1484 – Battle of Lochmaben Fair – a 500-man raiding party led by Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas are defeated by Scots forces loyal to Albany’s brother James III of Scotland; Douglas is captured
1515 – First Congress of Vienna settles issues between Poland and Holy Roman Empire – rise of the Habsburgs influence
1835 – Smolny Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia is consecrated, originally commissioned by Elizabeth of Russia
1933 – Wiley Post completes the 1st solo flight round the world, takes 7 days and 19 hours
1942 – 4th Soviet army forms with 80 tanks
1954 – WTHI TV channel 10 in Terre Haute, IN (CBS) begins broadcasting
1984 – 71st Tour de France won by Laurent Fignon of France
2018 – Lone gunman shooting kills 3 including gunman and injures 13 in Toronto, Canada
2019 – US President Donald Trump says US could win war in Afghanistan in a week “I just don’t want to kill 10 million people. If I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the earth”
2022 – Droupadi Murmu is the first tribal politician to be elected President of India (head of state, without executive powers)
Author: gil7
Today in History for 22nd July 2023
Historical Events
1923 – 17th Tour de France won by Henri Pelissier of France
1933 – Caterina Jarboro sings “Aida” at the New York Hippodrome, becoming the 1st black female opera singer to perform in the US
1965 – Edward Heath succeeds Alec Douglas-Home as leader of the British Conservative party
1983 – MLB California Angels outfielder Brian Downing’s error ends his record streak at 244 games
2013 – 89 people are killed and 500 are injured by earthquakes in Gansu province, China
2019 – Air strikes have killed at least 31 people in Maarat al-Numan, north-western Syria, with Russian planes supporting Syrian government being blamed
Famous Birthdays
1848 – Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1914)
1878 – Janusz Korczak [Henryk Goldszmit], Polish-Jewish educator and pedagogue (ran an orphanage in the Warsaw Ghetto) [or born in 1879], born in Warsaw, Congress Poland (d. 1942)
1890 – Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, American matriarch, mother of JFK, RFK and Ted, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1995)
1928 – Orson Bean, American actor and comedian (To Tell the Truth), born in Burlington, Vermont (d. 2020)
1952 – Herbert Chang, West Indian cricket batsman (1979)
1953 – Jimmy Bruno, American jazz guitarist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Famous Deaths
1863 – Karl Schuberth, German cellist, and composer, dies at 52
1996 – Peter Ludwig, German businessman and art collector, dies at 71
1996 – Tamara Danz, German singer (Silly), dies of cancer at 43
2007 – Ulrich Mühe, German actor (b. 1953)
2013 – Dennis Farina, American actor, dies from a pulmonary embolism at 69
2021 – Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, French auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1978, 80), dies from a heart attack at 84
Famous Deaths for 21st July 2023
1683 – Lord William Russell, English politician and plotter against Charles II, beheaded at 43
1889 – Nelson Dewey, American politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1813)
1972 – Jigme Dori Wangchuck, King of Bhutan (1952-72), dies of a heart condition at 45
1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British ambassador to Ireland, assassinated by the IRA at 54
1993 – Robert Glass, American film sound engineer (ET), is murdered at 53
1995 – Elleston Trevor, English author (The Flight of the Phoenix), dies at 75
1996 – John Kevin Moorhouse, British test pilot, dies in a plane crash during an air show at 50
1996 – Macha Rosenthal, American critic and poet (Poetry as Confession), dies at 79
1999 – David Ogilvy ‘Father of Advertising’, English advertising whiz (founded Ogilvy and Mathers), dies at 88
2002 – John Cunningham, British Royal Air Force night fighter ace (WW II), dies at 84
Historical Events for 21st July 2023
1545 – The first landing of French troops onto the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion
1853 – Central Park in New York created when New York State Legislature puts aside more than 750 acres of land on Manhattan Island
1865 – In market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first true western showdown
1944 – British premier Winston Churchill flies to France, meets Montgomery
1952 – 7.8 earthquake shakes Kern County California, 14 killed
1954 – Geneva Accords for Indochina signed, dividing French colonial territories into the countries of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam), Cambodia, and Laos
