Today in History for 20th May 2023

Historical Events

1926 – Thomas Edison says Americans prefer silent movies over talkies
1930 – 1st airplane catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot
1956 – Atomic fusion (thermonuclear) bomb dropped from plane at Bikini Atoll
1986 – Christy Fichtner, 23, (Texas), crowned 35th Miss USA
1994 – Bobcat Goldthwait charged with misdemeanors for fire on The Tonight Show
2018 – President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela wins a second term in an election marked by boycotts and accusations of vote rigging

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Famous Birthdays

1754 – Hans Gram, Danish-born American composer (d. 1804)
1895 – R. J. [Reginald Joseph] Mitchell, English airplane designer (Supermarine Spitfire), born in Butt Lane, England (d. 1937)
1937 – Dave Hill, American golfer (13 PGA Tour titles), born in Jackson, Michigan (d. 2011)
1965 – Bruno Marie-Rose, French runner (world record 200 m indoor)
1966 – Mindy Cohn, American actress (The Facts of Life – “Natalie”), born in Los Angeles, California
1981 – Rachel Platten, American singer-songwriter (“Fight Song”), born in New York City

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Famous Deaths

1597 – Dutch commander Matthijs Heldt, dies in battle
1751 – Domingo Miguel Bernaube Terradellas, Spanish composer, dies at 38
1875 – Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece, German born consort of King Otto of Greece, dies at 58
1910 – Jean-Baptiste Theodore Weckerlin, French composer, dies at 88
1932 – Bipin Chandra Pal, Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, dies at 73
1994 – Vivien John, English painter and daughter of Augustus John, dies at 79

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Famous Deaths for 19th May 2023

1531 – Jan Łaski, Polish statesman and diplomat (b. 1456)
1903 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricket batsman (23 Tests [7 captain]; 1277 runs @ 35 47; Nottinghamshire), dies at 47
1984 – Bill Holland, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1949; runner-up 1947, 48, 50), dies at 76
1988 – Virginia Farmer, actress (Cyrano de Bergerac), dies at 90
1998 – (Edwin) “Ted” Astley, British arranger, bandleader, and film and television composer (The Mouse That Roared; The Saint), dies at 76
2004 – Tony Randall [Leonard Rosenberg], American actor (The Odd Couple), dies aged 84
2006 – Freddie Garrity, English pop singer (Freddie and the Dreamers – “I’m Telling You Now”), dies at 69
2007 – Bernard Blaut, Polish soccer midfielder (36 caps; KP Legia Warsaw, FC Metz) and manager (UAE), dies at 67
2009 – Robert F. Furchgott, American pharmacologist (co-winner Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1998), and educator, dies at 92
2009 – Nicholas Maw, British composer, dies at 73

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Historical Events for 19th May 2023

1506 – Christopher Columbus selects his son Diego Columbus as sole heir
1517 – Philip van Bourgondie installed as bishop of Utrecht
1828 – U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828/Tariff of Abominations into law to protect industry in the North
1893 – Heavy rain washes “quick clay” into a deep valley killing 111 in Norway
1941 – Germany occupiers in Holland forbid bicycle taxis
1958 – “South Pacific” soundtrack album goes #1 and stays #1 for 31 weeks
1968 – Frank Howard fails to homer, after hitting 10 in 6 consecutive games
1983 – Weird Al Yankovic gives live performance at Wax Museum in Washington, D.C.
1984 – 109th Preakness: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr., aboard Gate Dancer wins his second Pimlico classic
2020 – Greenhouse gas emissions dropped 17% worldwide in April 2020 when world was in lockdown, in study published in “Nature Climate Change”

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Today in History for 19th May 2023

Historical Events

1585 – Spain confiscates English ships
1892 – National Society of Colonial Dames of America founded
1953 – Nuclear explosion in Nevada (fall-out in St George, Utah)
1973 – “Daisy A Day” by Jud Strunk hits #14
1982 – Sophia Loren jailed in Naples, Italy for tax evasion
1999 – Lazio of Italy win 39th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Mallorca of Spain 2-1 in Birmingham

