1864 – Battle at Stephenson’s Depot, Virginia: 200 killed or injured
1869 – Children’s Hospital Boston is founded by Dr. Francis Henry Brown and other Harvard Medical School graduates, as a 20-bed facility in the South End of Boston, Massachusetts
1901 – Morocco signs an agreement with France fixing Morocco’s frontier with Algeria, a French colony
1917 – WW I draft lottery held; #258 is 1st drawn
1925 – Beirut sultan Pasja al-Atrasj calls Druzen for holy war against France
1948 – US Communist Party chairman William Forster arrested
1956 – Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford ties AL record of 6 straight strike-outs
1961 – Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s musical “Stop The World – I Want To Get Off” premieres at Queen’s Theater in London’s West End
1984 – Vanessa Williams is asked to resign as Miss America due to publication of nude photos of her
2018 – American director James Gunn fired as director of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” by Disney after past offensive tweets surface
Author: gil7
Today in History for 20th July 2024
Historical Events
1619 – Gerardus Vossius resigns as Dutch regent States college leader
1943 – US Joint Chiefs of Staff question Admiral Chester Nimitz over the landing on Gilbert Island
1953 – The United Nations Economic and Social Council votes to make UNICEF a permanent agency
1956 – US performs atmospheric nuclear Test at Bikini Island
1976 – Hank Aaron hits 755th and last home run off Angels Dick Drago
2023 – India bans export of non-basmati rice, raising prospect of global price rises (more than half of rice imports for 42 countries come from India)
Famous Birthdays
1754 – Antoine Destutt de Tracy, French Enlightenment philosopher, born in Paris (d. 1836)
1822 – Gregor Mendel, Austrian monk and geneticist (discoverer of laws of heredity), born in Heinzendorf, Austria (d. 1884)
1893 – Richard Billinger, Austrian poet and writer (From Where I Came), born in Sankt Marienkirchen, Austria (d. 1965)
1956 – Charlie Magri, Tunisian British world champ flyweight boxer (1983), born in Tunis, Tunisia
1978 – Tamsyn Lewis, Australian athlete
1980 – Gisele Bündchen, Brazilian supermodel (Victoria’s Secret), born in Horizontina, Brazil
Famous Deaths
1573 – Lancelot van Brederode, Dutch general of the “water beggars” rebellion, beheaded by the Spanish
1898 – Yuri Karlovich Arnold, Russian composer, dies at 86
1962 – George MacAulay Trevelyan, English royal historian, dies at 86
1985 – Bruno de Finetti, Italian probabilist statistician and actuary, dies at 79
1989 – Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, French commander of the French resistance, dies at 79
2004 – Adi Lady Lala Mara, Fiji chieftainess, wife of Kamisese Mara (b. 1931)
Famous Deaths for 19th July 2024
1838 – Frédéric-Nicolas Duvernoy, French horn player and composer, dies at 72
1844 – Heinrich Domnich, German hornist and composer, dies at 77
1852 – Anne François Mellinet, French-Belgian general (Antwerp), dies at 83
1906 – Ferdinand Brunetière, French writer and critic, dies at 57
1939 – Tom Hayward, English cricket batsman (35 Tests, 3 x 100; HS 137; Surrey CCC), dies at 68
1965 – Syngman Rhee, 1st President of South Korea (1948-60), dies at 90
1986 – Alfredo Binda, Italian road cyclist (first to win Giro d’Italia x 5; World Road Race C’ship 1927, 30, 32), dies at 83
1994 – Frederik “Frits” van der More, archaeologist/art historian, dies at 87
2004 – Reverend Francis Marzen, American Catholic prelate (b. 1924)
2015 – Sybren Polet [Sijbe Minnema], Dutch writer and poet (Mannekino), dies at 91
Historical Events for 19th July 2024
1195 – Battle at Alarcos: Almohads led by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur defeats army of Alfonso VIII of Castile
1544 – Italian War of 1542: The Siege of Boulogne begins
1922 – American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller first to break 1 minute barrier for 100m freestyle; swims 58.6s at Alameda, CA
1944 – 1,200+ 8th US Air Force bombers bomb targets in SW Germany
1944 – NY archbishop Spellman flies to Europe
1950 – NY Yankees sign their 1st Black players, Elston Howard and Frank Baines
1955 – Balclutha ties up at Pier 43 and becomes a floating museum
