Today in History for 6th August 2024

Historical Events

695 – Maya King Jasaw Chan K’awill I of Tikal defeats Yich’aak K’ahk’ (‘Claw of Fire’), his long-standing rival and king of Calakmul
1815 – US flotilla ends piracy by Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli
1951 – The National Museum of Racing opens in Congress Park at Saratoga Springs, N.Y
1966 – US citizens demonstrate against war in Vietnam
1982 – Three ANC members are sentenced to death in South Africa
2015 – Eqyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi inaugurates the Suez Canal Expansion at a ceremony in Ismaïlia

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – William “Will” Lee, American actor (They Live by Night, Melody Lane), born in New York City (d. 1982)
1938 – Igor Mikhailovich Luchenok, Belarusian composer and teacher, born in Minsk, Belarus (d. 2018)
1955 – Gordon J. Brand, English golfer (British Open 1986 runner-up), born in Cambridge, England (d. 2020)
1966 – Regina Carter, American jazz and classical violinist, and composer, born in Detroit, Michigan
1981 – Leslie Odom Jr., American actor and singer (Hamilton), born in New York City
1995 – Amy Forsyth, Canadian actress (The Gilded Age, CODA), born in Ontario

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Famous Deaths

1414 – King Ladislas of Naples (b. 1377)
1965 – Nancy Carroll, actress (Alice-Aldrich Family), dies at 60
1969 – Theodor W. Adorno, German philosopher and sociologist (Dialectic of Enlightenment, Negative Dialectics), dies at 65
1979 – Kurt Kaszner [Serwicher], Austrian actor (Kiss Me Kate, Lili, Casino Royale), dies of cancer at 65
2009 – Willibrordus S. Rendra, Indonesian poet (Ballad orang-orang tertjina), dies at 73
2012 – Sir Bernard Lovell, English radio astronomer, dies at 98

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Famous Deaths for 5th August 2024

882 – King Louis III of France (b. 863)
1364 – Emperor Kōgon of Japan (Ashikaga Pretenders), 1st Northern Emperor, dies at 51
1799 – Richard Howe, British admiral, dies at 73
1923 – Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian scholar of Slavic studies, dies at 85
1978 – Queenie Smith, American actress/dancer (Funny Side), dies at 79
1991 – Soichiro Hondo, Japanese CEO and founder of Honda, dies of liver cancer at 84
1995 – Agha Hasan Abedi, Pakistani banker and felon (BCCI), dies at 73
2011 – Andrzej Lepper, Polish politician (Deputy Prime Minister of Poland), dies at 57
2013 – George Duke, American Grammy Award-winning jazz and funk keyboard player, and composer, dies from chronic lymphocytic leukemia at 67
2014 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, 11th US Surgeon General (1969-73), dies at 87

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Historical Events for 5th August 2024

1716 – Battle of Petrovaradin [Peterwardein]: Habsburgs under Eugene of Savoy defeat the Ottomans in a decisive victory
1900 – In Russia, anti-Jewish riots spread from Odessa into other parts of the country
1914 – Dutch Cort Van de Linden government issues silver bonds as money
1964 – Beatles record a cover of Little Willie John’s “Leave My Kitten Alone”; not released until 1995’s “Anthology 1”
1980 – Montreal Expos Dick Williams wins his 1,000th career game as a manager in 11-5 win v Mets, for whom Doug Flynn hits MLB record tying 3 triples
1983 – American rock singer David Crosby sentenced to 5 years in Texas state prison on drug and weapons convictions
1995 – 5th Athletics World Championships open at Gothenburg, Sweden
2018 – English swimmer Adam Peaty breaks his own world record in 57.00 as he wins his 9th European 100m breaststroke title in Glasgow, Scotland
2018 – 6.9 magnitude earthquake on island of Lombok, Indonesia, kills at least 460 people and displaces 350,000
2018 – Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declares “now we are a land of droughts” as 99% of New South Wales affected

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Today in History for 5th August 2024

Historical Events

1552 – Battle of Ponza: Ottoman naval fleet led by Dragut defeats Genoese fleet under Andrea Doria capturing seven galleys
1944 – US 79th/90th division occupy Laval (Mayenne), southwest of Paris
1964 – Congo rebellion: Christopher Gbenye and Pierre Mulele conquer Stanleyville
1966 – West Indies cricket captain Garfield Sobers scores 174 including a century between lunch and tea to set up a 4th Test win v England at Headingley
1969 – Pirates outfielder Willie Stargell smashes first and longest home run ever hit out of Dodger Stadium; the incomparable shot off Alan Foster, measures 506 feet
1985 – Establishment of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is announced

