Author: gil7

Historical Events

1961 – Gene Kiniski beats Verne Gagne in Minneapolis, to become NWA champ
1969 – David Bowie releases the single “Space Oddity” 9 days before Apollo 11 lands on the moon
1990 – Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec, Canada begins between Mohawk people and town of Oka
1995 – All star MVP: Jeff Conine (Florida Marlins)
2001 – Iraq resumes oil exports, ending a 5-week halt in protest of a US and British-sponsored UN Security Council resolution
2018 – Oldest stone tools outside Africa discovered in Lantian country, western China, estimated 2.12 million years old made by hominins

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1778 – Juan Lovera, Venezuelan artist, born in Caracas, Venezuela (d. 1841)
1841 – Daniël de Lange, Dutch composer, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1918)
1931 – Hans Klein, German politician (Vice President Bundestag 1990-96), born in Šumperk, Czechoslovakia (d. 1996)
1931 – Tullio Regge, Italian physicist (Regge theory), born in Borgo d’Ale, Italy (d. 2014)
1959 – Richie Sambora, American rock guitarist and songwriter (Bon Jovi, 1983-2018 – “Livin’ on a Prayer”), boyfriend of Cher (1989-90), and husband of Heather Locklear (1994-2007), born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey
1984 – Rachael Taylor, Australian actress (Jessica Jones), born in Launceston, Tasmania

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1302 – Pierre Flote, French legist and Chancellor of France under King Philip IV, dies in the Battle of the Golden Spurs
1581 – Peder Skram, Danish senator and naval hero
1768 – Jose Melchior de Nebra Blascu, Spanish composer, dies at 66
1959 – (Rossiere) “Shadow” Wilson, American jazz drummer (Thelonious Monk), dies of meningitis at 39
2009 – Ji Xianlin, Chinese linguist and paleographer (b.1911)
2018 – Lindy Remigino, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1952), dies of prostate cancer at 87

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1936 – 112°F (44°C) at Martinsburg, West Virginia (state record)
1956 – 650,000 US steel workers go on strike
1971 – Failed assassination attempt on King Hassan II of Morocco, 101 killed
1990 – Final day of Test Cricket for Richard Hadlee as New Zealand go down by 114 runs in 3rd Test v England at Edgbaston
1994 – Revival of Henrik Ibsen’s stage drama “Hedda Gabler”, starring Kelly McGillis, opens at Criterion Theater, NYC; runs for 33 performances
2001 – Amerada Hess agrees to acquire Triton Energy for $2.7 billion in cash

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1419 – Emperor Go-Hanazono, 102nd Emperor of Japan (d. 1471)
1870 – Maurice Lugeon, Swiss geologist (nappism), born in Poissy, France (d. 1953)
1900 – Mitchell Parish [Michael Pashelinsky], Lithuanian-American lyricist (“Stardust”; “It’s Wonderful”; “Moonlight Serenade”; “Sweet Lorraine”), born in Lithuania, Russian Empire (d. 1993)
1921 – Harvey Ball, American inventor and designer of popular ‘smiley-face’ graphic, born in Worcester, Massachusetts (d. 2001)
1946 – Sue Lyon, American actress (Lolita, Night of the Iguana), born in Davenport, Iowa
1951 – Phyllis Smith, American actress (Phyllis Vance-The Office), born in The Hill, St. Louis, Missouri

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1590 – Archduke Charles II of Austria (b. 1540)
1621 – Karel Bonaventura Buquoy, French soldier (b. 1571)
1851 – Louis-Jacques Daguerre, French inventor and photographer (daguerreotype), dies at 63
1953 – Sidney Homer, American composer, dies at 88
1973 – Wallace “Bud” Smith, American boxer (World lightweight title 1955-56), dies of gunshot wounds at 49
2005 – Roland Bengtsson, Swedish guitarist, lute player and double bassist, dies at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1910 – Walter Brookins, flying a Wright biplane over Atlantic City, New Jersey, becomes 1st to fly an airplane to an altitude of 1 mile (actually reaching 6,175 feet or 1.169 miles)
1941 – Dutch-American Physicist Abraham Pais is awarded his Ph.D. in Holland five days before a Nazi deadline banning Jews from receiving degrees
1946 – 13th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 12-0 at Fenway Park, Boston
1986 – Atlanta’s Dale Murphy doesn’t play ending consecutive streak at 740
2011 – Super Rugby Final, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane: Queensland Reds beat Canterbury Crusaders 18-13 at home for their first SR title
2022 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan claims her first Grand Slam title with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur; first Kazakhstani player to win a major title

