Today in History for 17th June 2020

Historical Events

1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia
1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends more than 20 years building her tomb, the Taj Mahal
1906 – International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Wimbledon: Laurence Doherty and Reginald Doherty beat Raymond Little and Holcombe Ward 3-6, 11-9, 9-7, 6-1 to give British Isles an unassailable 3-0 lead over US (ends 5-0)
1944 – Iceland dissolves its union with Denmark and declares itself a Republic
2017 – Collision at sea between U.S.S. Fitzgerald and ACX Crystal, a Philippine cargo ship kills 7 US sailors in Japanese waters
2018 – US Open Men’s Golf, Shinnecock Hills GC: Brooks Koepka wins by 1 stroke from Tommy Fleetwood for first back-to-back Open titles since 1988-89 (Curtis Strange)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1902 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricketer (Australian off-spinner v WI 1930-31), born in Kangaroo Point, Queensland, Australia (d. 1982)
1908 – Enrique Peralta Azurdia, Colonel and military President of Guatemala (1963-66), born in Guatemala City (d. 1997)
1919 – Galina Ustvolskaya, Russian composer, born in Petrograd, Russia (d. 2006)
1948 – Dave Concepción, Venezuelan baseball all star shortstop (Cincinnati Reds), born in Ocumare de la Costa, Venezuela
1971 – Tripp Schwenk, American 100m/200m backstroke (Olympic silver 1996), born in Sarasota, Florida
1985 – Marcos Baghdatis, Cypriot professional tennis player

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1813 – Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, English sailor and politician, dies at 86
1957 – Dorothy M. Richardson, English novelist (Pilgrimage), dies at 84
1959 – Abdul Mouse, Indonesian nationalist foreman/author, dies at about 68
1981 – Richard O’Connor, British general (b. 1889)
2007 – Gianfranco Ferrè, Italian fashion designer (b. 1944)
2015 – John David Crow, American College Football Hall of Fame back and tight end (Heisman Trophy 1957, Texas A and M; Pro Bowl 1959, 60, 62, 65; St. Louis Cardinals), dies at 79

More Famous Deaths »

Famous Deaths for 16th June 2020

1468 – Jean Le Fevre, Burgundian chronicler (b. ca. 1395)
1850 – William Lawson explorer of New South Wales, Australia (b. 1774)
1952 – Andrew Lawson, Scottish-American geologist, first to map the entire San Andreas Fault (b. 1861)
1961 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician (b. 1904)
1975 – Don Robey, American record label executive and record producer, dies at 71
1979 – Liselotte Welskopf-Heinrich, writer, dies at 77
1992 – Joris Diels, Flemish actor and director (It’s a Cruel World, Haagsche Comedy), dies at 89
1996 – David Mourao-Ferreira, poet/politician, dies at 69
2004 – Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1912)
2010 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian operatic contralto (Ressurection Symphony), dies at 79

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events for 16th June 2020

1779 – US General Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, New York, inflicting heavy losses on the British
1864 – Skirmish at Golgotha, Georgia
1925 – The Union Government rejects a round-table conference with India on the grounds that it will constitute interference in South African affairs
1931 – Austrian government of Ender falls
1935 – US Congress accepts FDR’s “New Deal”
1941 – 1st US federally owned airport opened Washington, D.C.
1944 – US bombs Kyushu Japan
1962 – 2 US army officers killed in Saigon
1992 – Longest salami is 68’9 and 25 circumference, weighed 1,492lbs/5oz in Flekkefjord, Norway
2018 – World Cup: Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology is used for the first time, awarding France a penalty in 2-1 win over Australia in Kazan

More Historical Events »

Today in History for 16th June 2020

Historical Events

1916 – Boston Brave’s Tom Hughes 2nd no-hitter beats Pitts, 2-0
1944 – George Stinney, a 14-year-old African-American boy, is wrongfully executed for the murder of two white girls, becoming the youngest person ever executed in 20th-century America
1975 – Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabber and Walt Wesley to LA for 4 players
1991 – With 3 runs in 9th, Balt ends Twins 15 game winning streak 6-5
2008 – US Open Men’s Golf, Torrey Pines GC: Tiger Woods wins his 3rd US Open and 14th major title, beating Rocco Mediate on the 1st hole of sudden-death, following a Monday 18-hole playoff
2012 – A collapse of a stage at a Toronto Radiohead concert kills one person

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1914 – Stewart Cathie “Billy” Griffith, cricketer (140 for England, 1948)
1917 – Irving Penn, American photographer
1921 – Lord Perry of Walton, SDP/vice chancellor (Open University England)
1969 – L B Stephens, NFLer (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1970 – Cobi Jones, American soccer player
1971 – Chris Gomez, American baseball infielder (San Diego Padres), born in Los Angeles, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1397 – Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, French soldier (b. 1358)
1831 – Josef Schnabel, German composer, dies at 64
1858 – John Snow, English English epidemiologist, ‘Father of modern epidemiology’ studied cholera, dies of a stroke at 45
1970 – Brian Piccolo, American football player (b. 1943)
1971 – Garfield Wood, American inventor, motorboat builder and racer (world water speed record x 5; first to travel over 100 mph on water), dies at 90
2005 – Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican writer (La Llamarada), dies at 99

More Famous Deaths »

Famous Deaths for 15th June 2020

1666 – Pieter de Bitter, Dutch admiral (Colombo, Goa), dies
1849 – James Knox Polk, 11th US President (1845-1849), dies in Nashville Tenn at 53
1938 – Ernst L Kirchner, German painter, dies at 58
1958 – François de Vries, Dutch economist, dies at 74
1965 – Steve Cochran [Robert Alexander Cochran], American actor (Mozambique, Gay Senotiys, Dallas), dies from acute infectious edema at 48
1992 – Eddie Lopat, American baseball pitcher (NY Yankees), dies at 73
1993 – Mahfoud Boucebi, Algerian psychiatrist, murdered
1994 – Manos Hadjidakis, Greek composer (Never on Sunday), dies at 68
1994 – Nadia Gray [Nadia Kujnir-Herescu], Romanian actress (Naked Runner, Maniac, Candide), dies at 70
2003 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (World According to Garp, Cocoon), dies at 91

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events for 15th June 2020

1094 – Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar [El Cid] occupies Valencia on the Moren
1580 – Phillip II of Spain declares William the Silent to be an outlaw.
1860 – 1st White settlement in Idaho (Franklin)
1898 – US House of Representatives passes resolution to annex Hawaii
1919 – 1st nonstop Atlantic flight (Alcock and Brown) lands in Ireland
1955 – The International Olympic Committee votes to award Rome the rights to host the 1960 Summer Olympic Games
1957 – 89th Belmont: Bill Shoemaker aboard Gallant Man wins in 2:26.6
1963 – Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion resigns
1992 – Erie Sailors (Fla Marlin farm team) 1st game beat Jamestown 6-5 in 13
2002 – Near earth asteroid 2002 MN missed the Earth by 75,000 miles (120,000 km), about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the Moon

More Historical Events »

Today in History for 15th June 2020

Historical Events

1219 – Dannebrog is the flag of Denmark and the oldest national flag in the world. According to legend, it fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse (now Tallinn) in Estonia, and turned the Danes’ luck
1857 – San Francisco Water Works organized
1864 – US Congress passes legislation equalizing pay for Black soldiers
1864 – Capt Mendell begins building 640m long ponton bridge over James River, Virginia
1888 – Wilhelm II becomes Emperor of Germany
2001 – 55th NBA Championship: Los Angeles Lakers beat Philadelphia 76ers, 4 games to 1

