1786 – Shay’s Rebellion in Springfield, Massachusetts
1831 – Michael Faraday demonstrates 1st electric transformer
1838 – Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm announce their intention to publish a German Dictionary, eventually completed in 1961, after 123 years
1896 – Chop suey invented in NYC by chef of visiting Chinese Ambassador
1965 – Astronauts Cooper and Conrad complete 120 Earth orbits in Gemini 5
1988 – USSR launches 3 cosmonauts (Valery Polyakav, 1 Afghan) to station Mir
2003 – Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf.
2012 – 69th Venice Film Festival: “Pieta” directed by Kim Ki-duk wins Golden Lion
2012 – Banana Spider venom is found to be effective in relieving erectile dysfunction
2016 – Italian coastguard says 6,500 migrants rescued at sea in 40 separate incidents in 1 day off coast of Sabratha, Libya
Author: gil7
Today in History for 29th August 2021
Historical Events
1655 – Warsaw falls without resistance to a small force under the command of Charles X Gustav of Sweden during The Deluge.
1907 – The Quebec Bridge over St Lawrence River collapses during construction, killing 75 workers
1947 – B.R. Ambedkar is appointed chairman of the drafting committee for the Indian constitution
1954 – San Francisco International Airport (SFO) opens
1960 – Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser wins blue ribband 100m freestyle gold medal at the Rome Olympics; retains title won in Melbourne 1956; will win unprecedented 3rd consecutive 100m gold in Tokyo 1964
1990 – C-5 transport plane crashes at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, killing 13
Famous Birthdays
1862 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian poet (Blue Bird, Nobel 1911), born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1949)
1891 – Michael Chekhov, Russian-American actor (Abie’s Irish Rose, Rhapsody), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1955)
1923 – Lester Trimble, American composer, music critic and educator, born in Bangor, Wisconsin (d. 1986)
1959 – Tony Johnson, New Zealand rugby commentator and presenter (Newstalk ZB; TV3; SKY Television), born in Picton, New Zealand
1962 – Carl Banks, American NFL linebacker (Cleveland Browns, NY Giants), born in Flint, Michigan
1967 – Neil Gorsuch, American lawyer and US Supreme Court Judge (2017-) nominated by Donald Trump, born in Denver, Colorado
Famous Deaths
1910 – Allen Hill, cricket bowler (England, 2 Tests), dies
1933 – Georgy Eduardovich Konyus, Russian composer, and music theorist dies at 70
1965 – Paul Waner, American Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder (NL MVP 1927; NL batting champion 1927, 34, 36; MLB All-Star 1933–35, 37; Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 62
1973 – Michael Dunn, American short actor (Justine, Boom, Madigan), dies at 38
1995 – Thomas Strittmatter, German writer, dies at 33
2007 – Alfred Peet, Dutch-American entrepreneur and the founder of Peet’s Coffee and Tea (b. 1920)
Famous Deaths for 28th August 2021
1528 – Pedro Navarro, Navarrese general and engineer (invented the land mine), dies (b. c. 1460)
1757 – David Hartley, English philosopher and Founder of the Associationist School of Psychology, dies at 51
1818 – Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, trader, founder of Chicago, dies
1839 – William Smith, British geologist who is credited with creating the first nationwide geological map (Strata Identified by Organized Fossils), dies at 70
1964 – Lumsden Hare, Irish actor (Oregon Trail, Desert Fox, Young Bess), dies at 89
1981 – Béla Guttmann, Hungarian soccer midfielder (4 caps; MTK Hungária, Hakoah Wien) and coach (Benfica, AC Milan, FC Porto; Hungary, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, Uruguay, Portugal), dies at 82
1982 – Geoff Chubb, South African cricket fast bowler (5 Tests, 21 wickets; Border), dies at 71
1990 – Willy Vandersteen, Flemish cartoonist (Suske and Wiske), dies
1991 – Eleanor Berry, actress (Death Valley Days), dies
2016 – Juan Gabriel [Alberto Aguilera Valadez], Mexican singer, dies at 66
Historical Events for 28th August 2021
1619 – Ferdinand II elected Holy Roman Emperor (rules till 1637)
1861 – Battle of Fort Hatteras, North Carolina
