1903 – Topsy the elephant is electrocuted by her owners at Luna Park, Coney Island and filmed by Edison Manufacturing movie company
1904 – Stanley Cup, Aberdeen Pavilion, Ottawa, ON: Ottawa HC beats Winnipeg Rowing Club, 2-0 for 2-1 challenge series victory
1942 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US Army Chief of Staff General Marshall fly to Florida
1942 – 4th NFL All Star Game, Polo Grounds, NYC: Chicago Bears beat NFL All-Stars, 35-24
1953 – KTSM TV channel 9 in El Paso, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
1963 – Soviet Luna (4) reaches Earth orbit but fails to reach Moon
1981 – “Frankenstein” opens and closes on Broadway
1998 – Anton Chekov’s dramatic play “Ivanov”, translated and adapted by David Hare, closes at Vivian Beaumont Theater, NYC, after 51 performances
2009 – Phil Taylor, with a 7–1 victory in the final over Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld wins his 12th PDC World Darts title, his 14th in all; his 110.94 average remains a record for the PDC World Darts Championship final
2018 – Truck hits a train near Kroonstad city, South Africa killing 19 passengers
Author: gil7
Today in History for 4th January 2024
Historical Events
274 – St Eutychian begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1781 – Andre Méchain discovers M80 (globular cluster in Scorpio)
1934 – 1st Dutch talkie movie, Jan Teunissen’s “Willem of Orange” premieres
1948 – Burma declares independence from UK
1969 – France begins arms embargo against Israel
1981 – Revival of Leigh, Charlap, Styne, Comden and Green’s musical “Peter Pan”, starring Sandy Duncan, closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC, after 578 performances
Famous Birthdays
1878 – Augustus John, Welsh painter (d. 1961)
1910 – Arthur Villeneuve, Quebec painter (d. 1990)
1932 – Carlos Saura, Spanish director
1933 – Ed Jenkins, American politician (Rep-D-GA, 1977-93), born in Young Harris, Georgia (d. 2012)
1973 – Harmony Korine, American film director and artist, born in Bolinas, California
1982 – Paulo Ferrari, Argentinian soccer defender (Rosario Central, River Plate) and manager (Rosario Central, San Martín SJ) , born in Rosario, Argentina
Famous Deaths
1966 – Marcel Tabuteau, French-American oboist (Philadelphia Orchestra, 1915-54), dies at 78
1991 – Leo Wright, American jazz saxophone and flute player (Dizzy Gillespie; “Blues Shout”; “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”), dies of a heart attack at 57
2003 – Yfrah Neaman, Israeli-British concert violinist, and pedagogue, dies of cancer at 79
2004 – Joan Aiken, English writer of children’s books (The Whispering Mountain), dies at 79
2012 – Gatewood Galbraith [Louis], lawyer, American political activist, iconic Kentucky political figure, dies from pneumonia at 64
2022 – Joan Copeland, American film and TV soap actress (“Roseland”; “Search for Tomorrow”), dies at 99
Famous Deaths for 3rd January 2024
1552 – Henry II of Bavaria, Bishop of Utrecht (1524-29), Worms (1523-52) and Freising (1541-52), dies at 64
1767 – Luca Antonio Predieri, Italian composer and violinist, dies at 78
1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman (Currier and Ives), dies at 70
1916 – Grenville M. Dodge, American railroad engineer (Transcontinental Railroad-Union Pacific) and Major General (Union Army), dies at 84
1945 – Théodore “Fyodor” Akimenko, Ukrainian composer, dies at 68
1965 – Julius Tannen, American vaudeville comedian, dies at 84
1974 – Arthur Daley, American sportswriter (NY Times-Pulitzer 1956), dies from a heart attack at 69
1999 – Jerry Quarry, American boxer (famous bouts v world champions Floyd Patterson, Jimmy Ellis, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton), dies of chronic traumatic encephalopathy at 53
2007 – William Verity Jr., United States Secretary of Commerce 1987-1989 (b. 1917)
2012 – Gene Bartow, American College Basketball Hall of Fame coach (US National Team 1974; Valparaiso, Memphis State, Illinois, UCLA), dies of stomach cancer at 81
Historical Events for 3rd January 2024
1653 – The Coonan Cross Oath is taken in the Saint Thomas Christian community in an effort to avoid submission to Portuguese rule in India
1872 – 1st patent list issued by US Patent Office
1890 – 1st US college-level dairy school opens at University of Wisconsin
1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first female elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first female to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
1969 – Rep Adam Clayton Powell Jr seated by Congress
1971 – 1st AFC Championship, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore: Baltimore Colts beat Oakland Raiders, 27-17
1973 – A 12-man syndicate led by Michael Burke and George Steinbrenner III buys MLB’s New York Yankees from CBS for US$10 million
1985 – Israel government confirms resettlement of 10,000 Ethiopian Jews
2007 – National Express has its worst ever coach crash just outside Heathrow Airport.
