Today in History for 8th November 2021

Historical Events

1520 – Stockholm Bloodbath begins: A successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces results in the execution of around 100 people.
1861 – USS San Jacinto commanded by Charles Wilkes captures two Confederate diplomats from the British mail steamer Trent, almost causing a war between the US and the UK
1895 – German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen produces and detects electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range today known as X-rays or Röntgen rays
1904 – Inventor and manufacturer Harvey Hubbell receives the first U.S. patent for a separable electric attachment plug
1933 – US President FDR creates Civil Works Administration
1974 – British peer the Earl of Lucan disappears and is never seen again after his nanny is found murdered in London

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1715 – Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, Queen of Prussia as wife of Frederik II the Great, born in Schloss Bevern, Germany (d. 1797)
1904 – Cedric Belfrage, English writer and journalist (co-founder of National Guardian), born in Marylebone, London (d. 1990)
1921 – Gene Saks, American actor and director (One and Only, Prisoner of 2nd Ave), born in NYC, New York (d. 2015)
1937 – Dragoslav Šekularac, Serbian footballer, born in Štip, Yugoslavia (d. 2019)
1954 – Michael D. Brown, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency director (2003-05), born in Guymon, Oklahoma
1979 – Aaron Hughes, Northern Irish footballer, born in Cookstown, Northern Ireland

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1909 – Eduard de Hartog, Dutch composer, dies at 80
1945 – August von Mackensen, German field marshal, dies at 95
1963 – Simon Jurovsky, Slovak composer and conductor, dies at 51
1991 – John Kirkpatrick, American pianist and musicologist (Charles Ives Archives), dies at 86
1999 – Leon Štukelj, Slovenian gymnast (b. 1898)
2020 – Alex Trebek, Canadian-American TV game host (High Rollers, Jeopardy), dies of cancer at 80

More Famous Deaths »

Famous Deaths for 7th November 2021

1581 – Richard Davies, Welsh bishop and scholar
1599 – Gasparo Tagliacozzi, Italian surgeon (b. 1546)
1880 – Carl Friedrich Weitzmann, composer, dies at 72
1956 – Una Mae Carlisle, US pianist/singer, dies at 40
1993 – Charles Aidman, actor (Kotch, Zoot Suit), dies of cancer at 68
1995 – John Patrick, American screenwriter and playwright (Pulitzer Prize 1954), commits suicide at 90
1996 – Michael Fenton Haddon, mining engineer, dies at 81
2002 – Margaret “Peg” Phillips, American actress (Northern Exposure, ER, Suddenly Susan), dies of lung disease at 84
2008 – Hedley Howarth, New Zealand cricket spin bowler (30 Tests, 86 wickets), dies of cancer at 64
2015 – Gunnar Hansen, Icelandic-born American actor (Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), dies of cancer at 68

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events for 7th November 2021

1861 – Battle of Belmont, fought in Mississippi County, Missouri begins, first combat test for Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, Union victory (US Civil War)
1907 – Delta Sigma Pi, a professional fraternity organized to foster the study of business in universities is founded at New York University.
1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt is re-elected President of the United States for a record fourth term, defeating Republican candidate Thomas E. Dewey
1956 – Suez Crisis ends with a ceasefire as the United Nations Emergency Force is established at instigation of Canadian diplomat Lester B. Pearson and UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld
1967 – LBJ signs a bill establishing Corporation for Public Broadcasting
1968 – USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono release their second album “Wedding Album” in UK
1990 – “Little Night Music” closes at New York State NYC after 11 performances
1992 – 1st NBA game at America West Arena, Phoenix Suns beat Clippers 111-105
2017 – Extreme smog in Delhi, India, leads Indian Medical Association to declare “a state of medical emergency”

More Historical Events »

Today in History for 7th November 2021

Historical Events

1747 – Organgist in Netherlands revolt under Daniel Raap
1900 – Battle of Leliefontein, a battle during which the Royal Canadian Dragoons win three Victoria Crosses.
1934 – Arthur L. Mitchell, becomes first African American Democratic US congressman (Illinois)
1962 – Glenn Hall set NHL record of 503 consecutive games as goalie
1967 – St Louis Cards Orlando Cepeda is 1st unanimous NL MVP
1990 – Cleveland Indian Sandy Alomar Jr wins AL Rookie of Year, unanimously

