1068 – Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan, 70th Emperor of Japan, dies at 42
1819 – Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Dutch naval officer and founder of Dutch Marines Corp, dies at 84
1898 – Edward Bellamy, American author (Looking Backward) and socialist, dies of tuberculosis at 48
1949 – Hans Pfitzner, German composer (Palestrina), dies at 80
1990 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer (World Middleweight title 1947-48; famous Tony Zale trilogy) and entertainer (Pantomime Quiz, Miami Undercover), dies of heart failure at 71
1991 – Catalino “Lino” Brocka, Filipino film director (Macho Dancer, Jaguar), dies in car crash at 51
1998 – Milton Banana [Antônio de Souza], Brazilian bossa nova jazz drummer (João Gilberto and Stan Getz), dies at 63
2001 – Whitman Mayo, American actor (Grady Wilson-“Sanford and Son”), dies at 70
2005 – Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and bass singer (Tony the Tiger, You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch), dies from prostate cancer at 91
2006 – Jack Patrick Fallon, Canadian-British jazz double and electric bass player, dies at 90
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 22nd May 2021
1826 – HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage to survey Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego
1863 – General Ulysses S. Grant begins siege on Vicksburg
1962 – Netherlands telephone network becomes completely automated
1972 – Ceylon becomes Republic of Sri Lanka as its constitution is ratified
1990 – North and South Yemen merge to form Republic of Yemen
2001 – NHL Eastern Conference Final: New Jersey Devils beat Pittsburgh Penguins, 4 games to 1
2002 – Mike Babcock is named head coach of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks
2002 – The remains of missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C.
2010 – UEFA Champions League Final, Madrid: Internazionale beats Bayern Munich, 2-0; Inter’s 3rd title and first treble (Italian Serie A and Cup)
2012 – 14 people die and 30 are injured in train collision in India
Today in History for 22nd May 2021
Historical Events
1884 – 1-armed pitcher Hugh Daily fanned 13 hitters
1960 – A magnitude 9.4-9.6 earthquake strikes near the city of Valdivia in Chile, the strongest ever recorded, causing multiple tsunamis and killing 1,000-7,000 people
1976 – St Louis Cardinal Reggie Smith hits 3 HR
2004 – NHL Eastern Conference Final: Tampa Bay Lightning beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 3
2016 – The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, Greystone GandCC: Germany’s Berhard Langer wins sixth of 13 Champions Tour majors by 6 strokes from Olin Browne
2017 – South Africa’s Western Cape province declares a drought disaster – worst for 113 years
Famous Birthdays
1898 – René de Vos, Dutch actor and composer (Jij Bent Mijn Leven), born in Denmark (d. 1977)
1928 – T. Boone Pickens, American business person and oil tycoon (Shamrock, Mesa Petroleum Co) known as the ‘Oracle of Oil’, born in Holdenville, Oklahoma (d. 2019)
1933 – Don Estelle [Ronald Edwards], British actor and singer (It Ain’t Half Hot Mum), born in Crumpsall, Lancashire (d. 2003)
1936 – George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (helped invent LCD displays), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2014)
1936 – M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and writer (The Road Less Traveled), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)
1950 – Bernie Taupin, British singer and lyricist (writes with Elton John), born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire
Famous Deaths
1760 – Israel ben Eliezer, Polish-born mystical rabbi (b. 1700)
1948 – Claude McKaye, Jamaican-American author (Banjo, Home to Harlem), dies at 57
1988 – Giorgio Almirante, Italian fascist (member of parliament (1948-87)), dies at 73
1995 – Robert Flemyng, British actor (The Deadly Affair, Funny Face), dies at 83
