1431 – Joan of Arc’s first day of interrogation during her trial for heresy
1792 – US Congress passes Presidential Succession Act
1857 – US issues flying eagle cents
1864 – 1st US Catholic parish church for blacks dedicated, Baltimore
1934 – Nicaraguan patriot Augusto César Sandino and three others kidnapped and assassinated by the National Guard in Larreynaga
1945 – Dutch Archbishop of Utrecht Johannes de Jong calls for help with war casualties following the Nazi occupation of Netherlands from the allies
1972 – Richard Nixon becomes the first US President to visit China, normalizing relations between the countries in a meeting with Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Beijing
1983 – Donald Davis runs 1 mile backwards in 6 m 7.1 s
1989 – Pete Rose meets with Commissioner Ueberroth to discuss his gambling
2019 – The Lunar Library, a 30 million page digital library launched on board Israel’s Beresheet Lunar Lander, aiming to be stored on the Moon
Author: gil7
Today in History for 21st February 2022
Historical Events
1887 – 1st US bacteriology laboratory opens (Brooklyn)
1914 – In a secret meeting of civil and military leaders, Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov convinces them to support a plan for seizing the straits, controlled by Turkey, that block access to the Mediterranean
1957 – Dodgers (Fort Worth) and Cubs (LA) “trade” minor league franchises
1975 – Watergate figures John Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John D Ehrlichman sentenced to 2½-8 yrs for conspiracy and obstruction of justice
1989 – Pete Rose meets with Commissioner Ueberroth to discuss his gambling
2014 – 10 words from the 15th C Voynich manuscript have been decoded
Famous Birthdays
1877 – Jacob D du Toit [Totius], South African poet/theologist
1937 – Ron Clarke AO, MBE, Australian athlete (17 x WRs, 5,000m, 10,000m, 20,000m; 2, 3, 6, 10 miles) and politician (mayor Gold Coast), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2015)
1939 – Ron Nagle, American sculptor, and songwriter, born in San Francisco, California
1940 – Peter McEnery, England, actor (Game is Over, Moonspinners)
1943 – David Geffen, American record producer (Geffen Records, Asylum) and film studio executive (DreamWorks SKG), born in Brooklyn, New York
1946 – Anthony Daniels, British actor and mime artist (Star Wars – “C-3PO”), born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Famous Deaths
1730 – Benedict XIII [Pietro F Orsini], Pope (1724-30), dies at 81
1918 – Neltje Blanchan, American nature writer, dies at 52
1956 – Edwin Franko Goldman, composer, dies at 78
1989 – Otar Vasilisdze Taktakishvili, Georgian composer, conductor, teacher, and musicologist, dies at 64
2005 – Ara Berberian, American opera singer (b. 1930)
2012 – Baron Hooson [Hugh Emlyn], British politician and peer, dies at 86
Famous Deaths for 20th February 2022
1054 – Yaroslav I, the Wise, ruler (Kiev), dies
1786 – Johann Wolfgang Kleinknecht, German composer, dies at 70
1855 – Joseph Hume, Scottish doctor and social reformer, dies at 78
1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist who isolated the element “fluorine” from its compounds (Nobel 1906), dies of appendicitis at 54
1911 – Peter Nicolai von Wilm, composer, dies at 76
1950 – Sarat Chandra Bose, Indian activist for independence, dies at 60
1972 – Walter Winchell, writer/actor (Dondi, Love and Hisses), dies at 74
1992 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (member of Group of Seven), dies at 93
2003 – Maurice Blanchot, French author (b. 1907)
2013 – Antonio Roma, Argentinian footballer, dies at 80
Historical Events for 20th February 2022
1710 – Johan Willem Friso becomes Viceroy of Groningen, Netherlands
1864 – Civil War battle of Olustee, Florida
1899 – Ill Tel and Tel granted franchise for Chicago freight tunnel system
1922 – Marc Connelly and George Kaufman’s “To the Ladies” premieres in NYC
1938 – UK Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigns stating Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has appeased Nazi Germany
1944 – Batman and Robin comic strip premieres in newspapers
1958 – LA Coliseum approves 2-year pact allowing LA Dodgers to use facility whilst Dodger Stadium is completed in time for the 1962 MLB season
1988 – Brian Boitano wins Olympic gold medal in figure skating
1989 – An IRA bomb destroys a section of a British Army barracks in Ternhill, England
2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
Today in History for 20th February 2022
Historical Events
1673 – 1st recorded wine auction held in London
1861 – Navy of the Confederate States (CSN) forms (US Civil War)
1922 – Vilnius, Lithuania, agrees to separate from Poland
1933 – Sidney Howard’s “Alien Corn” premieres in NYC
1953 – August A. Busch buys St. Louis Cardinals MLB club from Fred Saigh for $3.75 million; pledges not to move the team from St. Louis, Missouri
1988 – Peter Kalikow purchases NY Post from Rupert Murdoch for $37.6 million
Famous Birthdays
1633 – Jan de Baen, portrait painter/etcher
1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist (d. 1993)
1907 – Nadine Conner [Henderson], American operatic soprano (Carmen; The Magic Flute – “Pamina”), born in Compton, California (d. 2003)
1956 – Charlie Adler, American voice actor (Tiny Toon Adventures) ,born in Paterson, New Jersey
1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball forward (NBA MVP 1993, 11-time All Star, Olympic gold 1996), born in Leeds, Alabama
1994 – Brigid Kosgei, Kenyan athlete (marathon world record 2019; Chicago Marathon 2018-9, London Marathon 2019), born in Kenya
Famous Deaths
1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English statesman, dies at 66
1964 – R T Stanyforth, English cricket wicket-keeper (South Africa 1927-28), dies