1911 – 45.7 cm rainfall at St George, Georgia (state record)
1922 – WEAF in NYC airs 1st radio commercial (Queensboro Realty-$100 for 10 mins)
1926 – Indian Emil Levsen pitches complete doubleheader victory (Red Sox)
1968 – Northern Irish MP Gerry Fitt tables a House of Commons motion criticising the Royal Ulster Constabulary at Dungannon, “citizens of Northern Ireland should be allowed the same rights of peaceful demonstration as those in other parts of the United Kingdom”
1977 – Nolan Ryan strikes out 300 batters for 5th straight year
1983 – Greg Luzinski is 1st player to put 3 HRs onto roof at Comiskey Park
1990 – F5 strength tornado hits Plainfield, Illinois, killing 29 and injuring 353
2020 – Japanese tech company SkyDrive says it has completed the first manned test flight of a flying car
Today in History for 28th August 2021
Historical Events
1637 – WIC-colonel Hans Koin conquers Fort Elmina, West Africa
1884 – MLB pitcher Mickey Welsh makes record for most consecutive batters struck out to begin a game, striking out the 1st 9 men he faces
1967 – Boston signs 1st free-agent outfielder Ken Harrelson for $75,000 bonus
1982 – “Sugar Babies” closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 1208 performances
1986 – Bolivia president Victor Paz Estensoro calls state of siege
2004 – British athlete Kelly Holmes wraps up the 800/1,500m double at the Athens Olympics taking out the 1.5k in 3:57.90
Famous Birthdays
1795 – Joannes Paredis, Belgian Bishop of Roermond, born in Bree, Belgium (d. 1886)
1833 – Edward Burne-Jones, English Pre-Raphaelite painter and designer, born in Birmingham, England (d. 1898)
1878 – George Whipple, American physician and biomedical researcher (Nobel-1934), born in Ashland, New Hampshire (d. 1976)
1903 – Rudolph Wagner-Régeny, composer, born in Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary (d. 1969)
1903 – Bruno Bettelheim, Austrian-American psycho-analyst (Uses of Enchantment), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1990)
1981 – Agata Wróbel, Polish weightlifter, born in Żywiec, Poland
Famous Deaths
1528 – Pedro Navarro, Navarrese general and engineer (invented the land mine), dies (b. c. 1460)
1803 – Charles L Fournier, Flemish writer and painter, dies
1955 – Emmett Till, African American kidnapped and lynched at 14, in Money, Mississippi
1981 – Béla Guttmann, Hungarian soccer midfielder (4 caps; MTK Hungária, Hakoah Wien) and coach (Benfica, AC Milan, FC Porto; Hungary, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, Uruguay, Portugal), dies at 82
1995 – Michael VerMeulen, American journalist and magazine editor (British GQ), dies at 38
2015 – Al Arbour, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman, coach and executive (coach NY Islanders Stanley Cup 1980-83), dies of Parkinson’s disease and dementia at 82
Famous Deaths for 27th August 2021
1748 – James Thomson, Scottish poet (Rule, Britannia), dies at 47
1827 – Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Austrian earl/prince/diplomat, dies
1879 – Rowland Hill, English inventor who introduced 1st adhesive postage stamp (1840), dies at 84
1944 – Georg von Boeselager, German nobleman (b. 1915)
1969 – Erika Mann, German-American author (Other Germany) and daughter of Thomas Mann, dies at 63
1981 – Valery Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
1982 – Anandamayi Ma [Nirmala Sundari], Indian spiritual leader, dies at 86
1997 – Jeep Swenson, American actor (Batman and Robin), dies of heart failure at 40
2008 – Mark Priestley, Australian actor (b. 1976)
2020 – David Bryant, English lawn bowler (World Outdoor C’ship singles 1966, 80, 88; 4 x C’wealth Games gold singles), dies at 88
Historical Events for 27th August 2021
1665 – “Ye Bare and Ye Cubb” is the first play performed in North America in Acomac, Virginia
1909 – Jack Chesbro’s final Highlander game
1955 – Sandy Koufax fans 14 Reds, both teams combine for record 23 strikeouts
1972 – US bombs Haiphong, North Vietnam
1983 – Haiti adopts constitution
1984 – US President Ronald Reagan announces ‘Teacher in Space’ project
1991 – Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida creates nine states: Abia, Enugu, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Osun, Kogi, Taraba, and Yobe