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1887 – Samuel Eliot Morison, American historian (Admiral of the Ocean Sea), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1976)
1926 – Murphy Anderson, American comic artist (DC Comics), born in Asheville, North Carolina (d. 2015)
1936 – David Zinman, American composer and conductor (Baltimore Symphony, 1985-98), born in New York City
1944 – Dorian Rudnytsky, American concert and session cellist (New York Rock and Roll Ensemble), and composer (Costa Blanca Suite), born in New York City
1969 – Robert Gordon, American CFL and Arena football receiver, 1991-2005 (Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and 7 other teams), born in Detroit, Michigan
1990 – Fábio and Rafael da Silva, Brazilian footballers

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1706 – Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, French Canadian sailor and explorer and adventurer (explored Hudson Bay and Louisiana), dies of fever in Havana at 44
1932 – King C. Gillette, American businessman and inventor of inexpensive and disposable safety razor blades, dies at 77
1995 – Julian Graham Theodore Hough, actor (Deathwatch, Shout), dies at 47
2006 – Milan Williams, American keyboardist (Commodores – “Three Times A Lady”), dies of cancer at 58
2019 – Rip Torn [Elmore Rual Torn Jr], American actor, voice artist and comedian (Cross Creek, The Larry Sanders Show), dies at 88
2023 – Luis Suárez, Spanish soccer midfielder (32 caps; Barcelona, Inter Milan, Sampdoria) and manager (Spain 1988-91; Cagliari, SPAL, Como, Inter Milan, Deportivo La Coruña), dies at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1862 – Theodore R. Timby is granted a US patent for discharging guns in a revolving turret, using electricity
1913 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert’s patent for the Erector Set is issued, it becomes one of the most popular toys of all time
1971 – During street disturbances, British soldiers shoot dead two Catholic civilians in Free Derry; riots erupt, the Social Democratic and Labour Party withdraw from Stormont in protest
2008 – American businessman T. Boone Pickens announces his “Pickens Plan”, an energy policy that moves away from imported oil
2012 – US Open Women’s Golf, Blackwolf Run: Na Yeon Choi of South Korea wins her first major championship, 4 strokes ahead of compatriot Amy Yang
2021 – Global known death toll from COVID-19 passes 4 million (equal to all deaths in battle since 1982)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1545 – Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias, son of Spanish King Philip II, born in Valladolid, Spain (d. 1568)
1760 – Christian Kramp, French mathematician known for his work with factorials, born in Strasbourg, France (d. 1826)
1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and inventor (rigid dirigibles) who founded the Zeppelin airship company, born in Konstanz, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany (d. 1917)
1913 – Walter Kerr, American actor, writer (Goldilocks) and Broadway theatre critic, born in Evanston, Illinois (d. 1996)
1944 – Jeffrey Tambor, American character actor (Larry Sanders – “Hank”; Arrested Decelopment), born in San Francisco, California
1960 – Mal Meninga, Australian rugby league centre (46 Tests, 32 games Queensland; St. Helens, Canberra; RL “Immortal”) and coach (Australia, 30 games Queensland, Canberra), born in Bundaberg, Australia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1933 – Anthony Hope, British novelist and playwright (The Prisoner of Zenda), dies of cancer at 70
1956 – Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, Dutch politician (1954 Nobel Peace Prize as High Commissioner for Refugees of the UN), dies at 55
1974 – Morris “Moose” Charlap, American Broadway composer (Peter Pan; Kelly), dies at 45
1977 – Rie Cramer, Dutch writer and illustrator, dies at 89
2015 – Ken Stabler, American Pro Football HOF quarterback (4 x Pro Bowl; NFL MVP, First-team All-Pro 1974; Super Bowl 1976; Oakland Raiders), dies of colon cancer at 69
2020 – Abdelmajid Tlemçani, Tunisian soccer striker (54 caps; Espérance Sportive de Tunis), dies at 82

More Famous Deaths »