2019 – Chinese Chang’e-4 spacecraft becomes the first ever to touch down on the far side of the Moon
Today in History for 3rd January 2024
Historical Events
1893 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s final opera “Iolanta”, is first performed outside of Russia in Hamburg, Germany
1945 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill visits France
1984 – Syria frees captured US pilot after appeal from Jesse Jackson
1993 – “Catskills on Broadway” closes at Lunt-Fontanne NYC after 452 performances
2004 – Panthers kicker John Kasay ties NFL-playoff record with 5 field goals to lead Carolina to a 29-10 win over Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round of playoffs in Charlotte, North Carolina
2022 – Scotsman Peter Wright wins his second PDC World Darts Championship; beats Michael Smith of England, 7-5 at the Alexandra Palace in London
Famous Birthdays
1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet (d. 1782)
1900 – Maurice Jaubert, French composer, born in Nice (d. 1940)
1932 – Mara Corday [Marilyn Joan Watts], American actress, model and Playboy Playmate (Foxfire, Black Scorpion), born in Santa Monica, California
1950 – Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey center (Stanley Cup 1974, 75; Philadelphia Flyers; NHL All Star 1977, 78), born in Lindsay, Ontario (d. 2016)
1969 – Nikki Nelson, American country singer (Highway 101 – “Cry Cry Cry”; “Whose Lonely Now”), born in La Mesa, California
1980 – Liya Kebede, Ethiopian model
Famous Deaths
1761 – Willem de Fesch, Dutch violinist and composer (Joseph), dies at 73
1965 – Julius Tannen, American vaudeville comedian, dies at 84
1975 – Milton Cross, American radio announcer (Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, 1931-75), dies of a heart attack at 87
1995 – Gerard W. Taylor, South African-British surgeon, dies at 74
2002 – Al Smith, American baseball outfielder and third baseman (3-time MLB All Star; Cleveland Indians), dies at 73
2014 – Phil Everly, American rock and roll singer-guitarist (The Everly Brothers – “Bye, Bye Love”; “Wake Up Little Susie”; “When WIll I Be Loved”), dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 74
Famous Deaths for 2nd January 2024
1983 – Harriet Parsons, American film producer (Susan Slept Here), dies at 76 of cancer
2004 – Doralyn “Lynn” Cartwright, American character actress (A League of Their Own), dies at 76
2006 – Osa Massen [Aase Madsen Iversen], Dutch actress (Jack London, Rocketship X-M), dies at 91
2007 – A. Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor, dies at 55
2007 – Robert C. Solomon, American scholar of continental philosophy, dies at 64
2010 – Oscar Sala, Italian-born Brazilian nuclear physicist, dies at 87
2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English novelist, dies at 90
2019 – Julia Grant [prev George Roberts], transgender activist featured in “A Change of Sex”, dies at 64
2022 – Larry Biitner, American MLB baseball outfielder, 1970-83 (Washington Senators/Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and 2 other teams), dies of cancer at 75
2022 – Bob Halloran, American sportscaster (CBS Sports NY) and event organiser (MGM Mirage), dies at 87
Historical Events for 2nd January 2024
1814 – Lord Byron completes “The Corsair”, a long tale in verse
1893 – 1st US commemoratives and 1st US stamp to picture a woman issued (Queen Isabella, patron of Columbus)
1928 – 14th Rose Bowl: Stanford beats Pittsburgh, 7-6
1944 – 1st use of helicopters during warfare (British Atlantic patrol)
1950 – 16th Sugar Bowl: #2 Oklahoma beats #9 LSU, 35-0
1972 – An anti-internment rally is held in Belfast, North Ireland
1990 – Sting joins pro wrestling’s legendary “4 Horsemen” (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson)
2001 – 67th Sugar Bowl: #3 Miami beats #7 Florida, 37-20
2002 – Eduardo Duhalde is appointed interim President of Argentina by the Legislative Assembly.