2005 – Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and bass singer (Tony the Tiger, You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch), dies from prostate cancer at 91
2019 – Sultan Ahmad Shah, 7th King of Malaysia (1979-84), dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 21st May 2021
987 – Louis V, last Carlovingians King of France (966-987), dies
1650 – James Graham, Marquis of Montrose “the Great Montrose”, Scottish general, hanged at 37
1742 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician (b. 1664)
1860 – Johannes Frederik Fröhlich, Danish violinist and composer, dies at 53
1894 – Emile Henry, French anarchist (b. 1872)
1973 – Carlo E. Gadda, Italian engineer and writer (War Diary), dies at 79
1981 – Raymond Mccreesh, Irish hunger striker (b. 1957)
1996 – Laurence Dowdall, Scottish lawyer, dies at 91
2009 – Joan Alexander [Louise Abrass], American actress (The New Adventures of Superman, The Tales of Hoffmann), dies of an intestinal ailment at 94
2014 – Teodor Grigoriu, Romanian composer, dies at 87
Historical Events for 21st May 2021
879 – Pope John VIII gives blessings to duke Branimir and to Croatian people, considered to be international recognition of the Croatian state
1758 – Mary Campbell is abducted from her home in Pennsylvania by Lenape during the French and Indian War
1904 – France recalls its ambassador to the Vatican to protest the Pope’s attempt to discipline two French bishops; this is yet another incident driving France and the Catholic Church apart
1942 – Convoy PQ16 departs Great Britain for Russia
1950 – Vietnamese troops of Ho Chi-Minh attack Cambodia
1953 – French government of René Mayer resigns
1972 – “Heathen!” opens and closes at Billy Rose Theater NYC for 1 performance
1977 – San Diego Padres beat Mont Expos, 11-8, in 21 innings
1998 – Indonesian president Suharto resigns after 31 years in power
2018 – Truckers begin a 10 strike in Brazil, blocking roads in protest at the price of diesel leading to country-wide shortages
Today in History for 21st May 2021
Historical Events
1602 – Martha’s Vineyard 1st sighted by Captain Bartholomew Gosnold
1897 – Yerkes Observatory 40″ (1m) refractor used for 1st time
1945 – Australian Services win 1st Victory Test Cricket at Lord’s by 6 wickets
1978 – 118 Unification church couples wed in England
1990 – 43rd Cannes Film Festival: “Wild at Heart” directed by David Lynch starring Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern wins the Palme d’Or
2019 – Oldest and most distant gravitational waves detected from collision of two black holes with first intermediate-mass black hole ever discovered, 7 billion light years away
Famous Birthdays
1822 – Mosby Monroe Parsons, United States officer in the Mexican–American War and brigadier general of the Confederate States Army, born in Charlottesville, Virginia (d. 1865)
1909 – François-Albert Angers, Quebec economist (d. 2003)
1940 – Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist who collaborated with The Beatles, born in Norwich, England (d. 2013)
1942 – Robert C. Springer, American Army Colonel USMC/astronaut (STS-29, STS-38), born in St. Louis, Missouri
1971 – Eric Nies, American reality TV personality (MTV Real World, Grind)
1980 – Goyte [Wouter “Wally” De Backer (], Belgium Australian singer-songwriter (Someone That I Used to Know), born in Bruges, Belgium
Famous Deaths
1650 – James Graham, Marquis of Montrose “the Great Montrose”, Scottish general, hanged at 37
1970 – Vinton Hayworth, American actor (Gen Schaeffer-I Dream of Jeannie), dies at 63
1973 – George Breakston, French-American producer, actor and director (Jungle Stampede, It Happened One Night), dies at 53
1981 – Patsy O’Hara, Irish hunger striker (b. 1957)
1988 – Sammy Davis Sr., American vaudeville dancer (Mr. Wonderful), dies at 87
1995 – Kieron Walsh, academic, dies at 46
Famous Deaths for 20th May 2021
1277 – John XXI [Petrus Juliani/Hispanus], Portuguese Pope (1276-77), dies. (b. 1215)
1506 – Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer and navigator who discovered the “New World” for Spain and initiated European colonization, dies around the age of 54
