Today in History for 14th January 2021

Historical Events

1343 – Arnost of Pardubice becomes the first Archbishop of Prague (and the last bishop of Prague)
1952 – “Today Show” premieres with Dave Garroway and Jack Lescoulie on NBC-TV
1953 – Vaughan William’s “Sinfonia Antartica” premieres in Manchester
1975 – 17-year-old Lesley Whittle is kidnapped in Shropshire, England
1985 – Martina Navratilova is 3rd to win 100 tennis tournaments (Connors and Evert)
1985 – British pound sinks to record low $US1.11

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Famous Birthdays

1806 – Sir Charles Hotham, Governor of Victoria, born in Dennington, United Kingdom (d. 1855)
1906 – Walter Knape, German conductor and composer, born in Bernburg, Germany (d. 2000)
1921 – Ken Sailors, American professional basketball player (popularized and may have invented the jump shot), born in Bushnell, Nebraska (d. 2016)
1931 – Juraj Pospisil, Czech composer, born in Olomouc, Czech Republic (d. 2007)
1936 – Clarence Carter, American singer (Thread the Needle), born in Montgomery, Alabama
1949 – Mary Robison, American writer (Why Did I Ever), born in Washington, D.C.

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Famous Deaths

1817 – Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, French composer, dies at 87
1819 – John Wolcot, English satirist (Peter Pindar), dies at 80
1902 – Cato M. Guldberg, Norwegian mathematician and chemist (law of mass action), dies at 65
2007 – Barbara Kelly, Canadian-born actress (What’s My Line?, United Kingdom), dies at 83
2007 – Darlene Conley, American actress (The Bold and the Beautiful), dies at 72
2008 – Judah Folkman, Surgeon that developed Angiogenesis (b. 1933)

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Famous Deaths for 13th January 2021

1658 – Edward Sexby, English Puritan soldier (b. 1616)
1762 – Leonhard Trautsch, German composer, dies at 68
1941 – James Joyce, novelist (Ulysses), dies in Zurich Switzerland, at 58
1954 – Roland Diggle, English-born American composer and organist, dies at 69
1995 – Arthur Mervyn Stockwood, Anglican bishop (Southwark England), dies at 81
2003 – Norman Panama, American screenwriter and director (b. 1914)
2007 – Doyle Holly, American comedian and musician (Buckaroos), dies at 70
2014 – Bobby Collins, Scottish soccer midfielder (31 caps; Celtic, Everton, Leeds), dies at 82
2015 – Ronnie Ronalde [Ronald Charles Waldron], British entertainer and world-famous whistler, dies at 91
2018 – Doug Harvey, American National League umpire (Baseball Hall of Fame 2010), dies at 87

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Historical Events for 13th January 2021

1630 – Chinese Emperor Chongzhen orders the arrest of military general Yuan Chonghuan
1673 – Jean Racine’s “Mithridate” premieres in Paris
1913 – Delta Sigma Theta, the world’s largest Black Women’s Sorority is founded at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
1920 – NY Times editorial (falsely) reports rockets can never fly
1942 – Allied Conference on war trials
1943 – Soviet offensive at Don under general Golikov
1943 – Adolf Hitler declares “Total War” against the Allies
1970 – Riots begin in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast
1971 – In a high profile NHL trade, the Montreal Canadiens obtain future Hockey Hall of Fame left wing Frank Mahovlich from Detroit, in exchange for Bill Collins, Guy Charron and Mickey Redmond
2008 – Orlando Magic knock down a then NBA-record 23 3-pointers in 37 attempts (62.2%); Jameer Nelson goes 5-for-5 from beyond the arc as Magic beat the Sacramento Kings, 139-107

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Today in History for 13th January 2021

Historical Events

1942 – Henry Ford patents a method of constructing plastic auto bodies
1976 – American inventor Ray Kurzweil and the National Federation of the Blind unveil the Kurzweil Reading Machine, the first omni-font optical character recognition system
1989 – Jerry Parks, Oklahoma defensive back, charged with shooting a teammate
1989 – Computers across Britain hit by “Friday the 13th”/Jerusalem virus
1998 – CBS pays $4 billion to televise AFC games for 8-years
2018 – Early-morning ballistic missile alert sent across Hawaii in error, revoked after 38 minutes

