1501 – Ali-Shir Nava’i, Timurid poet and writer (Mahbub ul-Qulub) considered a founder of early Turkic literature, dies at 59
1767 – Luca Antonio Predieri, Italian composer and violinist, dies at 78
1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, English pottery designer and manufacturer (Wedgwood), dies at 64
1882 – William Harrison Ainsworth, English writer (Guy Fawkes), dies at 76
1942 – Pauline Beersmans [PLJM van Cuyck], Flemish actress, dies at 70
1967 – Jack Ruby [Jacob Rubenstein], American nightclub owner who murdered assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, dies of pulmonary embolism at 55
1976 – Mateusz Gliński, Polish conductor, musicologist (Scriabin, Chopin), composer, and pedagogue (Winsdor University), dies at 83
2011 – Fadil Hadžić, Croatian film director, dies at 88
2012 – Harold Zirin, American astronomer, dies at 82
2012 – Robert L. Carter, American civil rights activist and judge (Brown v. Board of Education, NAACP v. Alabama), dies after complications from a stroke at 94
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 3rd January 2026
1922 – First living person is depicted on a U.S. coin when Governor Thomas Kilby appears on the Alabama Centennial half dollar
1945 – Admiral Chester Nimitz begins planning assaults on Okinawa and Iwo Jima in Japan
1947 – First opening session of Congress is televised; it does not happen again until 1977
1961 – US breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba
1991 – 8 Iraqi embassy officials are expelled from the UK
1994 – 35-foot-tall Chief Wahoo, trademark of Indians on top of Stadium since 1962, is taken down, to be moved to Jacob’s Field
1998 – American “Hee Haw” banjo player Grandpa Jones suffers a stroke
2002 – College Football, 4th BCS National Championship, Rose Bowl, Pasadena: #1 Miami beats #2 Nebraska, 37-14, at 88th Rose Bowl
Today in History for 3rd January 2026
Historical Events
1911 – City of Almaty in Russian Turkestan is destroyed by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake
1920 – Boston Red Sox baseball club owner Harry Frazee announces agreement to sell slugger Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 in cash and a $350,000 loan; start of the 84 year “Curse of the Bambino”
1967 – WJAN TV channel 17 in Canton, OH (IND) begins broadcasting
1976 – Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley beats Renata Tomanova of Czechoslovakia 6-2, 6-2 for her 3rd straight home singles title
1987 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Famous Birthdays
1777 – Louis Poinsot, French mathematician and physicist (invented geometrical mechanics), born in Paris, France (d. 1859)
1870 – Henry Handel Richardson [Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson], Australian novelist (Richard Mahoney), born in East Melbourne, Australia (d. 1946)
1939 – (Gwendolyn) Dianne Brooks, American RandB, jazz, session and touring vocalist (Three Playmates – “Sugah Wooga”; solo – “Walking On My Mind”; Anne Murray), born in New Jersey (d. 2005)
1940 – Tsutomu Hanahara, Japanese freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold flyweight 1964), born in Shimonoseki, Japan (d. 2024)
1957 – Frank Dicopoulos, American actor (Frank Cooper Jr in “Guiding Light”), born in Akron, Ohio
Famous Deaths
1028 – Fujiwara Michinaga, Japanese regent (wrote world’s oldest autographic diary), dies (b. 966)
1927 – Carle David Tolmé Runge, German mathematician and physicist, dies at 70
1968 – Earl Swope, American jazz and big band trombonist (Woody Herman, Stan Getz, Jimmy Dorsey, Louie Bellson), dies at 45
1979 – Conrad Hilton, American hotel mogul (Hilton Hotels, world’s 1st international hotel chain), dies at 91
2015 – Allie Sherman, American football coach (Winnipeg Blue Bombers 1953-56 CFL; New York Giants 1961–68), dies at 91
Famous Deaths for 2nd January 2026
1918 – Sybe Kornelis Bakker, Dutch Christian socialist and reformed preacher, dies at 42
1933 – William “Kid” Gleason, American baseball utility (St. Louis Browns, NY Giants, Philadelphia Phillies) and manager (Chicago White Sox, during “Black Sox” scandal), dies from a heart condition at 66
