Today in History for 11th January 2024

Historical Events

1785 – Continental Congress convenes in NYC
1894 – Donghak Peasant Rebellion begins in Mujiang, Korea over local corruption, sparking the 1st Sino-Japanese War
1969 – “Hooked on a Feeling” by BJ Thomas peaks at #5
1981 – NFC Championship, Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Eagles beat Dallas Cowboys, 20-7
1989 – Denver Nuggets’ rookie Jerome Lane misses 7 free throws in a game against Milwaukee, one missed by 2 feet
1992 – Algeria’s President Chadli announces his resignation

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Famous Birthdays

1801 – John Lodge Ellerton, British classical composer (The Bridal of Triermain, Domenica), born in Cheshire, England (d. 1873)
1885 – Alice Paul, American suffragist (National Woman’s Party), born in Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey (d. 1977)
1909 – Gunnar Johnsen Berg, Swiss-Danish composer (Cosmogonie), born in Switzerland (d. 1989)
1915 – Veda Ann Borg, American model and actress (Kid Galahad, Avalanche, Accomplice), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1973)
1952 – Kim Hartman, British screen, stage, and radio actress (Allo Allo! – “Helga”), born in Hammersmith, London, England
1952 – Massimo Lopez, Italian comedian

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Famous Deaths

1055 – Constantine IX Monomachos, Emperor of Byzantium, dies
1641 – Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, Spanish poet (b. 1583)
1929 – Julio Antonio Mella, Cuban revolutionary, murdered at about 28
1943 – Carlo Tresca, NY’s Italian newspaper editor/anti-fascist, murdered
1955 – Rodolfo Graziani, Italian Marshal, fascist and Viceroy of Italian East Africa, dies at 72
2009 – David Vine, British sports broadcaster (BBC Match of the Day, World Snooker C’ships, Olympics coverage), dies of a heart attack at 74

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Famous Deaths for 10th January 2024

1542 – Gerardus Noviomagus [Gerrit Geldenhauer], Dutch theologist, die at 59
1833 – António da Silva Leite, Portuguese composer, dies at 73
1846 – Étienne Pivert de Senancour, French writer (De l’Amour), dies at 75
1863 – Lyman Beecher, US Presbyterian clergyman, temperance movement leader (b. 1775)
1941 – Frank Bridge, British violinist andcomposer (Sea), dies at 61
1968 – Howard Smith, American actor (Kiss of Death, Call Northside 777), dies at 74
1994 – Michael Aldridge, British actor (Last of the Summer Wine, Murder in Cathedral), dies at 73
2009 – Sidney Wood Jr, American tennis player (Wimbledon 1931), dies at 97
2017 – Oliver Smithies, British biochemist (2007 Noble Prize for gene targeting), dies at 91
2018 – Wiesje Backer, Dutch ballet dancer, actress. and playwright, dies at 79

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Historical Events for 10th January 2024

1863 – January uprising begins in Poland
1870 – Standard Oil Company created by John D. Rockefeller (30%), his brother and other business partners. Then controlled about 10% of world oil.
1943 – Soviet offensive against German 6th and 4th Armies near Stalingrad
1954 – Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to W H Auden
1965 – WKBD TV channel 50 in Detroit, Michigan (IND) begins broadcasting
1978 – Soyuz 27 launches, carrying 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station
1993 – Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, musical “My Favorite Year”, adapted from the 1982 film, and starring Evan Pappas, Tim Curry, Andrea Martin, and Lainie Kazan, closes at Vivian Beaumont Theater, NYC, after 37 performances and a Tony Award for Martin
2004 – 9th Critics’ Choice Movie Awards: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wins Best Film
2015 – 57 people are killed after an oil tanker collided with a passenger coach outside of Karachi, Pakistan
2022 – College Football, National Championship, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana: #3 Georgia beats #1 Alabama, 33-18

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Today in History for 10th January 2024

Historical Events

1356 – German Emperor Charles I promulgates the ‘Golden Bull’, to regulate the election of a new king – the most important constitutional document of the Holy Roman Empire
1811 – Louisiana slaves rebel in 2 parishes
1925 – Allies refuse to evacuate the Cologne area of Germany as agreed
1982 – Petra Schneider swims world record 1500 m freestyle (15:43.31)
2003 – NBA announces Charlotte, N.C. is awarded an NBA expansion franchise to be known as the Charlotte Bobcats and start play in 2004-05; eventually changes to the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014-15 season
2005 – A mudslide occurs in La Conchita, California, killing 10 people, injuring many more and closing the Highway 101, the main coastal corridor between San Francisco and Los Angeles, for 10 days.