1969 – Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to step on the Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT)
1973 – France performs nuclear Test at Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific
1975 – Soyuz 19 returns to Earth
1997 – NY Yank Mike Whiton held in Milwaukee on charges of sexual assault
Today in History for 21st July 2023
Historical Events
1919 – Dirigible crashes through bank skylight killing 13 in Chicago, Illinois
1964 – Last Dutch whaling ship Willem Barents Sea sold to Japan
1975 – NY Met Félix Millán hits 4 singles; erased by Joe Torres 4 double plays
1975 – Soyuz 19 returns to Earth
1991 – British Open Men’s Golf, Royal Birkdale GC: Australian 1-2 with Ian Baker-Finch winning his only major championship, 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Mike Harwood
1996 – British Open Men’s Golf, Royal Lytham and St. Annes: American Tom Lehman wins his only major championship by 2 strokes from Mark McCumber and Ernie Els; first American to win at Lytham since Bobby Jones 70 years earlier
Famous Birthdays
1856 – Louise Blanchard Bethune, 1st American woman architect, born in Waterloo, New York (d. 1915)
1928 – Sky Low Low [Marcel Gauthier], Canadian professional wrestler, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1998)
1931 – Plas Johnson, American be-bop jazz and session saxophonist (sax solo on “The Pink Panther Theme”), born in Donaldsonville, Louisiana
1956 – Michael Connelly, American crime writer (Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch novels), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1961 – Amar Singh Chamkila [Dhanni Ram], Punjabi folk singer “The Elvis of Punjab”, born in Dugri, Punjab, India (d. 1988)
1963 – Paulo Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist and professional wrestler
Famous Deaths
1544 – René of Chalon [Renatus of Nassau], prince of Orange, slain in battle
1993 – Robert Glass, American film sound engineer (ET), is murdered at 53
1998 – Robert Young, American actor (Father Knows Best, Marcus Welby, M.D.), dies at 91
2003 – Walter M. “Matt” Jefferies, American film art director (b. 1921)
2004 – Jerry Goldsmith, American pianist and composer (The Twilight Zone; Planet Of The Apes), dies of colon cancer at 75
2004 – Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1918)
Famous Deaths for 20th July 2023
1897 – Philip Dale Roddey, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 71
1959 – William D. Leahy, American admiral and chief of staff during WWII, dies at 84
1964 – Anna Vyrubova, Russian lady-in-waiting, the best friend and confidante of Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna, dies at 80
1986 – Helen Craig, American actress (Snake Pit, They Live by Night), dies at 74
1989 – Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, commander (French resistance), dies
1995 – Natalia Dmitrevna Shpiller, Czech-Russian lyric soprano, dies at 85
1998 – June Byers, American professional wrestler (b. 1922)
2008 – Artie Traum, American folk guitarist, songwriter, producer, and filmmaker, dies of ocular cancer at 65
2017 – Chester Bennington, American singer and songwriter (Linkin Park), commits suicide at 41
2021 – Chuck E. Weiss, American blues and rock songwriter, vocalist, and muse (Rickie Lee Jones; Tom Waits), dies of cancer at 76
Historical Events for 20th July 2023
1858 – Fee 1st charged to see a baseball game (50 cents) (NY beats Bkln 22-18)
1878 – 1st telephone introduced in Hawaii
1944 – US 15th Air Force attacks Friedrichshaven Memmingen
1975 – India expels three reporters from “The Times”, “The Daily Telegraph”, and “Newsweek” because they refuse to sign a pledge to abide by government censorship
1982 – Hyde Park and Regent’s Park bombings: 11 British soldiers and 7 military horses killed in Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb attacks during military ceremonies in London
2002 – Bartenders doing tricks with fire start a major fire in a night club in Lima, Peru that kills 25 and injures 100
2005 – Canada becomes the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, after the bill C-38 receives its Royal Assent
2008 – 16th ESPY Awards: Tiger Woods, Candace Parker win
2014 – The Israeli Defence Force enter Shuja’iyya, a populous neighbourhood of Gaza City, as part of their ground offensive focused on destroying tunnels crossing the Israel border
2020 – Announcement that a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) is able to trigger immune response and antibodies
Today in History for 20th July 2023
Historical Events
1712 – The Riot Act takes effect in Great Britain.
