Author: gil7

Historical Events

1594 – Having already inherited the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through his mother, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, succeeding his father John III of Sweden.
1897 – Inaugural meeting of the Women’s Institute at Stoney Creek, Ontario, set at the suggestion of Adelaide Hoodless, the organization will rapidly spread around the world
1928 – World champion French team Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet win the Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games; the couple marry in 1929 and take 2nd straight gold in 1932
1943 – German tanks under Major General Karl Buelowius attack Kasserine Pass, Tunisia
1977 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1987 – Musical revue “Stardust – The Mitchell Parish Musical”, featuring songs of the Lithuanian-American lyricist, opens at Biltmore Theater, NYC; runs for 101 performances

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Famous Birthdays

1755 – Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten, Dutch Governor-General of Dutch East Indies (1796-1801), born in Bergen op Zoom (d. 1801)
1881 – Evert Gorter, Dutch children’s pioneering paediatrician (founder of Dutch medical child care), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1954)
1916 – Eddie Arcaro, American Racing Hall of Fame jockey (Triple Crown 1941 Whirlaway, 1948 Citation), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1997)
1952 – Gaëtan Dugas, French Canadian flight attendant and HIV patient erroneously vilifed as “Patient Zero”, born in Quebec City, Quebec (d. 1984)
1970 – Ruwan Kalpage, Sri Lankan cricket off-spinner
1983 – Assunta De Rossi, Filipino actress

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Famous Deaths

1936 – Charles Harding Firth, British historian (b. 1857)
1994 – Vittorio Rieti, Jewish Italian-American composer, dies at 96
1995 – John Howard, American actor (The Philadelphia Story; My Three Sons), dies of heart failure at 81
1996 – Brenda Bruce, actress (December Bride, Nightmare), dies at 77
2016 – [Nelle] Harper Lee, American author (To Kill a Mockingbird), dies at 89
2023 – Richard Belzer, American comedian, actor (Homicide: Life on the Street; Law and Order: SVU – both shows “Det. John Munch”) and author (How To Be A Stand-Up; UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Believe), dies at 78

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Historical Events

1856 – The American Party (Know-Nothings) convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate its first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore.
1900 – British troops occupy Monte Christo, Natal
1943 – Members of student non-violent resistance group “White Rose” arrested by Nazis after distributing pamphlets in Munich, Germany
1951 – Netherlands Radio School forms
1953 – “Maggie” opens at National Theater NYC for 5 performances
2019 – British parliamentary committee issues scathing report on Facebook, accusing company of breaking privacy laws, calling for new regulations

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Famous Birthdays

1543 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
1898 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet (d. 1980)
1922 – Rolf “Hazy” Osterwald, Swiss jazz bandleader, trumpeter, and vibraphonist, born in Bern, Switzerland (d. 2012)
1964 – Paul Hanley, British musician (The Fall, Tom Hingley and the Lovers), born in Manchester, England
1967 – Harry Van Barneveld, Belgian judoka, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1974 – Jamey Carroll, American baseball player, born in Evansville, Indiana

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Famous Deaths

1915 – Frank James, American outlaw (member of the James-Younger gang), dies at 72
1976 – Anton Betzner, writer, dies at 81
1977 – Maria Realino [Frederikus Janssen], teacher (Botany of Curacao), dies at 87
1995 – John Rhea “Yank” Lawson, American jazz trumpeter (Dogtown Blues, Stormy Weather), dies of a heart attack at 84
2006 – Richard Bright, American actor (Al Neri-Godfather), dies at 68
2008 – Alain Robbe-Grillet, French novelist (Voyeur) and film maker, dies of heart failure at 85

