1577 – Thomas Smith, English diplomat and scholar (b. 1513)
1638 – Johannes Althusius [Althaut], German lawyer, dies at about 81
1675 – Karl Rabenhaupt, German-Dutch baron of Sucha/army leader, dies at 73
1864 – Sakuma Shōzan, Japanese reformer (b. 1811)
1948 – Harry Brearley, English inventor (b. 1871)
2008 – Donald Erb, American composer known for large orchestral works, dies at 81
2010 – Richie Hayward, American drummer (Little Feat), dies of liver cancer at 64
2010 – Isaac Bonewits, founder of U.S. Druid organization Ar Ndraiocht Fein (b. 1949)
2020 – Bill Yeoman, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (University of Houston 1962-86; record 160–108–8), dies from kidney failure and pneumonia at 92
2022 – Ricardo Perdomo, Uruguayan soccer midfielder (6 caps; Club Nacional de Football, Rayo Vallecano, Unión Española) and coach (Miramar Misiones, Plaza Colonia), dies at 62
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 12th August 2024
1793 – The Rhône départment is created when the former département of Rhône-et-Loire was split into two: Rhône and Loire (Lêre).
1896 – Willem II soccer team forms in Tilburg
1901 – Boer General Kritzinger driven out of Cape colony
1944 – Pipeline under ocean (Pluto) begins operating
1955 – WPBT TV channel 2 in Miami, FL (PBS) begins broadcasting
1977 – Space shuttle Enterprise makes 1st atmospheric test flight
1990 – Iraqi President Saddam Hussein says he is ready to resolve Gulf crisis if Israel withdraws from occupied territories
2007 – Bulk carrier M/V New Flame collides with oil tanker Torm Gertrud at the southernmost tip of Gibraltar, ending up partially submerged.
2007 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Southern Hills CC: Defending champion Tiger Woods wins his 4th PGA C’ship by 2 shots from Woody Austin
2022 – British author Salman Rushdie attacked and repeatedly stabbed on stage prior to giving a lecture at Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York
Today in History for 12th August 2024
Historical Events
1553 – Pope Julius III orders confiscation and burning of Jewish Talmud
1973 – WPBA National Championship won by Betty Morris
1979 – “Whoopee!” closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 204 performances
1980 – Signature of the Montevideo Treaty establishing the Latin American Integration Association.
2021 – US Census reveal country grown more diverse, growth in Hispanic (+23%) and Asian (+36%) populations, 1st ever decline in white population (-2.6%)
2022 – British author Salman Rushdie attacked and repeatedly stabbed on stage prior to giving a lecture at Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York
Famous Birthdays
1751 – Johann Baptist Lasser, German composer, born in Steinkirchen, Electorate of Bavaria (d. 1805)
1915 – Alex Wojciechowicz, American College/Pro Football HOF center, linebacker (Fordham Uni; NFL C’ship 1948, 49; First-team All-Pro 1939, 44; NFL 1940s All-Decade Team; Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles), born in South River, New Jersey (d. 1992)
1915 – Michael Kidd, American choreographer and dancer, born in New York City (d. 2007)
1977 – Iva Majoli, Croatian tennis player (1996 Pan Pacific), born in Zagreb, Croatia
1983 – Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Dutch footballer
1999 – Matthijs de Ligt, Dutch football player (Bayern Munich, Netherlands), born in Leiderdorp, Netherlands
Famous Deaths
1546 – Francisco de Vitoria, Spanish theologian and lawyer, dies
1689 – Innocent XI [Benedetto Odescalchi], Italian, Pope (1676-89), dies at 78
1864 – Sakuma Shōzan, Japanese reformer (b. 1811)
1943 – Georges Martin Witkowski, composer, dies at 76
1973 – Karl Ziegler, German chemist and Nobel Laureate (polymers), dies at 74
2021 – Una Stubbs, English actress (Till Death Us Do Part; Sherlock – “Mrs. Hudson”), dies at 84
Famous Deaths for 11th August 2024
1494 – Hans Memling [John Memlinc], Flemish painter (Passietaferelen), dies
1937 – Edith Wharton, American Pulitzer prize-winning novelist (Ethan Frome, House of Mirth), dies at 75
1942 – Richard Heinrich Stein, German composer, and music theorist (La musica moderna), dies at 60
1980 – Paul Robert, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1910)
1995 – Wilbur Stark, American film screenwriter, director, and producer (Vmpire; Circus The Thing), dies at 83
1995 – (Wonga) Phil Harris], American singer, actor (The Jungle Book; The Aristocrats; Robin Hood), comedian, and orchestra leader (The Jack Benny Program; The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show), dies of a heart attack at 91
1996 – Mel Taylor, American rock drummer (The Ventures, 1962-73 and 1979-96), dies of cancer at 63
1998 – Benjamin “Benny” Waters, American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, dies at 96
2010 – Geoffrey Johnson Smith, Scottish Conservative politician (1959-2001), dies at 86
2011 – Jani Lane [John Oswald], American heavy metal rock songwriter, and singer (Warrant – “Cherry Pie”), dies of acute alcohol poisoning at 47
Historical Events for 11th August 2024
1522 – Uprising of adel/burgerij in Austria fails
1919 – Weimar Republic begins in Germany
1940 – German air raid on British ports Portland and Weymouth
1974 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Tanglewood Park: Lee Trevino wins the first of his 2 PGA C’ships, 1 stroke ahead of defending champion Jack Nicklaus
1982 – The South African Defence Force (SADF) raids Southern Angola
1994 – João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira, elected President of Guinea-Bissau
2003 – A heat wave in Paris results in temperatures rising to 112°F (44° C), leaving about 144 people dead.
