1272 – Stephen V, King of Hungary and Croatia (1270-72), son of Béla IV, dies at 32 or 33
1931 – (Leon Bismarck) “Bix” Beiderbecke, American jazz cornetist – one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, pianist, and composer (In A Mist), dies of alcoholism exacerbated pneumonia at 28
1946 – Tony Lazzeri, American Baseball HOF second baseman (World Series x 5; only player to complete natural cycle with grand slam; NY Yankees), dies from a fall caused by a heart attack at 42
1973 – Fulgencio Batista, Dictator and President of Cuba (1933-44, 1952-59), dies of a heart attack at 72
1974 – Gene Ammons, American jazz saxophonist (“The Happy Blues”), dies of bone cancer at 49
1987 – Sherwood Bailey, actor (Spud-Our Gang), dies
2001 – Larry Adler, American pop and classical harmonica player, and composer, dies of cancer at 87
2007 – Teizo Matsumura, Japanese composer (“Chinmoku / Silence”; “Hymn to Aurora”) and haiku poet, dies at 78
2009 – Willibrordus S. Rendra, Indonesian poet (Ballad orang-orang tertjina), dies at 73
2019 – Maurice Simon, American jazz saxophonist, dies at 90
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 6th August 2024
1936 – Japanese athletes quinella the triple jump at the Berlin Olympics; Naoto Tajima wins gold and Masao Harada silver
1944 – Deportation of 70,000 Jews from Lodz Poland to Auschwitz begins
1948 – Willem Drees forms Socialist government (KVP/Social Democratics/CHU/Liberal) in the Netherlands
1964 – Prometheus, the world’s oldest tree aged at least 4,862 years old, is accidentally cut down in Nevada, USA
1967 – Pope Paul VI publishes constitution Pro comperto sane
1980 – University adm declares 5 Pac-10 schools ineligible for conference titles and post-season play due to transcript and curriculum abuses
1983 – Bomb planted by Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of ANC, explodes at a synagogue in Johannesburg, South Africa
1987 – 20th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Holiday Inn
1988 – The Tompkins Square Park Police Riot in New York City spurs reform of the NYPD, who were responsible for the melee that transpired the night of August 6-7
1989 – Revival of musical revue “Oh! Calcutta!” closes at Edison Theater, NYC, after 5959 performances: Broadway’s longest-running musical revue
Today in History for 6th August 2024
Historical Events
695 – Maya King Jasaw Chan K’awill I of Tikal defeats Yich’aak K’ahk’ (‘Claw of Fire’), his long-standing rival and king of Calakmul
1815 – US flotilla ends piracy by Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli
1951 – The National Museum of Racing opens in Congress Park at Saratoga Springs, N.Y
1966 – US citizens demonstrate against war in Vietnam
1982 – Three ANC members are sentenced to death in South Africa
2015 – Eqyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi inaugurates the Suez Canal Expansion at a ceremony in Ismaïlia
Famous Birthdays
1908 – William “Will” Lee, American actor (They Live by Night, Melody Lane), born in New York City (d. 1982)
1938 – Igor Mikhailovich Luchenok, Belarusian composer and teacher, born in Minsk, Belarus (d. 2018)
1955 – Gordon J. Brand, English golfer (British Open 1986 runner-up), born in Cambridge, England (d. 2020)
1966 – Regina Carter, American jazz and classical violinist, and composer, born in Detroit, Michigan
1981 – Leslie Odom Jr., American actor and singer (Hamilton), born in New York City
1995 – Amy Forsyth, Canadian actress (The Gilded Age, CODA), born in Ontario
Famous Deaths
1414 – King Ladislas of Naples (b. 1377)
1965 – Nancy Carroll, actress (Alice-Aldrich Family), dies at 60
1969 – Theodor W. Adorno, German philosopher and sociologist (Dialectic of Enlightenment, Negative Dialectics), dies at 65
1979 – Kurt Kaszner [Serwicher], Austrian actor (Kiss Me Kate, Lili, Casino Royale), dies of cancer at 65
2009 – Willibrordus S. Rendra, Indonesian poet (Ballad orang-orang tertjina), dies at 73
2012 – Sir Bernard Lovell, English radio astronomer, dies at 98
Famous Deaths for 5th August 2024
882 – King Louis III of France (b. 863)
1364 – Emperor Kōgon of Japan (Ashikaga Pretenders), 1st Northern Emperor, dies at 51
1799 – Richard Howe, British admiral, dies at 73
1923 – Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian scholar of Slavic studies, dies at 85
1978 – Queenie Smith, American actress/dancer (Funny Side), dies at 79
