Author: gil7

Today in History for 18th April 2025

Historical Events

1899 – John McGraw, at 26, has his managerial debut as Oriole manager
1955 – 1st Bandoeng Conference opens in Indonesia, attended by 29 nations – first international assembly of Asian-African nations
1966 – Bill Russell becomes first African American coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics)
1991 – US Census Bureau said it failed to count up to 63 million in 1990 census
2017 – British Prime Minister Teresa May announces she will seek a “snap” election

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1944 – Rudy Shackelford, American organist, composer, and musicologist, born in Newport News, Virginia
1947 – Dorothy Lyman, American actress (All My Children. 1981-83 -“Opal”; Mama’s Family – “Naomi”), and director, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1949 – Geoff Bodine, American race car driver, born in Chemung, New York
1956 – Melody Thomas Scott, American actress (The Young and the Restless, 1979-present – “Nikki Newman”), born in Los Angeles, California
1979 – Matthew Upson, English footballer (England national team World Cup 2010), born in Eye, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1674 – John Graunt, English statistician and founder of science of demography, dies at 53
1689 – George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, Welsh judge, dies at 43
2012 – Robert O. Ragland, American film score composer (The Thing With Two Heads), dies at 80
2013 – Storm Thorgerson, British graphic designer and music video director (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, The Cranberries), dies of cancer at 69
2024 – Wally Harris, Canadian ice hockey referee (6 x Stanley Cup series; first NHL Director of Officiating), dies at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Famous Deaths for 17th April 2025

1630 – Christian I, German Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg who led an army of 21,000 Bohemians at the Battle of White Mountain, dies at 61
1679 – John van Kessel, Flemish painter, dies at 53
1910 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican lawyer and diplomat (Secretary of Foreign Affairs), dies at 80
1937 – Yi Sang, Korean author and poet (Dying Words, Wings, Child’s Bone), dies of tuberculosis in a Japanese prison camp at 26
1983 – Dutch Leonard, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1940, 43, 44, 45, 51; Brooklyn Dodgers, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs), dies of congestive heart failure at 74
1995 – Anton Murray, South African cricket all-rounder (10 Tests; 1 x 100; 18 wickets), dies at 72
2006 – Henderson Forsythe, American actor (As the World Turns, Crisis at Central High), dies at 88
2016 – Warren Davis, American doo-wop singer (The Monotones – “The Book of Love”), dies at 77
2019 – Alan García, President of Peru (Peruvian Aprista Party: 1985-90, 2006-11), commits suicide by shooting himself as police try to arrest him on corruption charges at 69
2022 – James Olsen, American stage and screen actor (Rachel, Rachel; Moon Zero Two; The Andromeda Strain), dies at 91

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events for 17th April 2025

1875 – Modern Snooker invented by Sir Neville Chamberlain, a bored British officer in Jabalpur, India
1922 – 26th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar in race record 2:18:10; his 2nd race victory; first of 3 consecutive wins
1927 – Japan’s Wakarsoeki government falls, Baron Tanaka becomes premier
1935 – Provincial-National elections (Musserts NSB achieves 7.9%, 44 chairs)
1942 – POW French General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Festung Königstein
1981 – Carl Gottlieb’s movie “Caveman”, starring Ringo Starr, Shelley Long, Barbara Bach, Dennis Quaid, Jack Gilford, and John Matuszak premieres
1991 – Railroad workers go on strike in US
1999 – NFL Draft: University of Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch first pick by Cleveland Browns
2001 – A letter between Gale Norton and Jeb Bush is released, stating that the Bush administration has decided to go ahead with plans to auction 6 million acres of potentially oil-and-gas-rich seabed in the Gulf of Mexico
2023 – New Research shows the Great Pacific Garbage Patch now has coast creatures living and breeding in it, including jellyfish, sponges and worms raising concerns about the spread of invasive species

More Historical Events »

