Author: gil7

Today in History for 18th July 2021

Historical Events

1334 – The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone
1944 – British troops occupy Bourquebus hill range, Normandy
1948 – “Marinka” opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 168 performances
1974 – World’s tallest structure, 646 metre Polish radio mast, completed
1986 – Videotapes released showing Titanic’s sunken remains
2014 – The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) call 18,000 additional reserves soldiers in campaign against Gaza

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Famous Birthdays

1862 – Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich, Russian WWI general, born in Moscow, Russian Empire (d. 1933)
1864 – Ricarda Huch, German writer and historian “First Lady of German humanism”, born in Braunschweig (d. 1947)
1928 – Simon Vinkenoog, Dutch writer and poet, born in Amsterdam (d. 2009)
1935 – Jayendra Saraswathi, Hindu religious leader (69th Shankaracharya Guru), born in Irulneeki, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu (d. 2018)
1970 – John Kalin, CFL safety (Calgary Stampeders)
1993 – Taemin [Lee Tae-min], South Korean pop singer-songwriter, dancer (Shinee – “Sherlock”; solo – “Danger”; Super M), and actor, born in Seoul, South Korea

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Famous Deaths

1831 – Thomas Greatorex, English composer, dies at 72
1833 – Joseph Comb, missionary to Moluccas, dies at 63
1990 – Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist (Menninger Clinic), dies at 96 of cancer
2001 – James Hatfield, American author (b. 1958)
2002 – Victor Emery, British theoretical physicist (b. 1933)
2008 – Khosrow Shakibai, Iranian actor (Hamoun), dies at 64

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Famous Deaths for 17th July 2021

656 – Uthman ibn Affan, Third Caliph, oversaw standardization of the Qu’ran (644-56), assassinated
855 – Leo IV, Italian Pope (reigned 847-55), dies
1704 – Pierre-Charles Le Sueur, French fur trader and explorer
1762 – Peter III, Emperor of Russia (1762), dies at 34
1918 – Anastasia Nikolaevna, Russian Grand Duchess, youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, executed at 17 by a group of Bolsheviks
1967 – Cyril Ring, American actor (I Wake Up Screaming, The Barber Shop), dies at 74
1978 – Thayer David, actor (Rocky, Roots, Savages), dies at 51
1979 – Doug Meintjes, South African cricket pace bowler (v England 1922-23), dies
1983 – Roosevelt Sykes, American blues and boogie-woogie pianist, and singer (The Honeydripper), dies of a heart attack at 77
2004 – Pat Roach, British professional wrestler and actor (b. 1937)

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Historical Events for 17th July 2021

1203 – Siege of Constantinople begins during the fourth Crusade, Crusaders aboad a Venetian fleet attack the city
1863 – Māori forces are defeated by British troops at Koheroa, Waikato, in the New Zealand Wars between Maori tribes and British colonials
1867 – 1st US dental school, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, established
1974 – 1st quadrophonic studio in UK is open by Moody Blues
1979 – David Gower 200* in England score of 5-633 v India at Edgbaston
1981 – Glasdrumman ambush: the Provisional Irish Republican Army attack a British Army post in South Armagh, killing 1 soldier and injuring another
1994 – Hulk Hogan beats Ric Flair to win WCW wrestling championship
1995 – Forbes Magazine announces Bill Gates is the richest man in world with a net worth of $12.9 billion dollars
1997 – 30th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at San Diego Convention Center
2013 – 7 people are killed by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria

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Today in History for 17th July 2021

Historical Events

1933 – After successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Lithuanian research aircraft Lituanica crashes in Germany under mysterious circumstances
1945 – Potsdam Conference: Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill hold 1st post-World War II meeting
1951 – Leopold III, King of the Belgians, abdicates in favour of his son Boudouin I
1961 – John Chancellor becomes news anchor of “Today Show”
1987 – 10 teens die in Guadalupe River flood (Comfort, Tx)
1987 – “Les Miserables” opens at Imperial Theatre, Tokyo

