1608 – Martin Delrio, Flemish theologian and occultist, dies at 57
1918 – Harold Lockwood, American actor (Tess of the Storm Country), dies from the flu at 31
1926 – Victor Babeş, Romanian physician and bacteriologist, dies at 72
1932 – Lindley M. Garrison, American lawyer and 46th U.S. Secretary of War (1913-16), dies at 67
1932 – Arthur Friedheim, Russian composer, dies at 72
1992 – Maurice Le Roux, French conductor and film score composer (Kamouraska), dies at 69
2007 – Jan Wolkers, Dutch sculptor and novelist (Brief American), dies at 81
2008 – Doreen Wilber, American archer (Olympic gold individual 1972), dies from Alzheimer’s disease at 78
2020 – Tony Lewis, British rock singer-songwriter and bass player (The Outfield – “Your Love”), dies at 62
2022 – Joanna Simon, American mezzo-soprano (1962-86), and Emmy Award-winning arts journalist (PBS, 1986-92), dies of thyroid cancer at 85
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 19th October 2023
1739 – England declares war on Spain [OS=Oct 30]
1932 – Jimmie Foxx wins AL MVP and Chuck Klein wins NL MVP
1944 – US Navy says Black women can join WAVES
1960 – KWCS (now KOOG) TV channel 30 in Ogden, UT (IND) begins broadcasting
1968 – Derry Citizen’s Action Committee, formed Oct 9, stages illegal sit-down at Guildhall Square as part of large civil disobedience campaign
1970 – Amdahl Corp forms at Sunnyvale, California
1970 – John Frazier kills Ohta’s declares WW 3 has begun
1989 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1994 – 160 killed in fighting in Tsjetsjenie (Chechnya)
2014 – A working human intestine is generated in a laboratory from stem cells in the United States
Today in History for 19th October 2023
Historical Events
1863 – Battle of Buckland Mills, Virginia
1870 – 1st African Americans (4) elected to US House of Representatives
1919 – 1st US Distinguished Service Medal awarded to a living female recipient, Anna Howard Shaw
1952 – Alain Bombard departs from the Canary Islands on his solitary journey across the Atlantic ocean with almost no provisions and only a sextant for navigation to test his theory that a shipwrecked person could survive
2013 – 16 people are killed and 30 are wounded by a suicide bombing Beledweyne, Somalia
2019 – Sunnyside, Queens, New York City: Intersection of 46th Street and Skillman Avenue named “Ethel Plimack Way”, in honor of a longtime resident
Famous Birthdays
1688 – William Cheselden, English surgeon and anatomist (d. 1752)
1866 – Clarence Lucas, Canadian composer, librettist, conductor, and music professor, born in Six Nations Reserve, Ontario (d. 1947)
1954 – Deborah Blum, American writer
1962 – Tracy Chevalier, American author
1964 – Webster Slaughter, NFL wide receiver (KC Chiefs)
1969 – Pedro Castillo, Peruvian teacher, union leader and politician (President of Peru 2021-22), born in Puña,, Peru
Famous Deaths
1609 – Jacobus Arminius [Jacob Hermans], theologist, dies at about 49
1918 – Harold Lockwood, American actor (Tess of the Storm Country), dies from the flu at 31
1988 – Edward “Son” House, American delta blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (“Walking Blues”; “Preachin’ The Blues”), dies of larynx cancer at 86
1996 – Neville Robinson, English physicist, dies at 71
1997 – Pilar Miró, Spanish screenwriter and director (Wether, Beltenebros), dies at 57
2003 – Hawk [Michael Hegstrand], American professional wrestler (ECW/WCW/WWF/AWA, Legion of Doom), dies at 46
Famous Deaths for 18th October 2023
1744 – Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, close friend of Queen Anne of Great Britain, dies at 84
1840 – Pierre-Gabriel Gardel, French ballet dancer and choreographer (In L’Offrande à la Liberté), dies at 82
1871 – Charles Babbage, British mathematician and inventor (calculating machine) considered the “father of the computer”, dies of renal failure at 79
1938 – Karl Kautsky, Austrian philosopher and Marxist theorist (Socialist journal Neue Zeit), dies at 83
1945 – Fred Hovey, American tennis player (US Nationals 1895), dies at 77