2008 – The US 4 x 100m freestyle replay team of Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak beats France by 8 seconds to win gold and smash world record at the Beijing Olympics
2016 – American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins men’s 200m individual medley in 1:54.66 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; 3rd athlete and 1st swimmer to win 4 consecutive Olympic gold medals in one event
2021 – Torrential rains cause flash flooding in Turkey’s northwestern provinces of Kastamonu, Sinop and Barti, killing at least 77 with more missing
Today in History for 11th August 2024
Historical Events
1940 – German air raid on British ports Portland and Weymouth
1944 – British premier Winston Churchill arrives in Italy
1950 – King Boudouin I takes oath as royal prince of Belgium
1971 – Harmon Killebrew hits HRs #500 and 501
1985 – Challenger flies to Kennedy Space Center via Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz
2009 – “Need You Now” album released by Lady Antebellum (Billboard Album of the Year 2010)
Famous Birthdays
1833 – Robert G. Ingersoll, American writer, orator and agnostic, born in Dresden, New York (d. 1899)
1929 – Cora de Man-Canne Meyer, Dutch mezzo-soprano (Figaro, Carmen), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2020)
1933 – Justin Connolly [D’Arcy-Dawson], British classical and electro-acoustic composer (Diaphony; The Garden of Forking Paths), and educator, born in London, England (d. 2020)
1936 – Jim Thompson, English Bishop of Bath and Wells and “Thought for the Day” contributor, born in Birmingham, England (d. 2003)
1938 – Rainer Boesch, Swiss pianist, composer, improviser, and teacher, born in Männedorf, Switzerland (d. 2014)
1968 – Veda Hille, Canadian experimental pop singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and accordionist, born in Vancouver, British Columbia
Famous Deaths
1578 – Pedro Nunes [Nonius], Port mathematician/astronomer (nonius), dies
1857 – Marshall Hall, English physician, physiologist and early neurologist (physiology of reflex function), dies of a throat infection at 67
1984 – Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian-German chess player, dies at 67
1995 – Douglas John Gorman, British businessman (Chairman of CMG (Computer Management Group)), dies at 58
2008 – George Furth, American actor and director (Tammy, Good Guys, Dumplings), dies at 75
2023 – Tom Jones, American musical theatre lyricist (The Fantasticks; 110 In the Shade), dies of cancer at 95
Famous Deaths for 10th August 2024
794 – Fastrada, 3rd wife of French King Charles the Great, dies at 30
1723 – Guillaume Dubois, French cardinal and statesman, dies at 66
1973 – Douglas Kennedy, American actor (Dark Passage, The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold), dies of cancer at 57
1977 – Vince Barnett, American actor (Star is Born, Human Jungle), dies at 75
1979 – John Nicholas “Dick” Foran, American actor (OK Crackerby, Fort Apache, Winners of the West), dies at 69
1986 – Don McRae, New Zealand cricket medium pace bowler (1 Test; Canterbury CA) and soccer goalkeeper (1 cap; Nomads United FC), dies at 71
1992 – Aribert Heim, Austrian SS physician (served at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Mauthausen, known as Dr. Death), dies at 78
1994 – Leendert-John Schalm, Dutch banker on Curacao, murdered at 58
2000 – Gilbert Parkhouse, Welsh cricket batsman (7 Tests England, 2 x 50; Glamorgan CCC, MCC), dies at 74
2022 – Abdul Wadud [Ronald DeVaughn], American jazz, avant-garde, and classical cellist (Camille; By Myself), dies at 75
Historical Events for 10th August 2024
843 – Treaty of Verdun: Brothers Lotharius I, Louis the German and Charles the Bald divide France
1627 – Cardinal Richelieu begins siege of La Rochelle
1897 – Automobile Club of Great Britain established (now: Royal Automobile Club)
1936 – First time the Olympic cycling road race is conducted as a mass start event with Frenchmen Robert Charpentier and Guy Lapébie taking gold and silver, and France winning the teams gold medal
1943 – Adolf Hitler watches a lynching of allied pilots
1981 – Coca-Cola Bottling Co agrees to pump $34 million into black business
1984 – Ian Ferguson of New Zealand wins 2 canoeing gold medals in the one day taking the K-1 500 and K-2 500 (with Paul MacDonald) at the LA Olympics; wins K-4 1000 the next day
1988 – UN estimates Asia’s population hits 3 billion
1989 – A’s bat out of order against White Sox in 3rd inning
1989 – Australia 0-301 at end of day one, 5th Test Cricket at Trent Bridge
Today in History for 10th August 2024
Historical Events
1585 – English Queen Elizabeth I signs Treaty of Nonsuch: Aid for Netherlands
1877 – Battle of the Big Hole: US Army led by Colonel John Gibbon fights the Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph and Looking Glass in Montana, both sides suffer heavy casualties causing the Nez Perce to continue their long fighting retreat
1949 – Ezzard Charles TKOs Gus Lesnevich in 8 for heavyweight boxing title
1960 – Los Angeles premiere of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh
1977 – Phillies and Expos play a doubleheader that ends at 3:23 AM
2008 – British cyclist Nicole Cooke wins the road race at the Beijing Olympics; Great Britain’s 200th gold in the modern Olympics
Famous Birthdays
1708 – Johannes Stinstra, Dutch Mennonite preacher, born in Harlingen, Friesland (d. 1790)
1856 – William Willett, British inventor of Daylight Saving Time, born in Farnham, Surrey, England (d. 1915)
1940 – Richard Wells, British Chief Constable (South Yorkshire – in charge after Hillsborough disaster)
1943 – Ronnie Spector [Veronica Bennett], American pop singer (The Ronettes -“Be My Baby”), born in New York City (d. 2022)
1957 – Fred Ho [Houn], American jazz baritone saxophonist, composer (Year of the Tiger), playwright, writer and social activist, born in Palo Alto, California (d. 2014)
1962 – Dan Donovan, English rock keyboardist (Big Audio Dynamite), born in London, England
Famous Deaths
1628 – Hans Jonsson, Swedish fleet commander, drowned
1717 – Nicolaas Witsen, Dutch statesman and mayor of Amsterdam, dies at 76
1843 – Jakob F. Fries, German philosopher, dies at 69
1861 – Nathaniel Lyon, American Brigadier-General (Union Army), 1st Union General to die in battle at 43
1974 – Ivor Dean, British stage and screen actor (Treasure Island; The Saint – “Inspector Teal”), dies at 56
1994 – Leendert-John Schalm, Dutch banker on Curacao, murdered at 58
Famous Deaths for 9th August 2024
1250 – King Eric IV of Denmark (1241-1250), beheaded after being betrayed by his brother (b. 1216)
1898 – Gardner Quincy Colton, American lecturer who was the first to use nitrous oxide as an anesthetic in dentistry, dies at 84
1962 – Lowell Stockman, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon, dies at 61
1975 – Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer (The Gadfly; The Nose), dies of lung cancer at 68
1986 – Jef Scherens, Belgian track cyclist (World C’ships gold sprint 1932-37, 47), dies at 77
1996 – Kenneth Fleetwood, English fashion designer (Hardy Amies, dressed Queen Elizabeth II), dies at 65
2005 – Judith Rossner, American novelist (“Looking for Mr. Goodbar”; “August”), dies at 70
2006 – James van Allen, American physicist (discovered Van Allen radiation belts), dies at 91
2006 – Philip E. High, English sci-fi author, dies at 92
2007 – Joe O’Donnell, American documentary photographer and photojournalist, dies at 85