Today in History for 16th February 2021

Historical Events

1892 – Opera “Werther” by Jules Massenet premieres in Vienna
1946 – 1st commercially designed helicopter tested, Bridgeport, Connecticut
1946 – “The Duchess Misbehaves” closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 5 performances
1980 – American speed skater Eric Heiden wins 5,000m in Olympic record 7:02.29; second of record 5 gold medal sweep of events at Lake Placid
2001 – Mathieu Schneider of the Los Angeles Kings becomes the first defenseman in history to score a goal against all 30 NHL teams as LA beats Minnesota, 4-0
2004 – The Pittsburgh Penguins lose their 12th consecutive home game, a NHL record

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Famous Birthdays

1519 – Gaspard de Coligny, Huguenot leader/French admiral
1543 – Kano Eitoku, Japanese painter (d. 1590)
1868 – Wilhelm Schmidt, German anthropologist/linguist (Anthropos)
1920 – Lee Russell, vocalist (Vincent Lopez), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1935 – Robin Clark, chemist (FRS)
1995 – Denzel Curry, American rapper, singer, and composer (Unlocked), born in Carol City, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1803 – Jan V clav Stich, Bohemian composer, dies at 56
1912 – St. Nikolai of Japan, Eastern Orthodox priest (b. 1836)
1933 – Archie Jackson, Australian cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 164), dies from tuberculosis at 23
1963 – Friedrich Dessauer, German physicist (radiologist), dies at 81
1978 – E. Roland Harriman, American financier (b. 1895)
1979 – Nematullah Nassiri, Iran general/head of Savak, executed

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Famous Deaths for 15th February 2021

1634 – Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (Father of German surgery), dies at 73
1778 – Johann Gottlieb Gorner, German composer, dies at 80
1818 – Charles XIII, King of Sweden (1809-18)/Norway (1814-18), dies at 69
1857 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (“Ruslan and Ludmilla”), dies at 53
1896 – E J Nicholson, writer, dies
1974 – Kurt Magnus Atterberg, Swedish composer, dies at 86
1988 – Gerard Holt, architect, dies at 83
1995 – Joseph Ortiz, French-Algerian extremist and rebel (barricade uprising), dies at 77
1996 – Oscar Abrams, community organiser, dies at 58
1999 – Jan Masseus, Dutch composer, dies at 86

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Historical Events for 15th February 2021

590 – Khosrau II, the last great Sasanian king is crowned King of Persia
1845 – William Parsons, Earl of Rosse, 1st uses 72 inch (183 cm) reflector
1964 – Bill Bradley scores 51 points for Princeton
1965 – John Lennon passes his driving test
1965 – Red Maple Leaf Flag becomes the official flag of Canada
1966 – Kees Verkerk becomes world champion all-round skater
1985 – STS 51-E vehicle moves to launch pad
1985 – World chess championship match abandoned with Anatoly Karpov 25 leading Gary Kasparov 23
1993 – Bombings by mafia drug lords kill 14 in Bogota, Colombia
2016 – 58th Grammy Awards: Best Song “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran, Best Album “1989” by Taylor Swift

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Today in History for 15th February 2021

Historical Events

1768 – 1st mustard manufactured in America advertised, Philadelphia
1950 – Walt Disney’s animated film “Cinderella” premieres in Boston
1950 – WM Inge’s “Come Back, Little Sheba” premieres in NYC
1980 – Wayne Gretzy assists on NHL-record-tieing 7 goals
2009 – 51st Daytona 500: Matt Kenseth wins shortened race; called off with 48 laps to go after a severe rainstorm hits the track
2014 – Polish ski jumper Kamil Stoch wins his 2nd gold medal of the Sochi Winter Olympics in the men’s large hill event; also wins normal hill gold