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1856 – Semyon Alapin, Russian chess master, born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1923)
1915 – Philip Morrison, American physicist, born in Somerville, New Jersey (d. 2005)
1942 – Johnny Rivers [Ramistella], American singer (“Secret Agent Man”), and record producer, born in NYC, New York
1943 – Stephen Greenblatt, American literary historian and author (The Swerve: How the World Became Modern), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1947 – Yutaka Fukumoto, Japanese professional baseball player, born in Osaka, Japan
1957 – King Kong Bundy [Christopher Pallies], American pro wrestler (WWF), born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2019)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1893 – Constantly Lievens, Flemish missionary in India, dies at 37
1966 – Rube Bressler, Baseball player (b. 1894)
1996 – Jaja Wachuku, Nigerian Lawyer and First Foreign Affairs Minister (b. 1918)
2006 – Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist (b. 1924)
2016 – Janet Reno, first female US Attorney General (1993-2001), dies at 78
2020 – Cándido Camero, Cuban American percussionist (congo drum) and bandleader, dies at 99

More Famous Deaths »

Famous Deaths for 6th November 2021

1793 – Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, dies at 46
1822 – Claude-Louis Berthollet, French chemist, dies at 73
1931 – Jack Chesbro, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (MLB wins leader 1902, 04 [41 wins], NY Highlanders), dies of heart attack at 57
1935 – Billy Sunday, American evangelist (revivals and sermons reflected the emotional upheavals caused by transition from rural to industrial society in the United States), dies at 72
1944 – Hannah Senesh, Jewish poetess, executed by Nazis in Budapest
1991 – Gene Tierney, American actress (Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, The Razor’s Edge), dies of emphysema at 70
2001 – Anthony Shaffer, English dramatist (Sleuth), dies at 75
2006 – Francisco Fernández Ochoa, Spanish alpine skier (slalom Olympic Gold 1972), dies of cancer at 56
2009 – Ron Sproat, American TV writer and playwright (Dark Shadows), dies at 77
2018 – Hugh McDowell, British cellist (Electric Light Orchestra – “Strange Magic”; “Evil Woman”), dies of cancer at 65

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events for 6th November 2021

1844 – Spain grants Dominican Republic independence
1865 – Maastricht-Venlo railway opens in Netherlands
1955 – Ryder Cup Golf, Thunderbird Ranch and CC: US wins 8-4; Chick Harbert captains Americans to 7th consecutive event victory
1958 – Belgium government of Eyskens and Lilar forms
1968 – The film “Head” starring the Monkees opens in New York.
1971 – “Great Harp” closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 7 performances
1973 – James Bond film “Man With the Golden Gun” starring Roger Moore begins filming
1994 – Emomali Rachmonov recognized as president of Tadzjikistan
1999 – Australians vote to keep the British monarch as their head of state in the Australian republic referendum.
2013 – 15 people are killed after a suicide bombing in Baghdad, Iraq

More Historical Events »

Today in History for 6th November 2021

Historical Events

1850 – 1st Hawaiian fire engine
1884 – British protectorate proclaimed over southeast New Guinea
1906 – Charles Evans Hughes (R) elected NY Governor beating William Randolph Hearst
1991 – Robert M Gates, becomes 15th director of CIA
1995 – Art Modell officially announces Cleveland Browns are moving to Balt
2013 – 15 people are killed after a suicide bombing in Baghdad, Iraq

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1892 – John Alcock, English pilot (1st non-stop flight across Atlantic Ocean), born in Stretford, England (d. 1919)
1906 – James D. Norris, American sports businessman (Chicago Black Hawks), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1966)
1909 – Henk Bijvanck, Dutch composer, born in Kudus, Java (d. 1969)
1931 – Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Bulgarian composer, born in Sofia, Bulgaria (d. 1982)
1967 – Shuzo Matsuoka, Japanese tennis star (1995 USTA/Binghampton), born in Tokyo, Japan
1978 – Taryn Manning, American actress (Hawaii Five-O), born in Falls Church, Virginia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1597 – Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain [Catalina Micaela de Austria], Duchess consort of Savoy (1585-97), dies at 30
1910 – Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Italian patriot and writer, dies at 72
1914 – Allessandro d’Ancona, Italian philologist (Dante), dies at 79
1989 – Dickie Goodman, American parody singer (Flying Saucer), dies at 55
1996 – Patience Edney, British nurse and communist, dies at 85
2005 – Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress, dies of leukemia at 38

