1917 – The USA is the first nation to recognize the new government of Russia
1927 – Federico Garcia Lorca’s first play “El Maleficio” (The Butterfly’s Evil Spell) premieres in Madrid
1944 – American movie star James Stewart flies his 12th combat mission, leading the 2nd Bomb Wing in an attack on Berlin
1957 – “All Shook Up” single released by Elvis Presley
1958 – 20th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Seattle, 84-72; Seattle’s future Hall of Fame small forward Elgin Baylor is named tournament MOP
1968 – Student riot in Nanterre near Paris
1986 – Ice Pairs World Championship at Geneva won by Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov (USSR)
1991 – Law enforcement officers raid fraternities at University of Virginaa, seizing drugs
2021 – World’s largest painting “The Journey of Humanity” by British artist Sacha Jafri sells in Dubai for $62m to raise funds for children’s charities
2023 – Microsoft founder Bill Gates says development of artificial intelligence (AI) is the most important technological advance since the graphical user interface (GUI) in 1980
Author: gil7
Today in History for 22nd March 2024
Historical Events
1936 – “The Great Ziegfeld” directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring William Powell and Luise Rainer premieres in Los Angeles (Best Picture 1937
1971 – 6th Academy of Country Music Awards: Merle Haggard and Lynn Anderson win
1986 – HBO launches boxing’s heavyweight-title-unification-tournament
1994 – South African government and ANC take power in Ciskei homeland
2021 – Sanctions imposed on Chinese officials over rights abuses against Uighurs in China by EU, UK, US and Canada
2022 – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party reaches a deal with opposition New Democratic Party to stay in power till 2025
Famous Birthdays
1609 – John II Casimir Vasa [Jan Kazimierz], King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1648-68), born in Kraków, Poland (d. 1672)
1720 – Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect who introduced Neoclassical architecture to Denmark, born in St. Germain des Noyers (d. 1799)
1925 – Colin Spedding, British biologist and animal welfare advocate (d. 2012)
1934 – Orrin Hatch, American politician (US Senator from Utah (R), 1977-2019) longest-serving Utah US Senator, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)
1941 – Jeremy Clyde, English pop singer and guitarist (Chad and Jeremy – “A Summer Song”) and actor (The Iron Lady), born in Dorney, Buckinghamshire
1946 – Laraine Ashton, fashion models’ agent (London)
Famous Deaths
1758 – Jonathan Edwards, American Christian preacher, philosopher, and theologian (Original Sin), dies at 54
1771 – Gottlieb Rabener, German author (Vom Misbrauch of the Satire), dies at 56
1959 – Olga Knipper. Russian-Soviet stage actress, and wife of Anton Chekhov, dies at
1996 – Don Murray, American drummer (The Turtles), dies from post-operative complications at 50
1996 – Robert Franklin Overmyer, astronaut (STS 5, STS 51-B), dies at 59
2017 – Francine Hughes Wilson, American domestic abuse victim “The Burning Bed” who changed pubic perceptions, dies at 69
Famous Deaths for 21st March 2024
1843 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican independence leader, general and 1st President of Mexico (1824-29), dies at 56
1889 – August von Pettenkofen, Austrian outdoor painter, dies at 66
1894 – Jacob Rosenhaim, Jewish-German composer, dies at 80
1915 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American mechanical engineer and the father of scientific management, dies of influenza at 59
1971 – Nan Wynn [Masha Vatz], American radio and big-band singer (Rudy Vallée; Teddy Wilson), actress (Pardon My Sarong), and singing voice for Rita Hayworth, dies of cancer at 55
1994 – Dack Rambo, American actor (Jack Ewing-Dallas), dies from AIDs at 52
1995 – Robert Urquhart, Scottish actor (Dunkirk, Bulldog Breed), dies at 72
2002 – Hermanus Berserik, Dutch painter and graphic artist, dies at 80
2002 – Herman Talmadge, American politician (70th Governor of Georgia), dies at 88
2016 – Peter Brown [Pierre Lind de Lappe], American actor (Lawman, Laredo, Bold and Beautiful), dies at 80
Historical Events for 21st March 2024
1864 – Battle at Henderson’s Hill (Bayou Rapids) Louisiana
