Author: gil7

Historical Events

1914 – Dutch army opens fire on interned Belgian soldiers: 8 killed
1923 – First Congressional open session broadcast via radio (Washington, D.C.)
1953 – Robert Wright and George Forrest’s musical “Kismet” opens at Ziegfeld Theater, NYC; runs for 583 performances, wins Tony Award for Best Musical
1978 – “King of Hearts” closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 48 performances
1984 – Bhopal disaster: A Union Carbide pesticide plant leaks 45 tons of methyl isocyanate and other toxic compounds in Bhopal, India, officially killing 2,259 – other estimates are as high as 16,000 (including later deaths) and over half a million injured

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Famous Birthdays

1755 – Gilbert Stuart, American portrait painter (unfinished portrait of George Washington), born in Saunderstown, Rhode Island (d. 1828)
1908 – Edward Underdown, British actor (Beat the Devil, Thunderball), born in London, England (d. 1989)
1914 – Edward “Corky” Cornelius, American jazz trumpeter (Benny Goodman; Gene Krupa), born in Cicero, Indiana (d. 1943)
1918 – Abdul Haris Nasution, Indonesian army general, born in Koetanopan, North Sumatera, Dutch East Indies (d. 2000)
1933 – Rosalind Knight, British stage and screen actress (Friday Night Dinner – “Horrible Grandma”), born in Marylebone (now Westminster), England (d. 2020)

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Famous Deaths

1973 – Emile Christian, American jazz trombonist, dies at 78
1999 – John Archer [Ralph Bowman], American actor (Destination: Moon, White Heat, Blue Hawaii), dies of lung cancer at 84
2004 – Shiing-Shen Chern, Chinese mathematician (b. 1911)
2016 – Gigliola Frazzoni, Italian operatic soprano, dies at 93
2023 – Myles Goodwyn, Canadian rock guitarist, singer and songwriter (April Wine – “You Could Have Been a Lady”), and record producer, dies at 75

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Historical Events

1961 – Fidel Castro declares he’s a Marxist and will lead Cuba to Communism
1973 – Capital Centre (USAir Arena) opens in Landover Maryland; NBA’s Washington Bullets beat Seattle SuperSonics, 98-96 in opening game; arena demolished 2002
1984 – Miami quarterback Dan Marino breaks NFL single-season touchdown pass record when he throws his 37th in the Dolphins’ 45-34 loss to the Raiders; finishes season with 48 TD passes
2014 – Hong Kong pro-democracy activists clash with police as they try to surround the government’s headquarters in some of the worst violence since the protests began
2020 – The UK becomes the first western country to authorize a vaccine for COVID-19, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine

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Famous Birthdays

1920 – Robert Moevs, American composer, born in La Crosse, Wisconsin (d. 2007)
1927 – Jim David, American NFL defensive back (Pro Bowl 1954-59; NFL Champion 1952-53, 57; Detroit Lions), born in Florence, South Carolina (d. 2007)
1931 – Masaaki Hatsumi, Japanese founder and head of the Bujinkan Organization, born in Noda, Chiba, Japan
1939 – Harry Reid, American attorney and politician (U.S. Senator from Nevada, 1987-2017; U.S. House of Representatives, 1983-87), born in Searchlight, Nevada (d. 2021)
1947 – Ntare V [Charles Ndizeye], final King of Burundi (1966), born in Gitega, Burundi, Ruanda-Urundi (d. 1972)

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Famous Deaths

1831 – Traugott Maximilian Eberwein, German composer, and Kapellmeister (Court of Schwartzberg-Rudolstadt, 1817-31), dies at 56
1918 – Edmond Rostand, French poet and dramatist (Cyrano de Bergerac), dies during the flu epidemic at 50
1935 – James Henry Breasted, American Egyptologist and anthropologist, dies at 70
2020 – Pamela Tiffin, American actress (One, Two, Three; Viva Max!), dies at 78
2020 – Rafer Johnson, American decathlete (Olympic gold 1960), dies from stroke complications at 86

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Historical Events

1918 – Yugoslavia declares independence with a monarchy proclaimed in Belgrade
1956 – Australian women’s 4 x 100m relay team of Norma Croker, Betty Cuthbert, Fleur Mellor and Shirley Strickland de la Hunty run world record 44.65 to win the gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Cuthbert’s 3rd gold of the Games
1975 – US President Gerald Ford visits People’s Republic of China
1984 – 50th Heisman Trophy Award: Doug Flutie, Boston College (QB)
2014 – “U2 Minus 1” performs at Times Square, NYC for World AIDS Day; Bruce Springsteen and Chris Martin of Coldplay each sing two songs in place of injured frontman Bono

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Famous Birthdays

1921 – Ralph Manza, American actor (Banacek, Mama Malone, Newhart), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2000)
1929 – Emily McLaughlin, American actress (Jessie Brewer in “General Hospital”), born in White Plains, New York (d. 1991)
1929 – Dick Shawn [Richard Schulefand], American character actor and comedian (Producers, Maid to Order, Angel), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1987)
1979 – Angelique Bates, American Actress (All That), born in Los Angeles, California
1982 – Riz Ahmed, British-Pakistani actor (The Night Of), rapper (Swet Shop Boys), and social activist, born in Wembley, London

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Famous Deaths

1602 – Kobayakawa Hideaki, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1582)
1943 – Damrong Rajanubhab, Thai prince, son of King Mongkut and brother of King Chulalongkorn and historian, dies at 81
1974 – Teddy Knox, British comedian (The Cromwells; Nervo and Knox), dies at 78
1996 – Irving Gordon, American songwriter (“Unforgettable”; “Me, Myself, And I”), dies of multiple myeloma cancer at 81
2010 – Alojz Srebotnjak, Slovenian composer, dies at 79

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Historical Events

1922 – First speed test of the first genuine Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō
1955 – “Pipe Dream” opens at Shubert Theater, NYC; runs for 245 performances
1966 – Barbados gains independence from Great Britain (National Day)
1988 – Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. buys RJR Nabisco for $25 billion
2014 – Australia experiences its hottest spring and second-hottest November recorded

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Famous Birthdays

1813 – Louise-Victorine Ackermann, French poet (works characterized by a deep sense of pessimism), born in Paris (d. 1890)
1920 – Virginia Mayo [Jones], American actress (The Best Years of Our Lives, Out of the Blue, White Heat), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 2005)
1953 – (Alphonso) Mike Espy, American lawyer and politician (US Representative for Mississippi, 1987-93 (D); Secretary of Agriculture, 1993-94), born in Yazoo City, Mississippi
1970 – Yayuk Basuki, Indonesian tennis player and politician, born in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia
1974 – Marcellus Wiley, American football defensive end (Pro Bowl and Second-team All-Pro 2001 Buffalo Bills) and broadcaster (ESPN, Fox, Dan Patrick Podcast Network), born in Compton, California

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Famous Deaths

1996 – Tiny Tim [Herbert Khaury], American musician (“Tiptoe Through The Tulips”), dies of a heart attack at 64
2000 – Scott Smith, Canadian rock bassist (Loverboy – “Working for the Weekend”), drowns in sailing accident near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco at 45
2007 – Engin Arık, Turkish nuclear physicist, dies at 59
2011 – William L. Waller, American politician and ex-Governor of Mississippi, dies at 85
2022 – Murray Halberg, New Zealand athlete (Olympic gold 5000m 1960; WR 2 miles: 8:30.0 1961; WR 3 miles: 13.10.0 1961), dies at 89

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