1980 – XXII Summer Olympic Games open in Moscow, Russia; led by United States, 66 nations boycott event because of Soviet-Afghan war
1981 – British Open Men’s Golf, Royal St George’s GC: American Bill Rogers wins his only major title, 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Bernhard Langer of Germany
1995 – Teen comedy film “Clueless” is released, loosely based on Jane Austen’s book “Emma” starring Alicia Silverstone, directed by Amy Heckerling
Today in History for 19th July 2024
Historical Events
1544 – Italian War of 1542: The Siege of Boulogne begins
1914 – Boston Braves begin drive from last to the NL pennant with a 3-2 win against the 2nd placed Cincinnati Reds
1918 – World War I: German armies retreat across Marne River in France
1953 – WAKR (now WAKC) TV channel 23 in Akron, OH (ABC) begins broadcasting
1960 – Italian government of Tambroni resigns
2020 – World Formula 1 drivers champion Lewis Hamilton wins a record 8th Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of wins at a single circuit (French GP)
Famous Birthdays
1892 – Dick Irvin, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Chicago Black Hawks) and coach (Stanley Cup 1932 Toronto Maple Leafs; 1944, 46, 53 Montreal Canadiens), born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (d. 1957)
1909 – Jeno Vecsey, Hungarian composer, born in Cece (d. 1966)
1920 – Robert Mann, American composer and violinist (String Quartet 1952), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2018)
1941 – Natalia Bessmertnova, Soviet ballerina (Bolshoi, Lenin Prize 1970), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2008)
1944 – Commander Cody [George Frayne], American singer and pianist (Commander Cody and Lost Planet Airmen – “Hot Rod Lincoln”), born in Boise, Idaho (d. 2021)
1963 – Marla Duncan, Miss Northern California fitness (1990), born in Fairfield, California
Famous Deaths
1868 – Soji Okita, Japanese samurai, 1st Captain of the Shinsengumi (b. 1842 or 1844)
1893 – James T. Holtzclaw, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 59
1953 – Maurice J. Tobin, 56th Governor of Massachusetts, dies at 52
1972 – Hezekiah M. Washburn, American Presbyterian Congo missionary, dies at 88
2005 – Edward Bunker, American Crime novelist (No Beast So Fierce; Animal Factory), actor (Straight Time; Reservoir Dogs), screenwriter, and felon, dies at 71
2014 – James Garner, American actor (Rockford Files, Bret Maverick), dies of acute myocardial infarction at 86
Famous Deaths for 18th July 2024
1698 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian, dies at 65
1908 – Jaime Nunó, Spanish composer (Mexican national anthem), dies at 83
1918 – Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna (b. 1864)
1944 – George A Hartland, British politician (MP, Norwich, 1931-35), dies at 60
1969 – Barbara Pepper [Marion], American actress (Foreign Correspondent, Green Acres, Rogue Tavern), dies of coronary thrombosis at 54
1988 – Nico [Christa Päffgen], German model, and pop singer (Velvet Underground – “Sunday Morning”; “I’ll Be Your Mirror”), dies from a bicycle accident at 43
1992 – Willa Brown, American air pioneer (NAAA) and civil rights activist (1st African American woman to hold a pilot’s license), dies at 86
1992 – Viktor Louis, Russian journalist, dies
1997 – Eugene M. Shoemaker, American planetary scientist and geologist (Shoemaker-Levy comet), dies at 69
2015 – Alex Rocco, American actor (The Godfather, The Famous Teddy Z), dies at 79
Historical Events for 18th July 2024
1944 – Allies air raid railways at Vaires, Paris
1947 – US President Harry Truman signs Presidential Succession Act
1955 – 1st electric power generated from atomic energy sold commercially
1962 – Cuba’s Minister of Foreign affairs Raúl Castro meets Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow
1972 – Leader of the British Labour Party Harold Wilson holds meeting with representatives of the Irish Republican Army
1981 – Polish communist party selects ex-party leader Edward Gierek
1986 – Videotapes released showing Titanic’s sunken remains
1992 – The ten victims of the La Cantuta massacre disappear from their university in Lima, Peru
2012 – 24 people are killed after a ferry sinks off the coast of Zanzibar
