1812 – US warship Constitution defeats British warship Guerriere
1895 – American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin is shot and killed by John Selman Sr. in a saloon in El Paso, Texas
1905 – Russian Tsar Nicholas II installs “Imperial Duma”, without legislative powers
1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio
1944 – Allied air raid on Maastricht, 80+ killed
1979 – “My Sharonna” by the Knack hits #1 (stays for 42 days)
1993 – 26th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Doubletree Hotel
1997 – STS 85 (Discovery 23) lands
2001 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Atlanta Athletic Club: David Toms wins his first major title by 1 stroke from Phil Mickelson
2007 – The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, Crosswater Club: Mark McNulty of Zimbabwe wins lone career major title by 5 strokes from David Edwards
Author: gil7
Today in History for 19th August 2021
Historical Events
1493 – Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I becomes Archduke of Austria
1945 – Phillies Jimmie Foxx, 37, pitches 1st 7 innings vs Reds and wins
1958 – NAACP Youth Council begin sit-ins at Oklahoma City Lunch counters
2008 – Chris Hoy encapsulates British dominance of track cycling at the Beijing Olympics beating teammate Jason Kenny to win the sprint, adding to his keirin and team sprint gold medals
2018 – Novak Đoković beats Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Cincinnati Masters to become the first player to win all 9 Masters 1,000 tennis tournaments since the series started in 1990
2020 – Golfing dinner termed #GolfGatet appearing to flout COVID-19 restrictions, attended by Irish political figures, prompts two politicians to later resign
Famous Birthdays
1631 – John Dryden, English poet (1st Poet Laureate 1668-1700), born in Aldwincle, Northamptonshire (d. 1700) [OS=Aug 9]
1873 – Fred Stone, renowned American circus performer and broadway actor (Alice Adams), born in Longmont, Colorado (d. 1959)
1924 – William Marshall, American actor, director, and opera singer (Blacula, Scream Blacula Scream), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2003)
1956 – Cindy Nelson, American skier (Olympic bronze 1976)
1979 – Oumar Kondé, Swiss footballer, born in Binningen, Switzerland
1985 – Megan Rochell, American RandB singer, born in Brooklyn, New York
Famous Deaths
1892 – František Zdeněk Skuherský, Czech composer, dies at 62
1947 – Ernst Laqueur, Dutch chemist and psychologist (sexual hormones), dies at 67
1967 – Carl Wilhelm de Vries, Dutch jurist, dies at 84
1968 – Sara Jane Roberts, child actress (Our Gang), dies after surgery at 44
1977 – Groucho Marx [Julius], American comedian (Marx Bros, You Bet Your Life), dies at 86
1993 – Jean King, actress (Night Hasa a Thousand Eyes), dies at 76
Famous Deaths for 18th August 2021
1227 – Genghis Khan [Temüjin Borjigin], Mongolian warlord who founded the Mongol Empire, dies at around 65
1642 – Guido Reni, Italian Baroque painter, dies at 66
1889 – Jacques Damala [Aristides Damalas], Greek military officer and actor, dies from an overdose at 34
1944 – Jacques Roumain, Haitian writer (Gouverneurs de la Rosée), dies at 37
1950 – Julien Lahaut, chairman Belgian Communist Party, murdered
1982 – Beverly Bayne, actress (Romeo and Juliet, Passionate Youth), dies at 87
1991 – Vaughn Shoemaker, US cartoonist (John Q Public, Pulitzer), dies
2007 – Michael Deaver, Reagan Administration Deputy White House Chief of Staff, dies at 69
2019 – Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (ABC, CBS), dies of natural causes at 95
2020 – Glenn Bassett, American tennis coach (UCLA 1967-93; 7 x NCAA C’ships), dies at 93
Historical Events for 18th August 2021
440 – St Sixtus III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1289 – Pope Nicolas IV publishes decree “Supra montem”
1759 – -19] 2nd sea battle of Lagos: England vs France
1873 – 1st ascent of Mount Whitney, California (14,494′)
1894 – US Congress creates Bureau of Immigration
1964 – Charles Helu elected president of Lebanon
1969 – Mick Jagger accidentally shot while filming “Ned Kelly”
1977 – 2 girls are killed by a runaway car outside of Graceland
1981 – Football running back, Herschel Walker, of U of Georgia, takes out a Lloyd’s of London insurance policy for $1 million
1983 – USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
Today in History for 18th August 2021
Historical Events
1564 – Spanish King Philip II joins Council of Trente
1735 – Evening Post begins publishing (Boston, Mass)
1737 – First public admittance to the Salon de Paris art exhibition at the Louvre in Paris
1868 – French Astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium in solar spectrum during eclipse
1896 – Adolph Ochs (39) buys NY Times
1976 – USSR’s Luna 24 soft-lands on Moon
Famous Birthdays
1579 – Charlotte Flandrina van Nassau, daughter of Willem I of Orange
1605 – Henry Hammond, English churchman, born in Chertsey, Surrey, England (d. 1660)
1904 – [Francis] Max Factor, American CEO of Max Factor Cosmetics, born in St. Louis, Missouri
1934 – Rafer Johnson, American decathlete (Olympic gold 1960), born in Hillsboro, Texas (d. 2020)
1952 – Ricky Villa, Argentine former footballer, born in Roque Pérez, Argentina
1976 – Tom Malchow, American 200m swimmer (Olympic silver 1996), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Famous Deaths
1840 – Antony CW Staring, Dutch patriot/poet (Jaromir), dies at 73
1981 – Anita Loos, American screenwriter, novelist (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) and playwright, dies at 88
1998 – Persis Khambatta, Indian actress (Star Trek, Megaforce), dies of a heart attack at 49
