1854 – George Cayley, English inventor who founded science of aerodynamics (built 1st glider to carry a person), dies at 80
1870 – Thomas Brassey, English civil engineering contractor, dies at 65
1982 – Kenneth Goncalves, Suriname deacon and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
1982 – Frank Wijngaarde, Suriname journalist and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
1991 – (Wilbur) “Buck” Clayton, American jazz trumpet player (Count Basie; Billie Holiday; Lester Young), and bandleader, dies at 80
1994 – Antônio Carlos Jobim [Tom Jobim], Brazilian singer-songwriter and composer (Getz/Gilberto), dies from pulmonary embolism at 67
1995 – Carl Marsden, bodyguard, dies at 36
2000 – Marvin Leath, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas’s 11th district), dies at 69
2018 – Rosanell Eaton, American voting rights advocate, dies at 97
2021 – Jacques Zimako, French soccer forward (13 caps; Saint-Étienne, Sochaux, Bastia), dies at 69
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 8th December 2023
1941 – US and Britain declare war on Japan, US enters World War II
1955 – Black Ealing comedy “The Ladykillers”, directed by Alexander Mackendrick and starring Alec Guinness is released in the UK
1961 – Larry Costello scores 32 consecutive pts without a miss (NBA rec)
1970 – Head of the Catholic Church in Ireland Cardinal William Conway publishes a pamphlet on the topic of segregation in education in Northern Ireland
1973 – Romanian tennis star Ilie Năstase wins his 3rd consecutive season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix title with a 6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 win over Dutchman Tom Okker in Boston, Massachusetts
1978 – Commencement of the 1st day/night World Series Cricket supertest at VFL Park, Melbourne
1982 – “Herman Van Veen: All of Him” opens at Ambassador NYC for 6 performances
1987 – US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty eliminating medium range nuclear missiles
1992 – Spacecraft Galileo makes its second and closest flyby of Earth at a minimum distance of 305 km for a gravity assist on its way to Jupiter
2019 – Vienna State Opera stages its first show by a female composer in 150 years – Olga Neuwirth’s opera, “Orlando”
Today in History for 8th December 2023
Historical Events
1710 – Battle of Brihuega in the War of the Spanish Succession: British General James Stanhope captured by French and Spanish forces
1921 – Eamon de Valera publicly repudiates Anglo-Irish Treaty
1974 – Irish Republican Socialist Party forms
1991 – Charles Strouse and Richard Maltby, Jr’s musical “Nick and Nora” opens at Marquis Theater, NYC; runs for 9 performances
1993 – 30 killed at religious rebellion in Algeria
2022 – Iran announces first known execution of a protester from recent anti-government unrest, after convicting a man in a revolutionary court of “moharebeh” (enmity against God)
Famous Birthdays
1715 – Jan Althuysen, Frisian vicar and poet (Frisianche rymlery), born in Franeker, Netherlands (d. 1763)
1888 – Paul Cavanagh, British actor (The Woman in Green, Tarzan and his Mate), born in Chislehurst, England (d. 1964)
1894 – E. C. Segar, American cartoonist (Popeye), born in Chester, Illinois (d. 1938)
1941 – Geoff Hurst, English soccer striker (49 caps; FIFA World Cup 1966; West Ham United 411 games, Stoke City), born in Ashton-under-Lyne, England
1947 – Gregg Allman, American Hammond organist, guitarist and vocalist (The Allman Brothers Band – “Whipping Post”), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 2017)
1982 – Chrisette Michele [Payne], American RandB and soul singer-songwriter (“Be OK”; “Epiphany”), born in Central Islip, New York,
Famous Deaths
1967 – Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., 1st African-American astronaut and U.S. Air Force major, dies in a crash of an F-104 Starfighter while training at 32
1982 – Frank Wijngaarde, Suriname journalist and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
1990 – Martin Ritt, American actor and director (The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, Slugger’s Wife, End of the Game), dies at 76
1994 – Israel Aaron Maisels, South African lawyer and communal leader, dies at 89
2019 – Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street (1969-2018), dies at 85
2021 – Lars Høgh, Danish soccer goalkeeper (8 caps; OB 603 games) and GK coach (Denmark, Brøndby IF), dies from pancreatic cancer at 62
Famous Deaths for 7th December 2023
1383 – Wenceslaus, Duke of Brabant, dies
1793 – Joseph Bara, French revolutionary (b. 1780)
1839 – Jan August Vitasek, Bohemian composer working in Prague, dies at 69
1938 – Harry Moses, cricketer (6 Tests for Australia 1887-95), dies
1979 – Mari Andriessen, Dutch sculptor (Dock Worker), dies at 82
1985 – Robert Graves, English writer and poet (King Jesus), dies at 90
1992 – Ruth Corbett Thom, dies after long illness at 78
2004 – Frederick Fennell, American conductor (Time and Winds), dies at 90
2018 – Belisario Betancur, Colombian politician, President of Colombia (1982-86), dies at 95
2020 – Chuck Yeager, American test pilot who was the 1st man to break the sound barrier, dies at 97
Historical Events for 7th December 2023
1876 – NY Mutuals and Philadelphia A’s expelled from NL for not completing sked
1889 – W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s comic opera “The Gondoliers” premieres at the Savoy Theatre, London
1941 – Adolf Hitler issues “Nacht und Nebel Erlass” (Night and Fog Directive), against anti-Nazi resistance fighters in occupied territories; targets sent to concentration camps and/or murdered
1968 – Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 launched into Earth orbit
1972 – Apollo 17 launched, the final manned lunar landing mission where the crew takes the famous “blue marble” photo of the entire Earth
1988 – 6.9 earthquake in Spitak, Armenia kills 25,000-50,000 people and leaves up to 500,000 homeless
1991 – A J Kitt, US, wins World Skiing Cup
1992 – Galileo spacecraft passes North Pole of Moon (Peary Crater)
2018 – Comedian Kevin Hart steps down as 2019 Oscars host after his history of homophobic statements is revealed
2020 – Bob Dylan sells his entire songwriting catalog of more than 600 songs to the Universal Music Publishing Group for over $300 million
Today in History for 7th December 2023
Historical Events
1724 – Tumult of Thorn – religious unrest was followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities.
1902 – Britain and Germany issue an ultimatum to Venezuela demanding that President Cipriano Castro pay claims for damages caused during his takeover of the government in 1899
1931 – After scoring 226 in 1st Test in Brisbane, Don Bradman belts 219 for NSW against the visiting South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground
1932 – 1st gyro-stabilized vessel to cross Atlantic arrives in NY
1971 – An off-duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment is shot dead by members of the Irish Republican Army in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
2017 – Unrest in West Bank and Gaza, schools closed and a general strike in response to America’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
Famous Birthdays
1869 – Frank Laver, Australian cricket medium pace bowler (15 Tests, 37 wickets, BB 8/31) and baseball player (first Australian national team), born in Castlemaine, Australia (d. 1919)
1909 – Jacob Kainen, American painter and curator, born in Waterbury, Connecticut (d. 2001)
1924 – Bent Fabric [Fabricius-Bjerre], Danish pianist and composer (Alley Cat), born in Frederiksberg, Denmark (d. 2020)
1971 – Stephanie D’Abruzzo, American actress, puppeteer (Avenue Q; Sesame Street), and cabaret singer, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1979 – Jennifer Carpenter, American actress (Debra Morgan-Dexter), born in Louisville, Kentucky
1987 – Aaron Carter, American singer, rapper and songwriter, born in Tampa, Florida (d. 2022)
Famous Deaths
1870 – Mykhailo Verbytsky, Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and composer (Prostachka; The State Anthem of Ukraine), dies at 55
1917 – [Aloysius] Ludwig Minkus, Austrian violinist, and ballet composer (St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, 1871-86; La Bayadère), dies at 91
1990 – Peter Mieg, Swiss composer, dies at 84
1990 – Horst Bienek, German writer and director (The First Polka), dies at 60
2018 – Belisario Betancur, Colombian politician, President of Colombia (1982-86), dies at 95
2019 – Denis Lalanne, French sports journalist (‘Le grand combat du XV de France’; ‘Rugbymania: French flair attitude’), dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 6th December 2023
1598 – Elbertus Leoninus, Dutch lawyer/politician, dies at about 78
1746 – Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (b. 1665)
1779 – Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French painter, dies at 80
1959 – Len Doyle, American actor (Harrington-Mr District Attorney), dies at 66
1973 – Justus Hermann Wetzel, German composer, dies at 94
1984 – Ruth Cummings, actress (Daybreak, Dream of Love), dies at 90
1985 – Burleigh Grimes, American Baseball HOF pitcher (World Series 1931 St. Louis Cardinals; NL wins leader 1921, 28; NL strikeout leader 1921 Brooklyn Robins, Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 92
