Author: gil7

Historical Events

1661 – French King Louis XIV ends office of premier
1874 – Purdue University (Indiana) admits its 1st student
1906 – Europe’s worst mining accident when a coal dust explosion kills 1,060 at Courrieres, France
1910 – Pittsburgh Courier begins publishing
1973 – Morocco adopts constitution
1991 – 12th Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament: Seton Hall beats Georgetown, 74-62

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1810 – John McCloskey, 1st American cardinal and Archbishop of New York, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1885)
1885 – Hans Luther, German politician and German Chancellor (1925-6), born in Berlin (d. 1962)
1892 – Eva Turner, British operatic soprano, born in Werneth, Oldham, England (d. 1990)
1898 – Cyrus “Cy” Kendall, American actor (Tarzan’s New York Adventure, Mysteries of Chinatown), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 1953)
1905 – Rene Bernier, Belgian composer, born in Saint-Gilles (d.1984)
1939 – Irina Press, Soviet 80m hurdles runner and pentathlete (Olympic gold 1960, 64), born in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (d. 2004)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1391 – Tvrtko I first king of Bosnia (b. 1338)
1819 – Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher and writer, dies at 76
1949 – James Rector, American athlete (b. 1884)
1951 – Kijūrō Shidehara, Japanese politician and diplomat, Prime minister of Japan (1945-46), dies at 78
1975 – Léopold Samuel, Belgian composer, dies at 91
1977 – Pieter Jan Bouman, Dutch sociologist and historian, dies at 74

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1804 – Georges Cadoudal, Breton royalist who plotted to overthrow Napoleon in the Pichegru Conspiracy, arrested
1861 – Us Confederate currency authorized – $50, $100, $500, $1,000
1936 – Babe Ruth turns down Reds to make a comeback as a player
1947 – US Men’s Figure Skating championship won by Richard Button
1948 – Provisionary Indonesian government installed in Batavia
2013 – Bernard Hopkins defeats Tavoris Cloud to win IBF light heavyweight title

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1213 – Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy, French crusader, born in Villaines-en-Duesmois, France (d. 1271)
1918 – Marguerite Chapman, American actress (The Seven Year Itch, Spy Smasher, Flight to Mars), born in Chatham, New York (d. 1999)
1937 – Bernard Landry, Premier of Quebec (2001-2003), born in Saint-Jacques, Quebec, Canada
1952 – William Kirby Cullen, American actor (How the West Was Won), born in Santa Ana, California
1979 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor (Scenes From a Marriage), born in Guatemala City, Guatemala
1982 – Paul Ballard, English television presenter, born in Essex

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1895 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian writer (Masochism), dies at 59
1941 – Carlos Pedrell, Uruguayan guitarist and composer, dies at 62
1994 – John Harrison, South African correspondent (BBC), dies at 48
1995 – Ruud van den Hende, Dutch sports reporter, dies at 63
2012 – Lord Wedderton of Charlton, British academic and politician, dies at 84
2021 – Roger Mudd, American Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist and TV news anchor (CBS Weekend News; NBC Evening News; Meet The Press), dies of kidney failure at 93

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1722 – Afghan monarch Mir Mahmud occupies Persia
1801 – British drive French forces from Abukir, Egypt
1917 – Russian “February Revolution” begins in earnest with protests celebrating International Woman’s Day and riots in St Petersburg over food rations and conduct of the war [OS=Feb 23]
1943 – US Ladies’ Figure Skating championship won by Gretchen Merrill
1961 – Jean Kerr’s “Mary, Mary” premieres in NYC
1993 – Katharine Hepburn released from the hospital after exhaustion

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1862 – Joseph Lee, Father of Playgrounds movement, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1937)
1916 – John W. Seybold, American economist and computer typesetting pioneer, born in Newburgh, Indiana (d. 2004)
1917 – A Marja [ATE Mooy], Dutch literary (Shreds on the River)
1937 – Pamela McEvoy-Johnston, psychotherapist-board member (WIC)
1947 – Don Brooks, American session and touring harmonica player (Waylon Jennings; Ken Burns’ “The Civil War”), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2000)
1957 – Ruth Wysocki, American 800m/1500m runner, born in Alhambra, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1702 – John de Baen, portrait painter/etcher, buried at 69
1855 – William Poole, Infamous member of New York City’s Bowery Boys gang, dies of a gunshot wound at 33
1945 – Jan Beekes, resistance fighter, executed at 26
1996 – Jack Churchill, British Army commando, dies at 89
1999 – Mary Margaret “Peggy” Cass, American actress, comedian, game show panelist and announcer (To Tell The Truth), dies at 74
2006 – Brian Barratt-Boyes, New Zealand heart surgeon (b. 1924)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1857 – Baseball decides 9 innings constitutes an official game, not 9 runs
1872 – -8°F (-22°C) in Boston, Massachusetts
1900 – Battle at Poplar Grove South Africa, President Kruger flees
1967 – Clark Gesner’s musical “You’re a Good Man” premieres in NYC
1974 – “USS Monitor”, Union Ship sunk in 1862 during US Civil War, restored at Cape Hatteras
1977 – Ali Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party wins elections

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1898 – Jan Bata, Czech shoe manufacturer
1924 – Kobo Abe, playwright (Woman, the Dunes), born in Tokyo, Japan
1953 – Kenny Aronoff, American drummer (John Mellencamp), born in Albany, New York
1955 – Tommy Kramer, American football player, born in San Antonio, Texas
1960 – Joe Carter, American MLB outfielder (MLB All-Star 1991–94, 96; World Series 1992, 93; Silver Slugger Award 1991, 92; Toronto Blue Jays), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1969 – Matt Blundin, American quarterback (KC Chiefs, Detroit Lions), born in Darby, Pennsylvania

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

203 – Perpetua and Felicitas, Christian martyrs (perhaps after 209)
1959 – Ichirō Hatoyama, Japanese politician, Prime Minister (1954-56), dies at 76
1973 – Andre de Meulemeester, Belgium WW I pilot [Eagle of Flanders], dies at 78
1979 – Klaus Egge, Norwegian composer (Fanitullen), dies at 72
2013 – Kenny Ball, English jazz musician, dies of pneumonia at 82
2018 – Reynaldo Bignone, Argentine politician and human rights violator, 41st President (1982–1983), dies of a hip fracture and heart failure at 90

More Famous Deaths »