Author: gil7

Historical Events

1764 – St. Louis, Missouri founded as a French trading post by Pierre Laclède
1804 – New Jersey becomes last northern state to abolish slavery
1991 – Freighter with dynamite explodes in Phang Nga Thailand, 120 die
1991 – Daily market volatility as Hussein mentions withdrawal, but Bush calls his offer a “cruel hoax”
2018 – German figure skaters Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot set new ISU best free skating score of 159.31 on their way to pairs gold medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

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Famous Birthdays

1835 – Alexander Stuart Webb, American Union general (medal for gallantry at Battle of Gettysburg), born in New York City (d. 1911)
1883 – Sax Rohmer [Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward], English author (Dr Fu Manchu novels), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1959)
1909 – Harold Beeley, British diplomat to the Arab world, born in Manchester, England (d. 2001)
1923 – Yelena Bonner, Soviet dissident and wife of Andre Sakharov, born in Merv, Turkmenistan, Soviet Union (d. 2011)
1968 – Axelle Red [Fabienne Demal], Belgian pop and soul singer-songwriter (“Sensualité”, “Parce que c’est toi”),human rights activist, and UNICEF ambassador, born in Hasselt, Belgium

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Famous Deaths

1713 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician and philosopher, dies at 41
1839 – Chevalier de Lorimier, Quebec notary (b. 1803)
1943 – Victor Harris, American organist, composer, conductor (St. Cecilia Society, 1902-36), vocal coach, and educator, dies at 73
1961 – Maribel Vinson, American figure skater (9 time US National Champion) and coach, dies in a plane crash at 49
2025 – Gran Hamada [Hiroaki Hamada], Japanese professional wrestler (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), dies at 74

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Historical Events

1804 – Karadjordje leads the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire
1992 – Kieren John Perkins swims world record 800m freestyle (7:46.60)
1998 – Authorities in the United States announce that Eric Robert Rudolph is a suspect in an Alabama abortion clinic bombing
2013 – A suicide bombing kills 4 police officer and injures 5 in Dagestan
2023 – Rapper and musician Pharrell Williams appointed menswear designer for Louis Vuitton

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Famous Birthdays

1870 – Bob Quinn, American baseball executive (owner Boston Red Sox 1923–33; part owner Boston Braves 1936–45; President National Baseball Hall of Fame 1948–51), born in Columbus, Ohio (d. 1954)
1932 – Peter Ball, British Church of England clergyman (Bishop of Gloucester. 1992-93; Bishop of Lewes, 1977-92), and convicted sex offender, born in West Sussex, England (d. 2019)
1941 – Donna Shalala, American educator and politician, US Secretary of Health under Bill Clinton (Rep-Florida 2019-21), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1953 – Wayne Siegel, American electro-acoustic contemporary classical composer, based in Denmark, born in Los Angeles, California
1994 – Becky Hill, English singer (The Voice UK, 2012; “Remember”), born in Bewdley, England

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Famous Deaths

1820 – Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, son of French King Charles X, assassinated by a Bonapartist at 42
1831 – Henry Maudslay, English inventor of the metal lathe, dies at 59
1857 – Johannes Bernardus van Bree, Dutch violinist, composer and conductor, dies at 56
1990 – Tony Holiday, German singer, dies of complications from AIDS at 38
2021 – Peter Martinček van Grob, Slovakian contemporary classical composer and conductor, dies at 58

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Historical Events

1867 – Work begins on the covering of the Senne, burying Brussels’s primary river and creating the modern central boulevards
1881 – The feminist newspaper La Citoyenne is first published in Paris by activist Hubertine Auclert
1934 – Soviet steamship SS Chelyuskin sinks in the Arctic Ocean after being crushed by ice packs near Kolyuchin Island in the Chukchi Sea
1979 – Formation of Guardian Angels crime fighters in New York City
1990 – 50 killed at Inkatha-UDF battle in Natal, South Africa

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Famous Birthdays

1879 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian freedom fighter and poet, born in Hyperbad, India (d. 1949)
1909 – M. Vasalis [Margaretha Droogleever Fortuyn-Leenmans], Dutch poet (Phoenix), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1998)
1910 – William Shockley, American physicist who helped invent the transistor (1956 Nobel), who was also known for his racist eugenics views, born in London, England (d. 1989)
1912 – Margaretta Scott, British actress (Crescendo, Where’s Charley, Counterblast), born in Westminster, London (d. 2005)
1970 – Ruben Brown, American football guard (9 × Pro Bowl; Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears), born in Englewood, New Jersey

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Famous Deaths

1130 – Honorius II [Lamberto], Pope (1124-30), dies
1897 – Joseph O. Shelby, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 66
1958 – Dame Christabel Pankhurst, a leading suffragette (English) “Queen of the mob” (b.1880)
1991 – Ron Pickering, British athletics coach (GB 1964 Summer Olympics) and broadcaster (BBC), dies after a heart bypass operation at 60
2025 – Jim Guy Tucker, American attorney, businessman, and politician (Governor of Arkansas, 1992-96; US Representative form Arkansas, 1977-79), convicted of conspiracy and mail fraud in Whitewater Scandal (1996), dies of complications of colitis at 81

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Historical Events

1984 – East German luger Steffi Martin wins the first of 2 consecutive women’s singles gold medals at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; also wins in Calgary (1988)
1988 – US Navy frigate USS Yorktown bumped by Russian frigate Bezzavetny in the Black Sea in dispute over right of innocent passage
2007 – A gunman opens fire in a mall in Salt Lake City, killing five people in the Trolley Square shooting
2017 – 70th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs): “La La Land” Best Film, Damien Chazelle Best Director, Best Actors Casey Affleck / Emma Stone
2023 – India opens the first part of what will be its longest expressway linking Mumbai with New Delhi over 1,386-kilometer (861 mile)

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Famous Birthdays

1830 – Stephen Wilcox, American inventor of steam generators for power stations and ships (Babcock and Wilcox), born in Westerly, Rhode Island (d. 1893)
1904 – Ted Mack, American TV host (The Original Amateur Hour), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1976)
1914 – Nello Celio, Swiss politician, born in Quinto, Switzerland (d. 1995)
1945 – Roman Tam [Pak-sin], Hong Kong singer knownn as the “Grand Godfather of Cantopop”, born in Baise, Guangxi, China (d. 2002)
1980 – Enver Gjokaj, American actor (Dollhouse; Agent Carter), and inventor, born in Orange County, California

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Famous Deaths

1837 – Ludwig Borne [Loeb Baruch], German-Jewish writer, dies at 50
1896 – Isaac Murphy, American jockey, 628 wins on 1,412 mounts (44.5%), dies at 35
2000 – Oliver [William Swofford], American pop singer (“Good Morning Starshine”), dies of cancer at 54
2022 – William Kraft, American timpanist, percussionist (Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble), conductor, and composer (The Demise of Suriyodhaya; Avalanche), dies at 98
2025 – Patrick Barclay, English sportswriter (The Times, The Guardian-Observer, Sunday Telegraph, The Independent; Sky Sports), dies at 77

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