1724 – Tumult of Thorn – religious unrest was followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities.
1732 – The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London.
1872 – HMS Challenger sets sail on 3½ year world oceanographic cruise
1924 – German election (Social Democrats win, Nazis and Communists lose)
1956 – American diver Pat McCormick wraps up the women’s double when she wins the 10m platform gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics with 84.85 points; also won the 3m springboard gold
1975 – Romanian tennis star Ilie Năstase wins his 4th season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix title with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 rout of Björn Borg of Sweden in Stockholm
1976 – UN Security Council endorses Kurt Waldheim, Secretary-General for second 5 year term
1983 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1995 – NBA settles strike of referees, refs to return on Dec 12
1996 – 1st Big 12 Championship Game: Texas beats #3 Nebraska, 37-27
Author: gil7
Today in History for 7th December 2020
Historical Events
1912 – Bust of Queen Nefertiti found in El-Amarna, Egypt
1949 – Chiang Kai-shek flees to Taiwan
1964 – George Harrison changes his company’s name from Mornyork to Harrisongs
1980 – 69th Davis Cup: Czechoslovakia beats Italy in Prague (4-1)
1988 – PLO delegation lead by Yasser Arafat proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizing the existence of the State of Israel for the first time
2013 – 9th ACC Championship Game: #1 Florida State beats #20 Duke, 45-7
Famous Birthdays
967 – Abū-Sa’īd Abul-Khayr, Persian mystic and poet, born in Mihne, Greater Khorasan (d. 1049)
1909 – Jacob Kainen, American painter and curator, born in Waterbury, Connecticut (d. 2001)
1915 – Eli Wallach, American actor (Magnificent 7, The Misfits, People Next Door), born in Brooklyn New York, (d. 2014)
1935 – Jean-Claude Casadesus, French conductor, born in Paris, France
1948 – Mads Vinding, Danish jazz double-bassist, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
1988 – Nathan Adrian, American swimmer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle 2012), born in Bremerton, Washington
Famous Deaths
1941 – Iida, Japanese pilot/lt, dies in battle at 28
1947 – Tristan Bernard, French playwright and novelist, dies at 81
1979 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, British-American astronomer and astrophysicist who proposed that stars are composed largely of hydrogen and are not glowing balls of molten rock, dies at 79
1989 – William Calhoun, professional wrestler (b. 1934)
1990 – Horst Bienek, German writer and director (The First Polka), dies at 60
2011 – Harry Morgan, American actor (M*A*S*H, Dragnet), dies in his sleep at 96
Famous Deaths for 6th December 2020
1891 – Émile Bayard, French artist and illustrator, dies at 54
1924 – Gene Stratton-Porter, American author, screenwriter and naturalist (b. 1863)
1925 – Dat So la Lee “Dabuda” or Louise Keyser, Native American (Washoe) basket weaver dies aged about 96
1941 – Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, German author (In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message), dies at 66
1971 – Hugo Godron, Dutch composer, dies at 71
1988 – Bill Harris, American guitarist (Clovers-Love Potion No 9), dies at 63
1989 – Gabor Jodal, Romanian composer, dies at 76
2003 – Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (b. 1909)
2013 – Stan Tracey, British jazz pianist, dies at 86
2017 – William H. Gass, American novelist and philosopher (Omensetter’s Luck), dies at 93
Historical Events for 6th December 2020
1527 – Pope Clemens VII flees to Orvieto
1723 – Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI’s Pragmatic Sanction with the Diet of Hungary recognizes the King’s daughters as successors
1896 – D T Suzuki found the awakening at Engakuji temple, in Kamakura
1976 – War criminal Pieter Menten arrested in Zurich
1987 – 3 satanist Missouri teenagers bludgeon comrade to death for “fun”
1988 – Nelson Mandela is transferred to Victor Vester Prison, Capetown
1988 – STS-27 Atlantis lands in California after secret mission
1990 – Saddam Hussein announces release of all foreign hostages
2003 – 8th Big 12 Championship Game: #13 Kansas State beats #1 Oklahoma, 35-7
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
Today in History for 6th December 2020
Historical Events
1862 – US President Abraham Lincoln orders hanging of 39 Santee Sioux Indians
1906 – The British grant Transvaal self-government
1925 – Italy, Britain and Egypt sign Jaghbub accord (Italy)
1980 – NASA launches Intelsat V satellite, no. 502
1988 – Yasser Arafat meets prominent American Jews in Stockholm, Sweden
2013 – Pope Francis gives his ascent to a proposal to create a permanent post on the Pontifical Commission on cases of sin and sexual abuse of minors
Famous Birthdays
1913 – Eleanor Holm, American 100m backstroke swimmer (Olympic gold 1932), born in NYC, New York (d. 2004)
1922 – John Brunt, English soldier and Victoria Cross holder, born in Priest Weston, Shropshire, England (d. 1944)
1948 – Yoshihide Suga, Japanese politician, Prime Minister of Japan (2020-), born in Yuzawa, Japan
1959 – Satoru Iwata, President and CEO of Nintendo (Nintendo DS and Wii), born in Sapporo, Hokkaido (d. 2015)
1972 – Sarah Rafferty, American actress (Suits), born in New Canaan, Connecticut
2000 – Pablo Nicolás Urdangarín y de Borbón, Spanish royal, born in Barcelona
Famous Deaths
1865 – Sebastian de Iradier, Spanish composer (Arreglito), dies at 56