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1809 – François-Xavier Garneau, French-Canadian poet and historian (d. 1866)
1894 – Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian mathematician (d. 1947)
1901 – Peter Shankland, English filmmaker and historian
1908 – Sam Giancana, American mafioso, born in Chicago, Illinois
1925 – Jaime Sabines, Mexican poet (Tarumba, Maltiempes)
1926 – Basil Watts, English rugby league second rower (5 Tests Great Britain, 1 England; World Cup 1954; York RLFC), born in York, England (d. 2019)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1768 – James Short, Scottish mathematician and manufacturer of telescopes, dies at 57
1965 – E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (b. 1902
1971 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, singer, dies at 78
2008 – Stan Winston, American special effects and makeup artist, and film director (b. 1946)
2015 – Mighty Sam McClain, American soul and blues singer-songwriter, dies at 72

More Famous Deaths »

Famous Deaths for 14th June 2020

1144 – Aboe ‘l-Kasim Mahmoed ibn Omar al-Zapowersjari, theologist, dies at 69
1933 – Albert Ross Parsons, American composer, dies at 85
1941 – Pieter J Kromsigt, theologist/publicist (John Knox), dies at 74
1974 – Knud Christian Jeppesen, Danish composer, dies at 81
1978 – Theodore Karyotakis, composer, dies at 74
1982 – Marjorie Bennett, actress (Blossom-Dobie Gillis), dies at 87 of cancer
1989 – Pete de Freitas, British drummer (Echo and the Bunnyman), dies in a motorcycle accident at 27
2003 – Dale Whittington, American racing driver (b. 1959)
2005 – Mimi Parent, Canadian painter, dies at 80
2007 – Kurt Waldheim, Austrian 4th Secretary-General of the United Nations (1972-81) and 9th President of Austria (1986-92), dies at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events for 14th June 2020

1863 – Battle of 2nd Winchester, Virginia
1872 – Trade unions are legalised in Canada.
1898 – France signs Niger Convention
1923 – Recording of 1st country music hit (Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane)
1979 – Canada all out for 45 runs in Cricket World Cup v England, in 40.3 overs
1987 – Senior Tournament Players Championship Men’s Golf, Sawgrass CC: South African Gary Player wins by 1 stroke from Bruce Crampton and Chi-Chi Rodriguez
1990 – Supreme Court rules police check for drunk drivers constitutional
1991 – Space Shuttle STS 40 (Columbia 12) lands
1995 – Giants infielder Mike Benjamin goes 6-for-7 in 13-inning 4-3 win
2003 – WLAF World Bowl 11, Hampden Park, Glasgow: Frankfurt Galaxy beats Rhein Fire, 35-16

More Historical Events »

Today in History for 14th June 2020

Historical Events

1898 – France signs Niger Convention
1967 – USSR launches Kosmos 166 for observation of Sun from Earth orbit
1975 – USSR launches Venera 10 for Venus landing
1998 – WLAF World Bowl 6, Waldstadion, Frankfurt: Rhein Fire beats Frankfurt Galaxy, 34-10
1998 – “Comic Relief” benefit comedy show
2018 – Malaysia’s national debt reassessed at $250 billion, up from previous estimate $170 billion, 80% of gross domestic product

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1882 – Michael Zadora, American pianist and composer, born in New York City (d. 1946)
1919 – Sam Wanamaker, American-English actor (Holocaust, Competition, Raw Deal), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1993)
1936 – Renaldo “Obie” Benson, American singer (The Four Tops), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2005)
1958 – Eric Heiden, American speed skater (5 Olympic gold medals 1980), born in Madison, Wisconsin
1975 – Bob Nanna, American musician (Braid, Hey Mercedes, The City on Film)
1992 – Daryl Sabara, American actor

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1161 – Qinzong, last Emperor of Song Dynasty in China, dies at 61
1800 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general, dies at 47
1864 – Leonidas Polk, Lt. Gen. (Confederate Army), killed in action in Battle of Pine Mt at 58
1960 – Ana Pauker-Rabensohn, Romanian Foreign Minister (1945-52), dies at 67
2008 – Rafael del Pino, Spanish entrepreneur, dies at 87
2014 – Rodney Thomas, American NFL running back, dies at 41

More Famous Deaths »