Author: gil7

Today in History for 8th March 2026

Historical Events

1934 – Edwin Hubble photo shows as many galaxies as Milky Way has stars
1946 – 1st helicopter licensed for commercial use (NYC)
1949 – WAGA TV channel 5 in Atlanta, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1996 – “Fargo” directed and written by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi released in the US
2022 – President Joe Biden announces the US is banning Russian oil imports with UK phasing out imports by the end of the year

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Famous Birthdays

1726 – Richard Howe, British admiral, born in London (d. 1799)
1902 – Jennings Randolph, American politician, Senator from West Virginia (1958-85), last living member of the Congress to have served during the first 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, born in Salem, West Virginia (d. 1998)
1922 – Carl Furillo, American baseball outfielder (NL Batting Champ 1953; MLB All-Star 1952, 53; World Series 1955, 59; Brooklyn/LA Dodgers), born in Stony Creek Mills, Pennsylvania (d. 1989)
1936 – Sue Ane Langdon, actress (Bachelor Father, Arnie), born in Paterson, New Jersey
1975 – Peggy Zina [Panagiota-Calliope Chrysicopoulou], Greek pop and modern laika singer, and piano player, born in Athens, Greece

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Famous Deaths

1819 – Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American doctor, Massachusetts militia officer, member of the Massachusetts legislature, dies at 80
1869 – Hector Berlioz, French composer (Symphonie fantastique), dies at 65
1919 – Auguste Tolbecque, French cellist, instrument maker, and composer, dies at 88
1976 – Alfons Rebane, Estonian military officer during WWII and MI6 intelligence officer, dies at 67
1993 – Joop Scheltens, TV host/director (Explore Your Place), dies at 69

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Famous Deaths for 7th March 2026

1517 – Maria of Aragon, Spanish-born Queen consort of Portugal (1500-17) as second wife of Manuel I, dies at 34
1719 – Steven Jacobsz Vennekool, Amsterdam architect, buried
1737 – Guido Starhemberg, Austrian earl and fieldmarshal (Turkish Wars), dies at 79
1862 – Ben McCulloch, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), killed in Battle of Pea Ridge, in Arkansas 50
1911 – Antonio Fogazzarro, Italian writer and poet (Il Santo, Leila), dies at 68
1949 – Francis Dodd, British artist (official military portraitist WWI), commits suicide at 74
1971 – Harold McNair, British-Jamaican calypso and jazz saxophonist and flautist, dies of lung cancer at 39
1981 – Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, German tennis player (Wimbledon 1931, 1936 runner-up), dies at 72
2007 – Frigyes Hidas, Hungarian composer, and musical director (Hungarian National Theater, 1951-66; Budapest Operetta, 1974-79). dies at 78
2022 – Berkrerk Chartvanchai, Thai boxer (WBA flyweight title 1970), dies at 77

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Historical Events for 7th March 2026

1573 – Turkey and Venice sign a peace treaty
1801 – Massachusetts enacts first state voter registration law
1930 – NY Times agrees to capitalize the n in “Negro”
1935 – Malcolm Campbell sets world land speed record speed of 276.71 mph driving his famous Blue Bird car; last record set at Daytona Beach, Florida
1939 – Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians 1st record “Auld Lang Syne”
1953 – South African cricket opening batsman Jackie McGlew scores an unbeaten 255 in 1st Test win against New Zealand in Wellington
1963 – John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman record their self-titled album “John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman” at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
2021 – Oprah Winfrey interview with Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex broadcast on CBS, alleges Meaghan was made suicidal and subject to racist treatment by the palace

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Today in History for 7th March 2026

Historical Events

1939 – Glamour magazine begins publishing
1945 – Yugoslavia government of Josep Broz Tito forms
1959 – “Bells Are Ringing” closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 925 performances
1998 – 19th Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament: Connecticut beats Syracuse, 69-64
2024 – Sweden officially joins NATO as the alliance’s 32nd member, abandoning its 200-year policy of neutrality

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Famous Birthdays

1556 – Guillaume du Vair, French writer and thinker, born in Paris (d. 1621)
1844 – Anthony Comstock, American anti-vice crusader and philatelist, born in New Canaan, Connecticut (d. 1915)
1942 – Paul Preuss, American sci-fi author (Medusa Encounter, Starfire), born in Albany, Georgia
1960 – Ivan Lendl, Czech-American tennis player (world #1 270 weeks; 8 x Grand Slam singles title winner; 5 x Tour Finals, 2 x WCT Finals), born in Ostrava, Czech Republic
1967 – Randel “Randy” Guss, American musician and drummer (Toad the Wet Sprocket), born in Detroit, Michigan

