1830 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician (mathematical theory of heat conduction) and Egyptologist, dies at 62
1862 – Lev Mej, Russian dramatist and poet (The Tsar’s Bride), dies at 40 [O.S. 5/16]
1955 – James Agee, American author (African Queen, Death in Family), dies at 45
1956 – H. B. Reese, American businessman, candy maker, and inventor (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups), dies of a heart attack at 76
1958 – Jeroom Verten [Jozef Frans Vermetten], Flemish playwright, dies at 49
1963 – Oleg Penkovsky, Soviet military intelligence (GRU), dies at 44
1969 – Johnny Jordan, English cameraman (You Only Live Twice), dies at 44
1989 – Hassan Khaled, sheik of Lebanon, murdered
2004 – Marius Constant, Romanian-born French composer and conductor (founded Ars Nova), dies at 79
2021 – Rildo da Costa Menezes, Brazilian soccer defender (38 caps; Santos, CEUB, New York Cosmos), dies at 79
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 16th May 2025
1902 – 2 deaf-mutes face each other for 1st time as Dummy Hoy leads off for the Reds against Dummy Taylor of the Giants, Reds win 5-3
1943 – Operation Chastise: No. 617 Squadron RAF begins the famous Dambusters Raid, bombing the Möhne and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley with bouncing bombs
1945 – Violent battles around Sugar Loaf and Half Moon, Okinawa
1955 – Rocky Marciano beats Don Cockell by TKO in the 9th round at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco to retain his world heavyweight boxing title
1956 – Great Britain performs nuclear Test at Monte Bello Is Australia
1956 – England cricket spin bowler Jim Laker takes 10-88 for Surrey v Australia in tour match at The Oval, London
1989 – Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping meet in Beijing and formally end a 30-year rift
1990 – Eugene Stoner and Mikhail Kalashnikov, the creators of the M16 rifle and the AK-47 rifle respectively, meet in Washington, D.C.
1993 – Farmer Sugeng finds 1.2 million year old Pithecanthropus IX skull
2023 – ChatGPT developer OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, supports oversight of AI, in appearance before US Senate Committee saying they “might consider a combination of licensing and testing requirements”
Today in History for 16th May 2025
Historical Events
1984 – Guinea-Bissau adopts constitution
1990 – Dominican Republic President Joaquín Ricardo Balaguer re-elected
1997 – MLB Montreal Expos trailing San Francisco Giants by 9 runs comeback to win 14-13
1997 – Brandi Sherwood (Miss Idaho) replaces Brook Lee as Miss USA when Brook is crowned Miss Universe
2007 – Alex Salmond is elected First Minister of Scotland. He is first Scottish National Party leader to be elected First Minister after winning a historic victory at the Scottish general election on the 3rd May.
Famous Birthdays
1710 – William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English peer and Whig politician, born in Worcester, England (d. 1782)
1918 – Aubrey Bowman, British pianist, composer, and conductor (Workman’s Music Association), born in Bournemouth, England (d. 2009)
1918 – Edward Thomas, British historian and intelligence expert (Bletchley Park), born in Portsmouth, England (d. 1996)
1937 – Yvonne Craig, actress (Batgirl-Batman, Kissin Cousin), born in Taylorville, Illinois (d. 2015)
1945 – Nicky Chinn, British-American pop songwriter and producer (with Mike Chapman: Sweet – “The Ballroom Blitz”; Suzi Quatro; Toni Basel – “Mickey”; Tina Turner – “You Better Be Good To Me”), born in London, England
Famous Deaths
1657 – Andrzej Bobola, Polish Jesuit missionary (b. 1591)
1762 – Ernst Christian Hesse, German composer, dies at 86
1924 – William “Candy” Cummings, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (credited with creating the curveball), dies at 75
1990 – Dag Drollet, Cheyenne Brando’s boyfriend killed by her brother Christian
1996 – Jeremy Boorda, U.S. Navy admiral (25th Chief of Naval Operations), commits suicide at 56
Famous Deaths for 15th May 2025
913 – Hatto I, Archbishop of Mainz
1621 – Henrick de Keyser, Dutch architect and sculptor (master builder of Amsterdam, Zuiderkerk church), dies at 56
1821 – John Wall Calcott, English composer, dies at 54
1873 – Alexandru Ioan Cuza, 1st Prince of united Romania (land reform, emancipated peasants), dies in exile at 53
1892 – Arthur Hodister, British ivory seller (Heart of Darkness), murdered at 44
1969 – Joe Malone, Canadian Hockey HOF center (only player in NHL history to score 7 goals in a single game 1920; Stanley Cup 1912, 13 Quebec Bulldogs; 1924 Montreal Canadiens), dies at 79
1986 – Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (b. 1958)
1994 – Frederik von Pallandt, Danish-Dutch pop singer and guitarist (Nina and Frederik), murdered in the Philippines at 60
2007 – Jerry Falwell, American TV evangelist, founder of Liberty University, dies at 73
2020 – Fred Willard, American comedian and character actor (Fernwood 2-Night; Best In Show: Everyone Loves Raymond; Modern Family), dies at 86
Historical Events for 15th May 2025
1876 – 2nd Kentucky Derby: Bobby Swim aboard Vagrant wins in 2:38.25
1940 – German armoured division moves into Northern France
1941 – New York Yankees Joe DiMaggio starts 56-game hitting streak, with the only RBI, in a 13-1 loss to visiting Chicago White Sox
1943 – Halifax bombers sinks U-463
1953 – Osip Zadkine’s monument to “The destroyed city” unveiled in Rotterdam
1957 – Evangelist Billy Graham launches his “crusade” in front of 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden in NYC
1964 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1991 – US President George H. W. Bush takes Queen Elizabeth to Oakland A’s-Baltimore Oriole game
1992 – Part of Cruger Avenue in Bronx renamed Regis Philbin Avenue
1995 – China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
Today in History for 15th May 2025
Historical Events
756 – Abd-al-Rahman I becomes emir of Cordova, Spain
1886 – British sailor David Beatty is promoted to midshipman
1972 – The island of Okinawa, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
1993 – Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas opens
2020 – Germany, Europe’s largest economy, officially in recession due to COVID-19, as figures show economy shrank 2.2% 1st 3 months of 2020
Famous Birthdays
1819 – Thomas Leonidas Crittenden, American lawyer, politician, and Major General (Union Army), born in Russellville, Kentucky (d. 1893)
1920 – Hugh Henry Home Popham, British aviator, writer and poet, born in Beer, England (d. 1996)
1934 – David Greville, 8th Earl of Warwick who sold his castle to Madame Tussauds, born in Warwick Castle, Warwick, England (d. 1996)
1970 – Cory Philpot, CFL running back (BC Lions)
1974 – Jennifer Rizzotti, Basketball Hall of Fame point guard (Uni of Connecticut) and coach (George Washington), born in White Plains, New York
Famous Deaths
1821 – John Wall Calcott, English composer, dies at 54
1940 – Willem Adriaan Bonger, Dutch criminologist (Race and Crime), suicide at 63
1952 – Italo Montemezzi, Italian composer (L’amore dei tre re), dies at 76
1992 – Bruce Hopkins, performer/director, dies at 44
2003 – Desmond Dreyer, British admiral (battle of the River Plate), dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 14th May 2025
1801 – Johann Ernst Altenburg, composer, dies at 66
1923 – Charles de Freycinet, French prime minister (b. 1828)
1969 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (Olympic gold 200m freestyle, 200m obstacle 1900), dies at 89
1970 – (Mary) “Billie” Burke, American radio, stage, silent and sound film actress (Zieigfield Follies; The Wizard of Oz; Merrily We Live), dies at 85
1977 – Robert Maynard Hutchins, American educational philosopher (University of Chicago), dies at 78
1996 – Edward Gurney, American attorney and politician (US Senator for Florida, 1969-74; US Representative for Florida, 1963-69), dies at 82
2006 – James Botten, South African cricketer (all-rounder in 1965 South African series v England), dies at 67
2012 – Derek Hammond-Stroud, English operatic baritone, dies at 86
2014 – Stephen Sutton, English cancer blogger (Stephen’s Story), dies at 19
2017 – Elske ter Veld, Dutch politician (State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment), dies at 72
Historical Events for 14th May 2025
1796 – English country doctor Edward Jenner administers his revolutionary cowpox-based vaccine for smallpox in Berkeley, Gloucestershire
1832 – Felix Mendelssohn’s concert overture “Hebrides” premieres in London, England
1879 – The first group of 463 Indian indentured labourers arrive in Fiji aboard the Leonidas
1894 – Fire in Boston bleachers spreads to 170 adjoining buildings
1918 – Sunday baseball is made legal in Washington, D.C.
