1667 – Paul Foot, lawyer/historian, dies at 48
1798 – François-Paul Brueys D’Aigalliers, French admiral (killed in battle) (b. 1753)
1892 – George Baird Hodge, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 64
1943 – Ismar Elbogen, German-American rabbi and scholar (Encyclopedia Judaica), dies at 68
1971 – John McDermott, American golfer (US Open, 1911-12), dies of heart failure at 79
1996 – Pierre Lucien Claverie, Algerian-French Bishop of Oran, murdered by Islamic extremists in Algeria at 58
2010 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby union halfback (1 cap; Wellington RFU), cricket wicketkeeper (5 Tests, 7 dismissals) and international umpire (1 Test), dies at 99
2013 – Dick Kazmaier, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1951; Unanimous All-American 1951; Princeton), dies from heart and lung disease at 82
2015 – Anatoly Kremer, Russian composer and conductor (Eksperiment), dies at 82
2016 – Franciszek Macharski, Polish Cardinal, Archbishop of Krakow (1978-2005), dies at 87
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 1st August 2023
1720 – South Sea bubble reaches a frenzy in London as the stock price of the South Sea Company peaks at £1,000, collapses soon after and falls to £124 by December
1794 – Whiskey Rebellion begins in western Pennsylvania
1852 – San Francisco Methodists establish 1st black church, Zion Methodist
1870 – Irish Land Act gives rights to tenants of landlords in Ireland
1907 – First Scout camp opens on Brownsea Island, in Poole Harbour, Dorset
1933 – NY’s future Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell sets MLB record for consecutive scoreless innings at 45 1/3 as Giants lose 3-1 v Boston Braves
1970 – Future Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Stargell smacks 3 doubles and 2 homers in a 20-10 Pirates win v Braves at Atlanta Stadium
1971 – “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour” debuts on CBS-TV, with comic actor and singer Jimmy Durante as guest
1977 – San Francisco Giants 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits NL record 18th MLB career grand slam
1985 – Emmy 12th Daytime Award presentation – Susan Lucci loses for 6th time
Today in History for 1st August 2023
Historical Events
1863 – Cavalry action near Brandy Station-End of Gettysburg Campaign
1932 – George Washington quarter goes into circulation
1976 – XXI Summer Olympic Games, Montreal, Canada: Officially close
1992 – British athlete Linford Christie (32) becomes the oldest man to win an Olympic 100m gold medal edging Frankie Fredericks in Barcelona
1997 – 6th Athletics World Championships open at Athens, Greece
2021 – 394 migrants rescued from a stricken vessel by humanitarian NGO ships in Tunisian waters
Famous Birthdays
1819 – Herman Melville, American author (Moby-Dick, Billy Budd), born in NYC, New York (d. 1891)
1903 – Thomas D’Alesandro Jr, American politician (US Representative for Maryland (D), 1939-47; Mayor of Baltimore, 1947-59), and father of Nancy Pelosi, born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1987)
1932 – Meena Kumari, Indian film actress (Parineeta), born in Dadar, Mumbai, India (d. 1972)
1933 – Erwin Nypels, Dutch economist and Minister of Housing (D66), born in Bloemendaal, North Holland
1955 – Pierre Robert, American rock and roll radio DJ (same station in Philadelphia since 1981), and Deadhead, born in Truckee, California
1964 – Adam Duritz, American rock singer-songwriter, and keyboardist (Counting Crows – “Mr. Jones”; “Accidentally in Love”), born in Baltimore, Maryland
Famous Deaths
1883 – Karl Wilhelm Dindorf, classic scholar, dies
1896 – William Robert Grove, Welsh physicist and inventor of the first fuel cell, dies at 85
1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer, pedagogue (Venice Liceo Musicale, 1932-52), and musicologist (Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi). s at 91
1990 – Norbert Elias, German-British sociologist and philosopher (Process of Civilization), dies at 93
2000 – Hugh Hood, Canadian author (White Figure, White Ground), dies at 72
2012 – Joan Bernard, English educator (Principal Trevelyan College, Durham) and army officer (WWII Auxiliary Territorial Service), dies at 94
Famous Deaths for 31st July 2023
1864 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (Librairie Hachette), dies at 64
1917 – Hedd Wyn, Welsh poet (b. 1887)
1927 – Walter Travis, Australian-American golfer, writer, course designer (US Amateur C’ship 1900-01, 03; British Amateur 1904), dies at 65
