1894 – Day 2 of first cricket test between Australia and England, Australia 586 runs (Gregory 201) England 3-130
1929 – National Football League Championship: Green Bay Packers (12-0-1) win first past the post title
1936 – KVL-AM in Seattle Washington changes call letters to KEEN (now KING)
1946 – Giants Filchock and Hapes suspended by NFL, didn’t report bribe attempt
1952 – KHON TV channel 2 in Honolulu, HI (NBC) begins broadcasting
1973 – Pirates of Caribbean ride opens at Disneyland
1986 – 150 killed during race riot in Karachi
1994 – Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard stage drama “A Tuna Christmas” opens at Booth Theate,r NYC; runs for 20 performances
1995 – The European Communities Court of Justice hands down the “Bosman ruling”, giving EU footballers the right to a free transfer at the end of their contracts, with the provision that they are transferring from one UEFA Federation to another.
2021 – COVID-19 Omicron variant called “probably the most significant threat” of the pandemic by head of UK Health Security Agency, warning of “staggering” growth in next few days
Author: gil7
Today in History for 15th December 2023
Historical Events
1903 – NY Wall Street vendor Italo Marchiony [Marcioni] granted patent for a mound for making ice cream cones
1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band, play their only European gig – appearing in UNICEF charity concert at London’s Lyceum Ballroom, band is augmented by Bonnie and Delaney and guitarist George Harrison
1973 – Pirates of Caribbean ride opens at Disneyland
2011 – Barry Bonds is sentenced to 30 days of house arrest, two years of probation and 250 hours of community service, for an obstruction of justice conviction stemming from a grand jury appearance in 2003
2018 – Egyptian Archaeologists announce discovery of 4,400 year old tomb of Fifth Dynasty priest in Saqqara pyramid complex near Cairo
2020 – MacKenzie Scott announces she has given away more than $4 billion to 384 nonprofit organizations across the US
Famous Birthdays
1887 – Pieter Geyl, Dutch historian (History of the Dutch Tribe), born in Dordrecht, Netherlands (d. 1966)
1907 – Gordon Douglas [Brickner], American film director (Our Gang; Laurel and Hardy; Young At Heart; Way…Way Out; Tony Rome; They Call Me Mister Tibbs!), born in NYC (d. 1993)
1922 – (Albert) “Alan” Freed, American disc jockey and concert promoter who popularized the term “rock-n-roll”, and payola scandal figure, born in Windber, Pennsylvania (d. 1965)
1930 – Edna O’Brien, Irish novelist and short story writer (Girl with Green Eyes, Casualties of Peace), born in Tuamgraney, County Clare, Ireland
1939 – Nicolaus A. Huber, German composer, born in Passau, Germany
1986 – Snejana Onopka, Ukrainian supermodel, born in Sievierodonetsk, Soviet Union
Famous Deaths
1715 – George Hickes, English linguist (Old German Philology), dies at 73
1990 – Betty Warren, British actress (Passport to Pimlico), dies at 83
1990 – Jean Paige, American silent film actress (Capt Blood; Black Beauty), dies at 95
1999 – George Elrick, Scottish-British singer (“I Like Bananas Because They Have No Bones”), and broadcaster known as ‘The Smiling Voice of Radio’ (BBC’s “Housewives’ Choice”), dies at 95
2010 – Bob Feller, American Baseball HOF pitcher (8 x MLB All Star; AL Triple Crown 1940; 3 x no-hit games; Cleveland Indians), dies from leukemia at 92
2021 – Bridget Hanley, American actress (Here Come the Brides – “Candy Pruitt”), dies of Alzheimer’s disease complications at 80
Famous Deaths for 14th December 2023
1553 – Hanibal Lucić, Croatian writer, dies at 68
1651 – Pierre Dupuy, French historian and scholar, dies at 69
1735 – Thomas Tanner, English bishop and antiquarian (b. 1674)
1760 – Kacic Miosic, Croatian poet (Razgovar Ugodni Naroda Slovinskoga), dies at 56
1823 – Vincenzo Cuoco, Italian historian (Naples Revolution 1799), dies at 53
1985 – Charlie Bachman, American College Football Hall of Fame guard and coach (Notre Dame, Florida, Michigan State), dies at 93
1991 – John Arlott, British cricket commentator and writer (BBC), dies of emphysema at 77
1997 – Owen Barfield, British philosopher of language, dies at 99
2016 – Garrett K. Gomez, American jockey (US Champion Jockey by earnings 2006-09; Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey 2007-08), dies of a drug overdose at 44
