Author: gil7

Historical Events

1756 – Frederick II of Prussia leads an Anglo-Prussian alliance into Saxony, beginning the Seven Years’ War
1862 – US Bureau of Engraving and Printing begins operation
1932 – United Cigar Stores shuts 800 shops
2003 – Skype Technologies releases its pioneering video-conferencing software
2013 – Actor Gary Sinise is named an honorary Marine by the Commandant of the Marine Corps

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Famous Birthdays

1891 – Michael Chekhov, Russian-American actor (Abie’s Irish Rose, Rhapsody), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1955)
1905 – Lan Adomián, Russian-American-Mexican composer, and Spanish Civil War fighter (Lincoln Brigade), born in Moghiler-Podolsk, Russia (d. 1979)
1915 – Nathan Pritikin, American nutritionist and inventor, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1985)
1920 – Charles White, American actor (Airport 95, Serpico), born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey (d. 2005)
1928 – Charles Gray, British actor (Clay-Rawhide, Diamonds Are Forever, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), born in Bournemouth, Hampshire (d. 2000)

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Famous Deaths

1093 – Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1057)
1910 – Johan Eilerts de Haan, Dutch naval officer and explorer (Lucie River, Suriname), dies, likely due to malaria, at 44
1960 – Hazza el-Majali, Prime Minister of Jordan is assassinated
1975 – Éamon de Valera, Irish republican politician and President of Ireland (1937-48, 51-54, 57-59), dies at 92
2016 – Gene Wilder [Jerome Silberman], American actor (Blazing Saddles; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Silver Streak; Young Frankenstein), dies at 83

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Historical Events

1859 – A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of the USA, Europe, and even as far afield as Japan
1884 – MLB pitcher Mickey Welch sets a record for most consecutive batters struck out to begin a game, striking out the first nine men he faces
1942 – Swedish runner Gunder Hägg sets a world record of 8:01.2 in the 3000 m
1950 – Earle and Roy Mack purchase 54% of the Philadelphia A’s from Connie Mack Jr.
1986 – Bolivian President Víctor Paz Estenssoro calls a state of siege

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Famous Birthdays

1829 – Albert Dietrich, German composer and conductor, born in Meissen, Kingdom of Saxony (d. 1908)
1952 – Guy Nadon, Canadian actor (L’ange gardien), born in Montréal, Québec
1961 – Jennifer Coolidge, American actress and comedian (Legally Blonde film series; Christopher Guest films), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1965 – Satoshi Tajiri, Japanese video game designer (Game Freak, creator of the Pokémon franchise), born in Setagaya, Japan
1982 – (Margaret) LeAnn Rimes [Cibrian], American country singer (“Blue”; “How Do I Live”), born in Jackson, Mississippi

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Famous Deaths

1677 – Wallerant Vaillant, French painter and engraver, dies at 54
1963 – Bernard Silver, American co-inventor of the barcode, dies of leukemia at 38
1978 – Bruce Catton, American historian and writer (Civil War), dies at 78
1987 – John Huston, US/Irish actor and director (Maltese Falcon), dies at 81
2024 – (Herman) “Pete” Wade, American country and pop session guitarist (Nashville A-Team; Lynn Anderson – “Rose Garden”; Crystal Gayle – “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”), dies of complications after hip surgery at 89

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Historical Events

1828 – Uruguay gains independence during Brazil-Argentina peace talks
1917 – Indians set club record by stealing eight bases in a game
1942 – Soviet woman sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko arrives in Washington D.C., the first Soviet citizen welcomed at the White House by Eleanor Roosevelt
1979 – Warrenpoint ambush: 18 British Army soldiers are killed when the Provisional IRA explodes two roadside bombs as a British convoy passes Narrow Water Castle
2012 – First interplanetary human voice recording broadcast from Mars Rover Curiosity

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Famous Birthdays

1630 – Maria van Oosterwijck, Dutch flower painter, born in Nootdorp, Netherlands (d. 1693)
1669 – Anne Marie of Orléans, Queen of Italy, born in Château de Saint-Cloud, France (d. 1728)
1896 – Leon Theremin, Russian-Soviet electronic musical instruments inventor, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1993)
1941 – Harrison Page, American character actor (Sledge Hammer!; C.P.O. Sharkey), born in Atlanta, Georgia
1971 – Julian Cheung Chi-Lam, singer (A Modern Love Story) and actor (Return Of The Cuckoo), born in North Point, British Hong Kong

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Famous Deaths

1910 – Clement of Maasdijk, 1st Dutch aircraft death
1965 – Le Corbusier [Charles Jeanneret], Swiss French architect, city planner and artist (Urbanisme), dies at 77
2009 – Virgilio Savona, Italian jazz singer and composer (Quartetto Cetra – “Un bacio a mezzanotte”; “Crapa pelada”), dies of complications from Parkinson’s disease at 89
2020 – Dick Ritger, American ten-pin bowler (Tournament of Champions 1970, 79 runner-up; 20 career PBA Tour titles), dies at 81
2020 – Lute Olson, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach (Uni of Iowa 1974-83; NCAA Division I Tournament 1997, Uni of Arizona 1983-2008), dies from stroke complications at 85

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Historical Events

1987 – Paul Molitor goes 0-for-4, ending his hitting streak at 39 consecutive games
1991 – Royal Brett Saberhagen no-hits White Sox 7-0
2011 – The 787 Dreamliner, Boeing’s all-new composite airliner, receives certification from the EASA and the FAA
2014 – Israel and Hamas accept another ceasefire
2021 – Two bomb blasts from suicide bombers at Kabul Airport, Afghanistan, kill at least 60 civilians and 13 US soldiers amid international efforts to evacuate citizens from the country

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Famous Birthdays

1596 – Frederick V, Elector Palentine (1610-23), King of Bohemia (1619-20), defeated at Battle of White Mountain, born in Deinschwang, Palatinate (d. 1632)
1885 – Gene Gauntier [Liggett], American silent film screenwriter and actress, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1966)
1925 – Jack Hirshleifer, American economist, educator, and author, born in Brooklyn, NYC (d. 2005)
1946 – Chantal Renaud, Québécoise yé-yé singer, songwriter, actress and writer, born in Quebec, Canada
1951 – Robert Torricelli, American politician (Rep-D-New Jersey, 1983-97, Senator-New Jersey 1997-2003), born in Paterson, New Jersey

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Famous Deaths

1956 – Alfred Wagenknecht, German-American Marxist activist who helped establish the American Communist Party, dies at 75
2000 – Akbar Adibi, Iranian engineer and professor (electronics and VLSI technology), dies at 61
2003 – Wayne Andre, American jazz and session trombonist, dies at 72
2015 – P J Kavanagh [Patrick Joeseph], British poet, actor and journalist (The Perfect Stranger), dies at 84
2023 – Tony Roberts, American College Football HOF broadcaster (play-by-play announcer Notre Dame Fighting Irish football 1980-2006), dies at 94

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