1844 – Declaration of Bab (Baha’i festival) (‘Azamat 7, 1)
1960 – WKBM TV (now WLII) channel 11 in Caguas/San Juan, PR 1st broadcast
1984 – Crime epic film “Once Upon a Time in America” directed by Sergio Leone starring Robert De Niro and James Woods premieres at Cannes
1997 – Mel Karmazin replaces Peter Lund as CEO of CBS TV
2002 – The “55 parties” clause of the Kyoto protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland
2003 – NHL Eastern Conference Final: New Jersey Devils beat Ottawa Senators, 4 games to 3
2010 – 63rd Cannes Film Festival: “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul wins the Palme d’Or
2018 – Hamburg, Germany, becomes the first city to ban diesel cars on some roads
2019 – Brazilian cosmetics group Natura buys UK’s Avon for $2 billion, creating the world’s fourth-largest cosmetics company
2021 – Belarus accused of “state-sponsored hijacking” after diverting commercial Ryanair flight to Minsk to arrest dissident journalist Roman Protasevich
Author: gil7
Today in History for 23rd May 2023
Historical Events
1894 – William Love hosts groundbreaking ceremonies for Love Canal
1926 – Chicago Cub’s Hack Wilson is 1st to hit a home run off Wrigley Field scoreboard
1962 – OAS leader general Raoul Salan sentenced to life
1991 – San Diego Sockers win 4th consecutive Major Soccer League championship
1997 – “King David” closes at New Amsterdam Theater NYC
2018 – Hamburg, Germany, becomes the first city to ban diesel cars on some roads
Famous Birthdays
1710 – François Gaspard Adam, French sculptor (garden sculptures), born in Nancy, France (d. 1761)
1756 – Nicolas-Joseph Hüllmandel, Alsatian composer, born in Strasbourg, France (d. 1823)
1906 – Hellmuth Christian Wolff, German composer, teacher, musicologist and painter, born in Zürich, Switzerland (d. 1988)
1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect (Festival of Britain director, President of the Royal Academy), born in London, England (d. 1999)
1928 – Jeannie Carson [Shufflebottom], British-born comedian, actress, singer and dancer (As Long as They’re Happy; An Alligator Named Daisy), born in Yorkshire, England
1980 – Chrisl Gethard, American comedian, writer, talk show host and podcaster (Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People), born in West Orange, New Jersey
Famous Deaths
1423 – Benedict XIII [Pedro the Luna], Spanish Pope (1394-1423), dies
1648 – Luis de Nain, painter, dies
1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate legend, hanged at London’s Execution Dock at about 56
1941 – Slavko Osterc, Slovenian composer (Iz Satanovega Dnevnika (From Satan’s Diary); Illusions), and pedagogue, dies at 45
1996 – Patrick Cargill, British actor (Help!, No Wreath for the General, Hammerhead), dies of a brain tumor at 77
2008 – David Mitton, British television director (b. 1939)
Famous Deaths for 22nd May 2023
1921 – Marie Wilton, Lady Bancroft, British Victorian theater manager, actress, and novelist, dies at about 82
1965 – Christopher Stone, first disc jockey in the United Kingdom (b. 1882)
1967 – Josip Plemelj, Slovenian mathematician, dies at 93
1977 – Gijs van Hall, Dutch politician and Mayor of Amsterdam (1957-67), dies at 73
1988 – Giorgio Almirante, Italian fascist (member of parliament (1948-87)), dies at 73
1996 – Duncan Montgomery Stewart, academic, dies at 66
2001 – Whitman Mayo, American actor (Grady Wilson-“Sanford and Son”), dies at 70
2004 – Richard Biggs, American actor (b. 1960)
2008 – Robert Asprin, American author (b. 1946)
2015 – Marques Haynes, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame guard (Harlem Globetrotters), dies at 88
Historical Events for 22nd May 2023
1526 – Pope Clement VII, France, Genoa, Venice, Florence and Milan form Anti-French League of Cognac
1893 – Montreal Athletic Association beat Ottawa Generals 2-1, in 1st Cup Game
1900 – Associated Press organizes in NYC as nonprofit news cooperative
1903 – Launch of the White Star Liner SS Ionic.
