1443 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1434)
1958 – Paul Panzer, German-American silent film actor (The Perils of Pauline, Mildred Pierce, Hotel Berlin), dies at 85
1969 – Russ Bender, American actor and writer (Amazing Colossal Man; Space Monster, It Conquered the World), dies at 59
1986 – Jaime Saenz, Bolivian poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1921)
1995 – Robert “Bobby” Debarge, RandB Musician, dies of AIDS at 39
2003 – Andrew Pryce Jackman, British progressive rock keyboardist, arranger and composer, dies of a heart attack at 67
2003 – Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator (1971-79) who killed an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 people, dies of kidney failure aged between 75-80
2007 – Bahaedin Adab, Iranian MP (b. 1945)
2008 – Lucrecia Roces Kasilag, Filipina composer (Filiasiana), concert pianist, and educator (Bayanihan Dance Company), dies of pneumonia 89
2019 – Jim Hardy, American NFL quarterback, 1946-52 (Los Angeles Rams; Chicago Cardinals, Detroit Lions; Pro Bowl 1950), dies at 96
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 16th August 2024
1913 – Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tōhoku University) admits its first female students.
1960 – Republic of Congo (Zaire, Dem Rep of Congo) forms
1966 – The Beatles in concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; their second and final show in the city
1969 – V.V. Giri is elected the fourth President of India
1972 – King of Morocco Hassan II’s Boeing 727 is attacked and shot at by six F-5 military jets during a failed coup attempt by General Mohamed Oufkir. Reportedly, King Hassan grabbed the radio and told the rebel pilots “Stop firing! The tyrant is dead!” fooling the pilots to break off the attack.
1974 – American punk rock band “The Ramones” concert debut at CBGB’s in New York City
1975 – British singer Peter Gabriel announces his departure from the rock group Genesis
1980 – British rock keyboardist Jools Holland quits band Squeeze to pursue a solo career
1984 – Sunken liner Andrea Doria’s safe opened
1987 – Northwest Airlines 255 plane crashes in Detroit, 156 die (1 lives)
Today in History for 16th August 2024
Historical Events
1864 – Federal assault on 4th day of battle at Deep Bottom Run, Virginia
1890 – Alexander Clark, journalist and lawyer, named minister to Liberia
1921 – Members of the Dail (parliament) swear allegiance to the Irish Republic at their first meeting, held at Dublin House
1993 – The Debian distribution first announced by Ian Murdock, a student at Purdue University (Murdock initially called his system the “Debian Linux Release”)
2017 – Philippine police kill 32 in raids near Manilia, most deadly night in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs
2023 – The Northwest Territories in Canada declare a state of emergency due to wildfires and order an evacuation of the city of Yellowknife, affecting 22,000 people
Famous Birthdays
1860 – Lord Hawke [Martin Hawke], English cricket batsman (5 Tests; Yorkshire CCC, Cambridge Uni CC, MCC), born in Willingham by Stow, England (d. 1938)
1862 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American athlete and American football pioneer, born in West Orange, New Jersey (d. 1965)
1937 – David Behrman, American composer (On The Other Ocean), born in Salzburg, Austria
1946 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress (Cinderella, Mission Impossible), born in New York City
1952 – Mahes Goonatillake, cricketer (Sri Lankan keeper in their 1st 5 Tests)
1985 – Agnes Bruckner, American actress, born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1445 – Margaret of Scotland (Dauphine of France), wife of the future King Louis XI (b. 1424)
1938 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and Catholic priest, dies at 1938
1952 – Lydia Field Emmet, American painter (b. 1866)
1991 – Stuart Karl, CEO (Karl Home Video), dies at 38 of skin cancer
2015 – Jacob Bekenstein, American-Israeli theoretical physicist (Bekenstein-Hawking radiation), dies of a heart attack at 68
2017 – David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort, British aristocrat, art dealer, and peer, dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 15th August 2024
1729 – Benjamin Neukirch, German poet (Herrn von Hofmannswaldau), dies at 64
1848 – Timothy Olmstead, American fifer and composer, dies at 88
1880 – Adelaide Neilson, English stage actress (Julia-The Hunchback), dies while horse riding at 32