Today in History for 17th April 2025

Historical Events

1492 – Christopher Columbus signs a contract with the Spanish monarchs to find the “Indies” with the stated goal of converting people to Catholicism. This promises him 10% of all riches found, and the governorship of any lands encountered.
1684 – Dutch East India Company signs treaty with Sultan Hadji of Banten (Java) to aid him in a civil war with his father in exchange for sole right to trade in the Sultanate
1977 – Christian-democrats win Belgium parliamentary election
1983 – Grete Waltz runs female world record marathon (2:25:29)
2017 – 121st Boston Marathon: Kenyan double; Geoffrey Kirui takes men’s title in 2:09:37; Edna Kiplagat women’s champion in 2:21:52

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1622 – Henry Vaughan, English poet (Silex Scintillans), born in Newton St. Bridget, Brecknockshire, Wales (d. 1695)
1845 – Isabel Barrows, American editor and penologist (Conference on Negro Question), born in Irasburg, Vermont (d. 1913)
1947 – Linda Martin, Irish singer and TV presenter, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
1961 – Norman Cowans, Jamaican cricketer (England fast bowler in 19 Tests 1982-85), born in St. Mary, Jamaica
1971 – David Oliver, Canadian NHL right wing (Edmonton Oilers), born in Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

858 – Benedict III, Italian Pope (855-58), dies
1713 – David Hollatz, Pomeranian dogmatician (b. 1648)
1948 – Johan Paul van Limburg Stirum, Dutch diplomat (Governor General of the Dutch East Indies 1916-21), dies at 75
1987 – Cecil Harmsworth King, Irish-British owner of Mirror Group Newspapers, dies at 86
2003 – Robert Atkins, American cardiologist, known for the Atkins diet, dies at 72

More Famous Deaths »

Famous Deaths for 16th April 2025

1879 – Peter Kosler, German-Slovenian lawyer and cartographer who made the first map of Slovene land (Kosler’s Map), dies at 55
1904 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet, dies at 16
1916 – Tom Horan, Australian cricket all-rounder (15 Tests, 1 x 100, 11 wickets; Victoria CA), dies a 62
1928 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman and founder of Henri Birks and Sons, dies at 87
1938 – Bertram Mills, British circus proprietor (Bertram Mills Circus), dies at 70
1959 – Charles Halton, British stage actor (Dr Cyclops, Tugboat Annie Sails Again), dies at 83
2007 – Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
2011 – Gerry Alexander, West Indian cricket wicket-keeper (25 Tests, top score 108, 90 dismissals), dies at 82
2016 – Charlie Hodge, French Canadian goalkeeper (Montreal Canadians), dies at 82
2021 – Mike Mitchell, American rock guitarist (The Kingsmen -“Louie, Louie”), dies on his 77th birthday

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events for 16th April 2025

1799 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre
1917 – 21st Boston Marathon won by Bill Kennedy in 2:28:37.2
1945 – World War II: Dutch town of Arnhem, site of failed Operation Market Garden, is freed by British and Canadian forces
1973 – 77th Boston Marathon: American double; Jon Anderson men’s champion in 2:16:03; Jacqueline Hansen wins women’s title in 3:05:59
1979 – Failed Palestinian attack on Zaventem Airport, Belgium
1987 – Peter Taylor’s “Summons to Memphis” wins Pulitzer Prize for fiction
1992 – “Metro” opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 13 performances
2006 – Colin Farrell reaches a confidential settlement with ex-girlfriend Nicole Narain to keep their 13-minute sex tape private
2007 – “Spider-Man 3” directed by Sam Raimi and starring Toby Maguire and Kristen Dunst premieres at the Tokyo Film Festival
2020 – Nationwide State of Emergency declared in Japan till 6 May due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak

More Historical Events »

Today in History for 16th April 2025

Historical Events

1912 – Pirates turn a rare 5-3-7 doubleplay (left fielder covers 2nd base)
1922 – Annie Oakley sets women’s record by breaking 100 clay targets in a row
1980 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1981 – “Copperfield” opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 13 performances
1985 – “Grind” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 79 performances

