Author: gil7

Historical Events

1957 – 29th Academy Awards: “Around World in 80 Days”, Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner win
1972 – Venera 8 launches to explore Venus
1976 – Washington, D.C. underground Metro opens
1977 – 583 die in aviation’s worst ever disaster when two Boeing 747s collide at Tenerife airport in Spain
1986 – Disney-MGM Studio Tour groundbreaking

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Famous Birthdays

972 – Robert II of France [the Pious, the Wise], King of the Franks (996-1031), born in Orléans, France (d. 1031)
1809 – Georges Eugene, Baron Haussmann, French administrator and architect, born in Paris (d. 1891)
1886 – Sergey Kirov [Kostrikov], Russian Bolshevik leader and politician (First Secretary (Mayor) of Leningrad, 1926-34), born in Urzhum, Russia (d. 1934)
1957 – Billy MacKenzie, Scottish rock vocalist (The Associates – “Affectionate Punch”), born in Dundee, Scotland (d. 1997)
1985 – Ram Charan, Indian actor who works mainly in Teluga cinema (RRR, Rangasthalam), born in Tamil Nadu, India

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Famous Deaths

1986 – Cass Canfield, US publisher, dies at 88
1991 – Ralph Bates, British actor (Persecution, Graveyard), dies at 50
1992 – Easley Blackwood, Sr, American expert bridge player, and writer, dies at 89
2017 – David Storey, British novelist and playwright (This Sporting Life), dies at 83
2023 – Wim de Bie, Dutch comedian, satirist, and writer (van Kooten and de Bie – The Simplistic Covenant), dies of complications from Parkinson’s disease at 83

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Historical Events

1940 – “The Fifth Column”, a play by Ernest Hemingway and adapted by Benjamin Glazer premieres in NYC courtesy of the Theater Guild
1954 – US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
2017 – Mass protests in Chile over country’s privatised pension system
2018 – US soldier receives world’s first penis and scrotum transplant at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland
2020 – American cases of COVID-19 exceed all other countries on this date, with 81,578 cases and 1,180 deaths (New York Times)

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Famous Birthdays

1896 – Rudolf Dassler, German entrepreneur (founder sportswear company Puma), born in Herzogenaurach, Germany (d. 1974)
1898 – Renzo Massarani, Italian-Brazilian composer and music critic, born in Mantova, Italy (d. 1975)
1929 – Charles Dumont, French songwriter (“Non, je ne regrette rien”, “Mon Dieu”), and singer, born in Cahors, France (d. 2024)
1936 – Fred Parris, American doo-wop singer and songwriter (The Five Satins – “In The Still Of The Night”), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 2022)
1977 – Sylvain Grenier, Canadian professional wrestler (WWE Raw, WWE Smackdown!), born in Montreal, Québec

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Famous Deaths

1736 – Georg Balthasar Schott, German composer, dies at 49
1857 – Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar and geographer of Qing Dynasty, dies at 62
1924 – Augusto (de Oliveira) Machado, Portuguese composer (Lauriane; Camões es os Luziadas), dies at 78
1973 – Noël Coward, English playwright (Hay Fever; Private Lives), director (In Which We Serve -1942 Academy Award), actor and singer, dies of heart failure at 73
1995 – Eazy-E [Eric Lynn Wright], American rapper (N.W.A.), dies from AIDS-related illness at 30

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Historical Events

1863 – Skirmish at Brentwood, Tennessee
1927 – 86th Grand National: 8/1 favourite Sprig wins; ridden by jockey Ted Leader, trained by his father Tom Leader
1937 – Washington Daily News is 1st US newspaper with perfumed advertising page
1954 – 26th Academy Awards: “From Here to Eternity” best film, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn best actor, actress
1974 – Chipko forest conservation movement begins in Reni Village, Western Himalayas, India, when local woman Gaura Devi hugs a tree to prevent its logging

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Famous Birthdays

1786 – Giovanni Battista Amici, Italian astronomer, physicist and botanist, born in Modena, Duchy of Modena and Reggio (now Italy) (d. 1863)
1909 – Jay Blackton, American conductor and arranger (Guys and Dolls; Oklahoma!), born in New York City (d. 1994)
1965 – Avery Johnson, American NBA point guard, analyst for CBS Sports, and coach (1999 NBA champion, 2006 Coach of the Year), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
1973 – Anthony Barness, English footballer
1981 – Casey Neistat, American YouTube star and co-founder of Beme, born in Gales Ferry, Connecticut

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Famous Deaths

1979 – Anton Heiller, Austrian organist and composer, dies at 55
1991 – Eileen Joyce, pianist, dies at 78
2006 – Rocío Dúrcal, Spanish pop and mariachi singer, and actress, dies of uterine cancer at 61 (b. 1944)
2012 – Larry Stevenson [Richard], American skateboard innovator, dies from pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease at 81
2022 – John Chapple, British army officer (Chief of General Staff, 1988-92), dies at 90

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Historical Events

1379 – First War of the Guelderian Succession ends when Matilda and the Heeckerens are defeated by the Duchy of Jülich, forcing her to resign her rights to the Duchy of Guelders to her half-sister Maria’s son, William
1853 – Anti-slavery newspaper “The Provincial Freeman” first published in Windsor, Ontario, edited by Samuel Ringgold Ward and Mary Ann Shadd Cary, first black woman publisher in North America
1876 – 38th Grand National: Joe Cannon aboard 25/1 chance Regal wins by a neck from Congress
1933 – Peter I Island incorporated as a Norwegian dependency
1944 – 76 Allied officers escape Stalag Luft 3 (Great Escape)

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Famous Birthdays

1848 – Honoré Beaugrand, French Canadian journalist, newspaper publisher (La Patrie), and politician (Mayor of Montreal, 1885-87), born in Saint-Joseph-de-Lanoraie, Quebec, Canada East (d. 1906)
1850 – Silas K. Hocking, British novelist and Methodist preacher (Her Benny), born in Cornwall, England (d. 1935)
1866 – Jack McAuliffe, Irish-American boxer and undefeated World Lightweight champion (1886-93), born in Cork, Ireland, United Kingdom (d. 1937)
1909 – Clyde Barrow, American bank robber and outlaw (Bonnie and Clyde), born in Ellis County, Texas (d. 1934)
1923 – Murray Hamilton, American character actor (Rich Man Poor Man, Anatomy of a Murder), born in Washington, North Carolina (d. 1986)

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Famous Deaths

1455 – Nicholas V [Tommaso Parentucelli], Italian Pope (1447-55), dies at 57
1955 – John W. Davis, American politician and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, dies at 81
1993 – Erik Andriesse, Dutch painter (skulls, skeletons, flowers), dies at 35
2007 – Henson Cargill, American country music singer (“Skip a Rope”, “The Most Uncomplicated Goodbye I Ever Heard”), dies while undergoing surgery at 66
2021 – Richard Stoker, British pianist and composer (Antic Hay; Ecco homo), dies at 82

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