1650 – Francesco Sacrati, Italian composer, dies at 44
1713 – Thomas Sprat, English writer (b. 1635)
1782 – William Emerson, British mathematician (b. 1701)
1876 – Khristo Botev, Bulgarian poet, dies
1900 – Gustav Heinrich Graben-Hoffman, composer, dies at 80
1959 – Alfred Schütz, Austrian-American architect and philosopher, dies at 60
1994 – Dallas Pratt, American collector (The American Museum in Britain), dies at 79
2019 – Niki Lauda, Austrian auto racer (F1 world champ 1975, 77, 84), dies of kidney problems at 70
Historical Events for 20th May 2021
1217 – Second Battle of Lincoln fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
1784 – Britain and Netherlands sign peace treaty (Peace of Paris)
1862 – US President Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Homestead Act to provide cheap land for the settlement of the American West (80 million acres by 1900)
1867 – British parliament rejects John Stuart Mills’ proposals on women’s suffrage
1911 – Edwin Boaler Alletson hits 189 in 90 mins Notts v Sussex
1941 – White Sox Taft Wright sets AL record of RBIs in 13 consecutive games
1956 – Jordan government of Samir resigns
1972 – Republic of Cameroon declared as its constitution is ratified
1991 – Jeff Reardon gains his 300th career save
2007 – 53rd British Academy Television Awards: “That Mitchell and Webb Look” Best Comedy, “The Street” Best Drama
Today in History for 20th May 2021
Historical Events
1891 – History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison’s prototype kinetoscope to members of the National Federation of Women’s Club
1973 – “2 Gentlemen of Verona” closes at St James Theater NYC after 613 performances
1986 – Flintstones 25th Anniversary Celebration airs on CBS-tv
1989 – Walter McConnel, 57, is oldest to reach 27,000′ Mt Everest top
2015 – David Letterman, after 33 years, hosts the “Late Show with David Letterman” for the last time
2018 – Two cyclists attacked by a cougar, 1 dies, in North Bend, Washington State
Famous Birthdays
1537 – Hieronymus Fabricius Ab, Aquapend Italy, physician (De Formato Foetu)
1927 – Walter Aschaffenburg, German-American composer, born in Essen, Germany (d. 2005)
1943 – Justin Cartwright, British novelist (In Every Face I Meet), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2018)
1945 – Harold E Ford, (Rep-D-TN, 1975- )
1959 – Peter Greene, American producer (After Midnight), born in Brooklyn, New York
1970 – Terrell Brandon, NBA guard (Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks)
Famous Deaths
1285 – John II of Jerusalem, King of Cyprus (b. 1259)
1876 – Khristo Botev, Bulgarian poet, dies
1876 – Harold, grandson of English queen Victoria, dies at 8 days old
1946 – Jacob Ellehammer, Danish watchmaker and inventor (powered flight), dies at 74
1989 – Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (SNL, Haunted Honeymoon), dies of ovarian cancer at 42
2011 – “Macho Man” Randy Savage, American pro wrestler (WWF/SMW/ICW), dies of a heart attack at 58
Famous Deaths for 19th May 2021
1389 – Dmitri Donskoi, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1350)
1777 – Button Gwinnett, British-born American politician, and signer of the Declaration of Independence,dies from wounds incurred in a duel with rival Lachlan McIntosh at 42
1965 – Maria Dabrowska, Polish writer (Znaki Zycia), dies
1970 – Tadeusz Breza, Polish writer (The Bronze Gate), dies at 64
1989 – CLR James, West Indian writer and journalist (b. 1901)
1994 – Henry Morgan, American comedian and TV panelist (I’ve Got a Secret, Arena), dies of cancer at 74
1996 – Margaret Rawlings, actress (Roman Holiday), dies at 89
1996 – Giovanni “John” Beradino, American MLB infielder (St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians) and actor (General Hospital), dies from pancreatic cancer at 79
1998 – Dorothy Donegan, American boogie-woogie, swing jazz, and classical pianist, and vocalist, dies of cancer at 76
2001 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)