2001 – David Peakall, British scientist (b. 1931)
2002 – Dean Riesner, American film and television screenwriter (Bill and Coo), dies at 83
2010 – Benjamin Kaplan, American copyright scholar, dies at 99
Famous Deaths for 17th August 2021
1898 – Carl Johann Adam Zeller, Austrian composer, dies at 56
1969 – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect (November Group), dies at 83
1970 – Rattana Pestonji, Thai filmmaker and cinematographer (Tang), dies at 62
1971 – Horace McMahon, American actor (Detective Story, Martin Kane Private Eye), dies from a heart ailment at 65
1973 – Paul Williams, American baritone singer and choreographer (The Temptations – Cloud Nine), commits suicide at 32
1976 – William Redfield, American actor (Jimmy Hughes Rookie Cop, Marriage), dies of leukaemia at 49
1983 – Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (‘S Wonderful, I Got Rhythm), dies in Beverly Hills at 86
1987 – Shaike Ophir, Israeli actor, comedian and Israel’s 1st mime (The Policeman, The Delta Force), dies of lung cancer at 57
1994 – Jack Sharkey, American boxer (NYSAC, NBA and lineal heavyweight champion 1932-33), dies at 91
2016 – Arthur Hiller, Canadian director (Love Story), dies at 92
Historical Events for 17th August 2021
1807 – Robert Fulton’s steamboat Clermont begins first trip up Hudson River
1863 – Federal batteries and ships attacked Fort Sumter in SC
1870 – 1st ascent of Mt Rainier, Washington, by Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump
1918 – Turkish troops overthrow Caukasus
1944 – Yanks Johnny Lindell ties record with 4 consecutive doubles in a game
1947 – The Radcliffe Line, the border between Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan is revealed
1956 – Federal Constitutional Court bans the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in West Germany
1987 – Mohammad Ali elected to “Ring” magazine’s Boxing Hall of Fame
1991 – Royals Warren Cromartie’s 1st major league HR since 1983
2019 – Landmark power-sharing deal signed by military and civilian leaders celebrated in Khartoum, Sudan, with transitional government to take over Sept 1
Today in History for 17th August 2021
Historical Events
1544 – Imperial/English armies occupy Saint-Dizier France
1939 – “The Wizard of Oz” opens at Loews Capitol Theatre in NY
1944 – 4th Canadian Armoured division occupiers Trun, Normandy
1982 – First Compact Discs (CDs) released to the public in Germany
2014 – LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Monroe GC: Defending champion Inbee Park of South Korea beats runner-up Brittany Lincicome on 1st hole of a sudden-death playoff for her 5th major title
2015 – World’s first flower could be underwater plant Montsechia Vidalii claim US botanists (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
Famous Birthdays
1885 – Kurt Hiller, German writer, born in Berlin (d. 1972)
1890 – Stefan Bastyr, Polish aviator (d. 1920)
1936 – Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Native American musician and actor and activist, born on Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, South Dakota (d. 2007)
1953 – Judith Regan, American book publisher, born in Massachusetts
1964 – Colin James, Canadian singer-songwriter, born in Regina, Saskatchewan
1966 – Zefross Moss, American NFL tackle (Detroit Lions, NE Patriots), born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Famous Deaths
1553 – Charles III, Duke of Savoy (1504-53), dies at 66
1676 – Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, German writer (Simplicius Simplicissimus), dies
1834 – Husein Gradaščević, Bosniak general, dies at 31
1973 – Paul Williams, American baritone singer and choreographer (The Temptations – Cloud Nine), commits suicide at 32
1992 – Andre de Villiers, South African farmer and ANC informant, murdered at 42
1993 – Robert C Maynard, American journalist (Oakland Tribune), dies at 56
Famous Deaths for 16th August 2021
1959 – Pedro Humberto Allende Saron, Chilean composer (Tonados), dies at 74
1960 – Errol Holmes, cricketer (batted in 5 Tests for England 1935), dies
1968 – Luis Gianneo, Argentine pianist, organist, conductor, composer, and teacher, dies at 71
1991 – Robert DiMatte Jr, stage director/actor, dies at 43
2004 – Acquanetta [Mildred Davenport], American actress nicknamed “The Venezuelan Volcano” (Tarzan and Leopard Woman), dies at 83
2006 – Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish musician (Dissection), dies at 31
2006 – Alfredo Stroessner, 42nd President of Paraguay (1954-89), dies at 93
2008 – Ronnie Drew, Irish singer (The Dubliners), dies at 73
2012 – William Windom, American actor, dies from heart failure at 88
2018 – Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter known as “The Queen of Soul” (Respect) and first female performer inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987), dies of pancreatic cancer at 76
Historical Events for 16th August 2021
1940 – 45 German aircraft shot down over England
1947 – Ralph Kiner becomes 1st Pirate to hit 3 consecutive HRs
1948 – Israeli pound becomes legal tender
1960 – Republic of Congo (Zaire, Dem Rep of Congo) forms
1975 – Singer Peter Gabriel announces his departure from the rock group Genesis
1981 – Highest score in World Cup soccer match (New Zealand-13, Fiji-0)
1987 – Northwest Airlines 255 plane crashes in Detroit, 156 die (1 lives)
1991 – US President George H. W. Bush declares recession is near an end
2016 – “When the Levees Broke” documentary directed by Spike Lee, of effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, premieres at New Orleans Arena
2017 – Philippine police kill 32 in raids near Manilia, most deadly night in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs