Author: gil7

Historical Events

1765 – Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec
1812 – John Bellingham, a Liverpool merchant who assassinated British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval on May 11, is hung for the crime at the Old Bailey in London
1869 – Robert Tanner Freeman is 1st African American to graduate from Harvard Dental School
1956 – Queen Juliana opens Rembrandt fairs in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1967 – Tennessee Governor Ellington approves repeal of the Butler Act (or “Monkey Law”) – prohibiting the teaching of evolution, upheld in 1925 Scopes Trial
1990 – TV movie “Return To Green Acres” airs

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1885 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian leader, President of Brazil (1945-50), born in Cuiabá, Brazil (d. 1974)
1892 – Ezio Pinza, Italian American operatic bass (NY Metropolitan Opera, 1926-48), and Tony Award-winning singer (South Pacific), born in Rome, Italy (d. 1957)
1922 – George Kitson, British principal of the Central School of Speech and Drama, born in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland (d. 2010)
1943 – Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka, Fijian-born American professional wrestler, born in Suva, British Fiji (d. 2017)
1944 – Peter Ryan, British national director (Police Training)
1947 – John Bruton, Irish politician, Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland (1994-97), born in Dunboyle, Ireland

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1848 – William Leidesdorff, Mixed-race early Californian businessman, dies at 37
1922 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1907), dies at 76
2000 – Gideon William Waldrop, American composer and educator (Julliard School, 1961-85), dies at 80
2007 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (1991), dies at 74
2009 – Wayne Allwine, American voice actor (3rd Mickey Mouse, 1977-2009), dies at 62
2021 – Franco Battiato, Italian pop, rock, and new wave singer, songwriter (“La Voce del Padrone” (“The Master’s Voice”), and filmmaker (“Lost Love”), dies at 76

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1863 – Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi
1865 – The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established
1899 – Victoria and Albert Museum foundation laid, London, England
1900 – “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is first published by L. Frank Baum with illustrations by William Wallace Denslow in Chicago
1980 – Major race riot in Miami, Florida – 16 killed, 300 injured
1990 – European court rules on pension rights for men and women

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1846 – Edmund Bishop, English Roman Catholic historian and Secretary of Thomas Carlyle, born in Totnes, England (d. 1917)
1912 – Archibald Cox, American lawyer and special prosecutor (Watergate), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2004)
1945 – George Miller, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1975-2015), born in Richmond, California
1953 – Nicholas Bacon, premier baronet of England
1960 – Fiona Hutchison, actress (One Life to Live, Guiding Light), born in Miami, Florida
1973 – Jenny Scheinman, American jazz and session violinist (Bill Frisell; Allison Miller), and singer, born in San Francisco, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1606 – Forges Dimitri #1, Tsar of Russia (1605-06), murdered
1797 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French dramatist (Le Philosophe sans le savoir), dies at 77
1889 – William Roxby Beverly, artist, dies
1944 – Félix Éboué, French colonial administrator, dies at 60
1999 – Henry Jones, American actor (Vertigo, Phyllis, Falcon Crest, Gun Shy), dies from complications from a fall at 86
2022 – Vangelis [Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou], Greek composer, keyboardist, and Academy Award winner (Chariots of Fire), dies at 79

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1861 – Kentucky proclaims its neutrality
1902 – 2 deaf-mutes face each other for 1st time as Dummy Hoy leads off for the Reds against Dummy Taylor of the Giants, Reds win 5-3
1941 – Italian army under Aosta surrenders to Britain at Amba Alagi, Ethiopia
1957 – US launches its 3rd atomic submarine, USS Skate, at Groton, Connecticut
1997 – Atlanta Braves beat St Louis Cardinals, 1-0 in 13 innings
2014 – Paris Saint-Germain F.C. and Manchester City F.C. are each fined €60 million for breaching Fair Play Regulations

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1929 – Betty Carter [Lillie Mae Jones], American jazz singer and scat vocalist, born in Flint, Michigan (d. 1998)
1931 – Donald James Martino, American classical composer (Notturno – Pulitzer Prize, 1974), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2005)
1961 – Kevin McDonald, Canadian comedian and actor
1968 – Patrick Waite, British reggae-rock bassist (Musical Youth – “Pass the Dutchie”), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1993)
1984 – Pania Rose, Australian fashion model, born in Perth, Western Australia
1984 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Alberta, Canada (d. 2011)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1703 – Charles Perrault, French author and fairy tale writer (Tales of Mother Goose), dies at 75
1782 – Daniuel Charles Solander, botanist, dies
1977 – Edouard Van Remoortel, Belgian conductor (St Louis Symphony, 1958-62), dies at 50
2013 – Bernard Waber, American children’s book author (“The House on East 88th Street”; “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile”), dies from kidney failure at 88
2013 – Paul Shane, English comedian and actor, dies at 72
2016 – Julia Meade [Kunz], American actress and TV hostess (Spotlight Playhouse), dies at 90

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1864 – Battle of New Market, Virginia
1911 – The Georgios Averof cruiser is bought by Greece
1943 – Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International) to avoid upsetting his Western allies with claims he was trying to foment revolution globally
1988 – 2nd American Comedy Award: Robin Williams and Tracey Ullman
2018 – Controversial Kerch bridge linking Russia and annexed Crimea opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin. At 19km the longest bridge in Europe.
2018 – Flyover collapses in Varanasi, India, killing at least 18

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1795 – Adolf Bernhard Marx [Samuel Moses Marx], German music theorist and pedagogue, born in Halle, Duchy of Magdeburg, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) (d. 1866)
1891 – Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian playwright and novelist (The Master and Margarita, Black Snow), born in Kiev, Russian Empire (d. 1940)
1911 – Leo Fuchs, Polish-born Jewish American actor (The Six Million Dollar Man, Avalon), born in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1994)
1914 – Pierre Froidebise, Belgian organist, composer, and musicologist, born in Chey, Belgium (d. 1962)
1939 – Dudley Wysong, American golfer (PGA C’ship 1966 runner-up), born in McKinney, Texas (d. 1998)
1940 – Álvaro Mejía, Colombian athlete (Boston Marathon 1971 2:18:45), born in Medellín, Colombia (d. 2021)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1685 – Henri Otto, Spanish marquis of Caretto/Savona/Grana, dies
1773 – Alban Butler, English Catholic priest and writer, dies at 62
1824 – Alexander Campbell, Scottish composer and writer (associate of Walter Scott), dies at 60
1886 – Emily Dickinson, American poet (Collected Poems), dies of nephritis at 55
1972 – Nigel Green, South African-born British character actor (Zulu, Skull, Tobruk, Ipcress File), dies of an accidental barbiturate overdose at 47
1998 – Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)

More Famous Deaths »