1738 – Real Academia de la Historia (“Royal Academy of History”) founded in Madrid
1862 – Battle of Fort Jackson, Fort St Philip and New Orlean’s, Louisiana
1916 – US Secretary of State Warns Germany that the USA may break diplomatic relations unless torpedo attacks on unarmed ships stop
1921 – 25th Boston Marathon won by Frank Zuna in race record 2:18:57.6
1926 – Rhein Stadium opens in Dusseldorf, Germany
1936 – Pan-Am Clipper begins regular passenger flights from San Francisco to Honolulu
1962 – 16th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3
1987 – Gregory Robertson does 200-mph free fall to save unconscious skydiver near Coolidge, Arizona
1990 – Birmingham Fire issued an original franchise in WLAF
2010 – 45th Academy of Country Music Awards: Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, and Miranda Lambert win
Author: gil7
Today in History for 18th April 2022
Historical Events
1934 – Adolf Hitler names Joachim von Ribbentrop ambassador for disarmament
1958 – A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum.
1977 – Musical revue “Side by Side by Sondheim” opens at Music Box, NYC for 390 performances
1984 – Joan Benoit runs world record female marathon (2:22:43)
1990 – Birmingham Fire issued an original franchise in WLAF
1994 – “Beauty and the Beast” opens at Palace Theater NYC
Famous Birthdays
1813 – James McCune Smith, African-American doctor and abolitionist, born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1865)
1925 – Bob Hastings, American actor (McHale’s Navy, All in the Family), born in Brooklyn, New York, (d. 2014)
1946 – Harvey Kagan, American muscian (Sir Douglas Quintet)
1950 – Bill Sudderth III, American trumpeteer (Atlantic Star-Touch 4 Leaf Clover)
1950 – Kenny Ortega, American film and TV producer (High School Musical trilogy), born in Palo Alto, California
1959 – Jim Eisenreich, American MLB outfielder (Tourette syndrome, Florida Marlins WS 1997), born in St. Cloud, Minnesota
Famous Deaths
1556 – Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (Flora, Antigone), dies at 61
1567 – Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer, dies at 63
1947 – Benny Leonard, Jewish-American lightweight boxing champ (1917-25), dies at 51
1984 – John Lee Mahin, American screenwriter, dies of emphysema at 81
1984 – Francis De Wolff, British character actor (A Christmas Carol, From Russia With Love), dies at 71
2013 – Cordell “Boogie” Mosson, American musician (Parliament-Funkadelic collective), dies of liver failure at 60
Famous Deaths for 17th April 2022
1427 – John IV, Duke of Brabant, dies at 23
1937 – Yi Sang, Korean author and poet (Dying Words, Wings, Child’s Bone), dies of tuberculosis in a Japanese prison camp at 26
1954 – Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu, Romanian communist activist and sociologist, dies at 53
1974 – Herbert Elwell, American composer (Happy Hypocrite), dies at 75
1983 – Mark W Clark, US general (WWII), dies at 87
1988 – Louise Nevelson, American sculptor (featured at the 31st Venice Biennale), dies of brain tumor at 88
1990 – Ralph David Abernathy, US civil rights leader, dies
1992 – Arthur “Skeets” Herfurt, American jazz and session saxophonist and clarinetist (Dorsey Brothers; Benny Goodman; Lawrence Wlek), dies at 80
2009 – Martin Garrod, British Commandant General Royal Marines, dies at 73
2011 – Nikos Papazoglou, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1948)
Historical Events for 17th April 2022
1555 – Siena surrenders to Spanish troops
1907 – Ellis Island, New York records 11,745 immigrants
1927 – Japan’s Wakarsoeki government falls, Baron Tanaka becomes premier
1945 – German occupiers flood Wieringermeer, Netherlands
1953 – Mickey Mantle hits a 565′ (172 m) HR in Washington, D.C.’s Griffith Stadium
1961 – Jimmy Stewart accepts an honorary Oscar on behalf of his friend Gary Cooper, who is too ill to attend
1967 – Shortwave Radio NY Worldwide goes back on the air after a week off
1978 – 82nd Boston Marathon: US double; Bill Rodgers wins his 2nd men’s title in 2:10:13; Gayle Barron women’s champion in 2:44:52
