Author: gil7

Historical Events

1099 – Crusaders set fire to Mara, Syria
1915 – Earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800
1939 – Belgian premier signs Burgos Treaty for trade relations with Franco’s Spain
1972 – Bernice Gera wins anti-discrimination case against the National Baseball Congressl, initiated March 15, 1971 to be allowed to umpire
1987 – West German police arrest Mohammed Ali Hamadi, suspect in 1985 hijacking
2016 – Record Powerball lottery held in America – $1.6 billion, (3 winning tickets)

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Famous Birthdays

1925 – Gwyneth “Gwen” Verdon, American actress, singer and dancer (Cotton Club, Sweet Charity), born in Culver City, California (d. 2000)
1943 – William Duckworth, American composer (Time Curve Preludes), teacher (Bucknell, 1973-2011), and internet pioneer (PitchWeb), born in Morganton, North Carolina (d. 2012)
1947 – Chris Thomas, British sound engineer and record producer (Beatles; Pink Floyd; Procol Harem; Elton John; The Pretenders), born in Brentford, Middlesex, England
1967 – George Paterson, Scottish rock singer-songwriter (Donaldson, Moir and Paterson (DMP) – Natural Anthems)
1969 – Katarzyna Nowak, tennis star (1994 Futures France), born in Łódź, Poland
1970 – Frank Kooiman, soccer player (Sparta)

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Famous Deaths

1691 – George Fox, founder of Quakers, dies at 66
1796 – John H. D. Anderson, Scottish scientist and inventor (b. 1726)
1929 – Wyatt Earp, American frontiersman and marshal who participated in the gunfight at the OK Corral, dies at 80
1939 – Jacob Ruppert Jr., American Baseball HOF executive (owner New York Yankees 1915-39; signed Babe Ruth; built Yankee Stadium), dies from phlebitis at 71
1988 – Chiang Ching-huo, president of Taiwan (1978-88), dies at 69
2009 – Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese composer and lyricist (b. 1925)

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Historical Events

1906 – 1st time Dow Jones closes above 100 (100.26)
1916 – Britain proclaims Gilbert and Ellice Islands as a colony in Pacific
1948 – 1st Supermarket in UK opens
1990 – Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton is stabbed in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
1993 – NHL great Mario Lemieux announces that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma
2013 – “Mile High Miracle”, In AFC Divisional Playoff Game Denver Broncos ahead of Baltimore Ravens 35-28 with 1:09 remaining, quarterback Joe Flacco heaves 70 yard touchdown pass to receiver Jacoby Jones to tie the game. Ravens win in overtime.

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Famous Birthdays

1797 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician (d. 1873)
1819 – Zealous Bates Tower, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Cohasset, Massachusetts (d. 1900)
1915 – Paul Jarrico, American writer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1997)
1933 – Michael Aspel, English television presenter, born in Battersea, London
1962 – Richie Richardson, West Indies cricketer (elegant West Indian batsman 1983-95), born in Five Islands Village, Antigua and Barbuda
1969 – Olga Domuladzhanova, Russian boxer (World amateur heavyweight gold 2001), born in Tashkent, Russia (d. 2021)

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Famous Deaths

1705 – Luca Giordano, Italian artist (b. 1634)
1953 – Simeon Roncal, Bolivian composer, dies at 82
1972 – Padraic Colum, Irish novelist and poet (Collected Poems), dies at 90
1992 – Walt Morey, US children’s book writer (Gentle Ben), dies at 84
2009 – Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter, dies at 74
2012 – Sadao Bekku, Japanese classical and film composer (Matango), dies at 89

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Historical Events

1916 – Austrian forces capture Mount Lovćen, Serbia. Serbian army retreats, evacuating to Greek island of Corfu
1917 – Guy Bolton and PG Wodehouse’s “Have a Heart” premieres in New York
1919 – 3 year old German communist party (Spartacus) crushed
1989 – 140 nations agree to ban chemical weapons (poison gas, etc)
1999 – American comedian Jon Stewart succeeds Craig Kilborn as host of late-night talk and satirical news program “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central in US
2022 – Quebec announces it will impose a healthcare tax on unvaccinated adults who are accounting for 50% of ICU cases (scrapped Feb 2022)

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Famous Birthdays

1322 – Emperor Kōmyō of Japan, 2nd Northern Emperor (1336-48), born in Japan (d. 1380)
1449 – Domenico Ghirlandajo, Italian Renaissance painter and teacher of Michelangelo, born in Florence (d. 1494)
1818 – John Reese Kenly, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1891)
1905 – John Henry Jacques, English co-operative retailer and politician, born in Ashington, Northumberland (d. 1995)
1915 – Robert Blair Mayne, British soldier, co-founder Special Air Service (d. 1955)
1956 – Big Bank Hank [Henry Lee Jackson] American rapper (The Sugarhill Gang – “Rapper’s Delight”), born in The Bronx, New York City (d. 2014)

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Famous Deaths

1650 – Paul Hallman, composer, dies at 49
1763 – Caspar Abel, German theologian, historian, and poet (b. 1676)
1928 – Thomas Hardy, English novelist (Far from the Madding Crowd) and poet, dies near Dorchester at 87
1973 – Rudolf Kubin, Czech cellist, dies a day after 64th birthday
1995 – John AG Gere, English art historian (Raphael and his Circle), dies at 73
2016 – Gilberto Mendes, Brazilian composer, dies at 93

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Historical Events

1863 – 1st underground railway opens in London
1890 – Edward Macdowell’s “Lancelot and Elaine” premieres
1946 – UN General Assembly meets for 1st time in London
1967 – PBS (the National Educational TV) begins as a 70 station network
1980 – Last broadcast of “The Rockford Files” on NBC
2005 – A mudslide occurs in La Conchita, California, killing 10 people, injuring many more and closing the Highway 101, the main coastal corridor between San Francisco and Los Angeles, for 10 days.

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Famous Birthdays

1840 – Louis Nazaire Bégin, French Canadian archbishop and cardinal, born in Lévis, Canada (d. 1925)
1931 – Peter Barnes, English writer, born in Manchester, United Kingdom (d. 2004)
1933 – Akira Miyoshi, Japanese composer, born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 2013)
1945 – Rod Stewart, British singer (“Maggie Maey”; “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”; “Downtown Train”), and model railroad designer, born in London, England
1972 – Brian Lawler, American professional wrestler, born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2018)
1982 – Josh Ryan Evans, American actor, born in Hayward, California (d. 2002)

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Famous Deaths

1761 – Edward Boscawen, British admiral in the Royal Navy, dies at 49
1862 – Samuel Colt, American inventor and industrialist (Colt 6 shot revolver), dies of gout at 47
1956 – Karl L Schmidt, German/Swiss theologist (Urchristentum), dies at 64
1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Soviet fighter pilot and cosmonaut (Voskhod II), dies at 44
2017 – Tony Rosato, Italian-born Canadian comedian (SCTV, Saturday Night Live), dies at 63
2018 – Doreen Tracey, British-born American performer (Mickey Mouse Club-Mouseketeer), dies at 74

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