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1697 – Johann Gottlieb Gorner, German composer, born in Penig, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1778)
1935 – Bobby Vinton, American pop singer, known as “The Polish Prince” (“Roses Are Red (My Love)”; “Blue Velvet”; “My Melody Of Love”), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1963 – Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer (memorable Pakistani and Essex batsman), born in Kayerpora, Lahore, Pakistan
1968 – Grace Kim, South Korean-American tennis star, born in South Korea
1975 – Joanna Ławrynowicz, Polish classical pianist, born in Warsaw, Poland

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1879 – Peter Kosler, German-Slovenian lawyer and cartographer who made the first map of Slovene land (Kosler’s Map), dies at 55
1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
1989 – Tawfieq Yusuf Awwaad, Lebanese writer, dies
2011 – Paul Des Marais, American composer, dies at 90
2011 – Harold Volkmer, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri, dies at 80

More Famous Deaths »

Famous Deaths for 15th April 2025

1502 – Jan IV of Chalon-Arnay, prince of Orange and lord of Arlay, dies at 59
1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President (Republican: 1861-65), dies from gunshot wounds at 56
1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic (Dover Beach), dies at 65
1949 – Wallace Beery, American circus performer (Ringling Brothers Circus) and actor (Alias a Gentleman, Dinner at 8), dies from a heart attack at 64
1984 – Alexander Trocchi, Scottish writer, dies at 58
1988 – Youri Egorov, Soviet classical pianist, dies at 33
1990 – Ulrich Becher, German writer and playwright, dies at 80
1993 – Harry Alexander, Australian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, Bodyline series 1933, 1 wicket; Victoria), dies at 87
1995 – Harry Shoulberg, American expressionist painter, dies at 91
1995 – Cleo Brown, American jazz pianist, dies at 85

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events for 15th April 2025

1621 – Hugo Grotius arrives in France after escaping prison in a book chest
1817 – 1st American school for the deaf opens (Hartford, Connecticut)
1865 – Abraham Lincoln dies nine hours after he is shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington
1896 – I (modern) Summer Olympic Games close at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece; USA wins gold medal count, 11; Greece wins total medal count, 46; IOC has retroactively assigned gold, silver and bronze medals to 3 best placed athletes in each event
1912 – RMS Titanic sinks at 2:27 AM off Newfoundland as the band plays on, with the loss of between 1,490 and 1,635 people
1920 – Sacco and Vanzetti Trial: paymaster shot and killed along with his guard
1924 – WHO-AM in Des Moines Iowa begins radio transmissions
1963 – 67th Boston Marathon won by Aurèle Vandendriessche of Belgium in race record 2:18:58
1997 – Baseball honors Jackie Robinson by retiring #42 for all teams
2020 – US’s deadliest day during COVID-19 pandemic with 2,752 deaths reported

More Historical Events »

Today in History for 15th April 2025

Historical Events

1862 – American poet Emily Dickinson first corresponds with author and future literary mentor Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a relationship that lasts the rest of her life
1971 – John Kander and Fred Ebbs’ musical “70, Girls, 70”, starring Hans Conried and Mildred Natwick, opens at Broadhurst Theater, NYC; runs for 35 performances
1991 – East-Europe Bank forms in London
1992 – Lincoln Hospital in Bronx. New York loses its accreditation
2023 – Indian Atiq Ahmed, former lawmaker and convicted criminal, assassinated live on TV along with his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, while under police guard

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1874 – Johannes Stark, German physicist (Stark Effect; Nobel Prize in Physics -1919), and Nazi sympathizer, born in Schickenhof, German Empire (d. 1957)
1892 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author (The Hiding Place) and Holocaust survivor, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1983)
1940 – Jeffrey Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare, English novelist, born in Finsbury, London
1947 – Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish politician, born in Uddevalla, Sweden
1970 – Flex Alexander, American actor and comedian (Mark ‘Flex’ Washington in “One to One”), born in New York City, New York

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1854 – Arthur Aikin, English scientist and writer (b. 1773)
1943 – Raffaele Casimiri, Italian composer, and musicologist dies at 62
1997 – Sam Moskowitz, American writer and historian of science fiction, dies at 76
1999 – Harvey Postlethwaite, British engineer and racing car designer, dies at 55
2008 – Krister Stendahl, Swedish Lutheran theologian and bishop, dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »