1585 – Duke of Parma’s troops occupy Antwerp
1883 – Krakatoa volcano, west of Java in Indonesia, erupts with a force of 1,300 megatons and kills approximately 40,000 people
1918 – Christy Mathewson resigns as Cincinnati Reds manager to accept a commission as a captain in chemical warfare branch of US Army
1956 – Curt Robert of Columbus (Intl League) hits 4 HRs in 7 inning game
1968 – Protest by the Derry Housing Action Committee (DHAC) at the Guildhall’s council chamber; after which Eamon Melaugh phones the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) to organise a march in Derry
1982 – Soyuz T-7 returns to Earth
1991 – Moldavia declares independence from USSR
1996 – Dino Ciccarelli is traded by the Detroit Red Wings to the Tampa Bay Lightning
2004 – China’s first ever gold in Olympic Games men’s track and field; Liu Xiang wins 110m hurdles in Athens, equalling Colin Jackson’s 1993 world record time of 12.91 seconds
2021 – Britain’s Prince Andrew served with a US federal lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a teenager 20 years ago
Author: gil7
Today in History for 27th August 2023
Historical Events
1601 – Olivier van Noort completes first Dutch exploration of new world
1832 – Black Hawk, leader of Sauk-indians, gives himself up
1892 – NYC’s Metropolitan Opera House (opened in 1883) catches fire; takes two years to restore
1908 – Calgary City Rugby Football Club re-organizes as the Tigers
1974 – NY Met Benny Ayala hits a HR in his 1st at bat
2004 – German kayaker Birgit Fischer wins gold in K-4 500m and silver in K-2 500m in Athens; first woman in any sport to win gold medals at 6 different Olympics, gold 24 years apart, and 1st person to win 2 or more medals in 5 different Games
Famous Birthdays
1870 – Amado Nervo [Juan Crisóstomo Ruiz de Nervo], Mexican writer and poet, born in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico (d. 1919)
1884 – Vincent Auriol, President of France (1947-53), born in Revel, France (d. 1966)
1886 – Rebecca Clarke, British-American violist and classical composer (Morpheus), born in Harrow, England (d. 1979)
1935 – Ernie Broglio, American baseball player
1947 – Peter Krieg [Wilhelm Gladitz], German documentary filmmaker, and writer (September Wheat), born in Schwäbisch Gmünd, West Germany (d. 2009)
1964 – Frankie Thorn, American actress
Famous Deaths
1977 – George Merritt, English actor (I Monster, Canterbury Tale), dies at 86
1980 – Douglas Kenney, American humorist (co-founded the magazine National Lampoon), dies at 33
1991 – Gordon Heath, actor (Sapphire, Staircase, Animal Farm), dies
1996 – Abram Games, British graphic artist (“Blonde Bombshell” ATS poster), dies at 82
2001 – Abu Ali Mustafa, leader of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (assassinated) (b. 1938)
2022 – Milutin Šoškić, Serbian soccer goalkeeper (50 caps Yugoslavia; FK Partizan, 1. FC Köln), dies at 84
Famous Deaths for 26th August 2023
1346 – Charles II of Alençon, killed in the Battle of Crécy (b. 1297)
1346 – Rudolph, Duke of Lorraine, killed in the Battle of Crécy (b. 1320)
1873 – Carl Wilhelm, German composer, dies at 57
1921 – Matthias Erzberger, German Minister of Finance, murdered at 45
1983 – Mike Kellin [Myron Kellin], American actor (Pipe Dream, American Buffalo), dies of cancer at 61
1992 – Bob the Moor, Flemish comic strip artist (Tintin, Kuifje), dies at 66
2011 – John McAleese, British SAS Trooper, Team leader during 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege (b. 1949)
2018 – Neil Simon, American playwright (The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, Biloxi Blues), dies at 91
2021 – Kenny Malone, American Nashville-based session drummer (Dolly Parton; Dobie Gray: Waylon Jennings), dies of COVID-19 at 83
2022 – Mable John, American blues, RandB, and gospel vocalist (Tamla-Motown; Ray Charles; “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)”), and minister, dies at 91
Historical Events for 26th August 2023
1545 – Pope Paul III names his son Pierluigi Farnese as Duke of Parma
1912 – MLB pitcher Walter Johnson’s 16-game winning streak ends
1920 – Surrey cricket all-rounder Percy Fender scores 100 in 35 minutes [113no] in a county match vs Northamptonshire at the County Ground, Northampton