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Famous Birthdays

1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, American statesman and lawyer, born in Stony Creek, Pennsylvania (d. 1883)
1938 – Donald Knuth, American mathematician and computer scientist, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1939 – Jared Carter, American poet, born in Elwood, Indiana
1939 – David Horowitz, American author and political commentator, born in NYC, New York
1945 – Colonel DeBeers [Edward Wiskoski], American professional wrestler, born in Saint Joseph, Missouri
1983 – Li Nina, Chinese aerial freestyle skier, born in Benxi, China

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Famous Deaths

1094 – Al-Mustanṣir, 8th Fāṭimid Caliph of Cairo, dies at 64
1662 – Prince Honoré II of Monaco (b. 1597)
1833 – António da Silva Leite, Portuguese composer, dies at 73
1971 – (Gabrielle) “Coco” Chanel, French fashion designer (Chanel), dies at 87
1989 – Donald Voorhees, American conductor (Bell Telephone Hour), dies at 85
2005 – James Forman, American civil rights leader (b. 1928)

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Famous Deaths for 9th January 2024

1543 – Guillaume du Bellay, French diplomat and general, dies at about 52 (b. 1491, exact sate uncertain)
1799 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian scientist (b. 1718)
1908 – Wilhelm Busch, German poet, dies at 75
1975 – Pyotr Sergeyevich Novikov, Russian mathematician (group theory), dies at 73
1981 – Obdulio Morales, Cuban pianist, conductor, composer, ethno-musicologist, and Afro-Cuban bandleader, dies at 70
1991 – Chris Baay, Dutch actor (Tomorrow It Will Be Better, Klatergoud, Surprise Raid), dies at 86
2011 – Debbie Friedman, American singer-songwriter and arranger of Jewish religious music (“Mi Shebeirach”), dies of pneumonia at 59
2013 – James M. Buchanan, American economist (Nobel Memorial 1986), dies at 93
2020 – Bobby Comstock, American pop-rock singer (The Counts – “Let’s Stomp”), dies at 78
2021 – Vivalyn Latty-Scott, West Indian women’s cricket all-rounder (10 Tests, 25 wickets; Jamaica), dies at 82

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Historical Events for 9th January 2024

1760 – Afghans defeat the Indian Maratha Empire in the Battle of Barari Ghat
1792 – Russia and Turkey sign Peace of Jassy
1894 – New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.
1908 – Muir Woods National Monument, California, established
1937 – Maxwell Anderson’s stage drama “High Tor” premieres at Martin Beck Theatre, NYC; runs for 171 performances, wins Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play
1945 – US soldiers led by General Douglas MacArthur invades Philippines
1951 – Washington Capitals NBA team folds
1977 – Australian Open Men’s Tennis: American Roscoe Tanner wins his first and only Grand Slam event; beats Guillermo Vilas of Argentina 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
2007 – 33rd People’s Choice Awards: Johnny Depp and Jennifer Aniston win (Movie Star) and Patrick Dempsey and Eva Longoria win (TV)
2021 – Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 crashes in the Java Sea just after take off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 62 on board

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Today in History for 9th January 2024

Historical Events

1493 – Christopher Columbus mistakes manatees for mermaids, describing them as “not half as beautiful as they are painted”
1957 – Dutch Newspaper Society expels communist daily paper “Truth”
1967 – “More of the Monkees” second album by The Monkees is released
1995 – Ecuador and Peru involved in boundary fight
2010 – Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: María José Martínez Sánchez and Tommy Robredo of Spain beat British pair Laura Robson and Andy Murray 7-6, 7-5 to clinch a 2-1 win; Spain’s 3rd title
2012 – “Time is Love” single released by Josh Turner (Billboard Song of the Year 2012)

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Famous Birthdays

1620 – Johann Weichmann, German organist, and sacred and secular music composer (Sorgen-Lägerin), born in Wolgast, Pomerania (d. 1652)
1829 – Thomas William Robertson, English playwright (Caste), born in Newark-on-Trent, England (d. 1871)
1910 – Dick Henry Jurgen, American swing music bandleader, born in Sacramento, California (d. 1995)
1914 – Derek Allhusen, English equestrian rider (Olympic gold team, silver Individual eventing 1968), born in London, England (d. 2000)
1956 – Imelda Staunton, British actress (Finding Your Feet, Maleficent), born in Archway, London
1967 – Dave Mcllwain, Canadian NHL center (Pitts Penguins), born in Seaforth, Canada

