Author: gil7

Today in History for 13th August 2026

Historical Events

1788 – Prussia joins the Anglo-Dutch alliance to form the Triple Alliance to prevent the spread of the Russo-Swedish War of 1788-90
1963 – Warren Spahn sets the left-hander strikeout record at 2,382
1985 – South African Defence Force soldiers, traveling in a convoy of more than ten armored vehicles, surround the Thaba-Jabula High School in Soweto and arrest 200 students during a clampdown on school boycotts
1997 – MLB San Diego Padres trade outfielder Rickey Henderson to Anaheim Angels
2014 – Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani is the first woman to win the Fields Medal in mathematics

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Famous Birthdays

1898 – Regis Toomey, American actor (Burke’s Law, Petticoat Junction), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1991)
1914 – “Cap’n Jack” McCarthy, American television broadcaster (NYC’s St. Patrick Day Parade, 1949-89; kiddie show host (Popeye)), born in New York City (d. 1996)
1953 – Kristalina Georgieva, Bulgarian economist, Head of the IMF (2019-), born in Sofia, Bulgaria
1973 – Sherman Williams, American NFL running back (Dallas Cowboys), born in Mobile, Alabama
1979 – Román Colón, Dominican baseball player, born in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic

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Famous Deaths

1721 – Jacques Lelong, French bibliographer, dies at 56
1933 – Paul Hillemacher, French classical pianist, and composer, dies at 80
1974 – Hugo Yarnold, English cricketer (Umpire in 3 Tests for England), dies at 57
1996 – David Randall, British priest and founder of AIDS/HIV center Cara, dies of AIDS at 49
2021 – Nanci Griffith, American singer (“From A Distance”), and songwriter (“Once in a Very Blue Moon”; “Love at the Five and Dime”), dies at 68

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Famous Deaths for 12th August 2026

1158 – Anselm of Havelberg, Brandenburg bishop of Havelberg (1129-55), dies at about 58
1885 – Georg Curtius, German classical linguist, dies at 65
1944 – Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., brother of President John F. Kennedy, killed in action in plane explosion over Blythburgh, East Suffolk, England at 29
1955 – James B. Sumner, American chemist (Nobel 1946 – discovered that enzymes can be crystallized), dies at 67
1988 – Jean-Michel Basquiat, American artist (Gray, SAMO), dies of a drug overdose at 27
1996 – Victor Ambartsumian, Russian astronomer (Stalin Prize 1946, 50), dies at 87
2008 – Donald Erb, American composer known for large orchestral works, dies at 81
2010 – Paul Ryan Rudd, American stage and screen actor (Beacon Hill; Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye), dies at 70
2010 – Guido de Marco, 6th president of Malta, 45th President of the United Nations General Assembly (b. 1931)
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

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Historical Events for 12th August 2026

1813 – Robert Southey is appointed British Poet Laureate by King George III
1863 – First cargo of lumber leaves Burrard Inlet, Vancouver, BC
1959 – First ship firing of a Polaris missile from Observation Island
1977 – For the second consecutive day, Oakland’s Manny Sanguillen foils a no-hit bid
2007 – Bulk carrier M/V New Flame collides with oil tanker Torm Gertrud at the southernmost tip of Gibraltar and ends up partially submerged
2008 – American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins his third of eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics when he wins the 200 m freestyle in a world record time of 1:42.96
2015 – Former US President Jimmy Carter reveals that he has cancer
2020 – Yemeni authorities say at least 172 people died in floods caused by torrential rains, which also destroy historic buildings in Sanaa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Today in History for 12th August 2026

Historical Events

1905 – King Leopold II opens Antwerp Central Station in Belgium
1936 – American diver Marjorie Gestring wins the 3 m springboard gold at the Berlin Olympics, becoming the youngest Olympic gold medalist at 13 years and 268 days
1979 – “Whoopee!” closes at ANTA Theatre in New York City after 204 performances
1988 – Boston Red Sox beat Tigers 9-4 for an AL record 23rd consecutive win at home
2014 – World Health Organization (WHO) gives its ‘cautious blessing’ to the use of experimental drugs to treat the Ebola virus