1940 – Chad is the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France’s first black colonial governor
1942 – 7,000 Jews are rounded up in Vichy-France
1971 – Dutch Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard visit Indonesia
1973 – David Eisenhower writes his last sports column
1992 – Hurricane Andrew makes landfall in Louisiana as Category 3 storm after causing deaths and severe damage in Florida
2015 – WDBJ TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward are fatally shot live on TV by an ex-colleague in Moneta, Virginia
2018 – Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop resigns after losing Liberal Party leadership contest
Today in History for 26th August 2023
Historical Events
1652 – Battle of Plymouth: General-at-Sea George Ayscue of the Commonwealth of England attacked a convoy of the Dutch Republic commanded by Vice-Commodore Michiel de Ruyter. Dutch victory
1940 – RKC soccer team forms in Waalwijk
1942 – Transport #24 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany
1944 – Bulgaria announces withdrawal and German troops are to be disarmed
1973 – University of Texas (Arlington) is first accredited school to offer belly dancing
2018 – Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, former US Vatican Ambassador, claims Pope Francis knew of and ignored sex abuse allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick
Famous Birthdays
1931 – Guy Vander Jagt, American politician (Rep-R-MI, 1966-93), born in Cadillac, Michigan (d. 2007)
1935 – Cornelis B. Vaandrager [Cor Vaan], Dutch poet (Long Live Joop Massaker)
1936 – Francine York, American actress (Slattery’s People), born in Aurora, Minnesota (d. 2017)
1946 – Mark Snow [Martin Fulterman], American television and film composer (The X-Files theme), born in New York City
1969 – Adrian Young, American drummer (No Doubt – “Don’t Speak”), born in Long Beach, California
1985 – Brian Kelley, American country musician (Florida Georgia Line), born in Ormond Beach, Florida
Famous Deaths
1486 – Ernst I, Elector of Saxony (1464-86), dies at 45
1595 – Antonio, Prior of Crato, claimant to the throne of Portugal (b. 1531)
1857 – Adolf Schlagintweit, German botanist and explorer (Tarimbekken, executed in Kashgar after being mistaken for a spy at 28
1865 – Marcellus Monroe Crocker, US attorney/Union brigadier general, dies at 35
1865 – Johann Franz Encke, German astronomer (Comet Encke), dies at 73
2009 – Dominick Dunne, American writer and producer (Panic in Needle Park), dies at 83
Famous Deaths for 25th August 2023
1346 – Louis of Nevers, Count of Flanders, dies in battle
1944 – Musa Cälil, Russian-Soviet Tatar poet (The Moabit Notebooks), and resistance fighter, executed by guillotine in Plötzensee Prison, Berlin at 38
1971 – Ted Lewis [Theodore Leopold Friedman], American entertainer, bandleader and musician (Is Everybody Happy?), dies of lung failure at 81
2001 – Ken Tyrrell, English race driver and founder of Tyrrell Racing, dies at 77
2001 – Madge Adam, English solar astronomer (1st solar physicist at Oxford university’s observatory), dies at 89
2007 – Ray Jones, English footballer, dies when he crashed his car into a bus 3 weeks after getting his driver’s license at 18
2016 – Marvin Kaplan, American character and voice actor (Top Cat – “Choo Choo”; Alice – “Henry”), dies at 89
2018 – John McCain, American war hero and Republican politician (Rep-Arizona, 1983-2018, Presidential candidate, 2008), dies of brain cancer at 81
2021 – Robin Miller, American motorsports journalist (Indianapolis Star, Autoweek, Car and Driver, ESPN, Speed, NBCSN), dies from leukemia at 71
2021 – Neal Brendel, American rugby union prop (6 Tests; Pittsburgh RC) and executive (Chairman USA Rugby 2002-05), dies from cancer at 66
Historical Events for 25th August 2023
1609 – Galileo demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers, including to the Doge (ruler) of Venice, Leonardo Donato
1908 – Allen Winter wins US 1st $50,000 trotting race
1910 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Newport, RI: William Larned beats Tom Bundy 6-1, 5-7, 6-0, 6-8, 6-1 for his 4th consecutive US singles title
