Author: gil7

Historical Events

1480 – Great Stand on the Ugra River: Standoff between forces of Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Great Horde, and Ivan III, Grand Prince of all Rus, ends with a Tatar-Mongol retreat, leading to the disintegration of the Horde
1815 – Joachim Murat’s French forces land at Pizzo, Italy
1955 – World’s most powerful aircraft carrier, USS Saratoga, launched
1984 – NBC premieres the TV movie “The Burning Bed,” based on Francine Hughes
1994 – Aleta Sill wins the BPAA US Women’s Bowling Open

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Famous Birthdays

1895 – Juan Perón, Argentine military officer and President of Argentina (1946-55, 73-74), born in Buenos Aires (d. 1974)
1916 – Spark Matsunaga, United States Senator from Hawaii (1977-90), born in Kukuiula, Hawaii (d. 1990)
1919 – Mac Anderson, New Zealand cricketer (played in 1st NZ-Aust Test 1946), born in Westport, West Coast, New Zealand (d. 1979)
1929 – Betty Boothroyd, English politician (1st female Speaker of the UK House of Commons 1992-2000), born in Dewsbury, England (d. 2023)
1965 – Martin Mayhew, American NFL cornerback (Tampa Bay Bucs), born in Daytona Beach, California

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Famous Deaths

1869 – Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States (Democrat: 1853-57), dies from severe cirrhosis of the liver, at 64
1904 – Gustav Ratzenhofer, Austrian sociologist and general, dies at 62
1991 – Natalia Ginzburg, Italian writer (Sounds of the Night), dies at 75
2023 – Agneta Andersson, Swedish sprint canoer (Olympic gold K-1 500 1984, K-2 500 1984, 96; World C’ship gold K-2 500 1993), dies from cancer at 62
2024 – Pat Fischer, American football cornerback (First-team All-Pro 1964, 69; Pro Bowl 1964, 65, 69; St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Redskins), dies at 84

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Historical Events

1864 – Battle of Darbytown Road, Virginia (until October 13)
1891 – British Open Men’s Golf, St Andrews: Hugh Kirkaldy wins by 2 strokes from brother Andrew Kirkaldy and Willie Fernie; last Open contested in a single day over 36 holes
1950 – US forces invade North Korea by crossing 38th parallel
1957 – KOAC TV channel 7 in Corvallis, OR (PBS) begins broadcasting
2019 – Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology awarded to Peter Ratcliffe, William Kaelin and Gregg Semenza for discovering how cells sense oxygen

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Famous Birthdays

1907 – Tutta Rolf, Norwegian actress (Whalers), born in Kristiania, Norway (d. 1994)
1936 – Charles Dutoit, Swiss conductor (Montreal Symphony, 1977-2002; Orchestre National de France. 1991-2001; Royal Philharmonic, 2009-18), born in Lausanne, Switzerland
1938 – Mal Lucas, Welsh soccer right-half who played 4 internationals; Leyton Orient FC, Norwich City FC, Torquay United FC, born in Wrexham, Wales (d. 2024)
1951 – John Mellencamp, American rock singer-songwriter (“Jack and Diane”; “Small Town”; “Pink Houses”), co-founder of Farm Aid, and actor (Falling From Grace), born in Seymour, Indiana
1967 – Toni Braxton, American RandB singer-songwriter (“Un-Break My Heart”), born in Severn, Maryland

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Famous Deaths

290 – [Christian] Sergius, Roman soldier and martyred saint, decapitated
1911 – John Hughlings Jackson, English neurologist and epilepsy researcher, dies at 76
2011 – Ramiz Alia, Communist leader and first President of Albania (1982-92), dies at 85
2016 – Johnny Gleeson, Australian cricket spin bowler (29 Tests, 93 wickets, BB 5/61; NSW CA), dies at 78
2024 – Emily “Cissy” Houston (née Drinkard), American Grammy Award-winning soul and gospel singer, and Whitney’s mother, dies of complications of Alzheimer’s disease at 91

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Historical Events

1683 – 13 Mennonite families from Germany found Germantown, Philadelphia
1912 – Pirates’ Owen “Chief” Wilson hits a record 36th triple of the season
1961 – USSR performs nuclear tests at Kapustin Yar and Novaya Zemlya, USSR
1969 – MLB American League Championship: Baltimore Orioles beat Minnesota Twins, 3 games to 0
1978 – Iraq declares Ayatollah Khomeini an undesirable person

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Famous Birthdays

1706 – Pieter Steyn, Dutch grand pensionary (1749-72), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1772)
1926 – Cyril Reuben, Welsh classical and session violinist (London Symphony), born in Splott, Cardiff, Wales (d. 1996)
1936 – Anna Quayle, British actress (A Hard Day’s Night, Stop the World – I want to Get Off), born in Birmingham, England (d. 2019)
1960 – Richard Jobson, Scottish filmmaker (New Town Killers), art-punk rock singer-songwriter (Skids – “Scared to Dance”), and TV presenter, born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland
1986 – Olivia Thirlby, American actress (Juno, Dredd), born in New York City

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Famous Deaths

1979 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (North and South, Pulitzer Prize 1956), dies of a cerebral aneurysm at 68
1981 – Anwar Sadat, 3rd President of Egypt (1970-81, Nobel 1978), assassinated by fundamentalist army officers at 62
1999 – Patrick Reilly, British diplomat, ambassador to Paris and Moscow who stopped double agent Kim Philby becoming head of the UK Secret Service, dies at 90
2006 – Puck Brouwer, Dutch athlete (b. 1930)
2009 – Douglas Campbell, Scottish born Canadian actor (b. 1922)

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Historical Events

1683 – 13 Mennonite families from Germany found Germantown, Philadelphia
1912 – Pirates’ Owen “Chief” Wilson hits a record 36th triple of the season
1961 – USSR performs nuclear tests at Kapustin Yar and Novaya Zemlya, USSR
1969 – MLB American League Championship: Baltimore Orioles beat Minnesota Twins, 3 games to 0
1978 – Iraq declares Ayatollah Khomeini an undesirable person

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1706 – Pieter Steyn, Dutch grand pensionary (1749-72), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1772)
1926 – Cyril Reuben, Welsh classical and session violinist (London Symphony), born in Splott, Cardiff, Wales (d. 1996)
1936 – Anna Quayle, British actress (A Hard Day’s Night, Stop the World – I want to Get Off), born in Birmingham, England (d. 2019)
1960 – Richard Jobson, Scottish filmmaker (New Town Killers), art-punk rock singer-songwriter (Skids – “Scared to Dance”), and TV presenter, born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland
1986 – Olivia Thirlby, American actress (Juno, Dredd), born in New York City

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1979 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (North and South, Pulitzer Prize 1956), dies of a cerebral aneurysm at 68
1981 – Anwar Sadat, 3rd President of Egypt (1970-81, Nobel 1978), assassinated by fundamentalist army officers at 62
1999 – Patrick Reilly, British diplomat, ambassador to Paris and Moscow who stopped double agent Kim Philby becoming head of the UK Secret Service, dies at 90
2006 – Puck Brouwer, Dutch athlete (b. 1930)
2009 – Douglas Campbell, Scottish born Canadian actor (b. 1922)

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