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Famous Birthdays

1947 – Bernie Carbo, American MLB player, born in Detroit, Michigan
1953 – Samantha Sang [Cheryl Lau Sang], Australian pop singer (Emotion), born in Melbourne
1963 – James Wilder, American actor (Scorchers, Zombie High, Murder 1), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1968 – Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Japanese professional wrestler
1970 – Travis Moore, American CFL receiver (Grey Cup 1998 2001; 3 x CFL All Star; Calgary Stampeders), born in Santa Monica, California
1972 – Aaqib Javed, Pakistani cricketer and pace bowler (1989-98), born in Sheikhupura, Pakistan

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Famous Deaths

1579 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish Catholic cardinal (b. 1504)
1901 – Victoria, Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III, dies at 60
1997 – Don Steele, LA radio personality (KRTH), dies of cancer at 61
2000 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist, dies at 80
2001 – Otema Allimadi, Prime Minister of Uganda (b. 1929)
2011 – Andrzej Lepper, Polish politician (Deputy Prime Minister of Poland), dies at 57

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Famous Deaths for 4th August 2024

1584 – John van Hembyze, Flemish Calvinist, dies at 71
1821 – William Floyd, American soldier who signed the US Declaration of Independence, dies at 86
1938 – Rudolf Georg Binding, German songwriter and writer (Legenden Der Zeit), dies at 70
1957 – Washington Luís, President of Brazil (1926-30), dies at 87
1976 – Enrique Angelelli, Argentine bishop
1982 – Bruce Goff, American Architect (b. 1904)
1995 – J. Howard Marshall [James Howard Marshall II], American businessman and husband of Anna Nicole Smith, dies at 90
2005 – Nick Perito, American pianist, accordion player, arranger and orchestra leader (Perry Como; Muzak; The Don Knotts Show), dies of pulmonary fibrosis at 81
2009 – Joe Maneri, American jazz composer, saxophone and clarinet player (Boston Microtonal Society), dies at 82
2012 – Arnie Risen, Basketball Hall of Fame center (NBA All-Star 1952-55; NBA C’ship 1951, 57; Rochester Royals, Boston Celtics), dies at 87

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Historical Events for 4th August 2024

1903 – Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto of Venice elected Pope Pius X, known as the ‘pope of the poor and humble’
1914 – WWI: King Albert I becomes Supreme Commander of Belgian army after German declaration of war
1967 – USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
1981 – Columbia mated with SRBs and external tank for STS-2 mission
1982 – Outfielder Joel Youngblood becomes only MLB player to get hits for 2 different teams in 2 different cities on the same day; singles for Mets in Chicago day game; traded, then singles for Expos in Philadelphia night game
1984 – Prince’s “Purple Rain” album goes #1 and stays #1 for 24 weeks
1985 – “Dreamgirls” closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 1522 performances
1994 – 27th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Hyatt Regency
1995 – Following a suspension from the league for substance abuse former Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry joins NY Yankees and eventually helps the Bronx Bombers to win the 1996 World Series
2013 – British Open Women’s Golf, St. Andrews: American Stacy Lewis wins her second major, 2 shots ahead of runners-up Na Yeon Choi and Hee Young Park

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Today in History for 4th August 2024

Historical Events

1666 – St James’ Day naval battle is an English victory against the Dutch during Second Anglo-Dutch War off the Kent coast
1929 – Jones Beach in NY opens
1946 – An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. 100 are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
1976 – England beats Australia by 8 wickets in the limited overs cricket international at Lord’s; first time women are permitted to play on the main square at ‘the home of cricket’
1986 – After winning only token damages in antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, USFL owners vote to suspend operations for 1986 season; folded before 4th season
2010 – On 3rd anniversary of his 500th MLB career home run, Alex Rodriguez reaches the 600 HR mark in the NY Yankees 5-1 win v Toronto; 7th and youngest to reach milestone

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Famous Birthdays

1222 – Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, English soldier (d. 1262)
1888 – Philip Greeley Clapp, American composer and educator (University of Iowa, 1919-54), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1954)
1918 – Iceberg Slim (a.k.a. Robert Beck), African-American author, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1992)
1931 – Narendra Tamhane, Indian cricket wicket-keeper (1950’s), born in Bombay, India
1959 – Laurence Anholt, British children’s author, born in London, England
1967 – Michael Lawrence Marsh, American sprinter (Olympic 200m gold 1992, silver 1996), born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