1964 – Jim Reeves, American country singer (“He’ll Have To Go”; “Distant Drums”), and actor (Kimberley Jim), dies in airplane crash at 39
1965 – James Rennie, Canadian actor (Lash, Little Damozel), dies at 75
1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist (Nobel 1938-work on carotenoids and vitamins), dies at 66
1986 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (b. 1900)
1996 – Joan Warburton, Scottish painter, dies at 76
1998 – Barbara Giuranna, Italian pianist and composer, dies at 98
2020 – Alan Parker, English director (Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express), dies at 76
Historical Events for 31st July 2023
1794 – All Jacobijnse clubs together in Haarlem
1901 – Abraham Kuyper becomes premier of Netherlands
1922 – 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson rides world’s 1st water skis (Minnesota)
1932 – 26th Tour de France: French cyclist André Leducq wins after tallying 6 stage victories; his second Tour triumph (1930)
1954 – Milwaukee first baseman Joe Adcock becomes only the 3rd player in 20th century to hit 4 HRs in 9-inning game (Lou Gehrig and Gil Hodges) in 15-7 Braves’ win over Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field; MLB record 18 total bases
1964 – US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on Moon
1964 – American glider pilot Al Parker glides 644 miles without a motor
1965 – Cigarette advertising banned on British TV
1988 – Miami Dolphins beat San Francisco 49ers, 27-21 in the American Bowl at London’s Wembley Stadium
1989 – MLB Minnesota Twins trade AL Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola to New York Mets
Today in History for 31st July 2023
Historical Events
1905 – Matumbi rebellion at Samanga, German East Africa
1922 – 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson rides world’s 1st water skis (Minnesota)
1934 – International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Wimbledon: Fred Perry beats American Frank Shields 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 15-13 to give Great Britain unassailable 3-1 lead to retain title; ends 4-1
1966 – Two Alabama radio hosts, Tommy Charles and Doug Layton of WAQY in Birmingham ask listeners to send in Beatles albums and merchandise to burn in response to John Lennon’s anti-Jesus remark that “Christianity will go”
1988 – Pittsburgh Pirates 1st baseman/left fielder and 7-time All Star Willie Stargell becomes 200th man inducted in Baseball’s Hall of Fame
1994 – Netherlands’ warmest July since 1783 – average 21.4°C
Famous Birthdays
1843 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and Nobel Prize laureate, born in Krieglach, Austria (d. 1918)
1911 – George Liberace, American violinist (Liberace Show), born in Menasha, Wisconsin (d. 1983)
1920 – Rudolf Halaczinsky, German composer, born in Emma-Grube, Upper Silesia (d. 1999)
1950 – Lane Davies, American actor (Mason-Santa Barbara, Impure Thoughts), born in Dalton, Georgia
1967 – Tony Massenburg, American NBA forward who played for 12 different teams, born in Sussex, Virginia
1975 – Randy Flores, American baseball pitcher (World Series 2006, St. Louis Cardinals), executive (American director scouting SL Cardinals) and broadcaster (Pac-12 Network), born in Bellflower, California
Famous Deaths
1914 – A J Jean Jaurès, French socialist (L’Humanité/Les Preuves), murdered=
1953 – Robert A. Taft, American politician (U.S. Senator from Ohio), dies at 63
1968 – Gertrude Short, actress (Stella Dallas, Blonde Venus), dies at 66
1978 – Enoch Light, American orchestra leader (Gulf Road Show with Bob Smith), dies at 70
1995 – Genevieve Tobin Keighley, actress (Zaza, Great Gambini), dies at 83
2002 – Jerome Beatty Jr., American author of children’s literature (Matthew and Maria Looney books), dies at 85
Famous Deaths for 30th July 2023
1550 – Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician (b. 1505)
1680 – Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory, Irish naval commander (b. 1634)
1875 – George Pickett, American Confederate general (b. 1825)
1967 – John Macchia, American actor (Beach Blanket Bingo, Beach Party), dies of stroke at 35
1980 – Charles McGraw [Butters], American actor (Spartacus, The Birds, The Killers, Smith Family), dies after falling through a glass shower door at 66
1985 – Julia Hall Bowman Robinson, American mathematician (b. 1919)
1990 – Karl Weber, dies of heart failure at 74
1993 – Edward Bernard Raczyński, Polish President-in-exile (1979-86), dies at 101
