1513 – Battle of the Spurs at Guinegate (now Eguinegatte): Henry VIII of England and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I beat France
1861 – US President Abraham Lincoln prohibits Union states from trading with Confederacy
1914 – World War I: Battle of Cer begins.
1954 – 200 pilgrims drown in Farahzad Iran rain storm flood
1969 – WATL TV channel 36 in Atlanta, GA begins broadcasting
2002 – Africa Women’s Peace Train leaves Kampala for Johannesburg
2008 – South Korean weightlifter Jang Mi-Ran wins the women’s unlimited (+75 kg) division at the Beijing Olympics by breaking world records 5 times: once in snatch, twice in clean-and-jerk, and twice in total
2009 – Usain Bolt of Jamaica edges American Tyson Gay to win 100m in world record 9.58s at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin
2012 – South African police open fire on striking mine workers and kill at least 34 people
2018 – World’s first floating dairy farm opens in Merwehaven harbour, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with 40 cows milked by robots
Author: gil7
Today in History for 16th August 2020
Historical Events
1863 – Chickamauga campaign of the US Civil War begins in Georgia
1880 – The French state commissions sculptor Auguste Rodin for a large sculpted doorway ‘The Gates of Hell’ for the proposed Musée des Arts Décoratifs
1936 – XI Summer Olympic Games close in Berlin
1987 – Astrological Harmonic Convergence-Dawn of New Age
1990 – China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
2004 – Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe wins the men’s 200m freestyle in Olympic record 1:44.71, giving him the 200/400m freestyle double at the Athens Olympics
Famous Birthdays
1925 – Willie Jones, American baseball third baseman (MLB All Star 1950, 51; Philadelphia Phillies), born in Dillon, South Carolina (d. 1983)
1932 – Jon Lindbergh, 2nd son of aviator Charles Lindbergh
1946 – Massoud Barzani, Iraqi Kurdish politician
1947 – Carol Moseley-Braun, (Sen-D Illinois)
1953 – Catlin O’Heaney, American actress (Snow White-Charmings), born in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
1967 – Bret Barberie, infielder (Chicago Cubs), born in Long Beach, California
Famous Deaths
1508 – Henry van Stolberg and Wernigerode, German viceroy of Friesland, dies at 41
1705 – Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician known for his contributions to calculus, dies at 50
1880 – Herschel Vespasian Johnson, American politician (41st Governor of Georgia), dies at 67
1994 – Frits de Knight, photographer, dies of AIDS at 40
1995 – Robert “Robby” Debarge, RandB Musician, dies at 36
2019 – Felice Gimondi, Italian road cyclist (Tour de France 1965; Giro d’Italia 1967, 69, 76; Vuelta a España 1968), dies of heart attack at 76
Famous Deaths for 15th August 2020
1064 – Muhammad ibn Hazm, Andalusian historian, jurist and author of Islamic Spain, dies at 69
1728 – Marin Marais, French composer, dies at 72
1852 – Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist (discovered yttrium), dies at 92
1935 – Paul Signac, French painter (developed the technique called pointillism with Georges Seurat), dies at 71
1951 – Artur Schnabel, Austrian pianist (Reflections on Music), dies at 69
1966 – Gerhard Pohl, German writer (Crazy Ferdinand), dies at 64
1966 – Jan Kiepura, Polish vocalist and actor (Her Wonderful Lie, Give Us this Night), dies of heart attack at 64
1975 – Clay Shaw, alleged John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracist and businessman (b. 1913)
1982 – Axel Theorell, Swedish biochemist (Nobel 1955-discovering the oxidation enzyme and its effects), dies at 79
2006 – Rick Bourke, Australian rugby league player
Historical Events for 15th August 2020
1635 – 1st recorded north American hurricane hits the Plymouth Colony
1939 – “The Wizard of Oz”, American musical fantasy film directed by Victor Fleming and King Vidor, premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, starring Judy Garland (Dorothy), Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Tin Man), Bert Lahr (Cowardly Lion), Frank Morgan (Wizard), Billie Burke (Glinda), and Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch)
1944 – German field marshal Günther von Kluge vanishes for one day; he killed himself on the 19th in the aftermath of the attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler
1955 – WXEX TV channel 8 in Richmond-Petersburg, VA (ABC) begins
1957 – USAF Capt Joe B Jordan reaches 31,513 m in F-104 jet fighter
1960 – Congo (formerly Congo/Brazzaville) declares Independence from France
1962 – Netherlands and Indonesia sign accord over New Guinea
1974 – Hurricane/floods ravage Bangladesh, 4,000 killed
1989 – Giorgio Lamberti swims world record 200m free style (1:46.69)
2019 – Whistleblower releases damaging report on General Electric titled “General Electric, a Bigger Fraud Than Enron” claiming $38 billion accountancy fraud
Today in History for 15th August 2020
Historical Events
1537 – Asunción, Paraguay, is founded.