1991 – Soichiro Hondo, Japanese CEO and founder of Honda, dies of liver cancer at 84
1995 – Agha Hasan Abedi, Pakistani banker and felon (BCCI), dies at 73
2011 – Andrzej Lepper, Polish politician (Deputy Prime Minister of Poland), dies at 57
2013 – George Duke, American Grammy Award-winning jazz and funk keyboard player, and composer, dies from chronic lymphocytic leukemia at 67
2014 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, 11th US Surgeon General (1969-73), dies at 87
Historical Events for 5th August 2024
1716 – Battle of Petrovaradin [Peterwardein]: Habsburgs under Eugene of Savoy defeat the Ottomans in a decisive victory
1900 – In Russia, anti-Jewish riots spread from Odessa into other parts of the country
1914 – Dutch Cort Van de Linden government issues silver bonds as money
1964 – Beatles record a cover of Little Willie John’s “Leave My Kitten Alone”; not released until 1995’s “Anthology 1”
1980 – Montreal Expos Dick Williams wins his 1,000th career game as a manager in 11-5 win v Mets, for whom Doug Flynn hits MLB record tying 3 triples
1983 – American rock singer David Crosby sentenced to 5 years in Texas state prison on drug and weapons convictions
1995 – 5th Athletics World Championships open at Gothenburg, Sweden
2018 – English swimmer Adam Peaty breaks his own world record in 57.00 as he wins his 9th European 100m breaststroke title in Glasgow, Scotland
2018 – 6.9 magnitude earthquake on island of Lombok, Indonesia, kills at least 460 people and displaces 350,000
2018 – Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declares “now we are a land of droughts” as 99% of New South Wales affected
Today in History for 5th August 2024
Historical Events
1552 – Battle of Ponza: Ottoman naval fleet led by Dragut defeats Genoese fleet under Andrea Doria capturing seven galleys
1944 – US 79th/90th division occupy Laval (Mayenne), southwest of Paris
1964 – Congo rebellion: Christopher Gbenye and Pierre Mulele conquer Stanleyville
1966 – West Indies cricket captain Garfield Sobers scores 174 including a century between lunch and tea to set up a 4th Test win v England at Headingley
1969 – Pirates outfielder Willie Stargell smashes first and longest home run ever hit out of Dodger Stadium; the incomparable shot off Alan Foster, measures 506 feet
1985 – Establishment of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is announced
Famous Birthdays
1947 – Bernie Carbo, American MLB player, born in Detroit, Michigan
1953 – Samantha Sang [Cheryl Lau Sang], Australian pop singer (Emotion), born in Melbourne
1963 – James Wilder, American actor (Scorchers, Zombie High, Murder 1), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1968 – Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Japanese professional wrestler
1970 – Travis Moore, American CFL receiver (Grey Cup 1998 2001; 3 x CFL All Star; Calgary Stampeders), born in Santa Monica, California
1972 – Aaqib Javed, Pakistani cricketer and pace bowler (1989-98), born in Sheikhupura, Pakistan
Famous Deaths
1579 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish Catholic cardinal (b. 1504)
1901 – Victoria, Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III, dies at 60
1997 – Don Steele, LA radio personality (KRTH), dies of cancer at 61
2000 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist, dies at 80
2001 – Otema Allimadi, Prime Minister of Uganda (b. 1929)
2011 – Andrzej Lepper, Polish politician (Deputy Prime Minister of Poland), dies at 57
Famous Deaths for 4th August 2024
1584 – John van Hembyze, Flemish Calvinist, dies at 71
1821 – William Floyd, American soldier who signed the US Declaration of Independence, dies at 86
1938 – Rudolf Georg Binding, German songwriter and writer (Legenden Der Zeit), dies at 70
1957 – Washington Luís, President of Brazil (1926-30), dies at 87
1976 – Enrique Angelelli, Argentine bishop
1982 – Bruce Goff, American Architect (b. 1904)
1995 – J. Howard Marshall [James Howard Marshall II], American businessman and husband of Anna Nicole Smith, dies at 90
2005 – Nick Perito, American pianist, accordion player, arranger and orchestra leader (Perry Como; Muzak; The Don Knotts Show), dies of pulmonary fibrosis at 81
2009 – Joe Maneri, American jazz composer, saxophone and clarinet player (Boston Microtonal Society), dies at 82