2006 – Murray Bookchin, American libertarian socialist (b. 1921)
2015 – Lynn Anderson, American country singer (I Never Promised you a Rose Garden), dies of a heart attack at 67
Historical Events for 30th July 2023
1809 – British armed force of 39,000 lands in Walcheren
1870 – The Republic of Klipdrift is proclaimed by Transvaal President Andries Pretorius after the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1866 resulted in a flood of treasure hunters; ownership of the diamond fields was contested by the Boer republics
1932 – X Summer Olympic Games open in Los Angeles, USA
1954 – 5th British Empire Games and Commonwealth Games open in Vancouver, Canada
1966 – FIFA World Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London, England: Striker Geoff Hurst scores a hat trick as England beats West Germany, 4-2 after extra time
1975 – Simon Gray’s “Otherwise Engaged” premieres in London
2012 – Indian power grid failure leaves over 300 million without electricity
2017 – Hackers reveal they have stolen data from HBO, including episodes and scripts of Games of Thrones
2017 – Venezuelan voting for a new assembly disrupted by violent protests, at least 3 people killed
2017 – Russian President Vladimir Putin announces American diplomats in Russia cut by 755 in response to American sanctions
Today in History for 30th July 2023
Historical Events
1870 – The Republic of Klipdrift is proclaimed by Transvaal President Andries Pretorius after the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1866 resulted in a flood of treasure hunters; ownership of the diamond fields was contested by the Boer republics
1908 – Around the World Automobile Race ends in Paris
1985 – Valerie Lowrance, of Texas, 18, crowned America’s Junior Miss
1988 – Harry Drake shoots arrow record 1873m
2012 – General Motors (Chevrolet) sign a record breaking 7 year $559 million sponsorship deal with EPL club Manchester United
2022 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls for mandatory evacuation of civilians from eastern Donetsk region amid fierce fighting
Famous Birthdays
1747 – Antonio Benedetto Maria Puccini, Italian composer, born in Lucca, Italy (d. 1832)
1868 – Alfred Weber, German economist and sociologist, born in Erfurt, Prussian Saxony (d. 1958)
1936 – Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz, daughter of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona and Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, born in Cannes, French Third Republic
1963 – Chris Mullin, American NBA forward (Warriors, Pacers, Olympic gold 1992), born in Brooklyn, New York
1974 – Radostin Kishishev, Bulgarian footballer, born in Burgas, Bulgaria
1975 – Tifini Hale, American pop singer (Party – “Rodeo”; “That’s Why”), born in Palm Springs, California (d. 2021)
Famous Deaths
1771 – Thomas Gray, English poet (Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard), dies at 54
1957 – Sem Dresden, Dutch composer and conductor, dies at 76
1978 – Umberto Nobile, Italian aviator and polar explorer (designed and flew 1st airship across the polar air cap), dies at 93
1978 – Aasan Ferit Alnar, Turkish classical composer, dies at 72
2004 – Jan Hanus, Czech composer, dies at 89
2004 – Andre Noble, Canadian actor (b. 1979)
Famous Deaths for 29th July 2023
1108 – Philip I of France, King of the Franks (1060-1108), dies at 56
1781 – Johann Kies, German astronomer and mathematician, dies at 73
1792 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (b. 1714)
1808 – Selim III, Turkish sultan (1789-1808) poet and composer, assassinated at 46
1983 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish surrealist film director (Monk), dies of cirrhosis of liver at 83
1988 – Ellin Berlin (née MacKay), American writer (Lace Curtain), and second wife of songwriter Irving Berlin, dies at 86
1994 – Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British biochemist who developed protein crystallography to study molecular structure, including that of vitamin B12 (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1964), dies of a stroke at 84
1998 – Jerome Robbins [Rabinowitz], American Tony and Academy Award-winning theater and ballet choreographer and director (West Side Story; Peter Pan), dies shortly after suffering a strokeat 79
2007 – Mike Reid, English comedian and actor (b. 1940)
2013 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian soccer striker (58 caps; El Nacional, Santos Laguna, América), dies from heart failure at 27