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Famous Birthdays

1927 – John Thompson, American football executive (GM Seattle Seahawks 1976-82; NFL Executive of the Year 1978), born in South Bend, Washington (d. 2022)
1934 – James Charles Lehrer, news anchor (McNeil-Lehrer Report), born in Wichita, Kansas
1953 – Dawud M. Mu’Min, American convicted murderer (d. 1997)
1953 – Shavarsh Karapetyan, Soviet Armenian finswimmer
1955 – Ed Whitson, pitcher (NY Yankees, San Diego Padres)
1992 – Sam Smith, British singer-songwriter (“Stay With Me”), born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1895 – Jose Marti y Perez, Cuban poet (Versos sencillos) essayist and politician (fought for independence from Spain), dies fighting the Battle of Dos Rios at 42
1998 – Dorothy Donegan, American boogie-woogie, swing jazz, and classical pianist, and vocalist, dies of cancer at 76
1999 – Jonathan “Candy” Candido, American actor and radio performer (Peter Pan; The Great Mouse Detective), dies at 85
2007 – Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
2021 – Joey Cathcart, American rock guitarist (Nelson – “Love and Affection”), dies of brain cancer at 53
2021 – Alix Dobkin, American folk and feminist singer-songwriter (Lavender Jane Loves Women), dies of a brain aneurysm and stroke at 80

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Famous Deaths for 18th May 2023

1733 – Georg Böhm, German organist and composer, dies at 71
1807 – John Douglas, Scottish Anglican bishop and man of letters, dies at 86
1953 – Tom Killick, English cricketer (at the crease 2 Tests for Eng 1929), dies at 69
1965 – Eduard Jan Dijksterhuis, Dutch historian of science (biography of Archimedes), dies at 72
1975 – Leroy Anderson, American composer (Syncopated Clock), dies at 66
1993 – Heinrich Albertz, German theologist and mayor of Berlin (1966-67), dies at 78
1996 – Simon Weinstock, English businessman and racehorse owner, dies at 44
2002 – David “Davey Boy” Smith, English professional wrestler (WWF Intercontinental Championship; British Bulldogs), dies of a heart attack at 39
2013 – Steve Forrest, American actor (SWAT), dies at 87
2021 – Charles Grodin, American stage and screen actor (Heartbreak Kid; Midnight Run; Ishtar: Beethoven series), writer, and talk show host, dies of bone marrow cancer at 86

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Historical Events for 18th May 2023

1945 – MLB Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia A’s both have 7 straight games postponed due to rain
1950 – “Liar” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 12 performances
1961 – “Donnybrook!” opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 68 performances
1974 – 99th Preakness: Miguel Rivera aboard Current Little wins in 1:54.6
1980 – Belgium 3rd government of Martens forms
1980 – Gwangju Massacre: Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms
1980 – Mount St Helens erupts in Washington state, causing the largest landslide in history, killing 57 people and costing $1 billion in damage
1993 – Italian police arrest Mafia boss Benedetto “Nitto” Santapaola
1994 – Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip
2021 – India records the highest recorded daily COVID-19 death toll to date in the world with 4,529 deaths

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Today in History for 18th May 2023

Historical Events

1765 – Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec
1864 – Battle of Yellow Bayou, Louisiana (Bayou de Glaize, Old Oaks)
1871 – Warren Wagon Train raid: Native American Comanche and Kiowa warriors attack a corn train led by Henry Warren near Graham, Texas, killing 7 waggoners. William T. Sherman pursues and captures 3 leaders, Satanta (White Bear), Satank (Sitting Bear) and Addo-eta ( Big Tree).
1974 – India becomes the sixth nation to explode an atomic bomb
1980 – Mount St Helens erupts in Washington state, causing the largest landslide in history, killing 57 people and costing $1 billion in damage
1990 – Edmonton right wing Jari Kurri sets record for scoring in a Stanley Cup Finals game with 3 goals and 2 assists in 7-2 win at Boston Garden

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Famous Birthdays

1871 – Franiska [Franny] zu Reventlow, German writer and feminist, born in Husum, Germany (d. 1918)
1926 – Dirch Passer, prolific Danish actor (Going for Broke; Mig og mafiaen), born in Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1980)
1951 – James Stephens, American actor (Paper Chase, Devil’s Island), born in Mount Kisco, New York
1956 – James Moginie, Australian rock musician, and songwriter (Midnight Oil – “Beds Are Burning”; “Blue Sky Mine”), born 64)
Kalamunda, Western Australia, Australia
1971 – Karyn Bye-Dietz, American ice hockey forward (Olympic Gold-1998 and Silver-2002), born in River Falls, Wisconsin
1971 – Desiree Horton, American helicopter pilot/television reporter, born in North Hollywood, California