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Erwin Schrodinger, Austrian physicist and Nobel Laureate (wave mechanics), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1961)
1910 – Heinrich Sutermeister, Swiss opera composer (Romeo und Julia; Raskolnikov; Das Flaschenteufel), born in Feuerthalen, Switzerland (d. 1995)
1925 – George Wetherill, American scientist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2006)
1946 – Ken Caillat, American record producer and audio engineer (Fleetwood Mac), born in the USA
1982 – Alexandros Tzorvas, Greek soccer goalkeeper (16 caps; Panathinaikos, Apollon Smyrnis), born in Athens, Greece

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Famous Deaths

1849 – Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American politician and diplomat (4th US Secretary of the Treasury1801-14), dies at 88
1991 – Irene Campbell, British actress/dancer (Wicker Man, St Justice), dies
2004 – George Yardley III, American Basketball Hall of Fame forward (6 × NBA All-Star 1955–60; first player to score 2,000 points in a season; Fort Wayne Pistons), dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 75
2020 – Melvin F. Stute, American thoroughbred racehorse trainer (Preakness Stakes 1986, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies 1986, Breeders’ Cup Sprint 1987), dies at 93
2023 – Atanas Golomeev, Bulgarian basketball center (FIBA EuroBasket Top Scorer 1973 Academic Sofia, 1975 Levski Sofia; FIBA European Selection 1971, 73, 75, 77), dies at 76

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Famous Deaths for 11th August 2026

1890 – John Henry Newman, British thologian (Tract 90), educator, poet (Dream of Gerontius), Anglican priest, Catholic priest, cardinal and saint, dies of pneumonia at 89
1942 – Richard Heinrich Stein, German composer, and music theorist (La musica moderna), dies at 60
1952 – Riccardo Martin, American tenor and composer, dies at 77
1965 – Ethel Larcombe, British tennis player (Wimbledon 1912), dies at 86
1969 – Miriam Licette [Lycett], British operatic soprano, voice teacher, and arts patron, dies at 83
1974 – Maria Maksakova (née Sidorova), Soviet Russian operatic mezzo-soprano (Bolshoi Theatre, 1923–1953), dies at 72
1991 – Rodolfo Cornejo, Filipino classical pianist, composer, and conductor, dies at 82
1991 – Helmut Walcha, blind German organist (church music), dies at 83
2008 – Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician (Chancellor of Austria, 1983-86; Vice-Chancellor, 1981-83; Minister of Education 1971-83), dies at 79
2015 – Harald Nielsen, Danish soccer forward (14 caps; Olympic silver 1960; Frederikshavn fI, Bologna FC), dies at 73

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Historical Events for 11th August 2026

117 – Roman army proclaims Hadrian as Roman Emperor in Syria after news reaches them of Trajan’s death
1888 – California Theatre in San Francisco closes, built in 1869, it was replaced by a more modern facility in 1889 (later destroyed in the 1907 earthquake)
1937 – “The Life of Émile Zola,” directed by William Dieterle and starring Paul Muni, premieres in New York (Best Picture 1938)
1949 – Gaston Eyskens forms the Belgian government
1951 – New York Giants (NFL) beat Ottawa Rough Riders (CFL) 38-6 in Ottawa
1971 – Construction begins on the Louisiana Superdome
1990 – Egyptian and Moroccan troops land in Saudi Arabia to prevent an Iraqi invasion
2015 – Japan’s Sendai Nuclear Power Plant restarts the first nuclear reactor since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

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Today in History for 11th August 2026

Historical Events

1929 – Russian-Chinese border fights
1950 – 17th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: All-Stars 17, Philadelphia 7 (88,885 attendees)
1978 – Funeral of Pope Paul VI is held in Vatican
1980 – Mohammed Ali Radjai is appointed premier of Iran
1982 – The South African Defence Force (SADF) raids Southern Angola

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Famous Birthdays

1833 – Kido Takayoshi, Japanese politician, samurai and leader of the Meiji Restoration, born in Chōshū, Nagato province, Japan (d. 1877)
1837 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, President of France (1887-94), born in Limoges, France (d. 1894)
1900 – Philip Phillips, American archaeologist focusing on the Lower Mississippi Valley, born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1994)
1913 – Paul Dupuis, French Canadian actor (The Fortress; Passport to Pimlico), born in Montréal, Québec (d. 1976)
1950 – Glenn Jarrett, American auto racer (67 x NASCAR starts) and broadcaster (TNN, Speed Channel. MRN), born in Conover, North Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1589 – Maarten Schenck van Nydeggen, military commander for the Dutch Republic, dies in an assault on Nijmegen at about 49
1844 – Jernej Kopitar, Slovene philologist and linguist (Slavic Grammatica), dies at 63
1951 – Ebbe Hamerik, Danish opera composer (Stepan; Marie Grubbe), drowns in a sailing accident at 52
1995 – Alonzo Church, American mathematician whose work provided foundation for computer science, dies at 92
2003 – Diana Mitford, British biographer, famous beauty, wife of Oswald Mosley and one of the Mitford sisters, dies at 93

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Famous Deaths for 10th August 2026

1589 – Maarten Schenck Nideggen, Dutch army leader, drowned at about 49
1730 – Sebastien de Brossard, French composer and music theorist, dies at 74
1910 – Joe Gans, American boxer (world lightweight champion 1902–08; International Boxing HOF), dies of tuberculosis at 35
1973 – Douglas Kennedy, American actor (Dark Passage, The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold), dies of cancer at 57
1987 – I W Able, CEO (United Steel Workers of America, 1965-77), dies at 87
1996 – Rex Tucker, British TV writer and director of early “Doctor Who”, dies at 83
1996 – Adriano Mandarino Hypolito, priest, dies at 78
1999 – Padma Bhushan Acharya Baldev Upadhyaya, Eminent Sanskrit Scholar in India (b. 1899)
2022 – Abdul Wadud [Ronald DeVaughn], American jazz, avant-garde, and classical cellist (Camille; By Myself), dies at 75
2022 – Fernando Chalana, Portuguese soccer winger (27 caps; Benfica, Bordeaux), dies from degenerative disease at 63

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Historical Events for 10th August 2026

1512 – Battle of Saint-Mathieu (also called the Battle of Brest): an English fleet of 25 ships commanded by Sir Edward Howard and a Franco-Breton fleet of 22 ships commanded by René de Clermont
1885 – Leo Daft opens America’s first commercially operated electric streetcar in Baltimore
1893 – Rudolf Diesel’s prototype internal combustion engine, a single 10-foot iron cylinder with a flywheel at its base, runs on its own power for the first time in Augsburg, Germany
1971 – During the internment round-up operation in West Belfast, the Parachute Regiment kills 11 unarmed civilians in what becomes known as the Ballymurphy Massacre
1985 – Uno Lindström of Sweden juggles a soccer ball 13.11 miles (21.09 km)
1993 – Charlotte Anne Lopez, 16, of Vermont is crowned the 11th Miss Teen USA
1997 – Atlanta Braves sign Greg Maddux to a then-record 5-year, $57.5 million deal
2019 – Monsoon flooding in southern and western India kills at least 150, with 40 dead in Kerala state and 100,000 in emergency relief camps

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Today in History for 10th August 2026

Historical Events

1566 – Protestant Iconoclasm “Beeldenstorm” (Iconoclastic Fury) begins in the European Low Countries
1897 – Automobile Club of Great Britain is established (now called the Royal Automobile Club)
1980 – Canadian Open Women’s Golf (Peter Jackson Classic), Richelieu Valley GC: Pat Bradley wins by one from JoAnn Carner for her first of six major titles
1984 – Ian Ferguson of New Zealand wins two canoeing gold medals in the one day, winning the K-1 500 and K-2 500 with Paul MacDonald at the Los Angeles Olympics; he wins K-4 1000 the next day
2014 – Israeli and Palestinian officials agree to a 72-hour ceasefire proposed by Egypt

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Famous Birthdays

1645 – Eusebio Kino, Italian Catholic missionary and explorer in Mexico and Arizona, born in Segno, Bishopric of Trent (d. 1711)
1654 – Bernard Nieuwentyt, Dutch philosopher and physician, born in West-Graftdijk, North Holland (d. 1718)
1794 – Leopold Zunz, German Jewish scholar (Science of Judaism), born in Detmold (d. 1886)
1893 – Douglas Moore, American organist, pianist, songwriter (“Goodnight Harvard”), and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer (Giants in the Earth; The Ballad of Baby Doe), born in Cutchogue, Long Island, New York (d. 1969)
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)

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Famous Deaths

1911 – Carl Lumbye, Danish composer, dies at 70
1948 – Andrew Brown, Scottish football coach (b. 1870)
1960 – Oswald Veblin, mathematician
1976 – Ray “Crash” Corrigan, American actor (Crash Corrigan’s Ranch), dies at 74
1987 – Raquel Torres, actress (Duck Soup, Sea Bat), dies

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