1624 – Spanish silver fleet sails to Panama
1815 – Battle at Tolentino: Austria beats King Joachim of Naples
1900 – 26th Kentucky Derby: Jimmy Boland aboard Lieut Gibson wins in 2:06.25
1923 – 1st nonstop north American transcontinental flight (NY-San Diego) completed
1942 – German Luftwaffe again bombs Exeter, destroying its town centre
1945 – Allies arrest German physicist Werner Heisenberg
1948 – Pulitzer prize awarded to James Michener and Tennessee Williams
1952 – 1st landing by an airplane at geographic North Pole
1999 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 11,000 for the first time in its history at 11,014.70.
2021 – World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Englishman Mark Selby wins his 4th world title with an 18-15 win over countryman Shaun Murphy
Author: gil7
Today in History for 3rd May 2023
Historical Events
1864 – 3rd day in Battle at Alexandria Louisiana: Confederate assault
1948 – Pulitzer prize awarded to James Michener and Tennessee Williams
1967 – African American students seize finance building at Northwestern University
1975 – Christa Vahlensieck runs female world record marathon (2:40:15.8)
1980 – Texas Ranger Ferguson Jenkins becomes 4th to win 100 games in AL and NL
1995 – “My Thing of Love” opens at Beck Theater NYC for 16 performances
Famous Birthdays
1889 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (It’s a Wonderful Life), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1981)
1917 – James Penberthy, Australian composer, born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1999)
1924 – Yehuda Amichai, Israeli poet (Now and In Other Days), born in Würzburg, Germany (d. 2000)
1949 – Albert Sacco Jr., American chemical engineer and astronaut (STS 73), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1969 – Karen Kraft, American rower (Olympic silver 1996), born in San Mateo, California
1983 – Márton Fülöp, Hungarian footballer and goalkeeper, born in Budapest (d. 2015)
Famous Deaths
1763 – George Psalmanazar, British impostor (b. 1679)
1918 – Charlie Soong, Chinese Methodist missionary and key player in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, dies at 55
1964 – Diana Wynyard, British stage and film actress (Cavalcade), dies of renal disease at 58
1983 – Vaughn Taylor, American actor (Jailhouse Rock, Johnny Jupiter), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 72
1999 – Joe Adcock, American baseball utility, manager (Milwaukee Braves; 2-time MLB All Star), dies of Alzheimer’s disease at 71
2011 – Sergo Kotrikadze, Georgian footballer (b. 1936)
Famous Deaths for 2nd May 2023
1567 – Marin Drzic, Croatian playwright (Dundo Maroje), dies
1627 – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer (b. 1560)
1980 – Alioune Diop, Senegalese writer and editor (Présence africaine), dies at 70
1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpeter and bandleader, dies at 75
1997 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher (critical pedagogy), dies at 75
2009 – Marilyn French, American author (The Women’s Room), dies at 79
2015 – Guy Carawan, American folk singer and folklorist (We Shall Overcome), dies at 87
2017 – (Mary) Norma Procter, British contralto singer, dies of Parkinson’s Disease at 89
2018 – Kottayam Pushpanath, Indian author, dies at 80
2022 – Yuri Vasenin, Russian soccer midfielder (9 caps USSR; FC Zorya Voroshylovhrad), dies at 73
Historical Events for 2nd May 2023
1668 – Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1st peace of Aachen: ends War of Devolution, French-Spanish war in The Netherlands
1672 – John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
1907 – Jules baron de Trooz forms Belgian government
1969 – British liner Queen Elizabeth II leaves Southampton on maiden voyage to NY
1970 – KOAI (now KNAZ) TV channel 2 in Flagstaff, AZ (NBC) 1st broadcast
1979 – -May 10] Vivekananda (Sri Lanka) begins nonstop ride, cycling 187 hrs, 28 min, around Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka
1987 – 113th Kentucky Derby: Chris McCarron aboard Alysheba wins in 2:03.4
1994 – Dr Kervokian found innocent on assisting suicides
1995 – Expos bat out of order against Mets in 6th inning
2019 – A clean-up on Mt Everest has removed three metric tons (6,613 pounds) of rubbish and four bodies in just two weeks
Today in History for 2nd May 2023
Historical Events
1703 – Portugal signs treaty with England to become a Great Covenant
1863 – South defeats North in Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia
1936 – Sergei Prokofiev’s musical “Peter and the Wolf” premieres in Moscow
1962 – OAS strikes in Algeria
1972 – 126 killed in an electrical fire in Sunshine Silver mine, Kellogg, Idaho
1975 – Apple records closes down
Famous Birthdays
1360 – Yongle, Emperor of the Ming Empire (1402-24), born in Yingtian, Yuan Empire, China (d. 1424)
1855 – Theodore Moses Tobani, German composer, born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1933)
1920 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2000)
1938 – Moshoeshoe II, King of Lesotho (1966-90), born in Morija, Lesotho (d. 1996)
1947 – James Dyson, British inventor, industrial designer, and entrepreneur (bagless vacuum cleaner; bladeless fan), born in Cromer, Norfolk, England
1966 – Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman and politician, born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Famous Deaths
1963 – Van Wyck Brooks, American literary historian and writer (Ordeal of Mark Twain), dies at 77
2003 – George Wyle [Bernard Weissman], American composer (“The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island”; “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”), and orchestra leader (The Flip Wilson Show), dies at 87
2004 – John MacKenzie, Scottish-Canadian bagpiper and pipe-major, dies at 83
2018 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league front rower (30 Tests GB, 4 England; St Helens 373 games, Cronulla-Sutherland), dies of cancer at 78