1944 – US 12 Army corps enters Le Mans through Orleans
1950 – Rotterdam dock strike begins
1966 – Radio Free Asia (South Korea) begins radio transmission
1969 – Woodstock Music and Art Fair opens in New York State on Max Yasgur’s Dairy Farm
1990 – At least 150 people die in clashes between the African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party, South Africa
Famous Birthdays
1875 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, African-British composer (Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast), born in London, England (d. 1912)
1890 – Elvin M. Jellinek, American Physiologist and pioneer in the study of alcoholism, born in NYC, New York
1900 – Estelle Brody, American actress (Safari, Kitty, Plaything), born in NYC, New York (d. 1995)
1914 – Peter Nicholson Gunn, Australian writer (The Churches of Rome), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1995)
1926 – Lewis T Preston, American banker (President of the World Bank 1991-95), born in NYC, New York
1927 – Wesley Mouzon, American boxer / trainer (Roy Jones Jr), born in Kingstree, South Carolina (d. 2003)
Famous Deaths
1728 – Marin Marais, French composer, dies at 72
1807 – Johann Nikolaus Tetens, German-Danish philosopher and mathematician, dies at 70
1991 – Marietta Tree, ambassador (UN Comm of Human Rights), dies at 74
1994 – Shepherd Mead, London England, dies of stroke at 80
2001 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan athlete (b. 1972)
2003 – Gösta Sundqvist, Finnish songwriter and singer (heart attack) (b. 1957)
Famous Deaths for 14th August 2020
582 – Tiberius II Constantine, Byzantine Emperor
1167 – Raynald van Dassel, archbishop of Cologne, dies
1390 – John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel, English soldier, dies at 26
1763 – Giovanni Battista Somis, composer, dies at 76
1788 – Thomas Sheridan, Irish actor, biographer and lexicographer (Intelligencer), dies at approximately 69
1891 – Johnny Mullagh [Unaarrimin], Australian cricketer (Aboriginal tourist 1868), dies at 50
1905 – Simeon Solomon, English Pre-Raphaelite painter, dies at 64
1958 – Frederic Joliot-Curie, French nuclear physicist (Nobel 1936), dies
1977 – Alexander Luria, Russian neuropsychologist (Higher Cortical Functions in Man), dies at 75
2018 – Jill Janus, American singer (Huntress), commits suicide at 43
Historical Events for 14th August 2020
1842 – Second Seminole War declared over by Colonel Worth; Indians go on to be removed from Florida to Oklahoma
1914 – British field marshal John French and Gen Wilson land in France
1949 – Military coup in Syria under colonel Sami Hinnawi
1953 – KXLF TV channel 4 in Butte, MT (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
1961 – Philadelphia Phillies lose 17th straight game
1962 – US mail truck in Plymouth, Mass robbed of more than $1.5 million
1967 – Celebrity hairdresser Vidal Sassoon cuts actress Mia Farrow’s hair into the famous pixie cut, costing $5,000. In reality, just a publicity stunt, Farrow had previously cut her own hair.