1942 – World premiere performance of Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” with: Andre Kostelanetz conducting the Cincinnati Symphony in Cincinnati, Ohio
1957 – Bob Merrill’s musical “New Girl in Town”, starring Gwen Verdon and Thelma Ritter, opens at 46th St Theater, NYC; runs for 432 performances and wins 2 Tony Awards
2000 – 46th British Academy Television Awards: “The League of Gentlemen” Best Comedy, “The Cops” Best Drama
2010 – The 51,700 seat Aviva Stadium is officially opened on the site of the famous old Lansdowne Road Stadium in Dublin by Irish Prime Minister, Brian Cowan
2018 – United States moves its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
Today in History for 14th May 2025
Historical Events
1888 – 14th Kentucky Derby: George Covington aboard MacBeth II wins in 2:38.00
1903 – President Theodore Roosevelt visits San Francisco
1944 – British troops occupy Kohima
1972 – In Willie Mays’ 1st game as New York Met, his homer beats San Francisco Giants, 5-4 (his former team of over 20 years), at Shea Stadium, New York
1986 – Reggie Jackson hit his 537th HR passing Mickey Mantle into 6th place
Famous Birthdays
1930 – Edward Regan, American Republican politician and Comptroller of New York (1979-93), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2014)
1959 – Patrick Bruel [Benguigui], Algerian-French actor (Coup of Sirocco), rock vocalist (“Marre de cette nana-là” – “Fed Up With That Chick”), and world class poker player, born in Tlemcen, Algeria
1964 – Nancy Sorel, Canadian-American actress (Less Than Kind, Black Fox), born in Fall River, Massachusetts
1967 – Tony Siragusa, American football defensive tackle (Super Bowl 2000 Baltimore Ravens; Indianapolis Colts) and broadcaster (Fox, The Sopranos, Man Caves), born in Kenilworth, New Jersey (d. 2022)
1977 – Jayna Hefford, ice hockey forward (Canada, Olympics 1998)
Famous Deaths
1947 – John Ray Sinnock, US chief engraver (1925-47), dies at 59
1969 – Walter Pitts, American logician (“A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity” with Warren McCulloch), dies at 46
1996 – Edward Gurney, American attorney and politician (US Senator for Florida, 1969-74; US Representative for Florida, 1963-69), dies at 82
1998 – Frank Sinatra, American singer (“Strangers in the Night”; “My Way”; “The Summer Wind”) and actor (From Here to Eternity; Guys and Dolls, The Manchurian Candidate), known as the “Chairman of the Board” and “Ol’ Blue Eyes”, dies at 82
2006 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet, 10th US Poet Laureate, dies at 100
Famous Deaths for 13th May 2025
1381 – John of Chatillon, Count of Blois, dies
1673 – Jacob Aertsz Colom, Dutch publisher (Consolation of the Sea), dies at 73
1732 – Theodor Schwartzkopff, German composer, dies at 72
1839 – Joseph Fesch, French cardinal (Archbishop of Lyon, 1802-39), diplomat, art collector (Musée Fesch), and uncle of Napoleon, dies at 76
1864 – Junius Daniel, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 35
1873 – Kaspar Masek, Czech-Slovenian composer, dies at 79
1994 – Arthur Basil Cottle, British academic and medievalist, dies at 77
1996 – John “Jack” Baines, British mountaineering publisher, dies at 57
2002 – Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress (Mother and Son), dies at 76
2023 – Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda, Japanese gymnast (World C’ship gold balance beam 1954; Olympic bronze team 1964; first Japanese female to win a world title), dies at 89