1943 – Firmin Baes, Flemish painter, dies at 69
1988 – Bill Harris, American guitarist (Clovers-Love Potion No 9), dies at 63
1989 – Frances Beauvier, actress (Aunt Bee, Mayberry), dies at 86
2000 – Werner Klemperer, German-American actor (Judgment at Nuremberg, Hogan’s Heroes), dies of cancer at 80
2010 – Hugues Cuénod, Swiss tenor and musical educator, dies at 108
Famous Deaths for 5th December 2020
1212 – Derek II of Are, Bishop of Utrecht (1197-1212), dies
1244 – Johanna of Constantinople, countess of Flanders (1205-44), dies
1570 – Johan Friis, Danish statesman (b. 1494)
1870 – Alexandre Dumas, French writer (The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo), dies at 68
1931 – Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879)
1940 – Jan Kubelik, Czech composer, dies at 60
1974 – Pietro Germi, Italian actor, writer and director (Divorce Italian Style, The Facts of Murder), dies from hepatitis at 60
1994 – Ronald Ridout, English school textbook author (English Today), dies at 78
1996 – Peter Hall, British folklorist and musician, dies at 60
2007 – Karlheinz Stockhausen, German classical and electronic music composer, dies at 79
Historical Events for 5th December 2020
1776 – First US fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa (William and Mary College), forms
1832 – Andrew Jackson re-elected US President after defeating Henry Clay
1941 – US aircraft carrier Lexington and 5 heavy cruisers leave Pearl Harbor
1943 – NFL Philadelphia Eagle-Pitts Steeler merger dissolves
1964 – Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the Vietnam War for successfully repelling a large Viet Cong attack
1974 – Airport terminal roof in Tehran collapses killing 17
1975 – NASA launches space vehicle S-196, it failed
1984 – A’s trade Rickey Henderson to Yankees for Jay Howell and Jose Rijo
1988 – Shuttle Atlantis launches world’s 1st nuclear-war-fighting satellite
2001 – “Ocean’s Eleven” directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts premieres in Westwood, California
Today in History for 5th December 2020
Historical Events
1892 – Anti-semite Hermann Ahlwardt elected to Germany’s Reichstag
1925 – Hans Luther forced to resign as Chancellor and head of the German Weimar government
1928 – Wilhelm Miklas elected president of Austria
1933 – Prohibition ends in the US when 21st Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, 18th Amendment repealed (5:32 PM EST)
1972 – Australia Labour party wins parliamentary election
1987 – 53rd Heisman Trophy Award: Tim Brown, Notre Dame (WR)
Famous Birthdays
1844 – Frederick Bridge, English organist and composer, born in Oldbury, Worcestershire (d. 1924)
1852 – Thomas Laub, Danish organist and composer, born in Langå, Denmark (d. 1927)
1932 – Fazu Aliyeva, Russian poet, novelist and journalist who helped develop Dagestani in Russian literature, born in Khunzakhsky District, Soviet Union (d. 2016)
1932 – Sheldon Lee Glashow, American theoretical physicist (Electroweak theory, Georgi–Glashow model), born in NYC, New York
1959 – Shirley Furlong, American golfer (ANA Inspiration runner-up 1990), born in San Antonio, Texas
1985 – Nico Verdonck, Belgian racing driver, born in Brussels, Belgium
Famous Deaths
1791 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian musical prodigy and composer (Figaro), dies at 35
1902 – Henry Stephen Cutler, American composer, dies at 78
2001 – Franco Rasetti, Italian physicist (b. 1901)
2005 – Frits Philips, Dutch engineer and CEO (Philips), dies at 100
2011 – Gennady Logofet, Russian footballer (b. 1942)
2016 – Jayaram Jayalalitha, Indian actress and politician, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, dies of a heart attack at 68
Famous Deaths for 4th December 2020
1609 – Alexander Hume, Scottish poet (Hymns and Sacred Songs), dies
1732 – John Gay, English poet and dramatist (The Beggar’s Opera), dies at 47
1902 – Charles Dow, American journalist and economist (co-founded Dow Jones and 1st editor of Wall St Journal), dies at 51
1948 – Karl Bonhoeffer, German psychiatrist/neurologist, dies
1980 – Francisco Sá Carneiro, 109th Prime Minister of Portugal, dies at 46
1997 – David Abell Wood, priest, dies at 72
2005 – Gloria Lasso, French-Spanish singer (b. 1922)
2012 – Jonathan Harvey, English composer (Bhakti, Music of Stockhausen), dies at 73
2013 – McDonald Bailey, British-Trinidadian 100m runner (Olympic bronze 1952), dies at 92
2017 – Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemeni politician and 1st President of Yemen (1990-2012), is killed during the Battle of Sana’a at 75
Historical Events for 4th December 2020
1665 – Jean Racine’s “Alexandre le Grand” premieres in Paris
1836 – Whig party holds its first national convention, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
1851 – President Louis Napoleon Boaparte’s forces crush an attempted coup d’etat in France
1864 – Romanian Jews are forbidden to practise law
1921 – The Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle ends in a hung jury
1944 – Germans destroy Rhine dikes, Betuwe flooded
1949 – Duncan Stewart, 2nd British Governor of Sarawak is fatally stabbed in the streets of Sibu by Malay student Rosli Dhoby with help from Morshidi Sidek with the goal of helping neighbouring Indonesia to take over British Sarawak
1991 – Muslim Shi’ites release last US hostage Terry Anderson (held 6½ years)
1994 – 83rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats Russia in Moscow (4-1)
2013 – Xavier Bettel becomes Luxenberg’s first openly gay Prime Minister