715 – St Gregory II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1828 – U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828/Tariff of Abominations into law to protect industry in the North
1891 – Rice Institute, which became Rice University in Houston, Texas, is chartered
1896 – 1st auto (Karl Benz) arrives in Netherlands
1906 – Federated Boys’ Club (Boys’ Club of America) organizes
1960 – Alan Freed and eight other DJs accused of taking radio payola
1988 – Carlos Lehder Rivas, of Colombia’s Medellin drug cartel, is convicted in Florida for smuggling more than 3 tons of cocaine into US
1992 – Amy Fisher shoots Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the face in an altercation over an affair with her husband, in Massapequa, New York
1994 – Tennis star Jennifer Capriati (18), checks into a drug rehab center
2021 – BBC investigation finds their 1995 Princess Dianna interview was secured through ‘deceitful behavior’ by journalist Martin Bashir
Author: gil7
Today in History for 19th May 2022
Historical Events
715 – St Gregory II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1973 – “Smith” opens at Eden Theater, NYC: runs for 17 performances
1976 – Senate establishes permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
1990 – “Elvis” TV Drama about early life of Elvis Presley last airs on ABC
1993 – Boeing 727 crashes into mountain at Medellin Colombia, kills 132
2021 – BBC investigation finds their 1995 Princess Dianna interview was secured through ‘deceitful behavior’ by journalist Martin Bashir
Famous Birthdays
1771 – Rahel Varnhagen von Ense-Levin, German literary hostess, born in Berlin, Prussia (d. 1833)
1925 – Guy Provost, French Canadian actor (d. 2004)
1930 – Hans Kox, Dutch composer (Dorian Gray; Symphony No. 4 – “Tasmanian”), and educator, born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 2019)
1939 – Tomasz Sikorski, Polish minimalist composer (Solitude of Sounds), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1988)
1951 – Dick Slater, American professional wrestler
1983 – Jessica Fox, British actress
Famous Deaths
1795 – Josiah Bartlett, American physician and statesman (signed US Declaration of Independence), dies at 65
1845 – Maria EJ Versfelt, mistress of general Moreau/marshal Ney, dies at 68
1898 – William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Liberal: 1868-74, 1880-86, 1892-94), dies of heart failure at 88
1903 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricket batsman (23 Tests [7 captain]; 1277 runs @ 35 47; Nottinghamshire), dies at 47
1904 – Auguste Molinier, French historian (b. 1851)
1994 – Henry Morgan, American comedian and TV panelist (I’ve Got a Secret, Arena), dies of cancer at 74
Famous Deaths for 18th May 2022
1410 – Rupert, King of Germany (1400-10), dies at 58
1551 – Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian Mannerist painter, dies at 65
1780 – Charles Hardy, British governor of Newfoundland, dies at 66
1799 – Pierre de Beaumarchais, French polymath and dramatist (The Marriage of Figaro, Barber of Seville), dies at 67
1800 – Alexander Suvorov, Russian general, dies at 70
1832 – Bonafacio Asioli, Italian composer, dies at 62
1974 – Dan Topping, American baseball team owner (NY Yankees), dies at 61
2004 – Elvin Jones, American jazz drummer (Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”), dies of heart failure at 76
2006 – Andrew Martinez, American activist (U.C. Berkeley’s “Naked Guy”), dies at 33
2020 – Marko Elsner, Slovenian soccer defender (14 caps Yugoslavia, 2 Slovenia; Red Star Belgrade), dies at 60
Historical Events for 18th May 2022
1811 – Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay lead by Jose Artigas
1812 – John Bellingham, a Liverpool merchant who assassinated British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval on May 11, is hung for the crime at the Old Bailey in London
1927 – Grauman’s Chinese Theater opens in Hollywood, California
1949 – Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America incorporates
1972 – American basketball player John Sebastian makes 63 consecutive free throws while blindfolded
1974 – Novelty song “The Streak” by Ray Stevens hits #1
1990 – Cubs Ryne Sandberg ends 2nd baseman record 123 errorless game streak
1990 – East and West Germany sign a monetary union treaty
1991 – Republic of Somaliland declares independence from Somalia
2004 – Arizona Diamondbacks’ Randy Johnson becomes 16th pitcher to throw a perfect game (2-0 vs Atlanta)
Today in History for 18th May 2022
Historical Events
1900 – Britain proclaims protectorate over Kingdom of Tonga
1918 – TNT explosion in chemical factory in Oakdale, Pennsylvania, kills 200
1974 – Novelty song “The Streak” by Ray Stevens hits #1
1986 – David Goch finishes swimming 55,682 miles in a 25-yd pool
1997 – “King David” opens at New Amsterdam Theater NYC
2008 – NHL Eastern Conference Final: Pittsburgh Penguins beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 1
Famous Birthdays
1886 – Ole Windingstad, Norwegian composer (The Tide), born in Sandefjord, Norway (d. 1959)
1918 – Massimo Girotti, Italian actor (Last Tango in Paris, In the Name of the Law), born in Mogliano, Marche, Italy (d. 2003)
1919 – Margot Fonteyn, English ballerina considered the 1st lady of British Ballet (Giselle), born in Reigate, England (d. 1991)
1929 – John Nicolaas Block, Dutch aviation pioneer (Martinair, Transavia, Air Holland), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1994)
1958 – Ray Donaldson, NFL center (Dallas Cowboys), born in Rome, Georgia
1967 – Karl Dunbar, American NFL defensive tackle (Arizona Cardinals), born in Opelousas, Louisiana
Famous Deaths