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Famous Birthdays

1783 – Johann Nepomuk Poissl, Bavarian composer, born in Rattiszell, Bavaria (d. 1865)
1904 – Antonin Magne, French cyclist (Tour de France 1931, 34)
1938 – Lord Justice Ward, British judge
1953 – Derek Conway, British MP
1969 – Josh Marshall, American journalist and blogger (Talking Points Memo), born in St. Louis, Missouri
1969 – Brian Williams, MLB pitcher (Detroit Tigers, Astros), born in Lancaster, South Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1911 – Theodor Escherich, German pediatrician (b. 1859)
1919 – Pieter K Pel, Dutch internist (Pel-Ebstein fever), dies at 66
1939 – Foppe G Scheltema, Dutch lawyer, dies at 47
1974 – Kurt Magnus Atterberg, Swedish composer, dies at 86
1988 – Neil R. Jones, American sci-fi writer (Space War, Twin Worlds), dies at 78
1996 – Margaret Courtenay, Welsh actress, singer and entertainer (Royal Flash, Duet for One), dies of cancer at 72

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Famous Deaths for 14th February 2021

1831 – Henry Maudslay, English inventor of the metal lathe, dies at 59
1873 – Charles Samvei Bovy-Lysberg, Swiss pianist and composer, dies at 51
1943 – Dora Gerson, German-Jewish actress, cabaret singer, and Holocaust victim (Caravan of Death), dies in Auschwitz concentration camp at 43
1950 – Eduard Hermann, German linguist (Homer), dies at 80
1988 – Frederick Loewe [Friedrich Löwe], Austrian-born American composer (My Fair Lady, Camelot), dies at 86
1991 – Roy Lanham, American western swing and jazz guitarist (The Whippoorwills; Sons of the Pioneers, 1961-86), dies at 68
1993 – Buddy Pepper, composer, dies of heart failure at 70
2004 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (Tour de France 1998), dies of acute cocaine poisoning at 34
2009 – Bernard Ashley, English businessperson, fashion designer and co-founder of Laura Ashley, dies of cancer at 82
2020 – Jimmy Conway, Irish soccer midfielder (20 caps Republic of Ireland; Fulham), dies at 73

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Historical Events for 14th February 2021

1777 – US Congress commissions Benjamin Lincoln a major general in the Continental Army
1778 – “Stars and Stripes” arrives in foreign port for 1st time (France)
1862 – Galena, 1st US iron-clad warship for service at sea, launched, Connecticut
1950 – USSR and China sign peace treaty
1966 – Australian currency is decimalised, and decimal currency postage stamps introduced
1967 – Latin American nuclear free zone proposal drawn up
1971 – Movie “Ben Hur” 1st shown on television
1990 – Perrier recalls 160 million bottles of sparkling water after traces of benzene, a carcinogen, are found in some
2018 – South African President Jacob Zuma resigns from office
2019 – Explosive-packed vehicle rams paramilitary convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir killing at least 40. Islamic group Jaish-e-Mohammad claim responsibility.

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Today in History for 14th February 2021

Historical Events

1940 – British merchant vessel fleet is armed
1941 – Carson McCuller’s “Reflections in a Golden Eye” published
1942 – Japanese parachutists land near oil center Palembang, Sumatra
1950 – Moroney scores cricket twin centuries for Australia at Johannesburg
1973 – Muhammad Ali beats British heavyweight boxing champion Joe Bugner by unanimous points decision in 12 rounds at Las Vegas Convention Centre
2019 – Explosive-packed vehicle rams paramilitary convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir killing at least 40. Islamic group Jaish-e-Mohammad claim responsibility.

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Famous Birthdays

1824 – Winfield Scott Hancock, American politician and Major General (Union Army), born in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania (d. 1886)
1916 – Marcel Bigeard, French general
1944 – Alan Parker, English director (Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express), born in London, England (d. 2020)
1963 – John Marzano, American baseball catcher (Seattle Mariners), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1970 – Simon Pegg [Buckingham], English comedian and actor (Shaun of the Dead, Mission: Impossible), born in Brockworth, England
1977 – Cadel Evans, Australian road cyclist (Tour de France 2011; UCI World Road Race C’ships 2009), born in Katherine, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1528 – Edzard I the Great, count of Austria-E Frisia (1494-1528), dies at 66
1714 – Maria Luisa of Savoy, Queen consort of Spain to Philip V (1701-14), dies tuberculosis at 25
1780 – William Blackstone, English jurist (Blackstone’s Commentaries), dies at 56
1841 – Antun Sorkocevic, composer, dies at 65
1873 – Charles Samvei Bovy-Lysberg, Swiss pianist and composer, dies at 51
2003 – Dolly the sheep, first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell dies young form a progressive lung disease aged 6