2012 – Arnie Risen, Basketball Hall of Fame center (NBA All-Star 1952-55; NBA C’ship 1951, 57; Rochester Royals, Boston Celtics), dies at 87
Historical Events for 4th August 2024
1903 – Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto of Venice elected Pope Pius X, known as the ‘pope of the poor and humble’
1914 – WWI: King Albert I becomes Supreme Commander of Belgian army after German declaration of war
1967 – USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
1981 – Columbia mated with SRBs and external tank for STS-2 mission
1982 – Outfielder Joel Youngblood becomes only MLB player to get hits for 2 different teams in 2 different cities on the same day; singles for Mets in Chicago day game; traded, then singles for Expos in Philadelphia night game
1984 – Prince’s “Purple Rain” album goes #1 and stays #1 for 24 weeks
1985 – “Dreamgirls” closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 1522 performances
1994 – 27th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Hyatt Regency
1995 – Following a suspension from the league for substance abuse former Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry joins NY Yankees and eventually helps the Bronx Bombers to win the 1996 World Series
2013 – British Open Women’s Golf, St. Andrews: American Stacy Lewis wins her second major, 2 shots ahead of runners-up Na Yeon Choi and Hee Young Park
Today in History for 4th August 2024
Historical Events
1666 – St James’ Day naval battle is an English victory against the Dutch during Second Anglo-Dutch War off the Kent coast
1929 – Jones Beach in NY opens
1946 – An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. 100 are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
1976 – England beats Australia by 8 wickets in the limited overs cricket international at Lord’s; first time women are permitted to play on the main square at ‘the home of cricket’
1986 – After winning only token damages in antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, USFL owners vote to suspend operations for 1986 season; folded before 4th season
2010 – On 3rd anniversary of his 500th MLB career home run, Alex Rodriguez reaches the 600 HR mark in the NY Yankees 5-1 win v Toronto; 7th and youngest to reach milestone
Famous Birthdays
1222 – Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, English soldier (d. 1262)
1888 – Philip Greeley Clapp, American composer and educator (University of Iowa, 1919-54), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1954)
1918 – Iceberg Slim (a.k.a. Robert Beck), African-American author, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1992)
1931 – Narendra Tamhane, Indian cricket wicket-keeper (1950’s), born in Bombay, India
1959 – Laurence Anholt, British children’s author, born in London, England
1967 – Michael Lawrence Marsh, American sprinter (Olympic 200m gold 1992, silver 1996), born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1584 – John van Hembyze, Flemish Calvinist, dies at 71
1873 – Viktor Hartmann, Russian architect and painter, dies at 39
1938 – Pearl White, American actress/stunt woman (Perils of Pauline), dies at 49
1980 – Diego Fabbri, Italian playwright and leader (Vatican movie bureau), dies at 69
1992 – Ralph Cooper, American master-of-ceremonies (creator of Amateur Night at the Apollo), actor, dancer, and choreographer, dies of cancer at 84
2013 – Art Donovan, American NFL HOF defensive tackle, 1950-61 (4 x Pro Bowl, 2 x Champion – Baltimore Colts and 2 other teams), and US Marine (WWII – Iwo Jima), dies from a respiratory ailment at 89
Famous Deaths for 3rd August 2024
1387 – Olaf V Haakonsson, King of Denmark (1376-87)/Norway (1380-87), dies
1460 – King James II of Scotland (b. 1430)
1712 – Joshua Barnes, English scholar (b. 1654)
1857 – Eugène Sue, French novelist (b. 1804)
1924 – Joseph Conrad, Polish-English novelist (Lord Jim; Heart of Darkness), dies at 66
1948 – Tommy Ryan, American boxer (World Welterweight, Middleweight champion), dies at 78
1957 – John Vernou “Black Jack” Bouvier, father of Jacqueline Kennedy, dies of cancer
2001 – Christopher Hewett, British actor (Mr. Belvedere; The Producers) and theater director, dies of complications from diabetes at 80
2017 – Robert Hardy, British actor (Harry Potter, All Creatures Great and Small), dies at 91
2022 – Raymond Damadian, American physician and inventor of the MRI scanning machine, dies at 86