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Famous Deaths

1410 – Rupert, King of Germany (1400-10), dies at 58
1956 – Maurice Tate, English cricket all-rounder (39 Tests, 155 wickets, 1 x 100, 5 x 50), dies at 60
1967 – Richard Ainley, British actor (I Dood It, As You Like It, Above Suspicion), dies from barbiturate poisoning at 56
1985 – Tex Terry, American actor (Apache Rose, Timberjack), dies at 82
2004 – Lincoln Kilpatrick, American actor (BJ-Leslie Uggams Show), dies at 72
2014 – Jerry Vale [Gennaro Vitaliano], American pop singer (“Arriverderci Roma”; “Have You Looked Into Your Heart”), dies at 83

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Famous Deaths for 17th May 2023

1807 – John Gunby, Maryland Soldier in the American Revolutionary War (b. 1745)
1839 – Archibald Alison, Scottish author (b. 1757)
1851 – Adriaan van Bevervoorde, Dutch journalist (Treason), dies at 31
1886 – John Deere, American blacksmith and manufacturer (founded Deere and Company), dies at 82
1927 – Harold Geiger, U.S. Army aviation pioneer (b. 1884)
1964 – Steve Owen, American Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle (NY Giants) and coach (NFL C’ship 1927, 34, 38; NY Giants), dies at 66
1972 – Sir Gordon Lowe, British tennis player, Member of Parliament (Australasian C’ship 1915), dies at 87
2004 – Ezzedine Salim, leader of Iraqi Governing Council (b. 1943)
2007 – Lloyd Alexander, author (b. 1924)
2021 – Héctor Silva, Argentine rugby union number 8 (24 caps; Los Tilos) and coach (Argentina 1985-87), dies from COVID-19 at 76

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Historical Events for 17th May 2023

1590 – Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland
1648 – Emperor Ferdinand III defeats Maximilian I of Bavaria
1744 – French army takes Austrian Netherlands
1903 – Cleveland Indians beat NY Highlanders 9-2 in Columbus Ohio
1944 – Chinese and US armed forces take Myitkyina Airport, Burma
1969 – Russian probe Venera 6 landed on Venus
1974 – Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) explode four bombs in Republic of Ireland, killing 33 civilians, wounding 300 (highest number of casualties in a single incident during “The Troubles”)
1990 – European court rules on pension rights for men and women
2005 – Singer Kylie Minogue is diagnosed with breast cancer at 36
2015 – Canada defeats Russia to win gold at the 2015 IIHF World Championship

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Today in History for 17th May 2023

Historical Events

1527 – Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explore Florida with 600 men, by 1536 only 4 are still alive
1648 – Emperor Ferdinand III defeats Maximilian I of Bavaria
1673 – Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring Mississippi
1964 – First Tim Horton’s coffee and donut shop opens in Hamilton, Ontario by NHL player Tim Horton
1970 – Hank Aaron becomes 9th player to get 3,000 hits
2015 – 22nd Billboard Music Awards: Taylor Swift wins top artist and 7 other awards

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Famous Birthdays

1758 – John St Aubyn, British fossil collector, born in Golden Square, London (d. 1839)
1873 – Dorothy M. Richardson, English novelist (Pilgrimage), born in Abington, Berkshire (d. 1957)
1898 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (member of Group of Seven), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1992)
1926 – Tenniel Evans, British actor and clergyman (10 Rillington Place, My Brother’s Keeper), born in Nairobi, Kenya (d. 2009)
1931 – [Walter] Dewey Redman, American jazz saxophonist, born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2006)
1969 – Paige Turco, actress (Melanie-Guiding Light), born in Boston, Massachusetts

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Famous Deaths

1916 – Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (b. 1862)
1917 – Belva Ann Lockwood, American attorney (1st lady to argue in Supreme Court), dies at 86
1936 – Panagis Tsaldaris, twice Greek prime minister (b. 1868)
1944 – Félix Éboué, French colonial administrator, dies at 60
2010 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist, composer (Mélopées africaines), and teacher, dies at 86
2010 – Walasse Ting, Chinese-American painter (b. 1929)

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