More Famous Deaths »

Famous Deaths for 5th November 2021

1559 – Kano Motonobu, Zen co-founder (Kano school of painting), dies at 83
1660 – Alexandre de Rhodes, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1591)
1660 – Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle, English socialite (b. 1599)
1772 – Pieter Steyn, Dutch grand pensionary (1749-72), dies at 66
1968 – Robert Ayres, actor (Battle Beneath the Earth), dies at 54
1990 – Humphrey Gibbs, Governor of Southern Rhodesia (1959-69), dies at 87
1991 – Robert Maxwell, British billionaire publisher (NY Daily News), dies at 68
1992 – Jan Hendrik Oort, Dutch astronomer (hypothesized “Oort Cloud”), dies at 92
2005 – (Fred Lincoln) “Link” Wray, Native American rock guitarist (“Rumble”), dies of heart failure at 76
2009 – Félix Luna, Argentine historian and lyricist, dies at 84

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events for 5th November 2021

1499 – Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier (Brittany). Breton-French-Latin dictionary written in 1464 by Jehan Lagadeuc was first Breton and French dictionary
1530 – St Felix Flood ravages Dutch coast and destroys the city of Reimerswaal in the Netherlands
1862 – Battle at Barbee’s Crossroads, Virginia: 51 casualties
1882 – Bedřich Smetana’s “Má Vlast” premieres at Žofín Palace, Prague
1957 – Mrs Nellie McGrail wins $574,658 on a 2½ cent soccer pool ticket
1979 – Iran government of Bazargan resigns
1987 – “Into the Woods” opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 764 performances
1995 – André Dallaire attempts to assassinate Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien; he is thwarted when the PM’s wife locks the door.
1997 – 2 hours after Davey Johnson resigns he is named AL Manager of Year
2011 – Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing, Churchill Downs; Day 2 winners: Afleet Again, Wrote, Amazombie, Regally Ready, Caleb’s Posse, St Nicholas Abbey, Hansen, Court Vision, Drosselmeyer

More Historical Events »

Today in History for 5th November 2021

Historical Events

1886 – British Open Men’s Golf, Musselburgh Links: David Brown beats fellow Scot Willie Campbell by 2 strokes
1895 – US state Utah accepts female suffrage
1912 – Bulgarian troops in Constantinople blockade drinking water
1927 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Cedar Crest CC: Defending champion Walter Hagen beats Joe Turnesa 1-up to win his 4th straight PGA title
1932 – Benito Mussolini frees 16,000 convicts
1989 – 19th NYC Women’s Marathon won by Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway in 2:25:30

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1615 – Ibrahim I, 18th Ottoman Sultan (1640-48), born in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (d. 1648)
1841 – Alexander Sergeyevich Famintsin, Russian composer, born in Kaluga, Russia (d. 1896)
1883 – Ernie Parker, Australian tennis player (Australasian C’ship 1913), born in Perth, Western Australia (d. 1918)
1913 – John McGiver, American character actor (Patty Duke Show; Jimmy Stewart Show; Fitzwilly), born in NYC, New York (d. 1975)
1924 – Ivan Rezak, Czech composer, born in Řevnice (d. 1977)
1958 – Robert Patrick, American actor (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), born in Marietta, Georgia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1660 – Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle, English socialite (b. 1599)
1772 – Johannes Schmidlin, Swiss composer, dies at 50
1942 – George M. Cohan, American father of musical comedy (Phantom President, Give My Regards to Broadway), dies of cancer at 64
1972 – Reginald Owen, British actor (Mary Poppins, Sherlock Holmes), dies at 85
1996 – Lars-Ake Nilsson, diplomat, dies at 53
2012 – Charles V. Bush, African-American pioneer (1st African-American US Air Force Academy Graduate and US Supreme Court Page), dies from colon cancer at 72

More Famous Deaths »