1972 – Esma Cannon, Australian-born actress (Sailor Beware!), dies at 66
1982 – John Robarts, Canadian politician, Premier of Ontario (b. 1917)
1983 – Vijay Manjrekar, Indian cricket batsman (55 Tests, 7 x 100, HS 189no; Bombay, Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra), dies at 52
1994 – WiIlliam Faure, South African film producer (Shaka Zulu), dies of kidney failure at 45
2021 – Colin Powell, American General and 1st Black US Secretary of State (2001-05), dies from complications of COVID-19, blood cancer, and Parkinson’s disease at 84
Historical Events for 18th October 2023
1889 – First all-NYC “World Championship” Baseball Series; New York Giants (NL) play Brooklyn Bridegrooms (AA); Giants go on to win series, 6-3
1921 – Charles Strite granted US patent #1,394,450 for his invention, the automatic pop-up toaster
1932 – Belgium government of Renkin falls
1968 – Polish sprinter Irena Szewińska runs a world record 22.58s to beat Australian Raelene Boyle by 0.16s and win the 200m gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
1974 – Chicago Bull Nate Thurmond becomes 1st in NBA to complete a quadruple double-22 pts, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks
1974 – Andre van de Louw appointed Mayor of Rotterdam
1979 – Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini orders mass executions to stop
1989 – East German state/party leader Erich Honecker resigns
1999 – MLB American League Championship: New York Yankees beat Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 1
2023 – At least 500 Palestinians killed in explosion on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, Gaza Strip, with local officials blaming Israeli missile attack and Israelis blaming misfired Palestinian rocket
Today in History for 18th October 2023
Historical Events
1534 – New pursuit of French protestants
1667 – English fleet plunders Suriname plantations
1941 – Soviet spy Richard Sorge arrested in Tokyo
1962 – Tony Sheridan and Beat Brothers record “Let’s Dance”
1969 – British singer Rod Stewart joins Small Faces
2012 – Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen are honoured for their work with fashion label The Row at the WSJ Magazine’s Innovator Of The Year Awards in New York City
Famous Birthdays
1405 – Pius II [Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini], Italian pope (1458-64), (Commentaries – only biography by a reigning Pope), born in Corsignano, Republic of Siena (d. 1464)
1818 – Edward Otho Cresap Ord, American engineer and Major General (Union Army), born in Cumberland, Maryland (d. 1883)
1918 – Robert “Bobby” Troup, American jazz pianist and actor (Emergency; Acapulco), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (d. 1999)
1919 – Pierre Trudeau, 15th Canadian Prime Minister (Liberal: 1968-79, 1980-84), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2000)
1933 – Forrest Gregg, American Pro Football HOF tackle (9 x Pro Bowl; 7 × First-team All-Pro; Green Bay Packers) and coach (Cleveland Browns, Toronto Argonauts, Cincinnati Bengals, GB Packers), born in Birthright, Texas (d. 2019)
1960 – Doug Lidster, Kamloops, NHL defenseman (NY Rangers)
Famous Deaths
1382 – James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormonde, dies at 51
1982 – Pierre Mendès-France, French Premier (1954-55), dies at 75
1982 – Bess Truman, US First Lady (1945-52), dies of Congestive heart failure at 97
1984 – Florence Rinard, TV panelist (20 Questions), dies at 82
1997 – Bill Rotsler, cartoonist/writer, dies of cancer at 62
1997 – Roberto C Goizueta, CEO (Coca-Cola), dies of lung cancer at 65
Famous Deaths for 17th October 2023
1836 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (b. 1782)
1889 – N.G. [Nikolay Gavrilovich] Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher (What Is to Be Done?), dies at 61
1910 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet (Battle Hymn of the Republic), author, abolitionist, and women’s suffragist, dies of pneumonia at 91
1966 – Wieland Wagner, German opera director, dies
1979 – Karel Reiner, Czech pianist, composer, and Theresienstadt concentration camp survivor, dies at 69
1982 – Peterus van Doorne, Dutch industrialist, dies at 47
1992 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian professor, scientist and politician (b. 1912)
1992 – Ton Hasebos, cameraman/TV director (Gnome Hasebos), dies
2006 – Daniel Emilfork, French actor (b. 1924)
2007 – Joey Bishop [Gottlieb], American TV talk show host (Joey Bishop Show) and member of the “Rat Pack” group of entertainers, dies at 89
Historical Events for 17th October 2023
1855 – Bessemer steelmaking process patented
1918 – Yugoslavia proclaims itself a republic
1921 – Belgium’s public library law goes into force
1956 – “Around the World in 80 Days”, based on the book by Jules Verne, directed by Michael Anderson and starring David Nivon and Cantinflas, premieres in New York
1957 – French author Albert Camus awarded Nobel Prize in Literature
1964 – New York Yankees catcher fire Manager Yogi Berra
1971 – Cleveland Metroparks’ Rocky River Nature Center opens
1972 – Bob Randall’s “6 Rooms Riv Vu,” premieres in NYC
1978 – USSR performs underground nuclear test
2017 – Islamic State headquarters Raqqa declared under full control of US-led alliance by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman Talal Sello after 4 months of fighting
Today in History for 17th October 2023
Historical Events
1899 – Sutro railroad sold to Robert F Morrow for $215,000
1957 – II Tsjoendrigar becomes premier of Pakistan
1976 – Coldest World Series game; Reds beat NY Yankees, 4-3 in Game 2 at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati; 39 degrees F (until 1997)
1995 – MLB American League Championship: Cleveland Indians beat Seattle Mariners, 4 games to 2
1998 – At Jesse, in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, a petroleum pipeline explodes killing about 1200 villagers, some of whom are scavenging gasoline.
2010 – Brother André is the first Canadian to be canonized post Federation by Pope Benedict XVI
Famous Birthdays
1704 – William Bentinck, British-born Dutch politician and prominent Orangist (d. 1774)
1734 – Grigori Orlov, Russian military officer and favorite of Catherine the Great (helped her overthrow Peter III), born in Bezhetsky Uyezd, Russia (d. 1783) [NS]
1848 – William “Candy” Cummings, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (credited with creating the curveball), born in Ware, Massachusetts (d. 1924)
1969 – Ernie Els, South African golfer (US Open 1994, 97; British Open 2002, 12), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
1977 – Bryan Bertino, American film director and screenwriter
1989 – Phoebe Tonkin, Australian actress
Famous Deaths
1660 – Adrian Scrope, English regicide (b. 1601)
1897 – Isidor Dannström, Swedish composer, dies at 84
1979 – Karel Reiner, Czech pianist, composer, and Theresienstadt concentration camp survivor, dies at 69
1993 – Criss Oliva, American musician (Savatage), dies at 30
1995 – Peter Hinchcliff, historian, dies at 66
2019 – Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina and founder of the National Ballet of Cuba, dies at 98
Famous Deaths for 16th October 2023
1591 – Gregory XIV [Niccolo Sfondrati], Italian Pope, dies in office from a gallstone at 56
1628 – François de Malherbe, French poet and critic (b. 1555)
1690 – Margaretha M Alacoque, French mystic/saint, dies at 43
1694 – Samuel Freiherr von Pufendorf, German lawyer, dies at 62
1791 – Grigory Potemkin, Russian military leader, statesman and favorite of Catherine the Great, dies at 52
1810 – Nachman of Breslov, Ukrainian founder of Breslov Hasidut, dies at 38
1865 – Andrés Bello, Venezuelan poet, lawmaker, philosopher, and sociologist (b. 1781)
1944 – John Eigenhuis, Dutch writer (The Dike), dies at 78
1956 – Jules Rimet, French football administrator (3rd President of FIFA 1921-54), dies at 83
1996 – Anthony Griffin, British Royal Navy admiral (Controller of the Navy, 1971–75; chairman of British Shipbuilders 1977–80). dies at 75