1918 – Toivo Kuula, Finnish composer, dies after being shot in a quarrel at 34
1922 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1907), dies at 76
1926 – Lucien Herr, French intellectual and librarian (École Normale Supérieure), dies at 62
1995 – Elisha Cook Jr, American actor (Maltese Falcon, Shane, Magnum PI), dies at 91
2003 – Barb Tarbox, Canadian anti-smoking crusader, dies at 42
2013 – Steve Forrest, American actor (SWAT), dies at 87
Famous Deaths for 17th May 2022
1796 – Jacob Wilhelm Lustig, German composer, dies at 89
1875 – John C. Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States (b. 1821)
1883 – Lydia Estes Pinklham, patent-medicine manufacturer, dies
1884 – Louis Brassin, Belgian pianist, composer and music educator, dies at 43
1888 – Giacomo Zanella, Italian poet (b. 1820)
1944 – Félix Éboué, French colonial administrator, dies at 60
1964 – Otto V. Kuusinen, Finnish politician (founder of the Finnish Communist Party), dies at 82
1987 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist and economist (Nobel 1974), dies at 88
1992 – Warren Neal Boxer, dies of AIDS at 34
1996 – Johnny “Guitar” Watson, musician, dies at 61
Historical Events for 17th May 2022
1814 – Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian
1939 – 1st televised baseball game is broadcast on NBC, with Princeton defeating Columbia 2-1
1944 – -18] Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java
1959 – Sam Snead sets PGA record for 36 holes at 122
1969 – Balt, Cleve and Pitts agree to go from NFC to AFC in NFL
1975 – 10CC releases “I’m Not in Love”
1980 – Paul and Linda McCartney appear on “Saturday Night Live”
1990 – The Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong designed by I. M. Pei opens as the first supertall skyscraper outside the US
1996 – Venezuelan Alicia Machado, aged 18, crowned 45th Miss Universe
2018 – Gina Haspel confirmed as the first female director of the CIA by the US Senate
Today in History for 17th May 2022
Historical Events
1933 – Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling, the national-socialist party of Norway
1948 – Soviet Union recognizes Israel
1959 – Sanctuary of Christ the King inaugurated, a 28 meter (92 ft) high monument and shrine overlooking Lisbon, Portugal by sculptor Francisco Franco de Sousa
1973 – Five British Army soldiers are killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army booby-trap bomb in Omagh, County Tyrone
1992 – LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Bethesda CC: Betsy King wins her 5th major title, 11 strokes ahead of runners-up JoAnne Carner, Liselotte Neumann and Karen Noble
1996 – Venezuelan Alicia Machado, aged 18, crowned 45th Miss Universe
Famous Birthdays
1803 – Robert Smith Surtees, British novelist (Jorrocks’s Jaunts and Jollities), born in The Riding, England (d. 1864)
1889 – Alfonso Reyes, Mexican writer (Simpatías y diferencias) and diplomat (Higenia Cruel), born in Monterrey, Mexico (d. 1959)
1943 – Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (d. 2005)
1945 – Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer (brilliant Indian leggie 1964-79), born in Mysore, Karnataka
1966 – Mark Schmocker, US team handball goalie (Olympics 1996)
1971 – Bill Lindsay, Big Fork, NHL left wing (Florida Panthers)
Famous Deaths
1809 – Leopold Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (invented percussion as a diagnostic technique), dies at 86
1838 – René Caillé, French explorer and the first European to return alive from the town of Timbuktu, dies at 38
1947 – George William Forbes, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
2000 – Donald Coggan, 101st Archbishop of Canterbury (1974-80), dies at 90
2007 – Lloyd Alexander, author (b. 1924)
2014 – Gerald Edelman, American biochemist (Nobel 1972), dies from natural causes at 84
Famous Deaths for 16th May 2022
1691 – Jacob Leisler, becomes 1st American colonist hanged for treason
1835 – Felicia Dorothea Hemans, poet/hymn writer, dies
1924 – William “Candy” Cummings, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (credited with creating the curveball), dies at 75
1938 – Stephen Fairbairn, oarsman/coach, dies
1953 – Django Reinhardt, Belgium born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer considered the most significant European jazz musician, dies at 43
1955 – James Agee, American author (African Queen, Death in Family), dies at 45
1996 – Pierre Debizet, resistance fighter/special agent, dies at 72
2011 – Bob Davis, Australian rules footballer (b. 1928)
2019 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American modernist architect (Louvre Pyramid) who won the 1961 Brunner Prize, dies at 102
2020 – Arthur Summons, Australian rugby union fly-half (10 Tests; Gordon RFC) and rugby league five-eighth (9 Tests; Western Suburbs RLFC), dies at 84
Historical Events for 16th May 2022
1881 – World’s 1st electric tram enters service in Lichterfelder (near Berlin)
1933 – Cecil Travis becomes 1st player to get 5 hits in his 1st game
1947 – Billie Holiday is arrested in her New York apartment for possession of narcotics
1965 – Baltimore Oriole Jim Palmer’s pitching debut, beats Yankees 7-5 and homers
1970 – Grover Henson Feels Forgotten by Bill Cosby hits #70
1971 – Benjamin Britten’s opera “Owen Wingrave” premieres in Aldwych, London
1979 – FC Barcelona of Spain wins 19th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Fortuna Düsseldorf of West Germany 4-3 in Basel
1980 – Brian May of rock group Queen collapses on stage with hepatitis
1984 – US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
1991 – Daily Planet fires cub reporter Jimmy Olson (fictional Superman character)