2021 – Jethro [Geoffrey Rowe], British stand-up comedian (This Train Don’t Stop Camborne Wednesdays), dies of lymphoma complicated by Covid-19 at 73
Historical Events for 14th December 2023
872 – John VIII elected as Catholic Pope
1793 – 1st state road authorized, Frankfort, Kentucky, to Cincinnati
1903 – The Wright brothers attempt to fly the Wright Flyer for the first time at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
1945 – Elmer Rice’s play “Dream Girl” premieres in NYC
1957 – Frank Loesser’s musical “The Most Happy Fella”, based on Sidney Howard’s 1924 stage drama “They Knew What They Wanted”, closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 678 performances
1964 – Michael Brown meets Renee Fladen, then writes “Walk Away Renee”
1967 – DNA created in a test tube
1991 – 57th Heisman Trophy Award: Desmond Howard, Michigan (WR)
1996 – 12th Soap Opera Digest Awards – Days of Our Lives wins
2020 – Russia revealed to have been behind massive cyberattack on US government agencies and private companies since the Spring
Today in History for 14th December 2023
Historical Events
1903 – The Wright brothers attempt to fly the Wright Flyer for the first time at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
1960 – Australia v West Indies 1st Test Cricket at the Gabba ends in a tie
1977 – Test Cricket debut of Pakistan spin bowling great Abdul Qadir v England in 1st Test at Lahore
1978 – China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
1994 – Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam, China
1998 – 64th Heisman Trophy Award: Ricky Williams, Texas (RB)
Famous Birthdays
1681 – Giuseppe Valentini, Italian violinist, poet, and composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1753)
1853 – Henry Wood, English cricket wicket-keeper (4 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 134no; Kent CCC, Surrey CCC), born in Dartford, England (d. 1919)
1870 – Dirk Jan de Geer, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1926-29, 39-40), born in Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1960)
1915 – Ruth Railton, British musical director (National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, 1948-65), born in Kent, England (d. 2001)
1952 – Germain Houde, French Canadian actor, born in Petit-Saguenay, Quebec
1966 – Carl Herrera, Trinidadian-born Venezuelan NBA forward, 1991-99 (San Antonio Spurs, and 2 other teams), born in Trinidad and Tobago
Famous Deaths
1417 – John Oldcastle, English nobleman and pro-protestant Lollard leader, whom Shakespeare based his Falstaff character on, hanged for heresy at 39
1799 – George Washington, American Founding Father, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during War for Independence and 1st President of the United States (1789-97), dies at 67
1806 – John Breckinridge, American lawyer (5th United States Attorney General) and politician (U.S. Senator from Kentucky), dies at 46
1860 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Peelite: 1852-55) and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1841-46), dies at 76
1918 – Sidónio Pais, Portuguese politician (4th President of Portugal, 66th Prime Minister of Portugal), murdered at 46
2000 – George Sholty, American harness driver (2,934 career wins; $20 million+ purse money), dies at 68
Famous Deaths for 13th December 2023
1603 – François Viète, French mathematician dies in Paris (b. 1540)
1909 – Innokenty Annensky, Russian poet, critic and interpreter, dies of a heart attack at 54
1945 – Robert van Genechten, Dutch Nazi (NSB), commits suicide
1958 – Brand Dirck Ochse, Dutch filmmaker and co-founder (Polygoon), dies at 66
1961 – Grandma Moses [Anna Mary Robertson], American primitive painter (Old Oaken Bucket), dies at 101
1965 – Robert Frederick Sink, United States Army Officer (WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War), dies at 60
1975 – Cyril Delevanti, British actor (Soylent Green, The Night of the Iguana), dies at 88
1991 – Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues, French writer (La Marge), dies at 82
2008 – John Drake, New Zealand rugby union footballer (b. 1959)
2009 – Paul A. Samuelson, American economist (1970 Nobel Prize for Economics, 1947 John Bates Clark Medal), dies at 94
Historical Events for 13th December 2023
1668 – Jean Racine’s tragic play “Britannicus” premieres in Paris