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Famous Birthdays

1839 – Ephraim Shay, American inventor of Shay type of geared steam locomotive, born in Huron, Ohio (d. 1916)
1876 – Maxim M Litvinov [Meyer H Wallach], Russian diplomat
1928 – Jean Muir, British fashion designer and dressmaker, born in London (d. 1995)
1942 – Gale Garnett, New Zealand singer (We’ll Sing in the Sunshine), born in Auckland, New Zealand
1960 – Robin Shou, Hong Kong Chinese-American martial arts actor (Mortal Kombat, Beverly Hills Ninja), born in British Hong Kong
1978 – Ricardo Arona, Brazilian mixed martial artist, born in Niterói, Brazil

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Famous Deaths

1025 – Boleslaw I Chobry [the brave], duke/king of Poland, dies
1903 – James McNeill Whistler, American-British painter (Whistler’s Mother), dies at 69
1941 – Emil Barth, German revolutionary (Social Democratic Party), dies at 62
1955 – Bronislaw Zygmunt Szulc, composer, dies at 73
1985 – Czesław Marek, Polish composer, dies at 93
1987 – Yujiro Ishihara, Japanese actor (b. 1934)

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Famous Deaths for 16th July 2021

1482 – John van Schaffelaar, Gelders knight, dies
1594 – Thomas Kyd, English dramatist (The Spanish Tragedy), dies at 35
1887 – Nicaise de Keyser, Flemish painter (Battle at Woeringen), dies at 73
1917 – Ludwig Philipp Scharwenka, German composer (Album Polonaise), dies at 70
1931 – Alice Pike Barney, American painter, dies at 74
1962 – Jan Romein, Dutch historian (Breaking of Two Ages), dies at 68
1991 – Cornelis Z Forster [Da Kuneisi], Suriname granman/gaanman, dies
1992 – Buck Buchanan, NFL defensive lineman (KC Chiefs), dies at 51
2001 – Maurice De Bevere, Belgian cartoonist (b. 1923)
2012 – Kitty Wells [Ellen Deason], American country singer (It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels), dies from complications after a stroke at 92

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Historical Events for 16th July 2021

1897 – The South African Committee, investigating the Jameson Raid releases its report finding that it was conducted almost implicitly through the support and encouragement of Cecil Rhodes and the mining houses in the Transvaal
1920 – Gen Amos Fries appointed 1st US army chemical warfare chief
1940 – NSB’er Woudenberg appointed as NVV-trustee
1951 – King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates
1975 – Major League Baseball owners re-elect Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to a 7-year term
1985 – 56th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 6-1 at Humphrey Metrodome, Minn
1990 – Civil trial by parents of Suicide victims against Judas Priest begins
1994 – Shreveport Pirates lose first CFL home game, 35-34 to the Toronto Argonauts at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana
1995 – Senior Players Championship Men’s Golf, TPC of Michigan: J C Snead wins his lone career major title as he birdies first playoff hole against Jack Nicklaus
2014 – Hamas and Islamic Jihad offer Israel a 10-year truce with 10 conditions, which include lifting the blockade and the release of prisoners; it is rejected

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Today in History for 16th July 2021

Historical Events

1945 – Australian Services win 3rd Victory Test Cricket by 4 wickets
1960 – George Crowe sets record of 12 pinch hit HRs with a runner on
1987 – Said Aouita runs world record 2000m (4:50.81)
1990 – Bridgette LeAnn Wilson, 17, of Oregon, 8th crowned Miss Teen USA
1994 – Spanish fishing boats sink a French fishing boat over fishing rights
2008 – 79th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 4-3 at Yankee Stadium, New York

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Famous Birthdays

1910 – Stan McCabe, Australian cricket batsman (39 Tests, batting av. 48.21, top score 232), born in Grenfell, New South Wales (d. 1968)
1921 – Trevor Illtyd Williams, scientific writer, born in Bristol, England (d. 1996)
1928 – Ray Thornton, American politician (Democratic U.S. Representative for Arkansas), born in Conway, Arkansas (d. 2016)
1959 – Gary Anderson, NFL placekicker (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Parys, Orange Free State, South Africa
1970 – William Van Landingham, American baseball pitcher (SF Giants), born in Columbia, Tennessee
1974 – Michelle Chandler, Australian basketball point guard (Olymp-bronze-96), born in Geelong, Victoria, Australia

