu Miller and Steve Barber lose 2-1 despite no-hitting Tigers
1988 – NY Knights 1st arena football game beats Cobras 60-52 (10,157 in LA)
1990 – As Met pitcher David Cone argues a call at 1st base, 2 Braves score
2015 – US senator Bernie Sanders announces he will seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for President
2018 – Superhero film “Avengers: Infinity War” sets new record for an opening weekend earning $250 million in the US, $630 million worldwide
2020 – Russian Prime Minister Mikhail V. Mishustin says he has COVID-19

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Today in History for 30th April 2025

Historical Events

1665 – Naval battle in Bay of Barbados between attacking Dutch fleet led by Michiel de Ruyter damages ships but fails to take the English-held fort
1962 – NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 75,190 m
1962 – LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 8th major title in a playoff with Ruth Jessen
1988 – NY Yank Dave Winfield gets his 29th RBI of April-Sets AL and ties ML Rec
2000 – Pope John Paul II canonizes Polish nun Sister Faustina [Helena Kowalska] as a Catholic saint

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Famous Birthdays

1912 – Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, Deputy Prime Minister of Spain (1976-81) and Minister of Defense (1977-79), born in Madrid (d. 1995)
1931 – Bill Clay, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri), born in St. Louis, Missouri
1969 – Joey Restivo, American pop-rock percussionist (Linear – “Sending All My Love”), born in Brooklyn, New York
1982 – Cleo Higgins, British singer and actress (Cleopatra), born in Birmingham, England
1983 – Yamini, Tamil singer, born in India

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Famous Deaths

535 – Amalaswintha, queen of Ostrogoths, murdered in the bath at about 37
1660 – Peter Scriverius, Dutch lawyer and historian, dies at 84
1976 – Edvard Fliflet Braein, Norwegian composer (Ut mot havet (Out To Sea); Anne Pedersdotter), dies at 51
2005 – Ron Todd, British trade unionist (TGWU General Secretary, 1985-92), dies at 78
2015 – Ben E. King [Nelson], American soul singer (Stand By Me), dies at 76

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Famous Deaths for 29th April 2025

1768 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and minerologist, dies at 73
1864 – Abraham Gesner, Canadian geologist (inventor of kerosene), dies at 66
1925 – Edward J. McKeever, American baseball executive (co-owner Brooklyn Dodgers), dies of influenza at 66
1961 – (Gilbert) “Cisco” Houston, American folk singer, and guitarist, dies of stomach cancer at 42
1979 – Hardie Gramatky, American author and animator (Little Toot), dies at 72
1994 – William “Bill” Quinn, American actor (Star Trek, The Birds, Rifleman, All in the Family), dies of natural causes at 81
1995 – Robert Gibb, British zoo and theme park creator (Flamingo Land; Pleasure Island), dies in a car accident at 57
2005 – Mariana Levy, Mexican telenovela actress (Living in Love, Wild Rosa), dies at 39 after suffering a heart attack during a robbery attempt
2012 – Shukri Ghanem, Libyan Prime Minister, dies at 69
2014 – Bob Hoskins, English actor (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), dies from pneumonia at 71

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Historical Events for 29th April 2025

1943 – German pastor and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer arrested by the Gestapo
1951 – China seizes the assets of the Asiatic Petroleum Company, a joint venture between the Shell and Royal Dutch oil companies in retaliation for the Hong Kong Government’s requisitioning of the tanker Yung Hao
1965 – Malta becomes 18th member of Council of Europe
1971 – Boeing receives contract for Mariner 10, Mercury exploration
1982 – American mafia hitman Richard Kuklinski murders pharmacist Paul Hoffman by beating him with a tire iron
1997 – MLB Kansas City Royals Chili Davis is 75th to hit 300 HRs
2005 – New Zealand’s first civil union takes place
2016 – Canadian musician Drake releases “Views”, his 4th studio album
2019 – Indonesia announces plan to relocate its capital from Jakarta due to the city sinking, according to a government minister
2023 – 72-hour ceasefire in Sudan breaks down between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, as air and artillery strikes on Khartoum resume

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Today in History for 29th April 2025

Historical Events

1540 – Emperor Charles declares all privileges of Ghent ended
1707 – English and Scottish parliaments accept Act of Union; creates the United Kingdom of Great Britain (comes into being 1st May)
1964 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1991 – “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” single released by Alan Jackson (ASCAP Award Country Song of the Year, 1992; Billboard Song of the Year, 1991)
1995 – Longest sausage ever, at 28.77 miles, made in Kitchener, Ontario

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Famous Birthdays

1896 – Walter Mehring, German writer (Die Gedichte, Lieder und Chansons des Walter Mehring), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1981)
1901 – G. O. Sayles, English historian, born in Chesterfield, England (d. 1994)
1932 – King Hu, Chinese film director and actor (wuxia films), born in Beijing, Republic of China (d. 1997)
1947 – Sam Francis, American far-right conservative columnist and editor (The Washington Times, 1991-95), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (d. 2005)
1954 – Deborah Iyall, American artist and singer (Romeo Void), born in Soap Lake, Washington

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Famous Deaths

1943 – Joseph Achron, Lithuanian-American concert violinist and composer (Golem Suite), dies at 56
1975 – Darwin Judge, USMC-corporal, 1 of last US soldiers killed in Vietnam
1982 – Herbert Collum, German composer, dies at 67
1997 – Peter Tali Coleman, Governor of American Samoa (1956-61, 1978-85, 1989-93), dies at 77
2020 – Trevor Cherry, English soccer defender (27 caps; Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Bradford City) and manager (Bradford City), dies at 72

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