1972 – US President Nixon begins visit to Moscow
1988 – Károly Grósz succeeds party leader Janos Kádár in Hungary
1996 – “Tartuffe: Born Again” opens at Circle in the Square Theater, NYC; runs for 29 performances
2010 – UEFA Champions League Final, Madrid: Internazionale beats Bayern Munich, 2-0; Inter’s 3rd title and first treble (Italian Serie A and Cup)
2016 – Independent Alexander Van der Bellen defeats Freedom Party’s Norbert Hofer by just 31,000 votes to become President in Austrian elections
2017 – South Africa’s Western Cape province declares a drought disaster – worst for 113 years
Today in History for 22nd May 2023
Historical Events
1690 – San Francisco De Los Tejas Mission founded by the Spanish on San Pedro Creek – first Spanish mission in East Texas (later relocated)
1930 – Yankees’ future Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman Lou Gehrig becomes first to hit 3 HRs three times as NY outscores Philadelphia A’s, 20-13; teams combine for then-record 10 homers
1939 – Germany’s Adolf Hitler and Italy’s Benito Mussolini sign the “Pact of Steel” formalizing the 1936 alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis
1957 – South Africa’s government approves race separation in universities
1965 – Mad Dog Vachon beats Igor Vodic in Omaha, to become NWA champ
1974 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Famous Birthdays
1821 – Alfred Sully, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1879)
1924 – Charles Aznavour [Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian], French-Armenian singer (Monsieur Carnavel; She; Tin Drum), born in Paris, France (d. 2018)
1940 – E. A. S. Prasanna, Indian cricketer (one of India’s big four spinners), born in Bangalore, Kingdom of Mysore, British India
1973 – Julian Tavarez, Santiago Dom Rep, pitcher (Cleveland Indians)
1977 – Dre Bly, American Football Player
1989 – Christian Sands, American jazz pianist and composer, born in New Haven, Connecticut
Famous Deaths
748 – Empress Genshō of Japan (b. 680)
1455 – Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (killed in battle) (b. 1406)
1856 – Jacques-Nicolas-Augustin Thierry, French historian, dies at 61
1880 – Heinrich von Gagern, German liberal politician, dies at 80
1885 – Victor Hugo, French author (Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables), dies at 83
1910 – Jules Renard, French writer (Le plaisir the rompre), dies at 46
Famous Deaths for 21st May 2023
1524 – Thomas Howard 2nd duke of Norfolk, general/premier, dies at about 80
1542 – Hernando de Soto, Spanish conquistador and 1st European to discover the Mississippi River, dies of a fever while searching for gold, near the Mississippi River at about 46
1860 – Johannes Frederik Fröhlich, Danish violinist and composer, dies at 53
1935 – Jane Addams, American pacifist, social activist, feminist, author, co-founder of ACLU (Nobel Prize for Peace, 1931), dies at 65
1935 – Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist and geneticist who rediscovered Mendel’s theory of heredity and for his work on genes (The Mutation Theory), dies at 87
1949 – Klaus Mann, German-American author (Mephisto), dies at 42
1954 – János Hammerschlag, Hungarian composer, dies at 68
1978 – Jo Spier [Joseph Spier], Dutch cartoonist and water color painter, dies at 77
1996 – Laurence Dowdall, Scottish lawyer, dies at 91
2022 – Marco Cornez, Chilean soccer goalkeeper, (20 caps; FC Deportivo Palestino, Universidad Católica, Everton de Viña del Mar), dies from stomach cancer at 64
Historical Events for 21st May 2023
1216 – French crown prince Louis enters England, having been invited by barons at war with King John
1499 – Francisco De Bobadilla appointed Governor of the Indies, succeeding Christopher Columbus
1864 – General David Hunter takes command of Department of West Virginia
1866 – 1st-class debut of cricketer Fred Grace aged 15 years 159 days at the Magdalen Ground, Oxford
1958 – Indonesian paratroopers reconquer Morotai Island
1961 – Governor Patterson declares martial law in Montgomery, Alabama
1964 – 1st nuclear-powered lighthouse begins operations (Chesapeake Bay)
1977 – Albert Innaurato’s “Gemini” premieres in NYC
1992 – New Jersey Senate overrides Governor Florio’s veto and lowers sales tax to 6%
2019 – Oldest and most distant gravitational waves detected from collision of two black holes with first intermediate-mass black hole ever discovered, 7 billion light years away
Today in History for 21st May 2023
Historical Events
1979 – Dan White convicted of the voluntary manslaughter of San Francisco mayor George Moscone and openly gay councilor Harvey Milk. The conviction on a lesser charge outraged the gay community and led to the White Night riots.