1961 – The Beatles’ first appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool
1962 – Philadelphia Phillies retire pitcher Robin Roberts’ # 36
1973 – Montreal Canadiens’ left wing Frank Mahovlich becomes 5th NHL player to score 500 goals
1982 – Movie “Annie” directed by John Huston, starring Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney and Carol Burnett premieres
1997 – Ice Dance Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland won by Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov (Rus)
2018 – English TV presenter Ant McPartlin charged with drink driving following an accident in London
2019 – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces a ban on military-style semiautomatic weapons, 6 days after the Christchurch terrorist attack
2019 – Former Brazilian President Michel Temer is arrested in São Paulo as part of a large corruption investigation
2022 – Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador inaugurates Felipe Angeles International Airport to serve Mexico City
Today in History for 21st March 2024
Historical Events
1702 – Queen Anne addresses English parliament
1860 – English novelist George Eliot finishes her novel “The Mill on the Floss” in Wandsworth, London
1871 – 33rd Grand National: Irish 1868 winner The Lamb claims second GN at 11/2; ridden by Tommy Pickernell
1963 – Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay is closed
1985 – Canadian Rick Hansen sets off on his ‘Man in Motion’ world tour in his wheelchair raising money for spinal research, from Oakridge Mall, Vancouver (successfully completes May 1987)
2019 – Bangladeshi woman with two uteruses safely gives birth to twins 26 days after giving birth to another child
Famous Birthdays
1880 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter (Search for the Real), born in Weißenburg, Germany (d. 1966)
1911 – John Paxton, American screenwriter and producer (On The Beach, Kotch, Farewell My Lovely), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1985)
1913 – Ghita Ionescu, Romanian politician scientist (Communism in Romania), born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 1996)
1939 – Kathleen Widdoes, actress (Without a Trace), born in Wilmington, Delaware
1944 – Marie-Christine Barrault, actress (Stardust Memories), born in Paris, France
1969 – Ali Daei, Iranian footballer
Famous Deaths
1768 – Jan Jacob Mauricius, Dutch governor-general of Suriname (1742-51), dies at 75
1844 – Leopold van Sasse van Ysselt, Dutch nobleman and politician, dies at 65
1920 – Federigo Tozzi, Italian writer and journalist (Torre, Tre Croci), dies from pneumonia at 37
1945 – Arthur Nebe, German SS officer and Holocaust perpetrator who took part in assassination plot against of Adolf Hitler, executed by hanging at 50
1970 – Marlen Haushofer, Austrian writer (The Wall), dies at 49
2001 – Chung Ju-yung, Korean industrialist (b. 1915)
Famous Deaths for 20th March 2024
1865 – Keisuke Yamanami, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
1934 – Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen consort of William and Regent of the Netherlands, dies at 76
1962 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer and inventor of dendrochronology (tree-ring dating), dies at 94
1972 – Jan Engelman, Dutch poet and art critic (At the Front), dies at 71
1989 – Alan Gifford [John Lennox], American actor (Time Lock, 2001: A Space Odyssey), dies at 78
1992 – Georges Delerue, French film composer (Sword of Gideon, A Little Romance), dies of a heart attack at 67
1995 – Rachida Hammadi, Algerian TV journalist, murdered at 32
2001 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1949)
2013 – Risë Stevens {Steenberg], American mezzo-soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1938-61 – “Carmen”), vocal coach, and arts administrator, dies at 99
2015 – Robert Kastenmeier, American politician (Rep-D-WI, 1959-91), dies at 91
Historical Events for 20th March 2024
1648 – King Charles I of England first tries to escape captivity at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight by climbing out a window – but gets stuck
1819 – London’s famous Burlington Arcade opens, the world’s 1st shopping arcade
1911 – Winter Garden Theater opens at 1634 Broadway NYC
1934 – American all-round female super athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias pitches a hitless inning for Philadelphia A’s in their exhibition pre-season baseball game against Brooklyn Dodgers
1940 – Paul Reynoud becomes French premier
1947 – 180 tonne blue whale (record) caught in South Atlantic
1957 – Britain accepts NATO offer to mediate in Cyprus, but Greece rejects it
1996 – UK admits humans can catch CJD (Mad Cow Disease)
2019 – Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts calls the state’s flooding “the most widespread destruction we have ever seen in our state’s history”
2022 – Intense fighting in Ukrainian city of Mariupol continues as Russian forces encircle the city, trapping 300,000 people
Today in History for 20th March 2024
Historical Events
1896 – Marines land in Nicaragua to protect US citizens
1942 – Major German assault on Malta
1948 – First live televised symphony performances: Eugene Ormandy leads Philadelphia Orchestra on CBS, followed 90 minutes later by Arturo Toscanini leading the NBC Orchestra on NBC
1973 – Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame, 11 weeks after his death in a plane crash
1986 – New York City passes its first lesbian and gay rights legislation
2021 – Severe one-in-a-hundred-year flooding in Sydney and the surrounding state of New South Wales prompts evacuation orders
Famous Birthdays
1890 – Lauritz Melchior, Danish-American baritone tenor (National Symphony), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1973)
1896 – Hal Walker, director (I Married Joan), born in Ottumwa, Iowa (d. 1972)
1903 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (Petticoat Junction), born in Humansville, Missouri (d. 1979)
1911 – Mieke Verstraete [Maria Augustina De Graef], Belgian-Dutch actress (Pleasantly Settled), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1990)
1928 – Anthony Blond, British publisher (The Publishing Game, Book Book), born in Sale, Cheshire (d. 2008)
1984 – Winta [Efrem], Eritrean-Norwegian RandB singer (Hot Romance (Rok With You); Nails on Chalkboard), born in Oslo, Norway
Famous Deaths
1874 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish waltz composer, and musical director (Tivoli Gardens, 1843-72), dies at 63
1918 – Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (b. 1828)
1934 – Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen consort of William and Regent of the Netherlands, dies at 76
1974 – [Lavinia] Marian Fleming Poe, African American advocate in Virginia, dies at 83
1979 – Mino Pecorelli, Italian journalist, shot dead in Rome at 50
1999 – Roy L. Johnson, American admiral (WW II-Pacific Ocean, commanded Seventh Fleet 1960s), dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 19th March 2024
1871 – Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist (b. 1795)
1914 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian volcanologist (b. 1850)
1934 – Anthony John Blok, Dutch lawyer (strafproces), dies at 66
1940 – Gustaaf Sap, Belgian minister of Economic Affairs, dies at 54
1942 – Clinton Hart Merriam, American zoologist and ornithologist, dies at 86
1971 – Mary Dorna [Mary Jeanette Tenkink-Stoppelman], Dutch author, dies at 79
1979 – Richard Beckinsale, English actor (Doing Time, Porridge, Lovers), dies at 31
1991 – Ron Pagano, dies after lengthy illness at 37
1992 – Henry Leland Clarke, American composer, dies at 85
1994 – Jose Coronel Urtecho, poet, dies at 87
Historical Events for 19th March 2024
1571 – Spanish troops occupy Manila
1799 – Joseph Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation” (“Die Schöpfung”) fisrt public performance premieres at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria
1917 – US Supreme Court uphoelds 8-hr work day for railroad employees
1938 – Scotland beats England, 21-16 at Twickenham, London to win the Home Nations Rugby Championship, Triple Crown and Calcutta Cup
1942 – Thoroughbred Racing Association of US formed in Chicago
1945 – Adolf Hitler issues “Nero Decree” to destroy all German factories
1965 – Rembrandt’s “Titus” sells for then record 7,770,000 guilders
1978 – 50,000 demonstrate in Amsterdam against neutron bomb
1989 – Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Kurt Browning (CAN)
1997 – Ice Pairs won by Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer (GER)