Author: gil7

Historical Events

1827 – Duke of Wellington appointed British supreme commander
1863 – Civil War skirmish near Newtown, Virginia
1937 – LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Patty Berg wins inaugural event by 3 strokes ahead of Dorothy Kirby
1972 – Section of Memphis’ Highway 51 South renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard
1983 – 10th American Music Awards: John Cougar, Rick Springfield, and Olivia Newton-John win

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1501 – Leonhard Fuchs, German physician and botanist (Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants) for which the flowering plants and color Fuchsia is named after, born in Wemding, Bavaria (d. 1566)
1905 – Franz Schmid, German climber (1st to ascend northside of Matterhorn 1931), born in Garmisch, Germany (d. 1992)
1960 – John Crawford, American bass (Berlin-You Take My Breath Away), born in Palo Alto, California
1961 – Brian Helgeland, American screenwriter (L.A. Confidential) and director (A Knight’s Tale), born in Providence, Rhode Island
1980 – Zooey Deschanel, American actress (Almost Famous; Elf; New Girl), and singer (She and Him), born in Los Angeles, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1882 – Alexander Bullock, American lawyer, politician, and 26th Governor of Massachusetts, dies at 65
1990 – Charles Hernu, French politician (Minister of Defense, 1981-85; Mayor of Villeurbanne, 1977-90), and environmental antagonist, dies at 66
1996 – Mostafa Sid Ahmed, Sudanese singer (b. 1953)
2013 – Robert F. Chew, American actor, dies from heart failure at 52
2014 – Francine Lalonde, Canadian politician (Member of Parliament for La Pointe-de-l’Île), dies of cancer at 73

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1943 – Red Army recaptures Pitomnik airport at Stalingrad
1955 – 5th NFL Pro Bowl, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 26-19; MVP: Billy Wilson, SF 49ers, WR
1977 – Cap’s H Monahan scored on 2nd penalty shot against Islanders
1989 – USSR announces plan for 2-yr manned mission to Mars
2019 – Australian Bureau of Meteorology tweets last four days were the country’s hottest on record with Tarcoola, South Australia, reaching 49 C (120 F), Port Augusta 48.5 C (119 F)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1672 – Francesco Mancini, Neapolitan composer, born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, Spanish Empire (d. 1737)
1918 – Nel Benschop, Dutch poet known for “Gouddraad uit vlas”, born in the Hague, Netherlands (d. 2005)
1947 – Georgette Mosbacher, American CEO (La Prairie cosmetics), born in Highland, Indiana
1956 – Jennifer Dale, Canadian actress (Coroner, Into Invisible Light), born in Toronto, Ontario
1962 – Paul Webb, English rocker (Talk Talk – “It’s My Life”), born in Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

484 – Seinei, 22nd Emperor of Japan according to legend (480-484), dies at about 40 (b. 444) [dates disputed]
1263 – Shinran, Japanese Buddhist monk and founder of what became the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Japanese Buddhism, dies at 89
1979 – Ted Cassidy, American actor (Lurch-Addams Family), dies at 46
1994 – Stephen Kritsick, veterinarian (Good Morning America), dies at 42
2025 – Harry Bild, Swedish soccer striker (28 caps; IFK Norrköping, Feyenoord, Östers IF), dies from cancer at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1759 – British Museum opens at Montagu House in London
1942 – US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sends his famed “Green Light Letter” to MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, encouraging baseball to continue playing during World War II
1970 – Nigerian civil war officially ends after 2 1/2 years of fighting when the Republic of Biafra disbands and joins Nigeria
1991 – Dean Jones (76) and Mark Taylor (71) lead Australia to 7 wicket win over New Zealand in cricket’s World Series Cup 2nd Final in Melbourne; win series, 2-0
2016 – American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan unveils newest exhibit replica skeleton of a Titanosaur dinosaur (found 2010 Argentina), largest known dinosaur at 70 tons, 37m

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1875 – Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, Founder and first King of Saudi Arabia (1932-53), born in Riyadh, Emirate of Nejd (d. 1953)
1888 – Joseph Henabery, American director (Cobra), born in Omaha, Nebraska (d. 1976)
1917 – Wang Renzhong, Chinese politician (First Secretary Hubei Province), born in Jing County, Hebei (d. 1992)
1923 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet, musician, singer-songwriter, and humorist (John Peel Show; King Cutler), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2006)
1981 – Howie Day, American pop-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (“Collide”), born in Bangor, Maine

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1705 – Walraad, the Young, earl of Nassau-Ottweiler/gov of Nijmegen, dies
1916 – Modest Tchaikovsky, Russian writer (b. 1850)
1978 – Jack Jackson, British trumpeter, dance band bandleader, and influential BBC disc jockey, dies at 71
2008 – Brad Renfro, American actor (The Client), dies of heroin overdose at 25
2023 – Shaye Al-Nafisah, Saudi Arabian soccer forward (32 caps; Al-Kawkab FC), dies at 60

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1932 – 1st totalisator (to record racetrack bets) in US is installed Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida
1940 – MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis gives free agency to 91 Detroit Tigers minor league players
1945 – In Greece, Communists and the British agree to a cease-fire in the struggle to control Athens (and with it Greece)
1972 – WMAU TV channel 17 in Bude, Mississippi (PBS) begins broadcasting
2019 – Spinning disk of ice 300m wide, resembling the moon, forms in the Presumpscot river, Westbrook, Maine

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1861 – Wilhelm von Polenz, German writer (Der Pfarrer von Breitendorf), born in Cunewalde, Germany (d. 1903)
1910 – Renier van der Velden, Belgian composer, born in Borgerhout, Belgium (d. 1993)
1911 – Djuanda Kartawidjaja, Indonesian teacher, engineer, and politician (11th and final Prime Minister of Indonesia, 1957-59), born in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Dutch East Indies (d. 1963)
1914 – Harold Russell, Canadian actor (Best Years of Our Life, Dogtown), born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 2002)
1935 – Lucille Wheeler, Canadian alpine skier, born in Mont-Tremblant, Canada

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1822 – Franz Innocenz Joseph Kobell, German landscape painter, dies at 72
1959 – G. D. H. Cole, English political theorist and socialist, dies at 69
1978 – Robert Heger, German conductor and composer, dies at 91
2006 – Henri Colpi, French New Wave film editor and director, dies at 84
2024 – Norm Snead, American football quarterback (Pro Bowl 1962, 63, 65, 72; NFL completion % leader 1972 NY Giants; Philadelphia Eagles), dies at 84

More Famous Deaths »