2013 – 46th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at San Diego Convention Center
Today in History for 18th July 2024
Historical Events
1290 – King Edward I orders expulsion of Jews from England, this edict will remain in place for 350 years
1896 – George Giffen is 1st to complete 1000/100 double, in 30th Test Cricket
1942 – Test flight of German Messerschmitt Me-262 using only its jet engines for the first time
1958 – 6th British Empire Games and Commonwealth Games open in Cardiff, Wales
1993 – British Open Men’s Golf, Royal St George’s GC: Australian Greg Norman fires final round 64 (–6) to win his 2nd Open title, 2 strokes ahead of Englishman Nick Faldo
1994 – “Kiss From a Rose” released by Seal (Grammy Record of the Year and Song of the Year)
Famous Birthdays
1534 – Zacharias Ursinus, German theologist (Heidelberger Catechism), born in Breslau, Silesia (d. 1583)
1890 – Charles Erwin Wilson, American engineer (President and CEO of General Motors) and politician (United States Secretary of Defense 1953-57), born in Minerva, Ohio (d. 1961)
1906 – Belle Stewart, Scottish traditional singer, born in Caputh, Blairgowrie, Scotland (d. 1997)
1912 – Henry Louis Miller, American Rear Admiral (WW II-Pacific), born in Fairbanks, Alaska (d. 1993)
1969 – Masanori Murakawa [The Great Sasuke], Japanese professional wrestler, born in Morioka, Japan
1976 – Elsa Pataky [Elsa Lafuente Medianu], Spanish actress known for “Fast and Furious”, born in Madrid, Spain
Famous Deaths
1907 – Ted Pooley, English cricket wicket-keeper (1st class records: 8 stumpings in a match 1878; 12 dismissals in a match 1868; Surrey CCC, Middlesex CCC), dies at 65
1944 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English poet (Centaurs’ Booty), dies at 74
1988 – Nico [Christa Päffgen], German model, and pop singer (Velvet Underground – “Sunday Morning”; “I’ll Be Your Mirror”), dies from a bicycle accident at 43
2002 – Victor Emery, British theoretical physicist (b. 1933)
2022 – Hans-Joachim Hespos, German avant-garde composer, dies at 84
2023 – Lew Perkins, American sports executive (athletic director USC–Aiken, Wichita State U, U of Maryland, U of Connecticut, U of Kansas), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 17th July 2024
1879 – Maurycy Gottlieb, Ukrainian painter (b. 1856)
1915 – Francesco Fanciulli, American-Italian composer, dies at 62
1918 – Maria Nikolaevna Russian Grand Duchess, 3rd daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, executed at 19 by a group of Bolsheviks
1966 – August Baeyens, Flemish composer (Piranesi Suite), dies at 71
1967 – Cyril Ring, American actor (I Wake Up Screaming, The Barber Shop), dies at 74
1987 – Howard McGhee, American be-bop bebop jazz trumpeter, dies at 69
1993 – Scott Salmon, US choreographer (La Cage aux Folles), dies at 51
1996 – Amancio D’Silva, Goan-Indian jazz guitarist and composer, dies after several stokes at 60
2005 – Geraldine Fitzgerald, Irish actress (Pawnbroker, Easy Money), dies of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at 91
2012 – William Raspberry, American columnist (Pulitzer 1994), dies at 76
Historical Events for 17th July 2024
1603 – English explorer Walter Raleigh is arrested by forces of King James I of England
1864 – CSA President Davis replaces General Joe Johnston with John Bell Hood
1867 – 1st US dental school, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, established
1922 – Curacao harbor workers begin strike under Felix Chacuto
1925 – Tris Speaker, is 5th to get 3,000 hits
1959 – Paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey discovers partial skull of a new species of early human ancestor, Zinjanthropus boisei or ‘Zinj’ (now called Paranthropus boisei) lived in Africa almost 2 million years ago
1974 – The Moody Blues open 1st quadrophonic recording studio in UK
1981 – Fulton County (Atlanta) grand jury indicts Wayne B William 23-year-old photographers, for murder of 2 of 28 blacks killed in Atlanta
1996 – Paris-bound flight TWA 800, explodes off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 on board the Boeing 747
2018 – 89th MLB All Star Game, Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.: AL beats NL 8-6, the teams combining for a record 10 home runs accounting for 13 of the 14 total runs