1959 – “Blind” Willie McTell [McTier], American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist, dies at 61
1969 – Stijn Streuvels [Frank Lateur], Flemish writer (De Vlaschaard), dies at 97
1983 – Anthony Costello, American actor (Will Penny, The Outer Limits), dies of HIV/AIDS at 45
1985 – Joe Carveth, Canadian ice hockey right wing (NHL All Star 1950; Stanley Cup 1943, 50 Detroit Red Wings; Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens), dies at 67
1994 – Wout Wagtmans, Dutch cyclist (Rome-Naples-Rome 1957), dies at 64
1994 – Shepherd Mead, American writer (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), dies of stroke at 80
2006 – Rick Bourke, Australian rugby league player (Cronulla), dies of cancer at 52
Historical Events for 15th August 2024
636 – Beginning of the five-day decisive Battle at Yarmuk: Muslim forces defeat the Byzantine army to take control of Syria for the first time
1519 – Panama City founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila
1865 – Battle of Lone Jack, Missouri: fierce fighting between Union soldiers and Confederate forces prompted by bushwacker attacks destroys town of Lone Jack
1876 – US law removes Indians from Black Hills after gold find
1934 – US ends occupation of Haiti after 19 years; started after the 1915 assassination of Haiti’s president
1936 – Annibale Frossi scores twice as Italy beats Austria 2-1 in extra time in the soccer final at the Berlin Olympics
1948 – US Open Women’s Golf, Atlantic City CC: Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins by 8 strokes from Betty Hicks
1974 – Hurricane and floods ravage Bangladesh, 4,000 killed
1990 – Mark McGwire is 1st to hit 30 HRs in each of his 1st 4 seasons
2008 – Despite China winning the women’s gymnastics team all-round gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, Americans Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson go 1-2 in the individual all-round
Today in History for 15th August 2024
Historical Events
1858 – Regular US mail to the Pacific coast begins
1964 – WEWS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio first airs “The Big 5 Show”, a teen dance and music program later syndicated as “Upbeat”
1968 – Pirate Radio Free London begins transmitting
1974 – Hurricane and floods ravage Bangladesh, 4,000 killed
1975 – Army officers in Bangladesh stage a military coup d’état, assassinate elected President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most members of his family and install Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad as President
1979 – Andrew Young resigns as US ambassador to the United Nations
Famous Birthdays
1780 – Marie-Anne Gaboury, French-Canadian settler (first white woman to settle in Western Canada), born in Maskinongé, Quebec (d. 1875)
1879 – Ethel Barrymore [Blythe], American classic film and stage actress (Constant Wife, Corn is Green), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1959)
1934 – Georgy Garanian, Armenian-Russian jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer, born in Moscow, USSR (d. 2010)
1943 – Eni Faleomavaega, American-Samoan politician (3rd Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa), born in Vailoatai, American Samoa (d. 2017)
1954 – Mary Jo Salter, American poet and co-editor of The Norton Anthology of Poetry, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan
1969 – James Black, Canadian NHL center, 1989-2001 (Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, and 4 other teams), born in Regina, Saskatchewan
Famous Deaths
423 – Flavius Honorius, Western Roman Republic emperor (395-423), dies at 38
1118 – Alexius I Comnenus [Alexios I Komnenos], Emperor of Byzantium (1081-1118), dies
1552 – Hermann of Wied, German Catholic archbishop (b. 1477)
1967 – René Magritte, Belgian surrealist painter (This is Not a Pipe), dies at 68
1971 – Thomas Wayne, American rockabilly singer (“Tragedy”), dies in a car accident at 31
1991 – Marietta Tree, American diplomat and ambassador (1st woman to serve as chief U.S. delegate to the UN in 1961), dies at 74
Famous Deaths for 14th August 2024
1652 – Abraham Elsevier, Dutch book publisher, dies at 60
1754 – Maria Anna of Austria, Archduchess of Austria and Queen consort of Portugal, dies at 70
1856 – Constant Prévost, French geologist, dies at 69
1922 – Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, British influential journalist and newspaper publisher (started The Daily Mail, Daily Mirror), dies at 57