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Famous Deaths

1895 – Aaron Lufkin Dennison, ‘Father of American watchmaking’, American watch manufacturer and businessman (Tremont Watch Company), dies at 82
1964 – Frank “Big Boy” Goudie, American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist, and upholsterer, dies of cancer at 64
1975 – Pyotr Sergeyevich Novikov, Russian mathematician (group theory), dies at 73
1979 – Avery Claflin, American banker and composer (“Lament for April 15” – income tax form instructions set to music), dies at 80
2008 – William Quinn, Irish Republican Army soldier (b. 1950)
2018 – Karin von Aroldingen, German ballet dancer (NYC Ballet), dies at 76

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Famous Deaths for 8th January 2024

1324 – Marco Polo, Venetian explorer (The Travels of Marco Polo), dies at 69
1919 – Peter Altenberg, writer, dies at 59
1938 – Johnny Gruelle, American cartoonist, creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy (b. 1880)
1948 – John Lomax, American folk song collector and ethnomusicologist (American Folklore Society), and educator, dies of a stroke at 83
1958 – Mary Colter, American architect and designer (Fred Harvey Company, Santa Fe Railroad), dies at 88
1967 – Zbigniew Cybulski, Polish actor (Ashes and Diamonds), dies at 39
1979 – Sara Carter, American country musician, songwriter and vocalist (Carter Family), dies at 81
1987 – Manuel Blancafort, Spanish-Catalan pianist and composer, dies at 89
2017 – Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 4th President of Iran (1989-97) and de facto commander-in-chief of the Iranian military during the Iran-Iraq War, dies of a heart attack at 82
2023 – Bernard Kalb, American journalist, moderator, lecturer and author, one of the most respected broadcast journalists of his time (CBS News, New York Times), dies at 100

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Historical Events for 8th January 2024

1853 – 1st US bronze equestrian statue (of Andrew Jackson) unveiled, Washington
1894 – Columbus World’s fair in Chicago destroyed by fire
1897 – Michael Eagan wins 1st US national amateur handball championship
1901 – New South Wales score 918 all out vs South Australia in 560 minutes
1947 – Toronto Maple Leaf rookie Howie Meeker scores 5 goals in a game
1955 – Georgia Tech ends Kentucky’s 130-game home basketball win streak
1968 – Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O’Neill travels to Dublin to meet with Irish Prime Minister Jack Lynch to continue discussions on matters of joint interest to the two governments
1973 – Judge Sirica begins the trial of the Watergate burglars in Washington, D.C.
2000 – “Music City Miracle”, in AFC Wild Card Playoff, Tennessee Titans defeat Buffalo Bills 22-16 in last 16 seconds with Kevin Dyson, running length of the field for a game-winning touchdown
2004 – RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger ship ever built, is christened by her namesake’s granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II

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Today in History for 8th January 2024

Historical Events

1811 – Louisiana slave revolt by Charles Deslondes at German Coast
1877 – Crazy Horse and his Sioux warriors fight their last battle with the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain (Montana Territory).
1947 – General George Marshall becomes US Secretary of State
1949 – “My Romance” closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 95 performances
1982 – Johnny Cash Parkway opens in Hendersonville, Tennessee
1995 – Philadelphia Phillies 12-time All Star third baseman Mike Schmidt is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

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Famous Birthdays

1814 – Johannes Kneppelhout, Dutch writer, born in Leiden, Netherlands (d. 1885)
1917 – Peter Taylor, American novelist, born in Trenton, Tennessee (d. 1994)
1936 – Robert May, Baron May of Oxford, Australian-born British scientist, born in Sydney, Australia
1937 – Robert Moran, American composer (Trinity Requiem), born in Denver, Colorado
1964 – Marc Quinn, English artist (Alison Lapper Pregnant), born in London, England
1985 – Sam Levison, American actor and filmmaker (created TV show Euphoria)

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Famous Deaths

1934 – Alexandre Stavisky, French swindler, dies
1944 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, member of the Vanderbilt family (b. 1878)
1972 – Kenneth Patchen, American writer (See You in the Morning), dies at 60
1986 – Yaroslav Seifert, Czech poet (Nobel 1984), dies at 84
2010 – Tony Halme, Finnish boxer and politician (b. 1963)
2014 – Ben Garrido Blaz, American politician (Rep-R-Guam, 1985-93), dies at 85

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