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Famous Deaths for 13th February 2021

1237 – Jordanus of Saxon, 2nd general of Dominicans, drowns
1624 – Stephen Gosson, English satirist (b. 1554)
1727 – William Wotton, English theologian and scholar, dies at 58
1841 – Thomas Ainsworth, English/Dutch industrialist, dies at 45
1954 – Frederick Lewis Allen, American social historian and editor of Harper’s Magazine, dies at 63
1964 – Ken Hubbs, 2nd baseman (Chicago Cubs), dies in plane crash at 22
1995 – Wilton “Bogey” Gaynair, saxophonist, dies at 68
1997 – Antonius “Ton” Lensink, Dutch actor (Rituelen), dies at 74
2005 – Maurice Trintignant, French race car driver (b. 1917)
2020 – Jimmy Thunder, New Zealand boxer (IBO heavyweight title 1994-95), dies following brain surgery at 54

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Historical Events for 13th February 2021

1258 – Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, tens of thousands slaughtered, ending the Islamic Golden Age
1545 – Willem of Nassau becomes Prince of Orange
1816 – -14] Teatro San Carlo in Naples destroyed by fire
1837 – Riot in New York due to a combination of poverty and increase in the cost of flour
1932 – Australian Championships Women’s Tennis: Coral McInnes Buttsworth retains title; beats Kathrine Le Mesurier 9-7, 6-4
1943 – Women’s US Marine Corps created
1945 – Allied planes begin bombing Dresden, Germany; a firestorm results and over 22,000 die
1960 – France performs 1st nuclear test at Reggane Proving Grounds Algeria
1980 – Apollo Computer Inc incorporated
1993 – Ljubow Kremljowa runs world record 1000m indoor (2:34:84)

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Today in History for 13th February 2021

Historical Events

1258 – Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, tens of thousands slaughtered, ending the Islamic Golden Age
1907 – English suffragettes storm British Parliament and 60 women are arrested
1917 – Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari is arrested in Paris on suspicion that she is a German spy
1993 – Merlene Ottey runs world record 200m indoor (21.87 sec)
2014 – Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu is first to break 100 points barrier in the short program (101.45 points) at the Sochi Winter Olympics, on way to the men’s singles gold medal
2019 – Suicide attack on bus carrying Iranian military’s Revolutionary Guard kills 23 in Sistan-Baluchestan province, separatist group Jaish al-Adl claim responsibility

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Famous Birthdays

1874 – Hendrik Spiekman, Dutch journalist and politician (social-democratic)
1923 – Chuck Yeager, American test pilot who was the 1st man to break the sound barrier, born in Myra, West Virginia (d. 2020)
1944 – Jerry Springer, English-born US talk show host (Jerry Springer Show), born in London, England
1962 – Hugh Dennis, English comedian and actor (Not Going out), born in Kettering, England
1964 – Ylva Johansson, Swedish politician, born in Huddinge Municipality, Sweden
1997 – Michael Jackson Jr., son of Michael Jackson, born in Beverly Hills, California

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Famous Deaths

1629 – Girolamo Giacobbi, composer, dies at 61
1963 – Harry Steers, bowling hall of famer, dies
1964 – Ken Hubbs, 2nd baseman (Chicago Cubs), dies in plane crash at 22
2008 – Henri Salvador, French Caribbean singer, dies at 90
2015 – John McCabe, British composer and pianist, dies at 75
2017 – Seijun Suzuki, Japanese cult film director, dies at 93

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