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Famous Deaths

276 – Mark Annius Florianus, emperor of Rome (276), murdered
1647 – Masaniello [Tommaso Aniello], Italian fisherman and leader of the 1647 Naples revolt against the rule of Habsburg Spain, assassinated by a group of grain merchants at 27
1686 – John Pearson, English theologian (b. 1612)
1976 – Carmelo Soria, Spanish diplomat assassinated in 1976 by the Chilean DINA
1984 – Billy Williams, singer (Your Show of Shows), dies at 73
2017 – George A. Romero, American Canadian filmmaker “Father of the Zombie Film” (Night of the Living Dead), dies at 77

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Famous Deaths for 15th July 2021

668 – Constantius II, emperor of Byzantium, dies at 37
1406 – Duke William of Austria (b. c.1370)
1885 – Rosalia de Castro, Spanish writer and poet in the Galician language (‘Séculos Escuros’) (b. 1837)
1916 – Ilya Mechnikov, Russian zoologist and bacteriologist known as the “father of natural immunity” (Nobel 1908), dies of heart failure at 71
1919 – [Hermann] Emil Fischer, German chemist, discovered Fischer esterification (Nobel Prize 1902), commits suicide at 66
1930 – Leopold von Auer, Hungarian-American violinist, dies at 85
1961 – John E. Brownlee, Canadian politician (b. 1884)
1969 – Peter Van Eyck [Götz von Eick], German actor (The Longest Day; The Wages of Fear), dies after long illness at 56
1996 – Dana Hill, actress (Vacation), dies at 32
2015 – Alan Curtis, American harpsichordist, musicologist and conductor, dies at 80

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Historical Events for 15th July 2021

1207 – King John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton.
1783 – 1st steamboat, Pyroscaphe, 1st run in France
1787 – Parliament of Paris banished to Troyes
1806 – Zebulon Pike begins his journey to explore the American Southwest
1888 – Bandai volcano (Japan) erupts for 1st time in 1,000 years
1922 – US Open Men’s Golf, Skokie CC: Gene Sarazen wins the first of his 7 major titles, 1 stroke ahead of runners-up John Black and 20-year-old amateur Bobby Jones
1954 – 1st commercial jet transport plane built in US tested (Boeing 707)
2003 – AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape Communications Corporation. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.
2014 – 85th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 5-3 at Target Field, Minnesota
2017 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain beats Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0 for her 2nd Grand Slam title

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Today in History for 15th July 2021

Historical Events

1500 – Baglione family massacre at the “Blood Wedding” of Astorre Baglione and Lavinia Colonna in Perugia
1806 – Zebulon Pike begins his journey to explore the American Southwest
1912 – American athlete Jim Thorpe is placed in top 4 in all 10 events, for an Olympic record 8,413 points to win the Decathlon gold medal at the Stockholm Olympics, medal stripped 1913 (played pro baseball), reinstated 1982
1959 – The US steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.
1996 – Southern Mexico hit with 6.5 earthquake
2005 – “Wedding Crashers”, starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, premieres

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Famous Birthdays

1704 – August Gottlieb Spangenberg, founder of Moravian Church in North America
1849 – Moritz Heuzenroeder, German pianist and composer who settled in Australia, born in Ottersberg, Germany (d. 1897)
1889 – Marjorie Rambeau, American actress (Primrose Path, Torch Song), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1970)
1892 – Walter Benjamin, German literature critic/writer
1966 – Irene Jacob, actress (Red, Othello)
1973 – Brian Austin Green, American actor (David-Beverly Hills 90210), born in Van Nuys, California

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Famous Deaths

1750 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian statesman, dies at 73
1782 – Farinelli, Italian singer, dies at 77
1789 – Jacques Duphly, French composer and harpsichordist, dies at 74
1856 – Margaretha J de Neufville, author (The Kidnap), dies at 81
1987 – Jack O’Hagan, cricketer and composer (Our Don Bradman), dies at 88
1997 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (Versace), shot and murdered by Andrew Cunanan at 50

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