1858 – Johann Baptist Cramer, German-British pianist, composer and music publisher, dies at 87
1968 – Edna Ferber, American author and playwright (American Beauty, Cimarron), dies at 82
1996 – George Abel, Canadian ice hockey player (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 80
2001 – Alec Stock, English football manager (b. 1917)
2010 – Daryl Gates, LAPD Chief, dies at 83
2011 – Allan Blakeney, Canadian politician (10th Premier of Saskatchewan), dies at 85
2011 – Paul Des Marais, American composer, dies at 90
2013 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American Grammy Award-winning gospel singer (Billy Graham Crusades, 1947-2013), dies at 104
2019 – Fay McKenzie, American actress and singer (The Party, Sierra Sue), dies at 101
2020 – Luis Sepúlveda, Chilean writer and political activist (The Old Man Who Read Love Stories), dies of COVID-19 at 70
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 16th April 2023
1917 – 21st Boston Marathon won by Bill Kennedy in 2:28:37.2
1918 – The British House of Commons passes a new Military Service Bill, taking men up to 55 years old and extending to Ireland
1923 – 27th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar in 2:23:37.4 for second straight year; 3rd race victory
1953 – Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 1-0 for a 4-1 series win
1970 – Protestant Unionist Ian Paisley wins seat formerly held by Terence O’Neill in the Stormont (North Ireland Parliament)
1974 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1983 – Steve Garvey sets NL record by playing in 1,118 consecutive games
1984 – 88th Boston Marathon: Englishman Geoff Smith wins men’s event in 2:10:34; Lorraine Moller of New Zealand women’s champion in 2:29:28
1993 – David Lee Roth arrested in NYC for purchasing marijuana for $10
2007 – Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, kills 32 people and injures 23 others before committing suicide.
Today in History for 16th April 2023
Historical Events
1956 – 60th Boston Marathon won by Antti Viskari of Finland in race record 2:14:14
1972 – Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz’s musical review “That’s Entertainment” closes at Edison Theater, NYC, after 4 performances
1978 – “History of the American Film” closes at ANTA NYC after 21 performances
2012 – 116th Boston Marathon: Kenyan double; Wesley Korir wins men’s section in 2:12:40; Sharon Cherop first woman in 2:31:50
2014 – Real Madrid defeat Barcelona to win its 19th Copa del Rey trophy
2021 – Raúl Castro confirms he is resigning as Cuban Communist Party leader, ending his family’s six decade leadership of Cuba
Famous Birthdays
1897 – Jaap Vranken, Dutch organist and composer (Stabat Mater), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1956)
1897 – Arthur Charles Ernest Hoérée, Belgian-French composer, born in St. Gilles, Brussels, Belgium (d. 1986)
1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician (Leader of the Scottish National Party), born in Govan, Glasgow (d. 2017)
1965 – Caren Kemner, American volleyball outside hitter (Olympic bronze 1992, 96), born in Quincy, Illinois
1970 – Fran Robinson, American actress (Lauren-Charlie and Company), born in California
1975 – Nick Pickard, British actor, born in Surrey, United Kingdom
Famous Deaths
1995 – Arthur English, British comedian and actor (Malachi’s Cove, Are You Being Served?), dies of complications from emphysema at 75
1999 – Alexander “Skip” Spence, Canadian-American guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane), dies of lung cancer at 52
2005 – Kathleen “Kay” Walsh, British actress (The Horse’s Mouth, Oliver Twist), dies in a fire at 93
2011 – Gerry Alexander, West Indian cricket wicket-keeper (25 Tests, top score 108, 90 dismissals), dies at 82
2019 – Fay McKenzie, American actress and singer (The Party, Sierra Sue), dies at 101
2021 – Mike Mitchell, American rock guitarist (The Kingsmen -“Louie, Louie”), dies on his 77th birthday
Famous Deaths for 15th April 2023
1965 – Sydney Chaplin, English actor, half brother of Charlie Chaplin and his business manager, dies at 80
1972 – Otto Brenner, German trade union leader (Industrial Union of Metalworkers), dies at 64
1989 – Charles Vanel, French actor and director (Wages of Fear), dies at 96
1991 – Martin Ashe, American actor, dies at 81
2002 – Byron “Whizzer” White, American football player and U.S. Supreme Court Justice, dies at 84
2005 – Margaretta Scott, British actress (Crescendo, Where’s Charley, Counterblast), dies from pneumonia and breast cancer at 93
2007 – Brant Parker, American cartoonist (co-creator of “The Wizard of Id”), dies at 86
2019 – Joe Terry (Terranova), American Doo-wop singer (Danny and The Juniors – “At The Hop”), dies at 78
2019 – Owen Kay Garriott, American electrical engineer and NASA astronaut (Skylab 3, STS 9), dies at 88
2020 – Dámaso García, Dominican baseball second baseman (MLB All-Star 1984, 85; Silver Slugger Award 1982; Toronto Blue Jays), dies from a malignant brain tumour at 63
Historical Events for 15th April 2023
1895 – Josephine Blatt (US) makes hip-and-harness lift of 3564 lb (record)
1906 – The Armenian organization AGBU is established.