1983 – Alceu Amoroso Lima, Brazilian essayist, activist and founder of the Brazilian Christian Democracy, dies at 89
1992 – Marion Ames, American advocate for court reform, dies at 74
2000 – Cuan McCarthy, South African cricketer (36 Test wkts for South Africa, 1 career no-ball), dies at 71
2012 – Phyllis Thaxter, American actress (Nora, Fort Worth), dies from Alzheimer’s disease at 92
2015 – Karen Stives, American equestrian rider (Olympic gold team, silver individual 1984), dies at 64
2020 – Thomas Forsyth, Scottish soccer defender (22 caps; Motherwell, Rangers), dies at 71
Historical Events for 14th August 2024
1597 – Cornelis de Houtman’s Dutch fleet arrives back in Holland, the 1st Dutch visit to Java
1756 – French capture Fort Oswego, NY
1816 – Great Britain annexes Tristan da Cunha
1862 – Abraham Lincoln receives the first group of African Americans to confer with a US president
1901 – SS Islander hits iceberg near Alaska and sinks killing 70
1936 – The Berlin Olympics rowing competition concludes with Germany winning 5 of 7 gold medals, although the United States wins the coveted eights gold
1944 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives at Corsica
1971 – Cards Bob Gibson, 35, no-hits Pirates, 11-0
1975 – King of Norway Olav V opens Svalbard Airport near Longyearbyen, the northernmost airport in the world with scheduled public flights
2020 – Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda breaks Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old 5,000m world record with a run of 12:35.36 at the Diamond League meet in Monaco
Today in History for 14th August 2024
Historical Events
1183 – Taira no Munemori and Taira clan take young Emperor Antoku and 3 sacred treasures and flee to western Japan to escape Minamoto clan (Traditional Japanese date: 25th Day of the 7th Month of the 2nd Year of Juei).
1813 – British warship Pelican attacks and captures US war brigantine Argus
1825 – Dutch King William I expels foreign students
1976 – 10,000 Northern Ireland women demonstrate for peace in Belfast
1980 – Democratic Convention in NYC nominates Jimmy Carter for president and Walter Mondale for vice president
2015 – Most extensive face transplant surgery ever performed on Patrick Hardison by Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez at New York University Langone Medical Center
Famous Birthdays
1626 – Daniel Elsevier, Dutch book publisher, born in Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherland (d. 1680)
1836 – Walter Besant, English writer and philanthropist (Rebel Queen), born in Portsmouth, Hampshire (d. 1901)
1868 – Leone Sinigaglia, Italian composer, born in Turin, Italy (d. 1944)
1928 – Lina Wertmüller [Arcangela Braueich], Italian screenwriter, film director, and 1st woman nominated for an Academy Award for Directing (Seven Beauties), born in Rome, Italy
1968 – Adrian Lester, English actor, born in Birmingham, United Kingdom
1971 – Pramodaya Wickremasinhghe, Sri Lankan cricketer (Sri Lankan fast-medium bowler), born in Matara, Sri Lanka
Famous Deaths
1390 – John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel, English soldier, dies at 26
1913 – Josephine Cochrane, American inventor (automatic dishwasher), dies of a stroke at 74
1954 – Hugo Eckener, German inventor and commander of the famous Graf Zeppelin during its record-setting flights, dies at 86
1974 – Raymond Budd, South African trade unionist
1994 – Alice Childress, American playwright, actress and writer, dies at 77
1995 – Joseph Fattorini, businessman, dies at 82
Famous Deaths for 13th August 2024
1382 – Eleanor of Aragon, wife of John I of Castile, dies giving birth to her third child at 24
1721 – Jacques Lelong, French bibliographer, dies at 56
1934 – Mary Austin, American nature writer and early feminist (Land of Little Rain), dies at 65
1948 – Elaine Hammerstein, American stage and silent film actress, dies in a Tijuana car crash at 51
1965 – Ikeda Hayato, Japanese politician, Prime Minister of Japan (1960-64), dies at 65
1974 – (Harold) “Tina” Brooks, American hard-bop jazz saxophonist, and composer (“True Blue”), dies of liver failure at 42
2005 – David Lange, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (Labour: 1984-89), dies of complications associated with renal failure and diabetes at 63
2006 – Tony Jay, British-American stage, screen, and voice actor (Twins; The Hunchback of Notre Dame – “Frollo”), dies at 73
2008 – Henri Cartan, French Mathematician, dies at 104
2016 – Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian Hindu spiritual leader (BAPS), dies at 94