1967 – British pirate radio station Radio 270 broadcast from an offshore lugger, is forced to close down
1982 – Iran “Ramadan-offensive” in Iraq
1997 – Soyuz TM-25 lands
Today in History for 14th August 2020
Historical Events
1040 – King Duncan I of Scotland killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth (not murdered in his sleep as in Shakespeare’s play). The latter does succeed him as King.
1551 – Turkish fleet under Dragut occupies Tripoli
1917 – Leeuwen soccer team forms
1945 – Japanese government notifies the Allies that it had accepted the Potsdam Declaration
1974 – Turkish army attacks Nicosia Cyprus
2019 – American rapper ASAP Rocky found guilty of assault in Stockholm and given a suspended sentence
Famous Birthdays
1769 – Friedrich Dülon, German flautist and composer, born in Oranienburg (d. 1826)
1863 – Ernest Thayer, American poet who wrote the famous baseball poem “Casey”, born in Lawrence, Massachusetts (d. 1940)
1909 – Len Darling, Australian cricketer (South Australian and Test batsman of 30’s), born in South Yarra, Victoria, Australia (d. 1992)
1927 – Lord Whaddon, CEO (Daltrade and Skorimpex-Rind), born in Sale, Cheshire (d. 2005)
1962 – Mark Robert Isfeld, Canadian soldier and United Nations peacekeeper, born in Zweibrücken, Germany
1971 – Adam Timmerman, American NFL guard (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31), born in Cherokee, Iowa
Famous Deaths
1887 – Richard Jefferies, English naturalist and essayist, dies of tuberculosis at 38
1922 – Alfred CW Harmsworth, 1st viscount Northcliffe/newspaper magnate, dies
1958 – Big Bill Broonzy, American blues singer and guitarist (Blues by Broonzy), dies of cancer at 65
1963 – Clifford Odets, American playwright (1961 Award of Merit-Golden Boy), dies at 57
1982 – Thruston B. Morton, American republican politician (Sen-Ky, 1957-69), dies at 74
1984 – Bobo Jenkins [John Pickens Jenkins], American blues singer-songwriter (Democrat Blues), dies at 68
Famous Deaths for 13th August 2020
1191 – Philips van Heinsberg, archbishop of Cologne, dies
1913 – F August Bebel, German social-democrat, dies
1940 – George C. Pearce, American actor (The Shadow Sinister, British Agent, Valiant), dies at 75
1953 – Dmitri Arakishvili, composer, dies at 80
1973 – Ben van Eysselsteijn, Dutch playwright (Arid Earth), dies at 75
1974 – Kate O’Brien, Irish writer (Pray for the Wanderer), dies at 76
1994 – Raymond Gallois-Montbrun, French violinist and composer, dies at 75
1995 – Jan Křesadlo, Czech-British psychologist and writer, dies at 68
2008 – Dino Toso, American Formula-1 engineer (b. 1969)
2008 – Jack Weil, American oldest working CEO (b. 1901)
Historical Events for 13th August 2020
1642 – Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovers Martian south polar cap
1907 – 1st taxicabs operate in New York City, imported by Harry N. Allen
1921 – Simon Kaufman and Marc Connelly’s “Dulcy” premieres in NYC
1932 – Yankee pitcher Red Ruffing homers and wins game 1-0 in 10 tying
1948 – Satchel Paige at 42, pitches his 1st major league complete game
1954 – 21st NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Detroit 31, All-Stars 6 (93,470)
1979 – Lou Brock, is 14th to get 3,000 hits
1984 – Morocco and Libya sign “Arabic-African Union” treaty
2017 – More than 60 children reported to have died at Gorakhpur Hospital, India, prompting an investigation
2019 – Entertainment companies CBS and Viacom announce they will merge with a combined 28 billion revenue