1679 – Joost van den Vondel, Dutch poet and dramatist (Jephtha), dies at 91
1822 – Ali Paşa Tepelenë, known as ‘The Lion of Janina”, Ottoman Albanian ruler, Pasha of Yanina (1788-1822), dies aged somewhere between 78-82
1932 – Barney Dreyfuss, American Baseball HOF executive (owner Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-32; World Series 1909, 25), dies at 66
1938 – Hans Litten, German lawyer, workers’ rights advocate, anti-Nazi antagonist, and educator, commits suicide while imprisoned at Dachau concentration camp at 34
1947 – Hans Fallada [Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen], German writer (Little Man, What Now?), dies at 53
1982 – Dolores Moran, American actress (Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies of cancer at 56
1989 – Joe Raposa, American composer and songwriter (Sesame Street), dies at 51
1992 – Miguel Rolando Covian, Brazilian physiologist (b. 1913)
1999 – Wassily Leontief, Russian economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1906)
2011 – Brian Jacques, English author, author of the Redwall series (b. 1939)
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 5th February 2024
1576 – Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV of France) abjures Catholicism at Tours
1943 – Jake LaMotta defeats future multi-weight world boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson by unanimous points decision in Detroit in the 2nd of their 6 meetings; his only win of their rivalry; Robinson’s first loss in his first 40 pro bouts
1945 – Big Racket becomes fastest race horse at 69t.6 kph (440 yd/20.8 s)
1972 – Two IRA members are killed when a bomb they were planting exploded prematurely
1978 – Fred Newman makes 88 consecutive basketball free throws blindfolded
1986 – Corazon Aquino and Ferdinand Marcos appear on “Nightline”
1991 – All American Bowl ends after 14 years
2006 – Super Bowl XL, Ford Field, Detroit, MI: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Seattle Seahawks, 21-10; MVP: Hines Ward, Pittsburgh, WR
2016 – Computer hackers try to steal 1 billion from Federal Reserve Bank of New York using Bangladesh banking codes, steal 81 million before a typo alerts authorities
2018 – A share market sell off starts on Wall Street with Dow Jones sinking 4.6%, spreads around the globe
Today in History for 5th February 2024
Historical Events
1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians, known as the 26 Martyrs, are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society
1927 – “The General”, American silent film starring Buster Keaton and Marion Mack, co-directed by Keaton and Clyde Bruckman, premieres in New York City
1938 – Hans Engnestangen skates world record 500m (41.8 sec)
1948 – Gretchen Fraser becomes 1st US woman Olympic ski slalom champion
1962 – Black and White parents stage an overnight sit-in after school board denies transfer requests of nine Black families for their children to be transferred to newer school facility in Englewood, New Jersey
1988 – 1st prime-time wrestling match in 30 yrs, André the Giant defeats Hulk Hogan
Famous Birthdays
1519 – René of Châlon, (d. 1544)
1921 – Ken Adam, British film production designer (James Bond sets), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2016)
1939 – Patric Standford, British composer (Taikayoku; Christus Requiem), born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England (d. 2014)
1966 – Rok Petrovič, Slovenian skier, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia (d. 1993)
1975 – Jan l’Ami, Dutch soccer player (Willem II), born in Breda, Netherlands
1986 – Reed Sorenson, American stock car racing driver, born in Peachtree City, Georgia
Famous Deaths
1812 – Franz Schneider, Austrian composer, dies at 74
1926 – André Gedalge, French composer (le Petit Savoyard, Phoebé) and Mayor of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne, dies at 69
1961 – Anthony Gustav de Rothschild, British philanthropist, dies at 73
1975 – Åke Persson, Swedish bebop jazz trombonist (Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, 1963–71), dies at 42
1977 – Izaak Boleslavski, Russian chess player, dies at 67
2005 – Gnassingbé Eyadéma, General and President of Togo (1967-2005), dies of a heart attack at 69
Famous Deaths for 4th February 2024
211 – Lucius Septimius Severus, Emperor of Rome (193-211), dies at 64