1939 – Albert Lebrun elected president of France
1948 – Indian territory of Himachal Pradesh created
1960 – Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), organizes at Shaw U
1968 – Houston Astros beat NY Mets, 1-0, in 24 innings at the Astrodome; starting pitchers Tom Seaver and Don Wilson pitch 10 and 9 innings respectively in game that lasts over 6 hours
1970 – WMGZ TV channel 16 in Mayaguez, PR ([M]) begins broadcasting
1992 – William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley inducted into National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame
1992 – The National Assembly of Vietnam adopts the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2019 – Paris cathedral Notre Dame catches fire, toppling its spire and destroying its roof
Today in History for 15th April 2023
Historical Events
69 – Battle at Bedriacum, North-Italy
1952 – Franklin National Bank issues 1st bank credit card
1970 – Libyan leader Gadaffi launches “Green Revolution”
1988 – Meteorite explode above Indonesia
1989 – Sue Marchiano wins 3rd World Cup female marathon (2:30:48)
1991 – Sacramento Kings set NBA record, losing 35th consecutive game on road
Famous Birthdays
1820 – Evander McNair, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Laurel Hill, North Carolina (d. 1902)
1875 – James J. Jeffries, American heavyweight boxer, born in Carroll, Ohio (d. 1953)
1887 – Mike Brady, American golfer (US Open 1911, 19 runner-up; 9 PGA Tour titles), born in Brighton, Massachusetts (d. 1972)
1894 – Bessie Smith, American blues singer known as the “Empress of the Blues” (recorded over 200 songs), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (d. 1937)
1944 – John Wilbraham, British classical, baroque, and session trumpeter (Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields; English Chamber Orchestra; The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour), and educator, born in Bournemouth, England (d. 1998)
1947 – Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish politician, born in Uddevalla, Sweden
Famous Deaths
1954 – Arthur Fickenscher, American microtonal composer, and educator (University of Virginia, 1920-41), dies at 82
1967 – Totò [Antonio De Curtis], Italian actor (Motorizzate; Noi Duri) commonly referred to as the most popular Italian comedian of all time, dies from a heart attack at 69
1989 – Hu Yaobang, Chinese communist official and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (1982-87), dies of a heart attack at 73
1990 – Ulrich Becher, German writer and playwright, dies at 80
2003 – Reg Bundy, British performer, dies at 56
2017 – Clifton James, American actor (Live and Let Die, Silver Streak), dies at 96
Famous Deaths for 14th April 2023
711 – Childebert III, king of the Franks, dies (b. 678/9)
1322 – Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Lord Badlesmere, English soldier (b. 1275)
1888 – William Fiske Sherwin, American composer, dies at 62
1925 – Pieter D. van Essen, Dutch artillery officer, dies at 54
1943 – Geoffrey Turton Shaw, English organist, composer, and educator, dies at 63
1949 – Joseph Augustine Cushman, American paleontologist, dies at 68
1983 – Elisabeth Lutyens, English composer, dies at 76
1985 – Reginald Beane, American pianist (Starlit Time: Once Upon a Tune), dies at 63
1990 – Thurston Harris, American pop vocalist (The Sharps, Little Bitty Pretty One), dies of a heart attack at 58
2004 – Micheline Charest, French Canadian television producer (b. 1953)
Historical Events for 14th April 2023
1953 – WHYN (now WGGB) TV channel 40 in Springfield-Holyoke, MA (ABC) begins
