Author: gil7

Historical Events

1907 – First Christmas Seals sold (Wilmington, Delaware, post office)
1931 – Spain becomes a republic
1988 – The Michael Hughes Bridge in Sligo, Ireland is officially opened.
1995 – 61st Heisman Trophy Award: Eddie George, Ohio State (RB)
2005 – “Brokeback Mountain” film released, directed by Ang Lee, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, based on story by Annie Proulx
2019 – World Anti-Doping Agency bans Russia from all major sporting events including 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 football World Cup in Qatar for manipulating laboratory data

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Famous Birthdays

1930 – Buck Henry [Zuckerman], American screenwriter and comedian (SNL, Get Smart), born in NYC, New York
1935 – David Houston, American country music singer (Almost Persuaded), born in Bossier City, Louisiana (d. 1993)
1941 – Beau Bridges, American actor (Hotel New Hampshire, 5th Musketeer), born in Los Angeles, California
1946 – Shatrughan Sinha, Indian actor (Dostana) and politician (Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha 2009-19), born in Patna, Bihar, British India
1972 – Fabrice Santoro, Tahitian tennis star, born in Tahiti, French Polynesia
1976 – Chris Booker, American baseball player, born in West Virginia

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Famous Deaths

1625 – Ubbo Emmius [van Embden], Dutch-Frisian humanist and historian, dies at 78
1641 – Anthony van Dyck, Flemish painter, dies at 42
1887 – Mahmadu Lamine, Senegalese marabout and military leader
1974 – George Carew, cricketer (4 Tests for WI between 1935 and 1949), dies
2003 – Paul Simon, American politician (U. S. House of Representatives, 1975-85; U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1985-97), dies at 75
2006 – Freddie Marsden, English rock drummer (Gerry and the Pacemakers), dies at 66

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Historical Events

1915 – John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” appears anonymously in “Punch” magazine
1941 – Chełmno extermination camp opens, 50 kilometres from Łódź, Poland
1990 – Indians agree to a lease new ballpark in Gateway (Jacobs Field)
1997 – 8th Billboard Music Awards: LeAnn Rimes and Spice Girls win
2009 – Bombings in Baghdad, Iraq kill 127 and injure 448.
2018 – US President Donald Trump announces John Kelly will be stepping down as White House Chief of Staff at the end of the year

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Famous Birthdays

1811 – Louis Schindelmeisser, German clarinetist and composer, born in Königsberg, Prussia (d. 1864)
1882 – Manuel Ponce, Mexican composer (Estrellita), born in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico (d. 1948)
1920 – Ronald Gulliford, English educationalist (Dean of the Faculty of Education, Birmingham University 1979-81), born in Manchester (d. 1997)
1923 – Joe Burke, American baseball executive (president KC Royals 1981-92), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1992)
1929 – Ali Bongo [William Oliver Wallace], British comedy musician and magician (President of The Magic Circle – Shriek of Araby), born in England (d. 2009)
1949 – Ray Shulman, British musician, born in Portsmouth

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Famous Deaths

1680 – Henry Pierrepont, 1st Marquess of Dorchester, English politician (b. 1606)
1768 – Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary and painter, dies at 66
1982 – Andre Kamperveen, Suriname minister, murdered
1983 – Keith Holyoake, 26th Prime Minister of New Zealand (National: 1960-72), dies of a stroke at 79
1984 – Robert Jay Mathews, White Nationalist (b. 1953)
2019 – Paul Volcker, American economist and Chairman of the US Federal Reserve (1979-87), dies at 92

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Historical Events

1926 – Gas refrigerator patented
1971 – An off duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment is shot dead by members of the Irish Republican Army in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
1994 – 5th Billboard Music Awards: Ace of Base and Mariah Carey win
1995 – American rock band The Grateful Dead break up
2020 – Breaking, the competitive form of breakdancing, confirmed as an Olympic sport for the Paris 2024 games
2020 – Bob Dylan sells his entire songwriting catalog of more than 600 songs to the Universal Music Publishing Group for over $300 million

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Famous Birthdays

1918 – Jórunn Viðar, Icelandic pianist and composer, born in Reykjavík, Iceland (d. 2017)
1926 – Victor Kermit Kiam II, American businessman (Remington shavers) and NFL owner (Patriots), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2001)
1932 – François Lafortune Jr., Belgian shooter (competed at 7 Olympic Games 1952-1976, 50m Rifle, Prone Position), born in Visé, Belgium (d. 2020)
1957 – Geoff “Henry” Lawson, Australian cricket player, fast bowler (1980-89) and coach of Pakistan, born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
1967 – Tino Martinez, American MLB baseball first baseman, 1990-2005; All-Star 1995, 1997; World Series 1996, 98–2000 (Seattle Mariners, NY Yankees, and 2 other teams), born in Tampa, Florida
1977 – Dominic Howard, English drummer (Muse), born in Stockport, England

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Famous Deaths

1295 – Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford, English politician (b. 1243)
1874 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German biblical scholar (b. 1815)
1927 – Albert Griffiths (“Young Griffo”), Australian boxer (World Featherweight champion 1890-92), dies of apoplexy at 56
2006 – Jay McShann, American musician (b. 1910)
2014 – Ken Weatherwax, American actor, dies from a heart attack at 59
2020 – Chuck Yeager, American test pilot who was the 1st man to break the sound barrier, dies at 97

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Historical Events

1845 – Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is founded at Yale College.
1939 – Cole Porter’s musical “Du Barry Was A Lady” opens at 46th Street Theatre, NYC; runs 408 performances
1973 – Gerald Ford sworn-in as first unelected Vice President, succeeds Spiro Agnew who resigned over corruption allegations
1978 – Spain adopts constitution
2017 – Skirball wildfire near Los Angeles closes the Interstate 405 as thousands forced to evacuate
2018 – Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry explodes for franchise-record 238 yards and 4 touchdowns in 30-9 win v Jacksonville Jaguars in Nashville; 99-yard TD run ties Dallas Cowboys HOF RB Tony Dorsett’s longest run in NFL history

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Joseph Lamb, American ragtime composer, born in Montclair, New Jersey (d. 1960)
1917 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American entrepreneur (co-founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor chain), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (d. 2008)
1918 – Willem Oosterheers, resistance fighter
1991 – CoCo Vandeweghe, American tennis player (US Open doubles 2018; US Federation Cup 2017), born in Rancho Santa Fe, California
1993 – Elian Gonzalez, Cuban boy at the center of a heated 2000 controversy involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, born in Cuba
1996 – Stefanie Scott, American actress (Quinn Brenner-Insidious: Chapter 3) and singer (New Girl in Town), born in Chicago, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1882 – Alfred Escher, Swiss politician and railroad entrepreneur (b. 1819)
1940 – Charlie Hime, cricketer (one Test for South Africa 1895), dies
1987 – James Dobson, actor (Impulse, Jet Attack, Okinawa), dies
1989 – Gabor Jodal, Romanian composer, dies at 76
1994 – Gian Maria Volontè, Italian actor (Fistful of Dollars), dies at 61
2017 – William H. Gass, American novelist and philosopher (Omensetter’s Luck), dies at 93

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