1615 – Dom Justo Takayama, Japanese warlord (b. 1552)
1774 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (b. 1701)
1936 – Wilhelm Gustloff, German leader of the Swiss Nazi party (b. 1895)
1956 – Peder Gram, Danish composer, dies at 74
2000 – Doris Coley, American pop singer (The Shirelles – “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”; “Baby It’s You”), dies of breast cancer at 58
2001 – Iannis Xenakis, Romanian-born, Greek-French composer, music theorist, and architect who helped revolutionize 20th century classical music (Metastaseis), dies after several years of serious illness at 78
2016 – Ulf Söderblom, Finnish conductor (Finnish National Opera, 1973-93), and teacher, dies at 85
2020 – Giancarlo Bergamini, Italian fencer (Olympic gold foil, team 1956; silver foil team 1952, individual 1956), dies at 93
2021 – Nolan Porter, American RandB singer-songwriter (“Keep On Keeping On”), dies at 71
Historical Events for 4th February 2024
1922 – After boycotts and international pressure, Japan agrees to return Shantung Province to China
1933 – German President Paul von Hindenburg limits freedom of the press
1937 – Jim Margie, Philadelphia, bowls 900 in 3 (unsanctioned) games
1951 – US male Figure Skating championship won by Richard Button
1964 – FAA begins 6 month test of reactions to sonic booms over Oklahoma City
1972 – Dutch speed skater Ard Schenk wins the 5,000m at the Sapporo Winter Olympics; also wins the 1,500m and 10,000m gold medals
1974 – Chimpanzee Nim Chimsky signs his 1st word, at 2½ months
1985 – 20 countries (but not US) sign UN treaty outlawing torture
1997 – O.J. Simpson found liable in the deaths of Ron Goldman and Nicole Simpson in a civil court action
1999 – Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.
Today in History for 4th February 2024
Historical Events
1600 – Astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler meet for the first time near Prague
1849 – University of Wisconsin begins in 1 room with 20 students
1913 – National Institute of Arts and Letters founded
1965 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1969 – 41,163, then largest NBA crowd, watches doubleheader Cin-Det, SD-Bost
2014 – Same-sex marriage is legalized in Scotland
Famous Birthdays
1889 – Walter Catlett, American actor (Climax, Front Page, Tale of 2 Cities), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1960)
1925 – Jutta Hipp, German-American jazz pianist and composer, born in Leipzig, German Weimar Republic (d. 2003)
1938 – Joe Beard, American blues guitarist (No More Cherry Rose), born in Ashland, Mississippi
1941 – Mike Deasy, American rock and jazz session guitarist (Beach Boys; Monkees; Randy Newman), born in Los Angeles, California
1958 – Werner Schwab, Austrian playwright and artist, born in Graz (d. 1994)
1958 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish writer
Famous Deaths
1847 – Henri Dutrochet, French physiologist (discovered and named process of osmosis), dies at 70
1895 – Faustina Hasse Hodges, English-American composer, dies at 71
1961 – Piet[er] L. Kramer, Influential Dutch architect (Amsterdam School), dies at 79
1992 – Andries Antonie Rieu, Dutch conductor (Maastricht Symphony Orchestra, 1949-80), dies at 75
2005 – Peter Heine, South African cricketer (solid South African fast bowler in 1950’s), dies at 76
2013 – Reg Presley [Reginald Ball], English rock vocalist (Troggs – “Wild Thing”; “Love Is All Around”), and songwriter, dies from lung cancer at 71
Famous Deaths for 3rd February 2024
1566 – George Cassander, Flemish theologian (b. 1513)
1846 – Joseph Weigl, German-Austrian composer (La Principessa d’Amalfi; Emmeline), and conductor, dies at 79
1875 – Everhardus Johannes Potgieter, Dutch writer (Liedekens van Bontekoe), dies at 66
1895 – Theodore Dwight Weld, American abolitionist and writer (American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses), dies at 91
1943 – Alexander Goode, American US Navy chaplain and rabbi (The Four Chaplains) drowns in the sinking of the Dorchester at 31
1956 – Émile Borel, French mathematician (b. 1871)
1958 – Johan Buziau, Dutch cabaret performer and clown (1 great dog), dies at 81
1966 – June Walker, American actress (War Nurses), dies at 65
1975 – Robert Evett, American composer, dies at 52
1996 – Tibor Reich, British textile designer (Tibor Ltd), dies at 79
Historical Events for 3rd February 2024
1857 – Early ice hockey game played between teams from Swavesey and Over on Mare Fen, England
1863 – Samuel Clemens first uses the pen name Mark Twain in a Virginia City newspaper, the “Territorial Enterprise”
1870 – US state of Iowa ratifies the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution allowing suffrage for all races and colors
1907 – Josek Suk’s “Asreal Symphony”, dedicated to his late wife and father-in-law Antonin Dvořák, premieres at the Prague National Theatre, conducted by Karel Kovařovic
1930 – William Howard Taft resigns as US chief justice for health reasons
1971 – KTSC TV channel 8 in Pueblo-Colorado Spgs, CO (PBS) 1st broadcast
1987 – Expos trade Jeff Reardon to Twins for Neal Heaton
1998 – Stamps commemorating Diana, Princess of Wales, go on sale in Britain
2019 – Rapper 21 Savage arrested by US immigration for overstaying his visa
2020 – First Democratic caucus in Iowa won narrowly by Pete Buttigieg (most delegates) and Bernie Sanders (most votes) after lengthy delays and irregularities in reporting the results
Today in History for 3rd February 2024
Historical Events
1969 – Ibuprofen launched in the UK under brand name Brufen as prescription medicine – now world’s most popular anti-inflammatory painkiller
1972 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973 – Dr Hook’s “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone'” enters the top 40 and peaks at #6
1974 – “Pajama Game” closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 65 performances
1975 – Billy Herman, Earl Averill, and Bucky Harris elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1976 – 26th NBA All-Star Game, Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa: East beats West, 123-109; MVP: Dave Bing, Washington Bullets, PG
Famous Birthdays
1883 – Clarence E. Mulford, American writer (Hopalong Cassidy), born in Streator, Illinois (d. 1956)
1900 – Mabel Mercer, British jazz and cabaret singer whose style and phrasing influenced Frank Sinatra (“Fly Me To The Moon”), born in Burton upon Trent, England (d. 1984)
1904 – Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian 12-tone composer (Il prigioniero; Ulisse), born in Pisino d’Istria, Austrian Empire (now Pazin,Croatia) (d. 1975)
1912 – Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist and Minister of Information (Free French forces), born in Montpellier, France (d. 1990)
1936 – Bob Simpson, Australian cricket batsman, captain and coach (62 Tests @ 46.81, 10 x 100s, HS 311, 71 wickets; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1965; NSWCA), born in Sydney, Australia
1966 – Jimmy Thunder, New Zealand boxer (IBO heavyweight title 1994-95), born in Apia, Samoa (d. 2020)
Famous Deaths
1116 – King Coloman of Hungary (1095-1116) (b. 1070)
1895 – Theodore Dwight Weld, American abolitionist and writer (American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses), dies at 91
1964 – Haakon Stotijn, Dutch oboist (Orkestgebouw Orchestra), dies at 49
1967 – Winifred Kingston, British silent screen actress (The Squaw Man, Davy Crockett), dies at 72
1984 – Ravindra Mhatre, Indian diplomat, murdered at 48 by Kashmiri terrorists in Birmingham, England
2022 – Tom Kiernan, Irish rugby union fullback (54 caps [captain 24]; British and Irish Lions 5 [captain 1968]; Munster RUFC), dies at 83
Famous Deaths for 2nd February 2024
1768 – Robert Smith, English mathematician (b. 1689)
1828 – Frederik Sigismund van Bylandt, Dutch count and vice-admiral, dies at 78
1987 – Edna Manley, Jamaican sculptor ‘Mother of Jamaican art’, dies at 86
1988 – G. Mennen Williams, American lawyer, politician (Governor of Michigan, 1949-61), diplomat, and jurist (Chief Justice of Michigan Supreme Court, 1983-86), dies at 76
1988 – Clive Epstein, British music artist manager, and brother of Brian Epstein, dies at 51
1994 – Zilner Randolph, American jazz trumpeter, arranger, and music educator, dies at 95
1997 – Godfrey Baseley, British radio executive, dies at 92
2008 – Earl Butz, 18th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1971-76), dies at 98
2016 – Intizar Hussain, Pakistani and Urdu writer and columnist, dies in his early 90s
2021 – Rudolph Pariser, American physical and polymer chemist (molecular orbital computation), dies at 97