1584 – John van Hembyze, Flemish Calvinist, dies at 71
1873 – Viktor Hartmann, Russian architect and painter, dies at 39
1938 – Pearl White, American actress/stunt woman (Perils of Pauline), dies at 49
1980 – Diego Fabbri, Italian playwright and leader (Vatican movie bureau), dies at 69
1992 – Ralph Cooper, American master-of-ceremonies (creator of Amateur Night at the Apollo), actor, dancer, and choreographer, dies of cancer at 84
2013 – Art Donovan, American NFL HOF defensive tackle, 1950-61 (4 x Pro Bowl, 2 x Champion – Baltimore Colts and 2 other teams), and US Marine (WWII – Iwo Jima), dies from a respiratory ailment at 89

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Famous Deaths for 3rd August 2024

1387 – Olaf V Haakonsson, King of Denmark (1376-87)/Norway (1380-87), dies
1460 – King James II of Scotland (b. 1430)
1712 – Joshua Barnes, English scholar (b. 1654)
1857 – Eugène Sue, French novelist (b. 1804)
1924 – Joseph Conrad, Polish-English novelist (Lord Jim; Heart of Darkness), dies at 66
1948 – Tommy Ryan, American boxer (World Welterweight, Middleweight champion), dies at 78
1957 – John Vernou “Black Jack” Bouvier, father of Jacqueline Kennedy, dies of cancer
2001 – Christopher Hewett, British actor (Mr. Belvedere; The Producers) and theater director, dies of complications from diabetes at 80
2017 – Robert Hardy, British actor (Harry Potter, All Creatures Great and Small), dies at 91
2022 – Raymond Damadian, American physician and inventor of the MRI scanning machine, dies at 86

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Historical Events for 3rd August 2024

1527 – First known letter sent from North America by John Rut while at St. John’s, Newfoundland
1914 – Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, beginning World War I
1939 – Jean Genet’s play “Ondine” premieres in Paris
1959 – 27th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 5-3 at Memorial Coliseum, LA
1963 – Warner Bros. Records releases single of Allan Sherman’s novelty song “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)”, set to music of Amilcare Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours” from his 1876 opera “La Gioconda”
1987 – Detroit Tigers ace Jack Morris ties AL record with 5 wild pitches in a 4-2, 10 innings loss v Kansas City Royals
1997 – Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre in Algeria; 40-76 villagers killed.
2004 – MESSENGER spacecraft launches from Cape Canaveral
2014 – Alex Puccio ascends Jade in Rocky Mountain National Park, becoming the fourth-ever woman to climb V14
2020 – Hurricane Isaias makes landfall in the US as a Category 1 hurricane near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

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Today in History for 3rd August 2024

Historical Events

1852 – America’s first intercollegiate sporting event takes place as the Harvard heavyweight rowing crew beats Yale by 2 lengths over 2 miles on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire
1952 – Italian Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari clinches Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by winning German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring
1962 – 29th Chicago College All-Star Game: Green Bay 42, All-Stars 20, 65,000 at Soldier Field
2001 – The Real IRA detonate a car bomb in Ealing, London, injuring 7 people
2001 – US President George W. Bush signs into law the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) Extension Act of 2001
2004 – St. Louis 1st baseman Albert Pujols becomes first player in MLB history to hit at least 30 HRs in each of his first 4 seasons as Cardinals beat Montreal, 10-6

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Famous Birthdays

1692 – John Henley, English clergyman, born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England (d. 1759)
1895 – Marguerite Nichols, American actress (An Old Man’s Folly), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1941)
1924 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs (PvdA), born in Voorschoten, Netherlands (d. 2011)
1972 – John Lilley, American hockey forward (Olympics 1994), born in Wakefield, Massachusetts
1973 – Stephen Graham, English actor (This is England, Boiling Point), born in Kirby, England
1977 – Tómas Lemarquis, Icelandic actor (Nói Albínói), born in Reykjavík, Iceland

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Famous Deaths

1779 – Henry Kobell, Dutch painter and cartoonist, dies at 27
1877 – Karl Georg Lickl, Austrian pianist, physharmonica (type of harmonium) player, and composer, dies at 75
1916 – Roger Casement, Irish diplomat, ardent Irish nationalist (Easter uprising 1916) and poet, hanged after conviction for treason by the British at 51
1986 – Paul de Groot, Dutch communist politician (CPN) and editor (The Truth), dies at 87
1998 – Alfred Schnittke, Russian composer and musicologist, dies after a series strokes at 63
2005 – Françoise d’Eaubonne, French feminist (b. 1920)

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