2006 – 35th Fiesta Bowl: #4 Ohio State beats #5 Notre Dame, 34-20
Today in History for 2nd January 2024
Historical Events
1929 – US and Canada agree to preserve Niagara Falls
1942 – Japanese troops occupy Manila, Philippines
1955 – 1st “Bob Cummings Show” premieres on NBC (later on CBS)
1968 – KBHK TV channel 44 in San Francisco, California (IND) begins broadcasting
1987 – 16th Fiesta Bowl: #2 Penn State beats #1 Miami, 14-10
1989 – UCLA beats Arkansas Razorbacks, 17-3 to win the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas; record 7th consecutive football bowl game victory for the Bruins
Famous Birthdays
1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English Antarctic explorer (d. 1959)
1902 – Dan Keating, Irish republican (d. 2007)
1929 – Allen Sapp, Canadian Cree artist, born at Red Pheasant Reserve, Saskatchewan (d. 2015)
1955 – Tex Brashear, American voice actor
1959 – Kirti Azad, Indian cricket all-rounder (7 Tests; 25 ODIs) and politician, born in Darbhanga, India
1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch equestrian rider (Olympic gold dressage 2000, 04, 08; World C’ship gold 1994, 2006), born in Erp, Netherlands
Famous Deaths
1915 – (Károly) “Karl” Goldmark, Hungarian-Viennese violinist and composer (Rustic Wedding Symphony; The Queen of Sheba; Sakuhtala), dies at 84
1977 – Erroll Garner, American jazz pianist (Misty), dies at 53
2003 – Eric Jupp, British-born musician, dies at 80
2007 – A. Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor, dies at 55
2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English novelist, dies at 90
2022 – Larry Biitner, American MLB baseball outfielder, 1970-83 (Washington Senators/Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and 2 other teams), dies of cancer at 75
Famous Deaths for 1st January 2024
1554 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador and first royal governor of Chile, dies at 56
1796 – Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde, French mathematician, dies at 60
1942 – Jaroslav Ježek, Czechoslovakian composer, dies at 35
1969 – Bruno Söderström, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver pole vault and bronze javelin 1906; bronze pole vault 1908; popularized bowling in Sweden), dies at 87
1982 – Margot Grahame [Margaret Clark], British actress (The Three Musketeers, Criminal Lawyer), dies from chronic bronchitis at 70
1996 – Arleigh Burke, American admiral (WW II, Solomon Islands, Navy Cross), dies at 94
2007 – Tad Jones, American jazz music historian, dies at 54
2012 – Kiro Gligorov, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (1991-99), dies at 94
2016 – Tony Lane, American art director (Rolling Stone magazine), and Grammy Award-winning album cover art designer (Carly Simon – Boys in the Trees; Simon and Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water; Michael Jackson – Bad), dies of brain cancer at 71
2023 – Art McNally, American Pro Football HOF referee and executive (NFL Head of Officiating 1968-91), dies at 97
Historical Events for 1st January 2024
1622 – Papal Chancery adopts Jan 1 as beginning of the year (was Mar 25)
1852 – National debt of Britain and Ireland is 765,126,582 pounds
1891 – French troops occupy Nioro, West-Sudan, 3000 killed
1914 – Northern and Southern Nigeria united in British colony of Nigeria
1925 – 11th Rose Bowl: Notre Dame beats Stanford, 27-10
1944 – Army defeats Navy 10-7 in football “Arab Bowl,” Oran, North Africa
1958 – European Economic Community, better known as the European Common Market starts operation
1964 – KNMT TV channel 12 in Walker, MN (CBS) begins broadcasting
1995 – “A Tuna Christmas” closes at Booth Theater NYC after 20 performances
2004 – St. Louis head coach Joel Quenneville records his 300th NHL win with the Blues, a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Savvis Center, St. Louis; Quenneville is Blues coaching games and wins leader