1346 – Battle of Neville’s Cross: King David II of Scotland is captured by Edward III of England at Calais, and imprisoned in the Tower of London for eleven years
1797 – Peace of Campo Formio: Austrian Dutch possessions and France
1871 – Great Britain annexes Griqualand, South Africa
1894 – Ohio national guard kills 3 lynchers while rescuing a black man
1945 – Loyalty Day in Argentina, mass demonstrations held to release Juan Perón
1959 – Queen Elizabeth II is fined $140 for withdrawing her race horse
1965 – “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever” opens in NYC for 280 performances
1969 – NY Nets move from Comack to Island Garden, Hempstead NY
1978 – NY Yankees beat Dodgers, 4 games to 2 in 75th World Series
2019 – The ‘Blob’, mysterious yellow slime organism (physarum polycephalum) with 720 sexes, moves and can solve problems to go on display at the Paris Zoological Park
Author: gil7
Today in History for 17th October 2020
Historical Events
1945 – Loyalty Day in Argentina, mass demonstrations held to release Juan Perón
1957 – Jailhouse Rock starring Elvis Presley premieres in Memphis, Tennessee
1979 – US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating Department of Education
1980 – 1st-class debut of Mike Whitney, NSW v Qld (2-52 and 1-39)
1991 – Pitts Penguin Paul Coffey sets NHL defenseman scoring record with 1,053 career points (309 goals and 744 assists)
2018 – Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch puppeteer Caroll Spinney leaves “Sesame Street” after 50 years
Famous Birthdays
1582 – Johann Gerhard, German Lutheran leader (d. 1637)
1711 – Jupiter Hammon, Lloyd Harbor NY, slave and poet, 1st African American to publish poetry
1884 – Lewis Bennison, American actor (The Road Called Straight), born in Oakland, California (d. 1929)
1914 – Albert Markos, Romanian composer (Torso I), born in Székelykeresztúr, Hungary (now Cristuru Secuiesc, Romania) (d. 1981)
1946 – James Ray Tucker, American rock guitarist (Turtles-Eleanor), born in Los Angeles, California
1971 – Byron Chamberlain, American football tight end (Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
Famous Deaths
1174 – Queen Petronila of Aragon (b. 1135)
1312 – Jan II, duke of Brabant/Limburg (charter of Kortenberg), dies
1836 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (b. 1782)
1967 – Henry Pu Yi, last emperor of China, dies at 61
1997 – Paul Edwin Zimmer, sci-fi writer, dies of heart attack at 54
2002 – Aileen Riggin, American diver (Olympic gold 3m springboard 1920, 24), dies at 96
Famous Deaths for 16th October 2020
1570 – Baron van Montigny, Dutch earl of Horne, murdered
1655 – Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Italian physician, mathematician, and music theorist (b. 1591)
1796 – Victor Amadeus III of Savoy (b. 1726)
1817 – Manuel C Piar, Curacaos/Venezulian freedom writer, dies
1983 – George Liberace, American violinist (Liberace Show), dies at 72
1991 – Tonny Huurdeman, singer/actress (Frills), dies
2003 – Stu Hart, Canadian professional wrestler and trainer, dies at 88
2006 – Valentín Paniagua Corazao, Ex President of Peru (b. 1936)
2012 – Eddie Yost, American MLB player, dies from cardiovascular disease at 86
2016 – Kigeli V, last King of Rwanda (1959-61), dies at 80
Historical Events for 16th October 2020
1849 – British seize Tigre Island in Gulf of Fonseca from Honduras
1904 – Russian Baltic fleet departs to Port Arthur
1926 – Troop ship sinks in Yangtze River, killing 1,200
1942 – Cyclone in Bay of Bengal kills some 40,000 south of Calcutta India
1949 – WDAF TV channel 4 in Kansas City, MO (NBC) begins broadcasting
1969 – T Agee and Ed Kranepool HR, Tommie Agee makes 2 great catches, New York Mets win Baseball World Series 4-1
1978 – Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to Herbert A Simon
1979 – First global telenovela Mexican “Los ricos también lloran” (The Rich Also Cry) premieres, second foreign series to be screened in the Soviet Union
1982 – Mt Palomar Observatory 1st to detect Halley’s comet on 13th return
2013 – 21 people are killed after a minibus hits a land mine in Nawa, Syria
Today in History for 16th October 2020
Historical Events
1829 – Tremont Hotel, 1st US modern hotel opens (Boston)
1834 – Much of the ancient structures of the Palace of Westminster (parliament) in London is burnt down
1901 – Baron Hayashi of Japan begins negotiations in London to make an alliance with the British and strengthen Japan’s position against Russians
1903 – Homel, 1st Jewish self defense organization founded in Russia
1909 – In his 4th title defence Jack Johnson KOs Stanley Ketchel in the 12th round at Mission St Arena, Colma, California to retain his heavyweight boxing crown
1980 – China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
Famous Birthdays
1936 – Gerardo Gandini, composer
1941 – Erkki Jokinen, composer
1944 – Johnny Washbrook, actor (Ken-My Friend Flicka), born in Toronto, Ontario
1967 – Davina McCall, British television presenter
1969 – Takao Ōmori, Japanese professional wrestler
1980 – Jeremy Jackson, actor (Shout, Baywatch), born in Newport Beach, California
Famous Deaths
1555 – Nicholas Ridley, English theologist/bishop of Rochester, burned at the stake as an Oxford martyr
1628 – François de Malherbe, French poet and critic (b. 1555)
1796 – Victor Amadeus III of Savoy (b. 1726)
1880 – Edward Wolff, Polish pianist and composer, dies at 64
1983 – George Liberace, American violinist (Liberace Show), dies at 72
2003 – László Papp, Hungarian boxer (b. 1926)
Famous Deaths for 15th October 2020
1819 – Sergey Vyazmitinov, Russian general and statesman (b. 1744)
1838 – Letitia Elizabeth Landon, English poet (Heath’s Book of Beauty), dies at 36
1914 – Aleksander Różycki, Polish pianist, composer, and music teacher dies at 59
1937 – James Marcus, American actor (The Eagle, The Lonely Trail), dies from a heart attack at 70
1942 – Dirk Bannink, nurse/local counciller Deventer, executed
1944 – Philip Mechanicus, journalist, executed in Auschwitz-Birkenau
1945 – Pierre Laval, Prime Minister of France (1931-32 and 1935-36) and Head of Vichy France (1942-44), executed by firing squad for high treason at 62
1968 – Bea Benaderet, NYC, actress (Kate-Petticoat Junction), dies at 62
1981 – Philip Fotheringham-Parker, British racing driver (b. 1907)
1994 – Hannes Wustinger, Austrian race car driver, dies at 29
Historical Events for 15th October 2020
1897 – Aaron and Samuel Bloch carry 1st Mail Pouch
1925 – Pittsburgh Pirates beat Washington Senators, 4 games to 3 in 22nd World Series
1932 – Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.