1973 – Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (Violinist Notebook 1933), dies at 80
1983 – Fritz Köberle, Austrian-Brazilian physician (b. 1910)
1987 – Ivan Brkanović, Croatian composer (Triptych – Funeral Folk Rite), dies at 80
1992 – Andrew Schenck, American conductor, dies of melanoma at 51
Famous Deaths for 19th February 2022
1622 – Sir Henry Savile, English scholar and educator, translated the New Testament into English, dies at 72
1815 – Leonhard von Call, Austrian composer, dies at 47
1952 – Lawrence Grant [Percy Reginald], British actor (Bulldog Drummond), dies at 82
1963 – Bartolomé “Beny” Moré, Cuban guaracha and mambo singer, guitarist, songwriter, and bandleader, dies of liver cirrhosis at 43
1972 – (Edward) Lee Morgan, American hard-bop jazz trumpeter (“The Sidewinder”), dies after being shot by his wife between sets during a gig at 33
1993 – Gerhard Gesell, judge (Pentagon Papers), dies of liver cancer at 82
1996 – Brenda Bruce, actress (December Bride, Nightmare), dies at 77
1997 – Stan Pearson, English soccer inside forward (8 caps; Manchester United, Bury, Chester), dies at 76
2009 – Kelly Groucutt, Bass guitarist and singer for the band Electric Light Orchestra (b.1945)
2013 – Donald Richie, American-born author and (Japanese) film critic, dies at 88
Historical Events for 19th February 2022
842 – Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ends as a council in Constantinople formally reinstates the veneration of icons in churches
1831 – 1st practical US coal-burning locomotive makes 1st trial run in Pennsylvania
1923 – Philip Barry’s “You and I” premieres in NYC
1929 – Medical diathermy machine 1st used in Schenectady, NY
1945 – US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines
1949 – Mass arrests of communists in India
1971 – Paul McCartney releases “Another Day” in UK
1977 – A’s sell pitcher Paul Lindblad to the Rangers for $400,000
1977 – Right wing Rod Gilbert scores a goal and adds an assist in a 5-2 defeat at the NY Islanders to become first player in NY Rangers history (11th in NHL) to score 1,000 career points
1982 – Sharie Langford, California, sets women’s bowling series record of 853
Today in History for 19th February 2022
Historical Events
1928 – World champion French team Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet win the Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games; the couple marry in 1929 and take 2nd straight gold in 1932
1953 – Georgia approves US 1st literature censorship board
1977 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1978 – 20th Daytona 500: Bobby Allison takes lead with 11 laps remaining; lowest starting position (33rd) for winner until 2007
1989 – Edgar Bowers wins Bollingen Prize
2018 – Syrian government forces bombard Gouta in deadliest day in 3 years, killing over 100 civilians
Famous Birthdays
1888 – Aurora Quezon, First Lady of the Philippines (d. 1949)
1936 – Marin Sorescu, Romanian poet, playwright and artist (Iona, House under surveillance), born in Bulzești, Dolj County (d. 1996)
1948 – Byron K. Lichtenburg, American astronaut (STS 9, STS 45), born in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
1956 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, Nobel laureate
1971 – Wally Williams, NFL center/guard (Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens)
1986 – Marta, Brazilian footballer
Famous Deaths
1822 – Jeronymo Francisco de Lima, Portuguese composer, dies at 78
1984 – Claude Hopkins, American jazz stride pianist, arranger, bandleader, and musical director (Josephine Baker), dies at 80
1997 – Deng Xiaoping, Chinese revolutionary and paramount leader of China (1978-92), dies of a lung infection and Parkinson’s disease at 92
2000 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-born New Zealand artist, dies at 71
2002 – Sylvia Rivera, American gay liberation and transgender activist and drag queen, dies of liver cancer at 50
2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian songwriter and singer (b. 1964)
Famous Deaths for 18th February 2022
1660 – Judith Leyster, Dutch painter, buried at 50
1829 – Jan Krtitel Kuchar, composer, dies at 77
1890 – Gyula Andrássy Sr, Prime Minister of Hungary (1867-71), dies at 66
1895 – Karl Abs, German professional wrestler (b. 1851)
1900 – Clinton L. Merriam, American politician (b. 1824)
1902 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American jeweler and founder of Tiffany and Co, dies at 90
1939 – Ludwig Bonvin, composer, dies at 89
1967 – Manuel Palau Boix, composer, dies at 74
1996 – Brian Daley, writer, dies at 48
2021 – Prince Markie Dee [Mark Anthony Morales], American rapper and songwriter (Fat Boys – “Jail House Rap”; “Wipe-Out”), and actor (Disorderlies), dies at 52
Historical Events for 18th February 2022
1713 – French invade under Jacques Cassard on Curacao
1857 – Chinese residents in the fledging state of Sarawak rebel against the “White Rajah” James Brooke
1885 – Mark Twain publishes the “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in the US
1908 – 1st US postage stamps in rolls issued
1913 – French modernist painting “Nude Descending a Staircase” by Marcel Duchamp causes an uproar when shown in New York
1918 – Germany renews its offensive against the Russians, making dramatic gains against disorganized and dispirited Russian troops
1979 – Mini-series “Roots: Next Generations” premieres on ABC TV
1980 – East German cross country skier Barbara Petzold wins first of 2 gold medals at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in women’s 10k; also takes gold as part of 4 x 5k relay team
1994 – Dan Jansen skates world record 1000m (1:12.43)
2020 – President Donald Trump commutes the 14-year sentence of former Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich’s corruption conviction