1940 – Billboard publishes its 1st singles record chart – “I’ll Never Smile Again” by Tommy Dorsey, with vocal by Frank Sinatra is #1
1942 – Time magazine puts Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich on its cover
1944 – Flying Fortresses of US 8th Air Force attack Leipzig/Dessau
1948 – Lou Thesz beats Bill Longson, to become NWA wrestling champion
1977 – Flash flood hits Johnstown, Pennsylvania, kills 80 and causes $350 million damage
Famous Birthdays
1744 – Henri Hamal, Belgian organist and composer, born in Liège (d. 1820)
1895 – László Moholy-Nagy, Hungarian painter, photographer, and sculptor (d. 1946)
1908 – [Vincent] Mad Dog Coll, Irish-American mob hitman, born in Gweedore, Ireland (d. 1932)
1918 – Cindy Walker, American songwriter (“Dream Baby”; “You Don’t Know Me”) and country singer, born in Mart, Texas (d. 2006)
1924 – Hans Lodeizen [Johannes A. Frederik], Dutch poet (Inner Self), born in Naarden, Netherlands (d. 1950)
1945 – Paul Valéry [Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry], French author, philosopher and poet (La Jeune Parque), born in Sète, Hérault (d. 1945)
Famous Deaths
1160 – Peter Lombard, French theologian
1636 – John Oldham, English-born Puritan settler in Massachusetts, murdered by Indians at 44
1908 – Federico Chueca, Spanish composer, dies at 62
1940 – Y G Van de Peat, Dutch director of employment, commits suicide
1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg, German antifascist colonel (attempted to assassinate Hitler), dies by firing squad at 36
1968 – Joseph Keilberth, German conductor (Bayreuther Festival), dies at 60
Famous Deaths for 19th July 2023
1906 – Ferdinand Brunetière, French writer and critic, dies at 57
1940 – Samuel H Chang, US newspaper magnate, murdered in Shanghai
1944 – Carl Bock, Danish Gestapo agent, liquidated
1951 – Max Ettinger, Jewish-German composer (Jiddische Requiem), dies at 77
1972 – Hezekiah M. Washburn, American Presbyterian Congo missionary, dies at 88
1992 – Allen Newell, American computer scientist (Logic Theory Machine, General Problem Solver, Turing Award), dies at 65
2007 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Lawyer, politician, and freelance journalist (b. 1945)
2007 – Roberto Fontanarrosa, Argentine cartoonist (b. 1944)
2010 – Andy Hummell, American rock bassist (Big Star, 1971-73), dies of cancer at 59
2015 – Sybren Polet [Sijbe Minnema], Dutch writer and poet (Mannekino), dies at 91
Historical Events for 19th July 2023
1864 – Third Battle of Winchester, Virginia (Stephenson’s Depot) [->JUL 20]
1941 – British PM Winston Churchill launches his “V for Victory” campaign
1952 – Freddie Trueman takes 8-31, India all out 58 at Old Trafford
1955 – 1st performance of Gerald Finzi’s Cello Concerto, his last major work; John Barbirolli leading the Hallé Orchestra, with soloist Christopher Bunting at Cheltenham Music Festival in Gloucestershire, England
1967 – 1st air conditioned NYC subway car (R-38 on the F line)
1978 – New York Yankees start historic 14 game comeback with 2-0 win over the Minnesota Twins at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MN
1990 – Dave Righetti pitches in his 499th game as a NY Yankee, passing Whitey Ford in most appearances as a NY Yankee
1992 – 30th Tennis Fed Cup: Germany beats Spain in Frankfurt Germany (2-1)
2009 – The Wesley Impact: black spot the size of Earth discovered on Jupiter after unknown object crashed onto the planet
2021 – UK lifts most COVID-19 restrictions on so-called “Freedom Day” despite 50,000 new daily infections