1941 – Jews caught outside Nazi Ghetto walls in occupied Poland could be put to death
1951 – First synthesis of an oral contraceptive (norethindrone) made by Luis E. Miramontes under direction of Carl Djerassi and George Rosenkranz at Mexican drug company Syntex
1953 – John Patrick’s “Teahouse of the August Moon” premieres in New York
1969 – Bank of America World Headquarters (555 California) dedicated
1997 – Nobel Prize for Chemistry awarded to Jens Christain Skou, Paul D. Boyer and John E. Walker for their work on enzymes in the body
2005 – Riot in Toledo, Ohio breaks out during a National Socialist/Neo-Nazi protest; over 100 are arrested.
2011 – Global protests break out in 951 cities in 82 countries
Today in History for 15th October 2020
Historical Events
1886 – Modest Mussorgsky’s musical fantasy “Night on Bald Mountain” premieres in St. Petersburg’s Kononov Hall, Russia
1968 – The Nationalist Party of Northern Ireland (NPNI) withdraws from its role as ‘official’ opposition within the Northern Ireland parliament at Stormont
1969 – Vietnam Moratorium Day; millions nationwide protest the war
1975 – Iceland moves intl boundary from 50 to 200 miles
1977 – Don Ritchie runs world record 100 mile (11:30:51)
1997 – NY jury awards boxer Mitch Green $45,000 in civil lawsuit against Mike Tyson, for street brawl in 1988
Famous Birthdays
1885 – Dirk Filarski, Dutch painter and lithographer (Bergense School), born in Amsterdam (d. 1964)
1925 – Tony Hart, English artist and television presenter (Take Hart, Hartbeat), born in Maidstone, Kent (d. 2009)
1934 – Peter Haskell, American actor (Bracken’s World, Rituals), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2010)
1944 – Haim Saban, Israeli-American media proprietor (Saban Entertainment), born in Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt
1968 – Meredith Rainey, American 800m runner, born in Brooklyn, New York
1979 – Paul Robinson, English football player
Famous Deaths
1817 – Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish-Lithuanian military leader and statesman considered a national hero, dies at 71 after falling from a horse, developing a fever and suffering a stroke
1883 – Francesco Schira, composer, dies at 74
1918 – Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian saint (b. circa 1838)
1981 – Frank DeKova, actor (Chief Wild Eagle-F Troop), dies at 71
2008 – Edie Adams [Edith Enke], American businesswoman, singer, actress and comedian (Murial Cigar), dies at 81
2012 – Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia, dies from a heart attack at 89
Famous Deaths for 14th October 2020
1610 – Amago Yoshihisa, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1540)
1711 – Tewoflos, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1708)
1719 – Arnold Houbraken, Dutch painter and writer, dies at 59
1909 – Gottfred Matthison-Hansen, Danish composer, dies at 76
1919 – Wilhelm von Siemens, German industrial/son of Werner, dies
1930 – Sam[uel] van Houten, lib minister (Child labor laws), dies
1993 – Bertie Clarke, cricketer (6 wkts for WI in 1939), dies
1995 – Edith Pargeter, author (Brother Cadfael), dies of a stroke at 82
1997 – Harold Robbins, salacious novelist, dies at 81
2010 – Benoît Mandelbrot, Polish-French-American mathematician (proved Zipf’s law), dies at 85
Historical Events for 14th October 2020
1940 – Balham tube station in London is bombed by the German Luftwaffe during the Blitz, killing 64-66 people
1945 – Chicago Cardinals end a record 29-game losing streak, beat Bears
1948 – Large scale fighting between Israel and Egypt
1970 – 4th Country Music Association Award: Merle Haggard wins
1980 – Phils rally from 4-0 deficit to beat the Royals, 7-6 to take WS opener
1986 – Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel, for his efforts to ensure the Holocaust was remembered
1988 – NJ Devils raise their 1st pennant by winning the Patrick Division Playoff Championship
1991 – NY Rangers right wing Mike Gartner becomes the first player to score 500th NHL goals
2002 – MLB National League Championship: San Francisco Giants beat St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 1
2007 – “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” featuring Kim, Khloé, and Kourtney Kardashian premieres on the E! cable network in the US