2021 – Bobby Unser, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1968, 1975, 1981; USAC C’ship 1968, 1974), dies at 87
2022 – Yuri Vasenin, Russian soccer midfielder (9 caps USSR; FC Zorya Voroshylovhrad), dies at 73
Famous Deaths for 1st May 2023
1447 – Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria (1413-43), dies at around 79
1863 – Edward D. Tracy, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies in battle at 29
1899 – Ludwig Büchner, German philosopher and physician, dies at 75
1924 – August Cuppens, Flemish author (Limburgs Driemanschap), dies at 62
1928 – Ebenezer Howard, English founder of the garden city movement and author (To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform), dies at 78
1957 – Grant Mitchell, American actor (Great Lie, Laura, Cairo, Conflict), dies at 82
1996 – Asher Wallfish, journalist, dies at 67
2006 – Johnny Paris, American saxophonist (Johnny and the Hurricanes) (b. 1940)
2011 – Ted Lowe, English snooker commentator (Pot Black, BBC), dies at 90
2017 – Mike Lowry, American politician (Rep-D-WA, 1979-89, Governor of Washington 1993-97), dies at 78
Historical Events for 1st May 2023
1682 – Louis XIV and his court inaugurate Paris Observatory
1920 – Longest MLB game by innings – Brooklyn Robins tie the Boston Braves, 1-1, in 26 innings
1957 – Flevo Boys Football Club is established in Emmeloord, the Netherlands
1959 – West Germany introduces 5 day work week
1960 – 7th National Film Awards (India): “Apur Sansar” wins the Golden Lotus
1961 – Tanganyika granted full internal self-government by Britain
1991 – Angolan civil war ends
1995 – Montreal Canadiens lose 2-0 at Buffalo to miss Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 25 years
2010 – 136th Kentucky Derby: Calvin Borel wins aboard Super Saver, his third Derby success in 4 years
2012 – Guggenheim Partners make the largest ever purchase of a sports franchise after buying the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2.1 billion
Today in History for 1st May 2023
Historical Events
1930 – Cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 236 for Australia v Worcestershire in his first 1st class innings in England
1947 – Cleveland Indians abandon League Park (venue for weekday games) to play all MLB games at Municipal Stadium
1972 – North Vietnamese troops occupy Quang Tri Activities Committee
1989 – 135 acre Disney’s MGM studio theme park officially opens to public in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
2019 – UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson fired over leaking information about Huawei deal from a UK National Security Council meeting by Theresa May
2022 – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” in interview on Italian TV, prompting outrage from Israel
Famous Birthdays
1238 – Magnus VI Lagabuter, King of Norway (1263-80), born in Tønsberg, Norway (d. 1280)
1896 – J. Lawton Collins, American general, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1987)
1910 – Cliff Battles, American College/Pro Football HOF halfback (West Virginia Wesleyan College; 3 x First-Team All-Pro; NFL rushing yards leader 1932, 37; Boston Braves/Redskins, Washington Redskins), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1981)
1941 – Barbara Barendrecht [BHM Wurfbain], actress (Dirty Picture)
1947 – Carlos Ward, rocker (B T Express)
1986 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian soccer striker (58 caps; El Nacional, Santos Laguna, América), born in Quito, Ecuador (d. 2013)
Famous Deaths
1277 – Stefanus IV Uros I de Great, King of Serbia (1243-76), dies
1903 – Arthur Haygarth, English cricket batsman (Middlesex and Surrey, cricket historian), dies at 77
1941 – John R Locksmith de Brown, vicar/CHU-politician, dies at 71
1965 – Leo Spies, Russian-born German composer, dies at 65
2014 – Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican soccer coach (Copa Centroamericana 2011 Honduras; El Salvador), dies of skin cancer at 63
2014 – Assaf Dayan, Israeli actor (He Walked Through the Fields), dies at 68
Famous Deaths for 30th April 2023
1328 – Meister Eckhard, German theologist and mystic, dies at about 78
1793 – Lorenzo Fago, Italian composer and teacher, dies at 88
1893 – Gyula Beliczay, Hungarian composer and teacher, dies at 57
1943 – Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist, dies at 82
1943 – Etty Hillesum, Dutch diarist, dies in Auschwitz
1966 – Richard Fariña, American folk singer-songwriter (“Birmingham Sunday”), and novelist (“Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me”), dies in a motorcycle crash on his 29th birthday
1993 – Dave Waymer, American NFL safety (NO Saints), dies of a heart attack at 34
1997 – Henry Picard, American golfer (Masters 1938, PGA 1939), dies at 90
2019 – Mike Doyle, American surfer (World C’ship 1964 runner-up; World Tandem Champion 1965, 67), dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 78
2020 – Chuni Goswami, Indian soccer striker and captain (30 caps; Mohun Bagan) and cricket all-rounder (captain Bengal), dies from cardiac arrest at 82
Historical Events for 30th April 2023
1483 – Orbital calculations suggest that on this day, Pluto moved inside Neptune’s orbit until July 23, 1503
1598 – 1st theater performance in America (Spanish comedy-Rio Grande)
1888 – 1888 Moradabad hailstorm: hail stones allegedly as big as oranges kill 246 people and some 1600 sheep and cattle in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
1920 – The British Government ends military conscription
1934 – Austria gets “Austrian fascist” constitution
1982 – Alvaro Magana chosen to succeed Jose N Duarte as President of El Salvador
1986 – Ashrita Furman performs 8,341 somersaults over 12 miles
1987 – Lou Lamoriello is named NJ Devils President
2008 – David Blaine sets a new Guinness World Record for holding his breath underwater for 17 minutes 4-1/2 seconds on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”
2012 – Overloaded ferry in the Brahmaputra River, India, killing 103 people