Author: gil7

Historical Events

1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is privately executed in the Tower of London (allegedly by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine).
1899 – 80°F recorded in San Francisco, California
1922 – Kenesaw Mountain Landis resigns his federal judgeship to give full attention to job as Major League Baseball Commissioner
1936 – NHL record 32 points scored, NY Americans (28) and Mont Maroons (24)
2007 – 49th Daytona 500: Kevin Harvick wins by 0.02s over Mark Martin in the closest finish since the first race at Daytona in 1959
2013 – $50 million worth of diamonds is stolen in an armed robbery at Brussels Airport, Belgium

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Famous Birthdays

1771 – Friedrich Christian Ruppe, composer and violinist, brother of Christian Friedrich Ruppe
1819 – Joseph Philbrick Webster, composer
1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American author/publisher and editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, born in Green Forest, Arkansas, (d. 2012)
1943 – Graeme Garden, Scottish writer (The Goodies), born in Aberdeen, Scotland
1945 – Judy Rankin, American golfer (US Open, Titleholders C’ship 1972 runner-up; 26 LPGA Tour wins), born in St Louis, Missouri
1956 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer, born in Sollentuna Municipality, Sweden (d. 1997)

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Famous Deaths

1925 – James Lane Allen, American writer (Choir Invisible), dies at 75
1949 – Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, 1st Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic and President of Spain (1931-36), dies at 71
1959 – Eric Zeisl, Austrian-American composer (Requiem Ebraico), dies of a heart attack at 53
1976 – Anton Betzner, writer, dies at 81
1981 – John Knudsen Northrop, American aircraft designer (Northrop Air), dies at 85
2001 – Balthus [Balthazar Klossowski], French Polish painter, dies at 92

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Historical Events

1600 – Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, charged with heresy by the Roman Inquisition
1634 – Puritan author William Prynne tried in Star Chamber for publishing “Histrio-masti”, criticising the theatre
1946 – Humanistic Covenant forms in Amsterdam
1978 – 11 civilians and 1 RUC officer are killed and 30 wounded by a Provisional Irish Republican Army incendiary bomb at the La Mon Restaurant near Belfast
1987 – Don Mattingly wins highest salary arbitration ($1,975,000 per year)
2002 – 44th Daytona 500: Ward Burton’s win first for Dodge since Richard Petty’s victory in the 1974 race

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Famous Birthdays

1796 – Giovanni Pacini, Italian composer of opera (Saffo), born in Catania, Sicily (d. 1867)
1820 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Catholic cardinal (d. 1898)
1905 – Orville “Hoppy” Jones, American bass singer and cellist (The Ink Spots – “If I Didn’t Care”), born in Chicago, Illinois (1944)
1908 – Staats Cotsworth, American actor (Hamlet, Peyton Place), born in Oak Park, Illinois (d. 1979)
1952 – Karin Büttner-Janz, German artistic gymnast (Olympic gold GDR vault, uneven bars 1968; World C’ships gold uneven bars 1970), born in Lübben, Germany
1967 – Robert Massey, American NFL cornerback (Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions) and coach, born in Rock Hill, South Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1680 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch anatomist and entomologist (Bible of Nature), dies at 43
1688 – Rev James Renwick, hanged in Scotland for being a Presbyterian
1993 – Leslie Townsend, English cricket all-rounder (England in 4 Tests 1930-34), dies at 89
1998 – Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist (People, Mambo Italiano), commits suicide at 72
2001 – Bob Geary, Canadian football player and manager (b. 1933)
2018 – Arno Motulsky, German-born founder of medical genetics, known as the “father of pharmacogenomics,” dies at 94

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Historical Events

1892 – Opera “Werther” by Jules Massenet premieres in Vienna
1905 – 1st US Esperanto club organizes in Boston
1975 – 17th Daytona 500: Benny Parsons wins after Cale Yarborough sends race leader David Pearson spinning on the backstretch; Parsons avoids the accident and takes the victory
1986 – 28th Daytona 500: Geoff Bodine wins on fuel mileage after Dale Earnhardt forced to pit for gas with 3 laps to go, then blows engine leaving the pits
1989 – Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and North Yemen form common market
2014 – At age 36, American Bode Miller becomes the oldest medalist in Olympic alpine skiing history when he ties for bronze in the super-G in Sochi

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Famous Birthdays

1075 – Ordericus Vitalis, French monk/historian/poet
1926 – Jack Levy, English mechanical engineer, born in London, England (d. 2017)
1960 – Chris Schultz, Canadian football offensive tackle (NFL Dallas Cowboys; CFL All Star 1987, 88; Toronto Argonauts) and sportscaster (The Sports Network), born in Burlington, Ontario (d. 2021)
1964 – Mark Price, American NBA guard (Cleveland Caveliers) and coach, born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma
1980 – Ashley Lelie, American football player
1985 – Stacy Lewis, American golfer (ANA Inspiration 2011, Women’s British Open 2013), born in Toledo, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

1957 – Leslie Hore-Belisha, British politician (Minister of Transport, 1934-37; War Secretary, 1937–40), dies at 63
1980 – Erich Hückel, German physicist and physical chemist, dies at 83
1996 – Kenneth Robinson, politician/businessman, dies at 84
1999 – Necil Kazım Akses, Turkish classical composer, dies at 90
2000 – Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-born engineer and inventor (b. 1911)
2000 – Lila Kedrova, Russian-born actress (Zorba the Greek (1964), Sword of the Valiant, The Tenant), dies of congestive heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease at 81

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Historical Events

1775 – Angelo Braschi chosen as Pope Pius VI
1852 – Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits 1st patient
1932 – As a member of gold medal winning US 4-man bobsleigh team at Lake Placid, Eddie Eagan (boxing gold Antwerp 1920) becomes only Olympian to win gold medals at both summer and winter Games in different sports
1958 – Sjafroeddin Prawiranegara forms anti-government of Middle Sumatra
1996 – NFL coaching maestro Bill Belichick is fired by Cleveland, finishing his Browns coaching career with a record of 36-44
2018 – Denver’s Serbian center Nikola Jokić records fastest triple double in NBA history (14 minutes, 33 seconds) in the Nuggets’ 134-123 win at Milwaukee; Jokić finishes with 30 points, 17 assists, 15 rebounds

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Famous Birthdays

1620 – Francois Charpentier, French scholar and archaeologist, born in Paris, France (d. 1702)
1760 – Jean-Francois Le Sueur, French composer during the revolution, born in Drucat-Plessiel, France (d. 1837)
1823 – Li Hung-Tshang, Chinese rebel leader/viceroy of Tsheli Canton
1931 – W K Reid, British ombudsman
1937 – Gregory Mcdonald, American author
1947 – David Brown, American guitarist (Santana), born in NYC, New York (d. 2000)

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Famous Deaths

1503 – Henry Deane, Archbishop of Canterbury (1501-03), dies
1847 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician (geometry), dies at 52
1988 – Neil R. Jones, American sci-fi writer (Space War, Twin Worlds), dies at 78
2005 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer and songwriter (b. 1944)
2009 – Joe Cuba, Puerto-Rican musician (b. 1931)
2012 – Charles Anthony [Caruso], American tenor, dies from kidney failure at 82

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