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Famous Deaths

1810 – Albertus Henricus Wiese, governor-general of Netherlands Indies, dies at about 48
1891 – Franz von Miklosich, Slovenian philologist, dies at 77
1964 – Franz Alexander, Hungarian-American pioneering psychoanalyst (pioneered psychosomatic medicine), dies at 73
1991 – Greta Schoon, German poet, and kindergarten teacher, dies at 81
2002 – Abdul Mati [Matias Klarwein], French artist known for his works used on music album covers (Santana’s Abraxus; Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew; Osibisa’s Heads; Jon Hassel’s Dream Theory), dies at 69

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Famous Deaths for 6th March 2026

1052 – Emma of Normandy, Norman-born Queen and influential consort of England, Denmark and Norway (wife of Æthelred the Unready and Cnut the Great, mother of Edward the Confessor and Harthacnut), dies
1836 – James “Jim” Bowie, American pioneer and soldier (Texas Revolution), dies during Battle of Alamo at 39
1878 – Julius Caesar, English cricket batsman (first English tours to North America 1859-60, Australia and NZ 1864-5; Surrey CCC), dies from dropsy at 47
1933 – Anton Cermak, American politician (44th Mayor of Chicago, 1931-33), dies 23 days after being shot in by an assassin targeting Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami, Florida at 59
1968 – Isa Krejci, Czech composer, dies at 63
1971 – Raymond Herreman, Belgian poet, journalist and writer (Jericho’s Rose), dies at 74
1976 – Maxie Rosenbloom, American boxer, actor (world light heavyweight champion 1932-34), dies of Paget’s disease of bone at 68
1981 – Klaus Grabowski, German alleged murderer and convicted sex offender, shot and killed in Lübeck District Court by Marianne Bachmeier the mother of the daughter he was accused of murdering
2009 – Susan Tsvangirai, wife of Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, dies in a car crash at 50
2021 – Jeremiah Harman, British jurist, known as “the kicking Judge”, dies of cancer at 90

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Historical Events for 6th March 2026

1454 – Thirteen Years’ War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, Casimir IV, who agrees to help in their struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights
1665 – Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society begins publication
1946 – France recognizes Vietnam statehood within Indo-Chinese federation
1967 – WACS TV channel 25 in Dawson, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
1974 – Australian cricketing brothers Ian (145 and 121) and Greg Chappell (247no and 133) score unique twin centuries in drawn 1st Test vs New Zealand in Wellington
1990 – SR-71 sets a transcontinental record, flying 2,404 miles in 1:08:17
2018 – American WWII aircraft carrier USS Lexington rediscovered in Australia’s Coral Sea, lost during 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea
2021 – Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama is vaccinated against COVID-19 in Dharamsala, India and urges others to do so

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Today in History for 6th March 2026

Historical Events

1882 – Monarch Milan Obrenovic of Serbia crowns himself king
1904 – The Japanese fleet bombards Vladivostok, the major Russian port on the Pacific
1933 – Poland occupies the free city of Danzig (Gdańsk)
1976 – 23rd ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament: Virginia beats North Carolina, 67-62
1978 – Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and his lawyer shot by a militant white supremacist sniper in Georgia, leaving Flynt crippled and wheelchair bound

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Famous Birthdays

1898 – (Johanne) “Jo” Vincent, Dutch concert soprano (St. Matthew’s Passion; Benjamin Britten’s Spring Symphony), and voice teacher, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1989)
1916 – Virginia Gregg, American radio and screen actress, singer and double bassist, born in Harrisburg, Illinois (d. 1986)
1966 – Maurice Ashley, American chess player and commentator (1st Black Grandmaster), born in St. Andrews, Jamaica
1970 – Edward Berger, German film director (All Quiet on the Western Front; Conclave), born in Wolfsburg, West Germany
1976 – Ken Anderson, American professional wrestler also known as “Mr. Kennedy” (WWE Smackdown!; TNA iMPACT! Wrestling), born in Wisconsin Rapids