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Historical Events

1854 – Britain recognises independence of Orange Free State (South Africa)
1878 – 1st telephone exchange in San Francisco, California opens with 18 phones
1916 – Sigmund Romberg, James Hanley, Harold R. Atteridge and Edgar Smith’s musical “Robinson Crusoe Jr”, featuring Al Jolson, opens at the Winter Garden Theatre, NYC; runs for 139 performances
1924 – American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller sets 100m world freestyle record 57.4s at Miami, Florida
1928 – American brothers, Jennison and John Heaton fight out the top placings in the cresta (now known as skeleton) at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Jennison takes the gold by 1.0s
2020 – Amazon boss Jeff Bezos pledges $10 billion to help fight climate change

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Famous Birthdays

1850 – Anton Urspruch, German composer, born in Frankfurt (d. 1907)
1892 – Theodor Plievier, German writer (Des Kaisers Kulis [The Kaiser’s Coolies]; Stalingrad), born in Berlin, German Empire (d. 1955)
1906 – Ramon Tapales, Filipino composer and conductor, born in Baybay, Philippines (d. 1995)
1934 – Alan Bates, British actor (Zorba the Greek; An Unmarried Woman; The Rose), born in Allestree, Derby, England (d. 2003)
1969 – Levon Kirkland, American NFL linebacker (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Lamar, South Carolina
1971 – Jeremy Edwards, British actor (Holby City), born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1609 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, dies at 59
1924 – Henry Bacon, American architect (Lincoln Memorial), dies at 57
1970 – Alfred Newman, American film music arranger, conductor and composer, winner of 9 Academy Awards (The Robe; How The West Was Won; Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing), dies at 69
1985 – Wanda Perry, actress (Roberta, Death of a Salesman), dies at 67
1993 – Alfredo de Leon, leader (Philippines Red Scorpio Gang), killed
2021 – Gianluigi Saccaro, Italian fencer (Olympic gold épée team 1960; silver épée team 1964; bronze épée 1968), dies at 82

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Historical Events

1854 – Franz Liszt’s symphony “Orpheus” premieres
1903 – -59°F (-51°C), Pokegama Dam, Minnesota (state record)
1914 – 1st airplane flight from LA to SF
1943 – Withdrawing Afrika Korps reaches Mareth-line in North Africa
2005 – 2004-05 NHL season is cancelled by Commissioner Gary Bettman; first time a North American professional sports league has called off a season due to labor dispute
2018 – Swiss cross country skier Dario Cologna wins 4th career Olympic gold medal in the 15k freestyle in Pyeongchang; wins event in Vancouver (2010), and 15k classical and 30k skiathlon in Sochi (2014)

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Famous Birthdays

1620 – Frederick William, Great Elector, ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia (1640-88), born in Berlin (d. 1688)
1916 – Charlie Fowlkes, American baritone saxophonist (Count Basie Orchestra, 1953-80), born in New York City (d. 1980)
1931 – George E. Sangmeister, American politician (Rep-D-Illinois 1989-95), born in Frankfort, Illinois (d. 2007)
1938 – John Corigliano, American composer (Fern Hill, Ghosts of Versailles), born in New York City
1954 – Margaux Hemingway, actress (Lipstick, They Call Me Bruce), born in Portland, Oregon
1954 – Michael Holding, West Indian cricket fast bowler (60 Tests, 249 wickets, BB 8/92; Jamaica, Derbyshire CCC, Lancashire CCC) and broadcaster (Sky Sports), born in Kingston, Jamaica

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Famous Deaths

1279 – Afonso III, King of Portugal (1248-79), dies at 68
1560 – Jean du Bellay, French Catholic cardinal and diplomat
1993 – Donald Phelps, American actor (Ghost Ship), dies of AIDS at 61
1993 – Richard Salant, news president (CBS-60 Minutes), dies at 78
2018 – Hubert Doggart, English cricket batsman (2 Tests; Cambridge University CC, Sussex CCC) and executive (President MCC 1981–82), dies at 92
2020 – Barry Hulshoff, Dutch soccer defender (14 caps; European Cup 1971, 72, 73; Ajax Amsterdam), dies at 73

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