1979 – Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: 4 consecutive titles for Montreal Canadiens; beat NY Rangers, 4-1 for a 4 games to 1 series win
1983 – David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” single goes #1
2005 – 50th Eurovision Song Contest: Helena Paparizou for Greece wins singing “My Number One” in Kiev
2018 – Truckers begin a 10 strike in Brazil, blocking roads in protest at the price of diesel leading to country-wide shortages
2019 – More than 600 people, 75% children, identified as HIV in a month in Sindh province, Pakistan, thought to be due to use of infected needles
Famous Birthdays
1843 – Louis Renault, French lawyer, born in Autun, France (d. 1918)
1901 – Horace Heidt, American orchestra leader (Swift Show Wagon), born in Alameda, California (d. 1986)
1909 – François-Albert Angers, Quebec economist (d. 2003)
1932 – Gabriele Wohmann, German writer, born in Darmstadt (d. 2015)
1967 – Rogel Nachum, Israeli Men’s triple jumper (Olympics 1996)
1987 – Ashlie Brillault, American actress (Lizzie Guire), born in San Francisco, California
Famous Deaths
987 – Louis V, last Carlovingians King of France (966-987), dies
1686 – Otto von Guericke, German scientist, inventor, and politician, dies at 83
1894 – Emile Henry, French anarchist (b. 1872)
1968 – Doris Lloyd, English American actress (Oliver Twist), dies of heart strain at 71
1975 – Boris Klyuzner, Russian Soviet composer, dies at 65
1990 – Moelvi Mohammed Farouk, Indian spiritual leader, murdered
Famous Deaths for 20th May 2023
1648 – Władysław IV Vasa, King of Poland (1632-48), dies of kidney stones at 52
1713 – Thomas Sprat, English writer (b. 1635)
1793 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist and writer, dies at 73
1900 – Gustav Heinrich Graben-Hoffman, composer, dies at 80
1923 – Hans Goldschmidt, German chemist, dies
1969 – Fred Sherman, American actor (Chain Lightning), dies after a stroke at 64
1972 – Cornelis Jakob van der Klauw, Dutch biologist and zoologist, dies at 78
1973 – Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
2020 – Stephen A. DiMauro, American thoroughbred racing jockey, trainer, breeder and owner (Eclipse Award 1975; Lady Pitt, Dearly Precious, Nassipour, Wajima), dies from cancer at 87
2022 – Roger Angell, American literary editor and baseball journalist (The New Yorker), dies of congestive heart failure at 101
Historical Events for 20th May 2023
1310 – Shoes were made for both right and left feet
1704 – Elias Neau forms school for slaves in NY
1830 – D Hyde patents fountain pen
1903 – Britain’s House of Commons begins a debate on the charges of poor administration and ill treatment of natives in Belgium’s colony in the Congo Free State
1948 – Cleveland Indians tie AL record of 18 walks (beat Red Sox 13-4)
1961 – 86th Preakness: Johnny Sellers aboard Carry Back wins in 1:57.6
1985 – 38th Cannes Film Festival: “When Father Was Away on Business” directed by Emir Kusturica wins the Palme d’Or
1994 – Sushmita Sen from India is crowned the 43rd Miss Universe at 18 years old
2003 – Laureus World Sports Awards, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco: Sportsman: Lance Armstrong (rescinded); Sportswoman: Serena Williams; Team: Brazil Men’s National Football team
2021 – One of Sri Lanka’s worst ecological disasters as cargo ship MS X-Press Pearl, carrying toxic chemicals, catches fire off the country’s coast and begins spilling debris