1993 – Prof Wolfgang Paul, German physicist (Nobel 1989), dies at 80
1997 – Eliot Daniel, American composer (I Love Lucy theme), dies at 89
2000 – Werner Klemperer, German-American Emmy Award-winning stage and screen actor (Judgment at Nuremberg; Hogan’s Heroes – “Col. Klink”), dies of cancer at 80
Historical Events for 6th December 2023
1424 – Don Alfonso V of Aragon grants Barcelona the right to exclude Jews
1756 – British troops under Robert Clive occupy Fulta, India
1866 – Chicago water supply tunnel 3,227 m into Lake Michigan completed
1875 – 44th Congress (1875-77) convenes
1903 – Sumatra Atjehs guerilla leader Panglima Polim surrenders
1925 – Record 73,000 pay to watch Chicago Bears beat NY Giants 19-7
1956 – Soviet gymnast Viktor Chukarin follows his parallel bars gold medal with the individual all-round title and teams gold at the Melbourne Olympics
1957 – Gardnar Mulloy becomes oldest American to win a Davis Cup tennis match at age 44 years, 14 days; teams with Vic Seixas to give US a match-clinching, 3-0 lead over the Philippines in the Inter Zone 1st round in Adelaide, Australia
1973 – NL votes to move San Diego Padres to Washington, D.C. (doesn’t happen)
2017 – Britain’s top Brexit negotiator David Davis admits there has been “no systematic impact assessment” on effects of Brexit
Today in History for 6th December 2023
Historical Events
1160 – Jean Bodels “Jeu de St Nicholas” premieres in Arras
1732 – 1st play in American colonies acted by professional players in New York
1964 – “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” 1st airs on TV
1969 – Oscar Brown, Jr’s musical “Buck White”, starring Muhammad Ali, closes at George Abbott Theatre, NYC, after 7 performances
1988 – Merv Hughes takes 13 wickets v WI at the WACA but Australia lose
2018 – Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry explodes for franchise-record 238 yards and 4 touchdowns in 30-9 win v Jacksonville Jaguars in Nashville; 99-yard TD run ties Dallas Cowboys HOF RB Tony Dorsett’s longest run in NFL history
Famous Birthdays
1814 – Juan Prim, Spanish general and politician (Prime Minister, 1869-70), born in Reus, Catalonia (d. 1870)
1890 – Dion Fortune, British occultist and author (Psychic Self-Defence, The Mystical Qabalah), born in Llandudno, Wales (d. 1946)
1948 – Marius Müller-Westernhagen, German rocker (Stinker), born in Düsseldorf, Germany
1951 – Gerry Francis, English footballer and manager, born in Chiswick, London
1976 – Colleen Haskell, American television personality (Survivor: Borneo 2000 contestant), born in Bethesda, Maryland
1979 – Luke Letlow, American businessman and politician, elected to US House of Representatives for Louisiana, but died before taking office, born in Monroe, Louisiana (d. 2020)
Famous Deaths
1779 – Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French painter, dies at 80
1855 – William John Swainson, English naturalist and artist, dies at 66
1991 – Jack Hunter {John Averona], American big band vocalist (Elliot Lawrence Orchestra – “Apple Blossom Time”), dies at 72
1992 – (Karl) Yngve Sköld, Swedish organist, pianist, and composer, dies at 93
2019 – Jo Ann Washam, American golfer (Women’s PGA C’ship 1975 3rd; 3 LPGA Tour titles), dies at 69
2022 – Mills Lane, American boxing referee (Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II 1997; International Boxing HOF) and television personality (‘Judge Mills Lane’), dies at 85
Famous Deaths for 5th December 2023
1663 – Severo Bonini, Italian composer and monk, dies at 80
1686 – Nicolas Steno, Danish scientist prominent in anatomy and geology, and later Catholic priest, bishop, and candidate for sainthood, dies at 48
1819 – Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg, German poet, lawyer and translator, dies at 69
1916 – Hans Richter, Austrian-Hungarian composer, dies at 73
1974 – Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player (US Nat C’ship 1909-11, 19), dies at 87
1992 – Hilary Tindall, dies of cancer at 54
1998 – Al Gore, Sr., American politician (b. 1907)
2002 – Roone Arledge, American sports broadcasting executive (President ABC Sports – Monday Night Football; ABC News), dies of prostate cancer at 71
2014 – Luis Herrera de la Fuente, Mexican pianist, conductor (Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, 1954-72), and composer, dies at 90
2022 – Kirstie Alley, American Emmy Award-winning actress (Cheers – “Rebecca”; Look Who’s Talking; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), dies of colon cancer at 71