1961 – Bob Catterall, South African cricket batsman (24 Tests, 3 x 100s, HS 120; Transvaal, Natal), dies at 60
1977 – Erroll Garner, American jazz pianist (Misty), dies at 53
1991 – Irving Johnson, American sail training pioneer and adventurer, dies at 85
1995 – Manuel Rivera, Spanish painter and co-founder (El Paso), dies at 67
2007 – Paek Nam-sun, North Korean Foreign Affairs minister, dies at 77
2007 – A. Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor, dies at 55
2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English novelist (The Cazalet Chronicles), dies at 90
2018 – Rick Hall, American record producer, songwriter, and creator of the “Muscle Shoals sound” (FAME Studio), dies of prostate cancer at 85
Historical Events for 2nd January 2026
366 – The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers and invade the Roman Empire
1958 – Dmitri Shostakovich’ 2nd Piano Concerto has US premiere, with Leonard Bernstein as soloist and conductor of the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie hall in NYCs in NY
1967 – 33rd Sugar Bowl: #6 Alabama beats #3 Nebraska, 34-7
1969 – Once influential daily sports newspaper, ‘Soviet Sport’ declares Czech super-star distance runner Emil Zatopek a “public enemy” after he supports democratic wing of the Communist Party at start of the Prague Spring
1972 – “Rothschilds” closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC after 505 performances
1989 – 75th Rose Bowl: #11 Michigan beats #5 Southern California, 22-14
1996 – 25th Fiesta Bowl: #1 Nebraska beats #2 Florida, 62-24
2022 – Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigns in a televised address amid political deadlock after a rejection of his deal with the military by pro-democracy forces
Today in History for 2nd January 2026
Historical Events
1920 – Responding to global fear of communism caused by the Russian Revolution, US Attorney General Palmer authorizes raids across the country on unionists and socialists
1923 – Ku Klux Klan surprise attack on black residential area Rosewood Florida, 8 killed (compensation awarded in 1995)
1933 – Ijmuider fishing strike begins (till July 11th)
1983 – Several African National Congress (ANC) members detained in Swaziland decide to leave the country voluntarily for Mozambique.
2019 – United States international Christian Pulisic becomes the most expensive American soccer player when he moves from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea for £57.6M ($73M); remains at Dortmund on loan until the end of the season
Famous Birthdays
1908 – Jānis Ķepītis, Latvian pianist, conductor, and composer, born in Beverīna, Latvia (d. 1989)
1937 – Imerio Massignan, Italian road cyclist (Tour de France Mountains classification 1960, 61), born in Altavilla Vicentina, Italy (d. 2024)
1964 – Pernell Whitaker, American boxer (Olympic gold 1984, 4-division world champion), born in Norfolk, Virginia (d. 2019)
1982 – Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker (Olympic gold 20k 2004), born in Preveza, Greece
1985 – Heather O’Reilly, American soccer midfielder (231 caps; FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015; Olympic gold 2004, 08, 12), born in East Brunswick, New Jersey
Famous Deaths
1973 – Joe Harriott, Jamaican-British be-bop and free-form jazz, and world-fusion alto saxophonist (Abstract; Indo-Jazz), dies of cancer at 44
1975 – Theo Osterkamp, German fighter pilot, dies at 82
1996 – Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, dies at 80
2007 – Teddy Kollek, Israeli politician (Mayor of Jerusalem), dies at 95
2020 – Grant Weatherstone, Scotland rugby union winger (16 caps; Edinburgh District), dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 1st January 2026
1907 – Cyrill Kistler, German composer, educator, and music theorist, dies at 58
1964 – Alf Hall, South African cricket fast bowler (7 Tests, 40 wickets), dies at 67
1968 – Andy Oberlander, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Dartmouth College; National C’ship 1954), dies at 62
1981 – Mauri Rose, American auto racer and three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 (1941, 1947-48), dies at 74
