Author: gil7

Historical Events

1727 – Physician Sir Hans Soane becomes President of the Royal Society, succeeding Sir Isaac Newton
1940 – CFL Grey Cup (Game 2), Lansdowne Park, Ottawa: Ottawa beats Toronto Balmy Beach, 12-5
1954 – Japanese government of Joshida resigns
1972 – Apollo 17 launched, the final manned lunar landing mission where the crew takes the famous “blue marble” photo of the entire Earth
1992 – Galileo spacecraft passes North Pole of Moon (Peary Crater)
2021 – Chile becomes the 31st nation to legalize same-sex marriage

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Famous Birthdays

967 – Abū-Sa’īd Abul-Khayr, Persian mystic and poet, born in Mihne, Greater Khorasan (d. 1049)
1892 – Stuart Davis, American modernist painter, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1964)
1912 – Daniel Jones, Welsh composer, born in Pembroke, Wales (d. 1993)
1915 – Leigh Brackett, American sci-fi author (Ginger Star), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1978)
1947 – Johnny Bench, American Baseball HOF catcher (14 x MLB All Star; World Series 1975, 76 [MVP]; NL MVP 1970, 72; 10 x Gold Glove; Cincinnati Reds), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1977 – Fernando Vargas, American boxer (IBF light middleweight title 1998-2000, WBA title 2001-02), born in Oxnard, California

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Famous Deaths

1969 – Lefty O’Doul, American Baseball HOF left fielder (MLB All-Star, World Series 1933; NL batting champion 1929, 32 NY Yankees), dies at 72
1979 – Nicolas Born, German writer, dies of cancer at 41
1979 – Prince Chahryar Shafik, Shah of Iran’s nephew, murdered in Paris
1997 – Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (Leeds United), dies at 54 from a suspected heart attack
2001 – Charles McClendon, LSU Tigers head football coach (b. 1923)
2011 – Harry Morgan, American actor (December Bride; M*A*S*H, 1975-83 – “Col. Sherman Potter”; AfterMASH; Dragnet – “Bill Gannon”), dies in his sleep at 96

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Historical Events

1864 – American Civil War Battle at Griswoldville, Georgia, ends after 650 casualties
1977 – US President Jimmy Carter presents engineer Peter Goldmark with the National Medal of Science for his work communication and entertainment technology
1980 – Georgia tanker at Pilottown Louisiana, spills 1.3 million gallons of oil after an anchor chain causes a ship to leak
1996 – O.J. Simpson takes stand as hostile witness in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against him, saying it is “absolutely not true”
2002 – In Nigeria, more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the contestants of the Miss World contest
2023 – Right-wing Dutch populist Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party unexpectedly wins more seats than any other party in the country’s general election

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Famous Birthdays

1897 – Paul Oswald Ahnert, German astronomer, born in Chemnitz, Kingdom of Saxony (d. 1989)
1908 – Michael Balfour, English historian, born in Oxford (d. 1995)
1938 – John Gregory, American football coach (CFL Grey Cup 1989 Saskatchewan Roughriders; South Dakota State Uni), born in Webster City, Iowa (d. 2022)
1955 – James Edwards, American basketball center (NBA C’ship 1989, 90 Detroit Pistons, 1996 Chicago Bulls), born in Seattle, Washington
1964 – Stephen Geoffreys, actor (Faternity Vacation), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
1969 – Dave Sims, English rugby union lock (3 Tests; Gloucester RFC; Barbarians RFC 1995, 96, 99), born in Gloucester, England (d. 2022)

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Famous Deaths

1896 – Vicente Riva Palacio, Mexican Liberal politician, military leader and writer (Governor of the State of Mexico), dies at 64
1994 – John Michael Grimes, British set designer (Philby, Burgess and MacLean), dies at 70
1995 – Norman Potter, English cabinetmaker, designer and writer, dies at 72
1997 – Harry Kissin, Baron Kissin, British businessman and President (GPG), dies at 85
1998 – Stu Unger, American poker player (b. 1953)
2007 – Verity Lambert, English film and TV producer, 1st producer of Doctor Who, dies at 71

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Historical Events

1968 – Yale University announces it is going co-educational
1981 – Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant ties Amos Alonzo Stagg with 314 football wins
1981 – 2nd NASA Space Shuttle Mission: Columbia 2 returns to Earth
2008 – Eurozone officially slips into recession for the first time since its creation in 1999, pushed down by recessions in Germany and Italy
2014 – American harness racing trainer/driver Dave Palone sets the world record for wins when he drive Missy Tap Tina to the winner’s circle for his 16,754th career victory
2018 – Attempt to move 720,000 Rohingya back to Myanmar from Bangladesh refugee camps amid international criticism. They refuse to go.

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Famous Birthdays

1875 – Gregorio del Pilar, Filipino general known as the ‘boy general’ during the Philippine-American War, born in Bulakan, Philippines (d. 1899)
1907 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children book author (Pippi Longstocking), born in Vimmerby, Sweden (d. 2002)
1924 – Leonid Kogan, Soviet Russian violinist (Lenin Prize, 1952), born in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR, USSR (now Ukraine) (d. 1982)
1927 – Narciso Yepes, Spanish classical guitarist (Orquesta Nacionale 1947), born in Lorca, Spain (d. 1997)
1948 – Jacob Kohnstamm, Dutch lawyer and politician (Senator, 1999-2004; Undersecretary of the Interior (1994-98; House of Representatives, 1981-82. 1986-94), born in Wassenaar, Netherlands
1972 – Josh Duhamel, American actor (Transformers, Life as We Know It), born in Minot, North Dakota

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Famous Deaths

1692 – Christoph Bernhard, German baroque composer, dies at 64
1977 – A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Indian guru, founder of International Society for Krishna Consciousness, dies at 81
1981 – Robert Bradford, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1941)
1992 – Joop Van Nellen, Dutch soccer forward (27 caps; DHC Delft), dies at 82
1994 – Jake Dengel, American actor (Ragtime, Ironweed), dies at 61
1996 – Joseph Bernardin, cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, dies at 68

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