1263 – King James I of Aragon censors Hebrew writing
1895 – American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin is shot and killed by John Selman Sr. in a saloon in El Paso, Texas
1903 – Philadelphia Phillies suffer record 9th straight postponed game
1922 – US National Championship Women’s Tennis, Germantown CC, PA: Molla Bjurstedt Mallory beats Helen Wills Moody 6-3, 6-1 for her 7th US singles crown
1944 – US general Omar Bradley visits British general Bernard Montgomery
1953 – England regains cricket Ashes from Australia after winning series 1-0
1960 – American CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers convicted of spying by USSR (U-2 incident); sentence to 3 years in prison plus 7 in a labor camp, he served 17 months before being exchanged for a captured Soviet KGB spy
1981 – 2 US Navy F-14 jet fighters shoot down 2 Soviet-built Libyan SU-22
1987 – Hungerford Massacre: in England, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with an assault rifle and then commits suicide
1991 – Conservative members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union attempt to depose Mikhail Gorbachev in a coup d’état
Author: gil7
Today in History for 19th August 2022
Historical Events
1591 – French King Henry IV occupies Rouen
1982 – Renaldo Nehemiah of US sets record for 110 m hurdles, 12.93 sec
1983 – Dodgers trade Dave Stewart and Ricky Wright to Texas for Rick Honeycut
1985 – Following the Rubicon speech four days earlier, Archbishop Desmond Tutu snubs P. W. Botha’s invitation to attend a meeting to discuss the role and actions of the police and security forces in South Africa
1995 – Bruce Seldon TKOs Joe Hipp in 10 for heavyweight boxing title
2016 – A 6-way tie for first place in the final of the equestrian individual jumping competition at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Nick Skelton of Great Britain wins gold medal jump-off
Famous Birthdays
1881 – George Enesco, Romanian violinist, conductor, and composer (Romanian Dances), born in Liveni, Dorohoi, Romania (d. 1955)
1896 – Walter Lang, Swiss composer, born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 1966)
1930 – Frank McCourt, Irish-American Pulitzer Prize winning author (Angela’s Ashes), and teacher, born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 2009)
1940 – Jill St John [Oppenheim], actress (Diamonds are Forever), born in Los Angeles, California
1969 – Patrick Van Horn, American actor (Swingers)
1972 – Elizabeth Wolfgramm, American singer (The Jets), born in Salt Lake City, Utah
Famous Deaths
1650 – Abraham de Verwer, Dutch painter, buried at about 55
1963 – Kathleen Parlow, Canadian violinist, and educator, dies at 72
1981 – Jessie Matthews, English actress (Gangway, First a Girl), dies at 74
2011 – Raúl Ruiz, Chilean filmmaker (Three Sad Tigers), dies at 70
2016 – Donald Henderson, American epidemiologist, led world campaign that eradicated smallpox, dies at 82
2019 – Larry “The Mole” Taylor, American session (The Monkees) and touring rock and blues bass player (Canned Heat – “On the Road Again”; John Mayall; Tom Waits), dies of cancer at 77
Famous Deaths for 18th August 2022
1318 – Clare of Montefalco, Italian Abbess and religious leader (born c. 1268)
1559 – Paul IV [Giampietro Caraffa], Pope (1555-59), dies at 83
1634 – Urbain Grandier, French priest (b. 1590)
1712 – Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers, English soldier
1907 – John Kerr, Scottish physicist and pioneer in the field of electro-optics (electro-visually Kerr-effect), dies at 82
1916 – Edward D Pain, English journalist (NY World), dies in battle at 36
1961 – Learned Hand, Chief judge of US court of Appeals, dies at 89
2006 – Fernand Gignac, Canadian singer and actor (b. 1934)
2006 – Jamie Astaphan, Caribbean-born physician (b. 1946)
2010 – Scott Davis, American Announcer of Track and Field (b.1943)
Historical Events for 18th August 2022
1858 – Netherlands and Japan sign trade agreement
1951 – Cricket 1st-class debut of Raymond Illingworth
1956 – Cincinnati Reds (8) and Cubs (2) combine to hit 10 HRs in a 9 inning game
1964 – Charles Helu elected president of Lebanon
1964 – USSR launch 3 Kosmos satellites
1981 – Jerry Lewis appears on “Donahue” to defend Telethons
1986 – Jim Kelly signs with NFL Buffalo Bills ($75 million for 5 years)
1989 – Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as NY Yankee manager
2008 – Russian pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva sets a new world record of 5.05m to win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics; her 24th world record
2018 – Australian mare Winx wins her Australasian record 26th consecutive race, the renamed Winx Stakes at Royal Randwick in Sydney; 19th Group One win for thoroughbreds
Today in History for 18th August 2022
Historical Events
1612 – Pendle Witch trial begins with 10 people accused of witchcraft in Lancaster, England, key witness 9 year-old boy
1700 – Swedish, English and Dutch army lands on Seeland, Denmark
1956 – Cincinnati Reds (8) and Cubs (2) combine to hit 10 HRs in a 9 inning game
1958 – TV game show scandal investigation starts
1965 – Dutch soccer team FC Den Bosch (successor to BVV 1906 and Wilhelmina 1890) is established at ‘s-Hertogenbosch
1989 – Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as NY Yankee manager
Famous Birthdays
1882 – Marcel Samuel-Rousseau, French organist and opera composer (Le Bon Roi Dagobert), born in Paris (d. 1955)
1907 – Cecilia Grace Hunt Reeves Gillie, Executive (BBC), born in Sheppey, Kent, England (d. 1996)
1919 – Walter J Hickel, (Gov-R-Alaska)/US Secretary of Interior (1969-71)
1941 – Dennis Claridge, American football quarterback (NFL C’ship 1965, Green Bay Packers; Atlantic Falcons), born in Phoenix, Arizona (d. 2018)
1956 – John Debney, American composer, born in Glendale, California
1968 – Greta Lind, American actress (Katie Kennicott-All My Children), born in Goshen, New York
Famous Deaths
1943 – Hans Jeschonnek, German air force general/chief-staff, commits suicide
1946 – Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver triple jump; bronze long jump 1912), dies at 53
1968 – Cy Walter, American jazz pianist (Three’s Company), dies of cancer at 52
2003 – Tony Jackson, British bass player (The Searchers, 1962-64 – “Sugar And Spice”), dies from a combination of diabetes, heart disease, and cirrhosis of the liver at 65
2009 – Kim Dae-jung, 8th President of South Korea (1998-2003) and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize 2000 laureate, dies at 85
2015 – (Alan) “Bud” Yorkin, American film and television producer and director (Divorce American Style; All in the Family; Sanford And Son), dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 17th August 2022
1792 – Jan Jachym Kopriva, Czech composer and organist, dies at 38
1865 – Mosby Munroe Parsons, United States officer in the Mexican–American War and brigadier general of the Confederate States Army, dies in battle at 42
1953 – Bannister Fletcher, English architect and architectural historian (A History of Architecture), dies at 87
1953 – Johannes Tielrooy, Dutch literary professor (French Living Lesson), dies at 66
1954 – Billy Murray, American singer (Denver Nightengale), dies at 77
1972 – Raymond Brulez, Flemish author (Schoone slaapster), dies at 76
1992 – Barbara Morgan, American photographer (Martha Graham), dies at 92
1995 – David Warrilow, English actor (Simon, Radio Days, Barton Fink), dies at 60
2007 – Bill Deedes, British journalist and politician (b. 1913)
2013 – John Hollander, American poet and literary critic, dies at 83
Historical Events for 17th August 2022
1891 – Electric self-starter for automobile patented
1918 – Bolshevik revolutionary leader Moisei Uritsky is assassinated
1950 – Indonesia gains independence from Netherlands
1960 – Indonesia drops diplomatic relations with Netherlands
1977 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1977 – Russian nuclear sub “Artika” is 1st to North Pole
1985 – 1,400 meatpackers walk off the job at a Geo A Hormel and Co plant
1986 – Rioting at DMC concert at Long Beaxh (California) Convention Center – 40 injured
1989 – Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken moves into 3rd place (1,208th cons game)