1921 – Yankee pitcher Harry Harper hits 3 batters in an inning tying record
1950 – US President Harry Truman orders army to take control of railroad to avert a strike
1984 – USSR performs underground nuclear test
1985 – STS 51-I scrubbed at T -9m because of an onboard computer problem
1991 – Norway and Denmark recognize independence of former USSR Baltic republics
2019 – Double Dave, a rare two-headed timber rattlesnake found in Pine Barrens forest, New Jersey
2020 – England’s James Anderson becomes first fast bowler to reach 600 wickets in Test cricket; Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali caught at first slip on 5th day of 3rd Test at Southampton
Today in History for 25th August 2023
Historical Events
1886 – 1st international polo meet (US vs England)
1924 – MLB Washington Senator Walter Johnson 2nd no-hitter beats Browns, 2-0 in 7 inn
1948 – Bradman scores 150 in 212 minutes in his last innings at Lord’s
2001 – Singer Aaliyah and 8 others killed in an air crash in the Bahamas
2012 – 85,000 people are displaced by severe floods in Myanmar
2018 – Afghan Islamic State leader Abu Saad Erhabi and 10 others killed in an air strike in province of Nangarhar, Afghanistan
Famous Birthdays
1893 – H. Trendley Dean, American dental surgeon who introduced fluoridation into water, born in Winstanley Park, Illinois (d. 1962)
1916 – Frederick Robbins, American pediatrician and bacteriologist (Nobel 1954), born in Auburn, Alabama (d. 2003)
1941 – Ludwig Müller, German soccer defender (6 caps; FC Nürnberg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hertha BSC), born in Haßfurt, Germany (d. 2021)
1961 – Billy Ray Cyrus, American country singer (Achy Breaky Heart; Old Town Road), born in Flatwoods, Kentucky
1964 – Marti Noxon, American television writer and producer, born in Los Angeles, California
1987 – Blake Lively, American actress (Gossip Girl), born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1791 – Pietro Domenico Paradisi, composer, dies
1924 – Mariano Álvarez, Filipino general (b. 1818)
1950 – Earl Caddock, professional wrestler (b. 1888)
1975 – Frans van Amelsvoort, Dutch choir conductor, dies at 75
1999 – Rob Fisher, British rock keyboardist (Naked Eyes), dies at 42
2018 – John McCain, American war hero and Republican politician (Rep-Arizona, 1983-2018, Presidential candidate, 2008), dies of brain cancer at 81
Famous Deaths for 24th August 2023
1907 – Pieter Lodewijk Tak, Dutch journalist and politician (Chronicle), dies at 58
1923 – Kate Douglas Wiggin, American author (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), dies at 66
1958 – Paul Henry, Northern Irish artist, dies at 82
1974 – Alexander de Seversky, Russian-American aviation pioneer (b. 1894)
1991 – Mark Lawrence, American pianist (Alice Pearce), and songwriter, and theatrical producer, dies at 70
2006 – Cristian Nemescu, Romanian film director (b.1979)
2010 – Satoshi Kon, Japanese anime film director, dies at 46
2020 – Tony Colton [Chalk], British singer-songwriter, and record producer (Head, Hands, and Feet), dies of kidney failure at 68
2021 – Wilfried van Moer, Belgian soccer midfielder (57 caps; Belgian Golden Shoe x 3; Beveren, Antwerp, Standard Liège), dies from a stroke at 76
2022 – Ken Jones, Welsh rugby union centre (14 caps Wales, 6 British Lions; Cardiff RFC, London Welsh RFC, Barbarian FC), dies at 81
Historical Events for 24th August 2023
1349 – 6,000 Jews, blamed for the Plague, are killed in Mainz
1516 – Battle of Marj Dabiq: Ottoman forces decisively beat the Mamluk Sultanate
1853 – 1st potato chips prepared by chef George Crum at Moon’s Lake House, near Saratoga Springs, New York (popular legend says he invented though earlier recipes exist)
1920 – With British approval, Greece is encouraged to take offensive action against Turkish nationalists in Asia Minor
1954 – US President Eisenhower signs Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party, at height of McCarthyism
1958 – Sergei Popov wins Stockholm marathon (2:15:17.0) (WR)
1960 – -127°F (-88°C), Vostok, Antarctica (world record)
1993 – Padres scores 14 in 1st vs Cardinals
1995 – Fire that wipes 6,000 acres begins in Hamptons on Long Island
1995 – Microsoft debuts Windows 95