1889 – Belgium rules on women and child labor law
1920 – Netherland breaks contact with Kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slavia
1967 – United Soccer Association and National Pro Soccer League merge into NASL
1975 – West Indian cricket opener Roy Fredericks smashes 169 in 2nd Test win v Australia in Perth; hundred in 71 balls
1989 – The last issue of Gnistan (The Spark), the organ of the Solidaritetspartiet, is published in Sweden
1990 – Heavy earthquake strikes Sicily, 18 die
1993 – Fire in textile factory in Fuzjou China, 60 killed
1994 – “The Hits” 2nd compilation album by Garth Brooks is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1995)
2021 – 70th Miss Universe Contest won by Miss India’s Harnaaz Sandhu in Eilat, Israel
Today in History for 13th December 2023
Historical Events
1545 – Council of Trent (19th ecumenical council) opened by Pope Paul III
1961 – “The Young Ones” directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Cliff Richard, Robert Morley and Carole Gray premieres in London
1983 – KYA-AM in San Francisco CA changes call letters to KOIT
1985 – Australian cricketer David Boon’s 1st Test century, 123 v India at Adelaide
2013 – “Beyoncé” 5th studio album by Beyoncé is released
2022 – First nuclear fusion reaction in a laboratory setting, replicating the same energy that powers the sun – announced by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California
Famous Birthdays
1877 – Mykola Leontovych, Ukrainian composer (Carol of the Bells), born in Selevyntsi, Podolia, Russian Empire (d. 1921)
1918 – Bill Vukovich, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500, 1953-4), born in Fresno, California (d. 1955)
1936 – J. C. Martin, American baseball player, born in Axton, Virginia
1943 – Arturo Ripstein, Mexican film director (El Lugar Sin Limites, Foxtrot), born in Mexico City
1953 – Thomas E. Sanders, American aerial cameraman (Living Daylights), born in San Pedro, California (d. 2017)
1974 – Chris Lewis, CFL safety (Calgary Stampeders)
Famous Deaths
1908 – Augustus Le Plongeon, French-American photographer and antiquitarian, dies at 83
1929 – Knut Algot Håkanson, Swedish composer, dies at 42
1931 – Gustave le Bon, French psychologist (b. 1840)
1975 – Hendrik Johan Kruls, Dutch general and chief military authority (1944-46), dies at 73
2008 – Horst Tappert, German director, actor and former SS member (Derrick), dies of diabetes at 85
2019 – Roy Loney, American rock singer (Flamin’ Groovies, 1965-71), dies of multiple organ failure at 73
Famous Deaths for 12th December 2023
1821 – Phoebe Hessel, English woman who disguised herself as a man to serve in the British Army, probably to be with her lover, Samuel Golding, dies at 108
1956 – Lorenzo Perosi, composer, dies at 83
1960 – Christopher Hornsrud, Prime Minister of Norway (3 weeks), dies at 101
1961 – Daiun Sogaku Harada, Zen founder of Sanbo Kyodan lineage, dies at 91
1995 – Andrew Olle, broadcaster, dies at 48
1995 – James Altgens, JFK assassination photographer, dies at 76
1995 – Mary Bruce, American tap dance teacher, dies at 95
2004 – George Hunter, South African boxer (Olympic gold light heavyweight 1948), dies at 77
2008 – Tassos Papadopoulos, Cypriot lawyer and politician (President, 2003-08), dies at cancer at 74
2020 – Charley Pride, American country singer (Sweet Country), dies of COVID-19 complications at 86
Historical Events for 12th December 2023
1769 – Pope Clement XIV proclaims a universal jubilee
1871 – Jules Janssen discovers dark lines in solar corona spectrum
1878 – Joseph Pulitzer begins publishing the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch”
1915 – Aristide Briand forms French war government
1965 – Doug Walters makes maiden Test ton in 1st Test, goes on to 155
1965 – Chicago halfback Gale Sayers ties NFL record for most touchdowns in a game with 6 in 61–20 victory over San Francisco 49ers at Wrigley Field
1979 – Gold hits record $462.50 an ounce
1992 – 58th Heisman Trophy Award: Gino Torretta, U of Miami (QB)
2017 – Democrat Doug Jones defeats Republican Roy Moore for Alabama Senate seat in upset win marked by allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore
2019 – British General Election won by Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party in landslide win with 80 seat majority. Scottish National Party also wins 48 of 59 seats in Scotland.