1956 – Cole Porter’s final Broadway musical “Silk Stockings”, loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel’s “Ninotchka”, closes at the Imperial Theatre, NYC, after 478 performances
1961 – 1st live television broadcast from Soviet Union
1962 – Georges Pompidou becomes Prime Minister of France after the resignation of Michel Debré
1969 – First regular-season MLB game played outside the United States; Montreal Expos beat St. Louis Cardinals, 8-7 at Parc Jarry, Montreal
1971 – US President Richard Nixon ends blockade against People’s Republic of China
1996 – 60th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Englishman Nick Faldo wins his 3rd Masters and 6th and final major title, 5 strokes ahead of Greg Norman of Australia
1999 – NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees – Yugoslav officials say 75 people are killed
2012 – J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels, launches her website “Pottermore”
2018 – US, UK and French forces carry out airstrikes on sites associated with Syria’s chemical weapons program, in response to Douma gas attack
Today in History for 14th April 2023
Historical Events
1900 – Veteran’s Hospital at Ft Miley forms
1925 – First regular-season Chicago Cubs game broadcast on radio (WGN) by caller Quin Ryan; Cubs beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-2
1948 – Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Toronto Maple Leafs go back-to-back with a 7-2 win over Detroit Red Wings for a 4-0 series sweep
1969 – Tornado strikes Dacca, East Pakistan killing 540
1988 – Devils 6-5 over Islanders-Devils take 1st round 4-2
2021 – Human cells grown in monkey cells for 20 days reported by US-Chinese team at the Salk Institute in “Cell”
Famous Birthdays
1868 – Peter Behrens, German architect, born in Hamburg, North German Confederation (d. 1940)
1876 – Cecil Chubb, English barrister, gifted Stonehenge to the British nation, born in Shrewton (d. 1934)
1905 – Elizabeth Huckaby, American educator, born in Hamburg, Arkansas (d. 1999)
1916 – Emerson Buckley, American composer, born in NYC, New York (d. 1989)
1947 – Bob Massie, Australian cricket swing bowler (6 Tests; 16 wickets on debut v England 1972), born in Perth, Australia
1969 – Brad Pennington, American pitcher (California Angels), born in Salem, Indiana
Famous Deaths
1843 – Joseph Franz Karl Lanner, Austrian composer and violist, dies at 42
1912 – Henri Brisson, French statesman (b. 1835)
1913 – Carl Hagenbeck, German animal trainer (Von Tieren und Menschen), dies at 68
1943 – Asser B. Kleerekoper, Dutch SDAP-Second-Member of parliament, dies at 62
1978 – Joe Gordon, American Baseball HOF 2nd baseman (World Series 1938, 39, 41, 43 NY Yankees; 1948 Cleveland Indians; AL MVP 1942; 9 x MLB All Star), dies of a heart attack at 63
1990 – Thurston Harris, American pop vocalist (The Sharps, Little Bitty Pretty One), dies of a heart attack at 58
Famous Deaths for 13th April 2023
1806 – Jean-Jacques Bachelier, French painter, dies at ~82
1911 – John McLane, American politician, dies at 59
1919 – Phoebe Hearst, American philanthropist and suffragist, dies at 76
1928 – Luis Iruarrizaga Aguirre, Basque priest, organist and composer of religious music, dies at 36
1978 – Albert Termote, Flemish-Dutch sculptor of equestrian bronzes (Charles the Great), dies at 91
1983 – Gerry Hitchens, English footballer, dies at 48
2004 – Caron Keating, British television presenter, dies at 41
2005 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player, dies at 73
2007 – Don Selwyn, Māori actorand film director, dies at 71
2018 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American award-winning director (One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Amadeus, The Firemen’s Ball), dies at 86