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Famous Birthdays

1804 – John Pringle Nichol, Scottish Astronomer and educator
1906 – Zhou Youguang [Zhou Yaoping], Chinese language scholar (father of pinyin), born in Changzhou (d. 2017)
1955 – Trevor Rabin, South African rock guitarist and film score composer (Yes), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
1972 – Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast (6 Olympic gold medals Barcelona 1992), born in Minsk, Belarus
1972 – Richard Woodley, NFL cornerback (Detroit Lions)
1979 – Jill Wagner, American Actor

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Famous Deaths

1860 – William Mason, American politician, dies at 73
1979 – Donny Hathaway, American rocker (Ghetto), commits suicide at 33
1985 – Carol Wayne, Johnny Carson’s teatime movie hostess, dies at 42
1996 – Willian Myuon Bany Guerrilla leader, dies
2009 – Patrick McGoohan, American-born Irish actor, writer, and director (The Prisoner, Secret Agent/ Danger Man), dies at 80
2017 – Dick Gautier, American stage and screen actor (Get Smart, Bye Bye Birdie), dies at 85

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Famous Deaths for 12th January 2021

1777 – Hugh Mercer, Scottish military officer (fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War), dies of his wounds at the Battle of Princeton at 50
1833 – Marie-Antoine Carême, French chef (b. 1784)
1839 – Joseph A Koch, Aust painter/cartoonist/etcher/illustrator, dies at 70
1851 – Johan Herman Koekkoek, painter, dies at 72
1860 – Martinus Niewindt, Dutch Bishop of Curacao (christened slaves), dies at 63
1970 – Blanche Stuart Scott, US pilot, dies at 84
1977 – Henri-Georges Clouzot, French director (Les Diaboliques, Truth), dies at 69
1994 – Bob Horen, dies of cancer at 67
2000 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
2000 – Marc Davis, American animator (b. 1913)

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Historical Events for 12th January 2021

1803 – US Senate approves Thomas Jefferson’s nomination of James Monroe and Robert Livingstone to negotiate purchase of New Orleans from France
1861 – Florida state troops demand surrender of Fort Pickens (US Civil War)
1928 – Philip Barry and Elmer Rice’s “Cock Robin” premieres in NYC
1929 – Seatrain (RR cars on ships) service begins, New Orleans-Havana
1932 – Hattie W Caraway elected 1st woman senator (D-Ark)
1958 – Syracuse National Dolph Schayes sets NBA record at 11,770 points
1971 – 21st NBA All-Star Game, San Diego Sports Arena: West beats East, 108-107; MVP: Lenny Wilkens, Seattle SuperSonics, PG; oldest MVP in All-Star history (33); scores 21 points
1996 – Russian troops arrived in Bosnia (joint operation with US)
2003 – 29th People’s Choice Awards: Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Ray Romano and Jennifer Aniston win (TV)
2013 – “Mile High Miracle”, In AFC Divisional Playoff Game Denver Broncos ahead of Baltimore Ravens 35-28 with 1:09 remaining, quarterback Joe Flacco heaves 70 yard touchdown pass to receiver Jacoby Jones to tie the game. Ravens win in overtime.

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Today in History for 12th January 2021

Historical Events

1900 – Freeland Colony founded in US
1954 – Austria’s worst avalanche-kills 200; 9hrs later 2nd one-kills 115
1957 – Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) founded with Martin Luther King Jr. as leader at Ebenezer Church in Atlanta
1962 – Operation Chopper begins, America’s first combat mission in the Vietnam War
1963 – Spin bowler Bobby Simpson takes 5-57 for Australia v England
1972 – Tigers sign a lease to build a $126M domed stadium (doesn’t happen)

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Famous Birthdays

1871 – Paul Guthnick, German astronomer
1910 – Luise Rainer, German-American actress and 1st actor to win multiple Academy Awards (The Great Ziegfeld 1936, The Good Earth 1937), born in Düsseldorf, Germany (d. 2014)
1914 – Edward John Gurney, American politician, US senator (1969-74), born in Portland, Maine (d. 1996)
1923 – Ira Hayes, Pima Native American soldier, born in Sacaton, Arizona (d. 1955)
1982 – Chris Ray, American baseball player, born in Tampa, Florida
1996 – Sarahi Morales, Mexican Siamese twin (died on Jan 27, 1996), born in Tijuana, Mexico