2004 – In a huge upset in the men’s basketball semi final at the Athens Olympics, Argentina beats a star-studded but unsettled US team 89-81; they go on to take gold and US bronze
2004 – China’s first ever gold in Olympic Games men’s track and field; Liu Xiang wins 110m hurdles in Athens, equalling Colin Jackson’s 1993 world record time of 12.91 seconds
2014 – Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls the international response to Ebola “irresponsible” and “slow and derisory”
Today in History for 27th August 2021
Historical Events
1859 – 1st successful oil well drilled, near Titusville, Pennsylvania, by Edwin Drake
1958 – USSR launches Sputnik 3 with two dogs aboard
1979 – 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and last Viceroy of India, is killed along with three companions, two of them children by the IRA when his boat is blown up near Sligo, Ireland
2002 – 59th Venice Film Festival: “The Magdalene Sisters” directed by Peter Mullan wins Golden Lion
2004 – China’s first ever gold in Olympic Games men’s track and field; Liu Xiang wins 110m hurdles in Athens, equalling Colin Jackson’s 1993 world record time of 12.91 seconds
2012 – First interplanetary human voice recording is broadcast from the Mars Rover Curiosity
Famous Birthdays
1847 – Gustave J Waffelaert, Flemish theologist and bishop of Bridge, born in Rollegem, Belgium (d. 1931)
1930 – John Daly, British trade union leader
1967 – Bob Nastanovich, American percussionist (Pavement, Silver Jews), born in Rochester, New York
1969 – Avril Haines, American lawyer, 1st female Director of National Intelligence (2021-), born in New York City
1970 – Greg Woodcroft, 52 kg freestyle wrestler (Olympics 1996), born in Hamilton, Ontario
1972 – Mike Smith, Canadian actor
Famous Deaths
1830 – Louis Henri, Prince of Condé, commits suicide at 74
1958 – Ernest Lawrence, American nuclear scientist and inventor (Cyclotron – Nobel 1939), dies at 57
1967 – Brian Epstein, English music entrepreneur and manager (Beatles), dies of an accidental barbiturate overdose at 32
1979 – Bolesław Szabelski, Polish organist and composer, dies at 82
2003 – Jinx Falkenburg [Eugenia], American actress and well-known US cover-girl model throughout 1930s-40s, dies at 84
2011 – Nico Minardos, Greek-American actor (The Twilight Zone; Twelve Hours to Kill), dies at 81
Famous Deaths for 26th August 2021
1278 – Ottokar II, King of Bohemia (1253-78), dies in battle
1518 – Giberto X, Italian mister of Correggio, husband of Veronica Gambara
1950 – Ransom Eli Olds, American auto (Oldsmobile) and truck (REO) manufacturer, dies at 86
1977 – H. A. Rey, American author of popular constellation book, dies at 78
1981 – Roger Nash Baldwin, American founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, dies at 97
2003 – Wilma Burgess, American country-pop singer, dies of a heart attack at 64
2004 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter (Gloria), dies of a brain aneurysm at 52
2005 – Ed White, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1949)
2009 – Ellie Greenwich, American singer-songwriter (Da Doo Ron Ron, Leader of the Pack), dies at 68
2020 – Dan Yochum, American football offensive lineman (CFL All-Star 1975, 76, 77, 78; Grey Cup 1974, 77; Montreal Alouettes; CFHOF), dies at 70
Historical Events for 26th August 2021
1909 – Middlesex beat Gloucester (Bristol) at cricket by an innings and 31 runs in a single day
1916 – Philadelphia Athletic’s Bullet Joe Bush no-hits Cleveland, 5-0
1956 – KREY TV channel 10 in Montrose, CO (CBS/NBC) begins broadcasting
1961 – Official International Hockey Hall of Fame opens in Toronto
1967 – Beatles, Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull meet Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
1971 – Orioles’ Don Buford struck out 5 times in a game
2012 – 17 villagers in Afghanistan’s Kajaki district are beheaded by an unknown organization
2014 – Burger King agrees to purchase Canadian donut chain Tim Hortons for $11.4 billion
2017 – Women’s Rugby World Cup: New Zealand Black Ferns defeat England 41-32 in the final in Belfast
2020 – Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (29) is the youngest to win the International Booker prize for their debut novel “The Discomfort of Evening”