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Famous Deaths

1490 – Ivan the Young, Russian Prince of Moscow, heir of Ivan III of Russia, and ruler of Tver by marriage to Maria of Tver, dies at 32
1954 – Louis Zimmermann, Dutch violinist (1st concert master of Amsterdam Symphony), composer, and educator, dies at 80
1967 – Nelson Eddy, American baritone (Phantom of the Opera), dies at 65
1984 – Ian Cromb, New Zealand cricket all-rounder (5 Tests, 1 x 50, 8 wickets; Canterbury), dies in a car accident at 78
1994 – Max Schubert, Australian pioneering winemaker (Penfolds), dies at 89

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Famous Deaths for 5th March 2026

1611 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyō (warlord) and 16th Chief of Shimazu clan of Satsuma Province, dies at 78
1788 – Etheldreda Townshend, English society hostess and possible inspiration for Lady Bellaston in “Tom Jones”, dies at 79 or 80
1963 – Harold “Hawkshaw” Hawkins, American country singer (Ozark Jubilee; “Lonesome 7-7203”), dies in a plane crash at 41
1965 – John “Pepper” Martin, American baseball utility (MLB All-Star 1933–35, 37; World Series 1931, 34; NL stolen base leader 1933, 34, 36; St. Louis Cardinals), dies of a heart attack at 61
1977 – Jansen Van Vuuren, Dutch volunteer safety marshal at the 1977 South African Grand Prix, dies in a car crash at 19
1984 – Michael Sklar, American comedian (Laugh-In; Sha Na Na), dies at 39
1991 – August de Schryver, Belgian politician/founder (CVP), dies at 92
1995 – (Victor) “Vivian” Stanshall, British singer and comic songwriter (Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band – “I’m The Urban Spaceman”; Magical Mystery Tour), dies in a fire at his home, at 51
2006 – Richard Kuklinski, American mafia hit man, dies at 70
2010 – Peter Woodcock, Canadian serial killer who killed three children, dies in prison at 71

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Historical Events for 5th March 2026

1579 – Betuwe joins the Union of Utrecht
1820 – Dutch city of Leeuwarden forbids Jews to go to synagogues on Sundays
1942 – World première of Dmitri Shostakovich’ 7th Symphony in Kuybyshev, Russia
1966 – 75 MPH air currents causes BOAC 707 crash into Mount Fuji, 124 die
1969 – Price of gold reaches then record high ($47 per ounce) in Paris
1974 – First performance in 3,000 years of world’s oldest known song “Hymn to Nikkal” a 3,400 year old Hurrian hymn to moon god Nikkal from Ugarit in Syria, played at Berkeley University by Anne Kilmer and Richard Crocker
1981 – Michael Stewart’s musical “Bring Back Birdie” opens at Martin Beck Theater, NYC for 4 performances
1997 – Tommy Lasorda, Nellie Fox and Willie Wells inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame

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Today in History for 5th March 2026

Historical Events

1858 – Abolitionists establish “Crispus Attucks Day” in Boston
1959 – Iran and US sign economic and military treaty
1970 – “Airport” based on the book by Arthur Hailey, directed by George Seaton and starring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin is released
1994 – Jefffesron Airplane/Starship singer Grace Slick arrested for pointing a gun at a cop
2019 – Japanese architect Arata Isozaki wins architecture’s Pritzker Prize

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Famous Birthdays

1817 – Austen Henry Layard, British archaeologist and diplomat (work in Mesopotamia including rediscovery of Nineveh), born in Paris, France (d. 1894)
1921 – Elmer Valo, American baseball outfielder (one of only 4, four-decade MLB players 1939-61; Philadelphia, KC Athletics), born in Rybník Czechoslovakia (d. 1998)
1932 – Earl Woods, American author (father of Tiger Woods; 2 x books about upbringing and coaching), born in Manhattan, Kansas (d. 2006)
1948 – Eddy Grant, Guyanese–British reggae singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (“Electric Avenue”), born in Plaisance, British Guiana
1973 – Nicole Pratt, Australian tennis star (1995 Futures Australia), born in Mackay, Queensland

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Famous Deaths

1950 – Sid Grauman, American entrepreneur, established the Chinese Theatre and Egyptian Theatre, dies from coronary occlusion at 70
1994 – Abdullah Al-Sallal, President of Yemen (1962-67), dies
2006 – Richard Kuklinski, American mafia hit man, dies at 70
2010 – Peter Woodcock, Canadian serial killer who killed three children, dies in prison at 71
2018 – Hayden White, American “literary criticism” historian (Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe), dies at 89

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