1979 – Four Royal Ulster Constabulary officers are killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army van bomb in Bessbrook, County Armagh; the bomb is believed to be the largest PIRA bomb used up to that point
2019 – Terror alert closes schools in Denver, Colorado, due to 18 year-old woman obsessed with Columbine massacre, who is then found dead
Today in History for 17th April 2022
Historical Events
1945 – 8th Air Force bombs Dresden
1987 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1991 – Railroad workers go on strike in US
2013 – 5 people are killed in Wana, Pakistan, by a United States drone attack
2017 – 1st living giant shipworm at 3 ft found in the Philippines, really a type of clam
2021 – Funeral of Prince Philip, consort to Queen Elizabeth II, held under COVID-19 restrictions at Windsor Palace, England
Famous Birthdays
1904 – Naoomal Jeoomal, Indian cricketer (pioneer Indian Test opening batsman), born in Karachi, British India (d. 1980)
1912 – Isador Caplan, British lawyer and Aldeburgh Festival pioneer, born in Blackpool, England (d. 1995)
1926 – Arthur Hockaday, Director-General (Commonwealth War Graves Commission), born in Plymouth
1940 – Claire Bretécher, French cartoonist (Les Frustrés), born in Nantes, France (d. 2020)
1956 – Kaye Young, American WBL forward (NY Stars, NJ Stars), born in Bunn, North Carolina
1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian ice hockey player, born in Chelyabinsk, Russia
Famous Deaths
1799 – Richard Jupp, English architect (East India House) (b. 1728)
1976 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
1997 – Chaim Herzog, 6th President of Israel (1983-93), dies at 78
2004 – Soundarya, Indian actress (b. 1971)
2004 – [Andrew] Bruce Boa, Canadian actor (The Empire Strikes Back), dies of cancer at 73
2018 – Barbara Bush, First Lady of the US (1989-93) and wife of George H. W. Bush, dies following long illness at 92
Famous Deaths for 16th April 2022
1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Russian prince (b. 1050)
1619 – Denijs Calvaert/Caluwaert [Dionisio Fiamingo], Flemish painter, dies
1783 – Christian Mayer, Czech Catholic priest and astronomer, dies at 63
1879 – Bernadette of Lourdes [Bernadette Soubirous], French saint (saw Virgin Mary at Lourdes), dies from tuberculosis at 35 in Nevers, France
1914 – George William Hill, American astronomer (moon orbit), considered to be the greatest master of celestial mechanics of his time, dies at 76
1947 – Rudolf Höss, German commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, dies at 45
1996 – Madeleine Bourdouxhe, Belgian writer, dies at 89
1997 – Ray Green, American composer and publisher, dies at 88
1998 – Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician, dies at 77
1999 – Alexander “Skip” Spence, Canadian-American guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane), dies of lung cancer at 52
Historical Events for 16th April 2022
1509 – French army under Louis XII enters the Alps
1918 – The British House of Commons passes a new Military Service Bill, taking men up to 55 years old and extending to Ireland
1922 – Annie Oakley sets women’s record by breaking 100 clay targets in a row
1922 – Treaty of Rapallo between the German Republic and Soviet Union a is signed in Italy, normalizing diplomatic relations with each side renouncing their territorial and financial claims against the other
1947 – Massive explosion and fire kills 522 in Texas City, Tx
1954 – Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 in OT for a 4-3 series victory
1978 – “History of the American Film” closes at ANTA NYC after 21 performances
1979 – Pulitzer prize awarded to Sam Shepard for “Buried child”
1987 – August Wilson’s “Fences” wins 1987 Pulitzer Prize for drama
1992 – NY Rangers win team record 50th game
Today in History for 16th April 2022
Historical Events
1787 – 1st American comedy, “The Contrast,” makes its debut in NYC
