Author: gil7

Historical Events

1097 – 1st Crusaders defeat Sultan Kilidj Arslan of Nicea
1200 – In China, sunglasses are invented
1924 – Dircet regular transcontinental airmail service between New York and San Francisco forms
1961 – KNDU TV channel 25 in Richland-Pasco-Kennew, WA (NBC) 1st broadcast
1972 – The first Gay Pride march in England takes place.
1979 – Sweden becomes 1st nation to prohibit “corporal punishment or other injurious or humiliating treatment” of children by their parents

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Famous Birthdays

1844 – Verney Lovett Cameron, English explorer (Tanganyika), born in Radipole, Dorset, England (d. 1894)
1902 – William Wyler, American film director (Ben-Hur, Mrs Miniver), born in Mülhausen, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire (d. 1981)
1925 – Art McNally, American Pro Football HOF referee and executive (NFL Head of Officiating 1968-91), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2023)
1926 – Robert Fogel, American economic historian (Nobel Prize 1993), born in New York City (d. 2013)
1971 – Melissa Peterman [Melissa Margaret], American actress (Reba, Fargo), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1985 – Chris Perez, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 2011, 12 Cleveland Indians; World Cup gold 2007), born in Bradenton, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1877 – William Henry Davenport, American stage magician, claimed to be a spirit medium, dies at 36
1884 – Allan Pinkerton, Scottish-American barrel maker, private detective (co-founder of Pinkerton Agency), abolitionist, and spy, dies at 64
1953 – Jacob D du Toit [Totius], South African poet/theologist, dies
1988 – Hellmuth Christian Wolff, German composer, teacher, musicologist, and painter, dies at 82
1999 – Jack Moroney, Australian cricket batsman (7 Tests, 2 x 100, HS 118; NSWCA), dies at 81
2018 – Peter Firmin, British children’s book illustrator and puppet maker (The Saga of Noggin the Nog; Clangers), dies at 89

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Historical Events

1934 – Adolf Hitler stages a bloody purge of the Nazi party in the “Night of the Long Knives”
1982 – Orbiter Challenger (OV-099) rolled out at Palmdale
1992 – Fidel Ramos installed as president of the Philippines
2001 – ENI of Italy signs a $550 million contract to develop Iran’s Darquain field, expected to produce 160,000 barrels of petroleum per day
2005 – Spain legalizes same-sex marriage.
2016 – Performance of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s musical “She Loves Me” is 1st Broadway show live stream (via BroadwayHD); later released as a film

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Famous Birthdays

1468 – Johann the Steadfast, Elector of Saxony (1525-32), born in Meissen, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1532)
1847 – Jacob Theodoor Cremer, Dutch tobacco magnate and administrator for the Deli Company in Sumatra, born in Zwolle, Netherlands (d. 1923)
1879 – Walter Hampden, American actor (Five Fingers, Hunchback of Notre Dame), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1955)
1927 – Joe Skeen, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico), born in Roswell, New Mexico (d. 2003)
1941 – Mike Leander, English songwriter and record producer, born in Walthamstow, Essex (d. 1996)
1941 – John Jameson, English cricketer (England batsman, 465 p/ship with Kanhai), born in Bombay, British India

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Famous Deaths

1930 – Harvey W. Wiley, American chemist known for leadership in the passage of the landmark Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, dies at 85
1934 – Gregor Strasser, German political activist and NSDAP-Reich organization leader, murdered during the Night of the Long Knives at 42
1935 – Bill Brockwell, English cricketer (British all-rounder in 7 Tests 1893-99), dies at 70
1965 – Bessie Barriscale, American actress (Plain Jane, Show Folks), dies at 81
2010 – Park Yong-ha, South Korean actor, and K-pop and J-pop singer, takes his own life at 32
2016 – Geoffrey Hill, English poet, dies at 84

