1922 – NSW all out for 786 against South Australia Cricket
1924 – Hiram Bingham is elected as a Republican to serve in the US Senate forcing him to resign as Governor of Connecticut after serving only one day in office, the shortest term of any Connecticut Governor
1928 – National Football League Championship: Providence Steam Roller (8-1-2) win first past the post title
1944 – German V-2 strikes Antwerp bioscope (638 kill)
1948 – “Lend an Ear” opens at National Theater NYC for 460 performances
1972 – Miami Dolphins become 1st undefeated NFL team (14-0-0)
1995 – The official adoption of the name “Euro”
2012 – A gang rape of a woman on a bus in India that resulted in her death leads to national and international outrage
2012 – Corinthians defeat Chelsea 1-0 to win the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup
2020 – China blocks imports of coal, from Australia, the world’s second biggest market for the world’s biggest coal exporter
Author: gil7
Today in History for 16th December 2023
Historical Events
1777 – Virginia becomes 1st state to ratify Articles of Confederation (US 1st constitution)
1883 – Tonkin Campaign: The French capture the citadel in Hanoi
1960 – “Wildcat” opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 172 performances
1979 – Dallas QB Roger Staubach throws 3 TDs and 336 yards in his last NFL regular season game with the Cowboys, a 35-34 win over Washington Redskins at Texas Stadium
1979 – Libya raises crude oil prices, joining four other OPEC nations, which has a dramatic effect on the United States
1987 – Roh Tae Woo elected president of South Korea
Famous Birthdays
1909 – Lall Singh, Indian cricketer (scored 15 and 29 in India’s 1st Test match) (d. 1985)
1916 – Theo Bitter, Dutch painter and set designer (d. 1994)
1931 – Shelby Singleton, American record label owner and producer (Smash Records, Mercury Records), born in Waskom, Texas (d. 2009)
1937 – Joyce Bulifant, American actress (The Mary Tyler Moore Show – “Marie Slaughter”), born in Newport News, Virginia
1950 – Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist, born in Zandvoort, Netherlands (d. 2006)
1963 – James Mangold, American filmmaker (Girl, Interrupted; Kate and Leopold; Walk the Line; Logan), born in New York City
Famous Deaths
1783 – Yoriyuki Arima, Japanese mathematician (approximated the value of pi and its square, pi^2), dies at 68
1852 – Henri-Jean Rigel, French composer, music director, and “pianiste de la musique particulière de l’Empereur et Roi” to Napoleon, dies at 80
1920 – Ma Yuanzhang, Chinese Muslim rebel and Sufi master, crushed to death during the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake at an unknown age
1944 – Don Meyer Basketball coach Northern State, Lipscomb, and Hamline
2001 – Stuart Adamson, Scottish rock vocalist and guitarist (The Skids, Big Country), dies at 43
2006 – Don Jardine, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1940)
Famous Deaths for 15th December 2023
1598 – Philip van Marnix, Flemish ruler of St Aldegonde/poet, dies at 58
1621 – Charles d’Albert, duc of Luynes, French courtier, favourite of Louis XIII and Constable of France, dies at 43
1934 – Maggie L. Walker, African-American teacher and businesswoman (1st female Bank President), dies at 69
1953 – Kishio Hirao, Japanese composer, dies at 46
1971 – Paul Pierre Lévy, French mathematician (b. 1886)
1984 – Frank Spedding, Canadian chemist whose uranium extraction process helped make possible the first atomic bomb, dies at 82
1986 – Serge Lifar, Russian-French dancer, choreographer (Paris Opera Ballet), dies at 81
1991 – Ray Smith, British actor (And Then You Die), dies at 55
2008 – León Febres Cordero, Ecuadorian politician (President of Ecuador 1984-88), dies at 77
2011 – Christopher Hitchens, English author and journalist (Vanity Fair, New Statesman), dies of oesophageal cancer aged 62
Historical Events for 15th December 2023
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
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