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Famous Deaths

1777 – Hugh Mercer, Scottish military officer (fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War), dies of his wounds at the Battle of Princeton at 50
1956 – Norman Kerry, American actor (Air Eagles, Phantom of the Opera), dies at 61
2003 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist, dies at 90
2003 – Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)
2003 – Leopoldo Galtieri, dictator of Argentina (b. 1926)
2012 – Sadao Bekku, Japanese classical and film composer (Matango), dies at 89

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Famous Deaths for 11th January 2021

1867 – Sir Stuart Donaldson, first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales (b. 1812)
1991 – Jason Christmas, dies of a gunshot wound during robbery in NY at 49
1994 – John Bradley, United States Navy corpsman, one of six who raised flag on top of Mt. Suribachi (see Iwo Jima), dies of a stroke at 70
1995 – Josef Gingold, Russian-American violinist (b. 1909)
1996 – Ike Isaacs, Burmese-English jazz guitarist, dies at 76
2000 – Bob Lemon, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (MLB All-Star 1948–54; World Series 1948; no-hitter 1948; Cleveland Indians) and manager (KC Royals, Chicago WS; World Series NY Yankees 1978), dies at 79
2002 – Struan Sutherland, Australian medical researcher (b. 1936)
2002 – [Charles Eugene] Gene Dinwiddie, American blues saxophonist (Paul Butterfield Blues Band), dies at 65
2005 – Spencer Dryden, American drummer (Jefferson Airplane) dies of colon cancer at 66
2016 – Gilberto Mendes, Brazilian composer, dies at 93

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Historical Events for 11th January 2021

1558 – Westmunster Church in Middelburg destroyed by heavy storm
1794 – U.S. Marshal Robert Forsyth is killed in Augusta, Georgia, trying to serve court papers, first US marshal to die carrying out his duties
1805 – Michigan Territory organizes
1897 – M H Cannon becomes 1st woman state senator in US (Utah)
1944 – Crakow-Plaszow Concentration Camp established
1967 – Romeinse Curie installs Council for Pontifical Study commission
1982 – Honduras adopts constitution
1983 – LA Kings’ center Marcel Dionne picks up his 24th NHL career hat-trick and adds 3 assists for 6 points in a 9-7 win at Washington; Kings’ first road win after 8 straight losses
1994 – Irish government announces end of a 20-year broadcasting ban on IRA
2009 – 66th Golden Globes: Slumdog Millionaire, Mickey Rourke, Kate Winslet win

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Today in History for 11th January 2021

Historical Events

1938 – Frances Moulton elected 1st woman president of a US national bank
1966 – 16th NBA All-Star Game, Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, OH: East beats West, 137-94; MVP: Adrian Smith, Cincinnati Royals, PG
1984 – NASA space shuttle STS 41-B moves to launch pad
1993 – British Airways ends one of the longest libel actions in its history
2014 – During a concert in Maui, Mick Fleetwood announces that Christine McVie would be rejoining Fleetwood Mac
2016 – College Football National Championship, University of Phoenix Stadium: #2 Alabama beats #1 Clemson, 45-40

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Famous Birthdays

1786 – Joseph Jackson Lister, British optician who perfected the optical microscope by designing the achromatic objective lens, born in London, England
1872 – George Washington Pierce, American physicist (d. 1956)
1886 – George Zucco, British actor (Fog Island, Black Raven, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Captain Fury), born in Manchester, England (d. 1960)
1905 – Clyde Kluckhohn, American anthropologist (d. 1960)
1957 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball center (Philadelphia 76ers, NJ Nets; NBA breaking a backboard rule), born in Orlando, Florida (d. 2015)
1968 – Ben Rivera, Dominican-American baseball pitcher (Philadelphia Phillies)

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Famous Deaths

802 – St. Paulinus II of Aquileia
1641 – Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, Spanish poet (b. 1583)
1966 – Hannes Kolehmainen, Finnish long-distance runner (Olympic gold 1912), dies at 76
1983 – Nikolaj V Podgorny, president USSR, dies at 79
2005 – Miriam Hyde, Australian composer (b. 1913)
2010 – Joe Rollino, American strongman, weightlifter, and boxer (b. 1905)

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