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Historical Events

1850 – British ex-Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel falls off his horse; dies three days later
1857 – Battle at Chinhat (Indies rebel under Barkat Ahmed beat British)
1944 – Soviet Armies join in Bobroesjk
1969 – On ‘Billy Williams Day’ at Wrigley Field, Chicago, the Cubs outfielder passes Stan Musial’s NL record for consecutive MLB games played (896) as Chicago sweeps St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1 and 12-1
1981 – Hu Yaobang succeeds Hua Guofeng as Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
2016 – US Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter lifts Pentagon’s ban on transgender people serving in the US armed forces

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Famous Birthdays

1881 – Curt Sachs, German musicologist, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1959)
1905 – Herb Vigran, American character actor (The Ed Wynn Show – “Ernie”; Gunsmoke – “Judge Brooker”; The Jack Benny Program), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1986)
1908 – Rene Gerber, Swiss composer, born in Travers (d. 2006)
1912 – Émile Peynaud, French oenologist, born in Madiran, Gers, France (d. 2004)
1943 – Little Eva [Boyd], American pop singer (“The Loco-motion”; “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby”), born in Belhaven, North Carolina (d. 2003)
1993 – Angela and Amy Lakeberg, American Siamese twins (separated on Aug 20th), born in Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1784 – Caesar Rodney, American judge and Founding Father (signed US Declaration of Independence), dies at 55
1900 – Ivan Pervushin, Russian mathematician (number theory), dies at 73
1997 – William Hickey, American actor (Prizzi’s Honor, The Nightmare Before Christmas), dies of emphysema at 69
2007 – Edward Yang, Taiwanese film director (Yi Yi), dies of cancer at 59
2014 – John Freeland, Legal advisor UK foreign office and judge at the European Court of Human Rights, dies at 86
2021 – Stuart Damon [Zonis], American stage and screen actor (General Hospital, 1977-2007 – “Dr. Alan Quartermaine”), dies of kidney failure at 84

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Historical Events

1778 – Mary Ludwig Hayes “Molly Pitcher” aids American patriots
1960 – 10.40″ (26.42 cm) of rainfall, Dunmor, Kentucky (state 24-hour record)
1964 – Organization for Afro-American Unity formed in New York by Malcolm X
2015 – David Sweat shot and captured near Canadian border. 2nd prisoner to escape maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility June 6
2018 – Fire starts on Winter Hill on Lancashire moorland, England, lit by arson
2023 – South Koreans become a year or two younger as country drops two traditional age-counting systems to align with international standards (used to be aged one at birth)

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Famous Birthdays

1884 – Lamina Sankoh, Sierra Leonean pre-independence politician and nationalist, born in Freetown, Sierra Leone (d. 1964)
1913 – George Lloyd, English composer (The Serf; Pervigilium Veneris (The Vigil of Venus); John Socman), born in St. Ives, Cornwall, England (d. 1998)
1942 – (Martin) “Chris” Hani, South African politician (Secretary-General of South African Communist Party, 1991-93), born in Cofimvaba, Transkei, South Africa (d. 1993)
1946 – Robert Xavier Rodriguez, American classical composer, born in San Antonio, Texas
1957 – Georgi Parvanov, 3rd President of Bulgaria (2002-12), born in Sirishtnik, Bulgaria
1976 – Seth Wescott, American snowboarder (Olympic gold 2006,10), born in Durham, North Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1975 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter and TV host (The Twilight Zone; Night Gallery), dies after multiple heart attacks at 50
2004 – Anthony Buckeridge, English author (Jennings), dies at 92
2006 – Jim Baen, American sci-fi publisher and editor (b. 1943)
2010 – Robert Byrd, US Senator (Democrat-WV, 1959-2010), majority leader and once the longest-serving Senator in history, dies at 92
2021 – Sergio Victor Palma, Argentine boxer (WBA Super Bantamweight champion 1980-82), dies from COVID-19 at 65
2023 – Lowell P Weicker, American politician (US Senator from Connecticut (R), 1971-88): Governor of Connecticut, 1991-95), dies at 92

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