1946 – Dutch Special Court of Justice sentences Frederik Müller, Socialist mayor of Rotterdam, to 10 years in jail for his wartime support of Germany
1949 – Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: 3-peat for Toronto Maple Leafs as they beat Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 for a 4 game series sweep
1990 – Maximum NY State unemployment benefits raised to $260 per week
1991 – St Louis Blues becomes 8th NHL team in Play-off to come back from a 3-1 deficit as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in game 7
1992 – 1st concrete is poured at new ballpark at Gateway (Jacobs Field)
Famous Birthdays
1868 – Joel Angel, Russian musicologist and composer (d. 1917)
1881 – Edward Frederick Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax and British ambassador to US (1940-46), born in Powderham Castle, Devon, England (d. 1959)
1924 – Geoffrey Johnson Smith, Scottish Conservative politician (1959-2001), born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland (d. 2010)
1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician (Leader of the Scottish National Party), born in Govan, Glasgow (d. 2017)
1948 – Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant, born in London
1963 – Garry Galley, Canadian NHL defenseman (Buffalo Sabres), born in Montreal, Quebec
Famous Deaths
744 – al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph (743-744), killed at 35
1689 – Aphra Behn, English dramatist and novelist, dies at 48
1870 – Anatoli O Demidov, Russian ruler of Donato/traveller, dies
1991 – David Lean, film director (Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia), dies of pneumonia at 83
1994 – Ralph Waldo Ellison, American writer (Invisible Man), dies at 80
2020 – Kenneth Gilbert, Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist, and educator, dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 15th April 2022
1621 – John Carver, first governor of Plymouth Colony, dies at 45
1889 – Father Damien, Belgian missionary, dies at 49
1892 – Amelia Edwards, English author (The Phantom Coach) and Egyptologist, dies at 60
1913 – Ğabdulla Tuqay, Tatar poet (Oh My Mother Tongue!), dies at 26
1938 – Caesar Vallejo, Peruvian-French poet (Trilce, Russia and 1931), dies at 46
1970 – Ripper Collins, American baseball first baseman (MLB All-Star 1935, 36, 37; World Series 1931, 34; NL HR leader 1934; St Louis Cardinals), dies at 66
1980 – Paul Langton, American actor (Till the Clouds Roll By, Peyton Place), dies from a heart attack at 66
1983 – Rodolfo Hoyos, Mexican actor (Luis-Viva Valdez), dies at 68
1994 – John Curry, British figure skater (Olympic gold, World C’ship gold, European C’ship gold 1976), dies from AIDS at 44
2019 – Les Reed, British songwriter (“It’s Not Unusual”; “There’s A Kind Of Hush”; “Here It Comes Again”), dies at 83
Historical Events for 15th April 2022
1729 – Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St Matthew Passion” premieres in Leipzig
1738 – Premiere in London of “Serse”, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel
1902 – Pope Leo XIII encyclical “On Church in US”
1918 – Georges Clémenceau publishes secret French/Austrian documents
1935 – 39th Boston Marathon won by John A Kelley in 2:32:07.4
1937 – Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Detroit Red Wings beat New York Rangers, 3-0 for a 3-2 series win; back-to-back titles for Red Wings
1961 – Meredith Willson’s musical “The Music Man”, starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, closes at Majestic Theater, NYC. after 1375 performances, 5 Tony Awards, and a Grammy
1994 – Jazz singer Tony Bennett records a session for “MTV’s Unplugged” series at Sony Studios, NYC, featuring the Ralph Sharon trio, and guest appearances by Elvis Costello, and k.d.lang; album release wins 2 Grammy Awards
1997 – Baseball honors Jackie Robinson by retiring #42 for all teams
2001 – The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Doug Tewell wins his second and final Champions Tour major by 9 strokes from Mike McCullough