1994 – Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1924) and 11th governor-general of New Zealand 1967-72, dies at 93
2006 – Bryan Harvey, American musician (House of Freaks), dies at 49
2013 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, British cricket journalist and broadcaster (President MCC; BBC Radio), dies of cancer at 67
2020 – Jaap Schröder, Dutch violinist, conductor, musicologist, and pedagogue (Academy of Ancient Music), dies at 94
2021 – Mark Eden [Douglas Malin], British actor (Alan Bradley in “Coronation Street”), dies at 92
2022 – Dan Reeves, American football coach (AP NFL Coach of the Year 1993 NY Giants, 1998 Atlanta Falcons; Denver Broncos), dies from complications of dementia at 77
Historical Events for 1st January 2026
1932 – United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth
1945 – German air raid on allied airports at Eindhoven/Saint-Trond/Brussels
1962 – 28th Orange Bowl: #4 LSU beats #7 Colorado, 25-7
1963 – 29th Orange Bowl: #5 Alabama beats #8 Oklahoma, 17-0
1971 – Cigarette advertisements are banned from broadcast media in the US
1990 – 19th Fiesta Bowl: #5 Florida State beats #6 Nebraska, 41-17
1990 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) implements “SYNDEX,” granting independent stations more rights over cable TV outlets for exclusive syndicated programs
2000 – Opening of the Holy Doors of Santa Maria Maggiore by Pope John Paul II in Rome to celebrate the new millennium
Today in History for 1st January 2026
Historical Events
1954 – Rose and Cotton Bowl are 1st sport colorcasts
1993 – Blockbuster Bowl 3: Stanford beats Penn State, 24-3
1993 – 79th Rose Bowl: #7 Michigan beats #9 Washington, 38-31
2007 – Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, joining 20 other official languages
2007 – 36th Fiesta Bowl: #9 Boise State beats #7 Oklahoma, 43-42 (OT)
Famous Birthdays
766 – Ali al-Rida [Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī], 8th Imam of Twelver Shia Islam and descendant of the prophet Muhammad, born in Medina, Abbasid Caliphate (d. 818) [approximate birthdate]
1711 – Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier whose unit is considered one of the worst in European history due to insubordination and plundering, born in Reggio di Calabria (d. 1749)
1848 – John W. Goff, American lawyer and judge known for his part in the Catalpa Rescue, born in Gorey, Ireland (d. 1924)
1890 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and founder of the Anton Melik Geographical Institute (The Geography of Slovenia), born in Črna Vas, Austrio-Hungarian Empire (d. 1966)
1970 – Gabriel Jarret, American actor (Real Genius, Apollo 13), born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1957 – Seán South, Irish Republican Army volunteer, killed during the Brookeborough Raid, at 28
1994 – Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1924) and 11th governor-general of New Zealand 1967-72, dies at 93
1996 – Orapin Chaiyakan, first Thai woman elected to the Parliament of Thailand, dies at 91
2006 – Dawn Lake, Australian TV comedienne, dies at 78
2015 – Jeff Golub, American jazz guitarist (Avenue Blue; Rod Stewart), dies of a rare brain disease at 59
Famous Deaths for 31st December 2025
1679 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (b. 1608)
1799 – Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and writer, dies at 76
1818 – Jean-Pierre Duport, French composer and cellist, dies at 77
1872 – Aleksis Kivi, Finnish writer and poet (Kanervala), dies at 38
1921 – József Kiss, Hungarian literary (Zsido Dalok), dies at 78
1941 – Sigwart Aspestrand, Norwegian composer, dies at 85
1964 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic Prime Minister (5 times between 1942-63), dies at 72
1997 – Floyd Cramer, American Country Music Hall of Fame pianist (“Last Date”, “On the Rebound”), dies of cancer at 64
2007 – Ettore Sottsass, Italian architect, industrial engineer, furniture and product designer, dies at 90
2022 – Benedict XVI [Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger], German Catholic Pope (2005-13), dies at 95