2013 – 14th Athletics World Championships: Usain Bolt wins 200m
Today in History for 17th August 2022
Historical Events
1862 – Confederate troops under Kirby Smith enter Kentucky
1904 – George H Reid succeeds John Watson as Prime Minister of Australia
1936 – An unemployed worker, Neils B. Ruud, in Madison, Wisconsin, receives the first unemployment benefit check paid under a State law, for $15
1969 – Hurricane Camille strikes US coastline and kills 259 people (mainly in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana)
1988 – NYC 1st case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (9 year old Bronx boy)
2013 – 14th Athletics World Championships: Usain Bolt wins 200m
Famous Birthdays
1720 – Charles-Dominique-Joseph Eisen, French engraver and painter (Contes de La Fontaine), born in Valenciennes, France (d. 1778)
1905 – John Hay Whitney, American diplomat and publisher (NY Herald Tribune 1961-67), born in Ellsworth, Maine (d. 1982)
1955 – Colin Moulding, English pop bassist, and songwriter (XTC – “Generals And Majors”), born in Swindon, England
1966 – Maysa [Leak], American jazz and RandB singer, born in Baltimore, Maryland
1974 – Nicola Kraus, American novelist, born in New York City
1974 – Tony Hajjar, Lebanese-American musician (At the Drive-In, Sparta), born in Beirut, Lebanon
Famous Deaths
1875 – Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist (Father of Bantu Philology), dies at 48
1966 – Archibald Palm, South African cricketer (Test South Africa v England 1927-28), dies at 65
1988 – Victoria Shaw, Australian-American actress (Alvarez Kelly, Westworld), dies at 53
1993 – Max de Metz, Dutch publisher and translator, dies at 72
2004 – Gérard Souzay, French baritone, dies at 85
2010 – Edwin Morgan, Scottish poet (At Eighty), dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 16th August 2022
1705 – Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician known for his contributions to calculus, dies at 50
1738 – Joe Miller, English comic, dies
1748 – Pietro Giuseppe Sandoni, Italian composer, dies at 63
1854 – Duncan Phyfe, furniture maker, dies
1907 – James Hector, Scottish geologist (b. 1834)
1972 – John Barnes Chance, American composer, dies at 39
1991 – Shamu the Whale, dies of respiratory failure at 16
1992 – Mark Heard, Christian musician, dies at 41 of a heart attack
2018 – Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast (Olympic gold USSR Team, All-around 1988; World C’ship gold x 5), dies of pneumonia at 49
2018 – Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter known as “The Queen of Soul” (Respect) and first female performer inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987), dies of pancreatic cancer at 76
Historical Events for 16th August 2022
1864 – Federal assault on 4th day of battle at Deep Bottom Run, Virginia
1865 – Restoration Day in the Dominican Republic: The Dominican Republic regains its independence after 4 years of fighting against the Spanish Annexation.
1918 – US troops overrun at Archangelsk by Bolshevik troops
1959 – LPGA Western Open Women’s Golf, Ranier GandCC: Betsy Rawls wins her second WO by 6 strokes from JoAnne Gunderson and Patty Berg
1965 – American Football League’s 9th franchise is officially awarded to Joe Robbie and television star Danny Thomas; Miami Dolphins start play in AFL’s Eastern Division in 1966
1972 – Morocco King Hassan II’s B727 shot during failed coup attempt by General Mohamed Oufkir. Reportedly, King Hassan grabbed the radio and told the rebel pilots “Stop firing! The tyrant is dead!”, fooling pilots to break off attack
1973 – 5th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Sheraton Hotel, Harbor Island
1993 – The Debian distribution first announced by Ian Murdock, a student at Purdue University (Murdock initially called his system the “Debian Linux Release”)
2016 – New Zealand canoeist Lisa Carrington retains her K-1 200m Olympic title with a time of 39.864 at the Rio de Janeiro Games
2016 – Russian pair Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina retain their Olympic synchronised swimming duet title at the Rio de Janeiro Games with final score 194.9910