1908 – Alexander P. Stewart, American Lieutenant General (Confederate Army), dies at 86
1934 – Earnest L. Wolzogen, German writer (That tolle Komtess), dies at 79
1950 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh garden designer (Rockefeller Center), dies at 57
1961 – Charles Coburn, American actor (Around the World in 80 Days, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), dies at 84
1991 – Alan Wheatley, British actor (The Adventures of Robin Hood), dies from a heart attack at 84
1994 – Lindsay Anderson, British director (Thursday’s Children; If …), dies at 71
1995 – Sterling Morrison, American musician (Velvet Underground), dies at 53
2002 – J. Lee Thompson, English film director (b. 1914)
2013 – Lotfollah “Lotfi” Mansouri, Persian opera director (Canadian Opera Company, 1976-88; introduced opera surtitles, 1983; San Francisco Opera, 1988-2001), dies at 84
2024 – Shridath Ramphal, Guyanese politician, Foreign Minister of Guyana (1972-75) and Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-90), dies at 95
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 30th August 2025
1751 – George Frideric Handel completes oratorio “Jephtha”
1888 – Lord Walsingham kills 1,070 grouse in a single day
1933 – Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar forms the secret police (PIDE)
1945 – Hong Kong is liberated from Japanese control
1966 – American medical drama series “Dr. Kildare,” starring Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey, ends a five-season run on NBC-TV
1976 – Tom Brokaw starts as news anchor of NBC’s “The Today Show”
1984 – Red Sox’s Jim Rice grounds into a record 33rd double play en route to 36
1987 – Ben Johnson of Canada runs the 100 m in a world record time of 9.83 seconds
Today in History for 30th August 2025
Historical Events
1904 – American runner Thomas Hicks wins the marathon gold medal with a time of 3:28:53 over a 40 km course at the St. Louis Olympics
1926 – Jack Hobbs scores 316 not out at Lord’s (Surrey vs. Middlesex)
1949 – WTVN (now WSYX) TV channel 6 in Columbus, OH (ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 – White mob prevents enrollment of Black students at Mansfield High School, Texas
1991 – Mike Powell of the US sets a long jump record of 29 ft 4½ in (8.95 m)
Famous Birthdays
1902 – Arnold Maria Walter, Canadian composer, born in Hanušovice, Moravia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1973)
1912 – Edward Mills Purcell, American physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics 1952 for nuclear magnetic resonance), born in Taylorville, Illinois (d. 1997)
1922 – Regina Resnik, American mezzo-soprano (Sieglinde-Bayreuth), born in New York City (d. 2013)
1927 – Geoffrey Beene, American fashion designer (8 Coty Awards), born in Haynesville, Louisiana (d. 2004)
1976 – Mike Koplove, American baseball player (Team USA 2008), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Famous Deaths
1181 – Alexander III [Orlando Bandinelli], Italian Pope (1159-81), dies
1999 – Raymond Poïvet, French cartoonist, dies at 89
2005 – Andor Kovach, Romanian composer (Médée), dies at 90
2022 – Gheorghe Berceanu, Romanian Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold light-flyweight 1972, silver 1976; World C’ship gold 1969, 72), dies at 72
2023 – Gennady Sapunov, Russian Greco-Roman wrestler (World C’ship gold lightweight 1963, 65; silver 1966) and coach (Soviet GR wrestling team 1979-90), dies at 84
Famous Deaths for 29th August 2025
1584 – Pedro Ponce de León, Spanish Benedictine monk considered “the first teacher for the deaf”, dies at about 64
1780 – Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect, designed the Panthéon in Paris, dies at 67
1941 – Henri Louis, French officer/resistance fighter, executed at 40
1957 – Louis Diat, French-American chef (Ritz-Carlton Hotel NYC, 1910-51), culinary writer and cookbook author, credited with inventing vichyssoise soup, dies at 72
1981 – Lowell Thomas, American newscaster (High Adventure), dies in Pawling, NY at 89
1990 – Sandy, dog in the play Annie, dies at 16
1991 – Kathryn Cravens, American early news correspondent, dies at 92
1991 – Dixie Dunbar [Charlotte King], American singer and actress, dies of a heart attack at 72
2002 – Paul Tripp, American TV host (Mr I Magination), songwriter (Tubby the Tuba), and children’s book writer (Rabbi Santa Claus), dies at 91
2021 – Ron Bushy, American rock drummer (Iron Butterfly – “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”), dies of esophageal cancer at 79
Historical Events for 29th August 2025
1910 – Japan changes Korea’s name to Chōsen and appoints a governor-general to rule its new colony
1914 – Arizonian is the first vessel to arrive in San Francisco via the Panama Canal
1916 – Congress creates US Naval Reserve
1950 – International Olympic Committee votes to admit West Germany and Japan in 1952
1960 – Italy wins the cycling team pursuit, and Sante Gaiardoni takes the sprint gold medal at the Rome Olympics; Italy wins all four track events and the road team time trial to thoroughly dominate the sport
1992 – Braves’ Charlie Leibrandt records his 1,000th strikeout. He decides to keep the ball by rolling it to the dugout, allowing Ricky Jordan to take second base on an error
1992 – Irish rock band U2 plays the first of two sold-out nights at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NYC
2003 – Skype Technologies releases its pioneering video-conferencing software
Today in History for 29th August 2025
Historical Events
1756 – Frederick II of Prussia leads an Anglo-Prussian alliance into Saxony, beginning the Seven Years’ War
1862 – US Bureau of Engraving and Printing begins operation
1932 – United Cigar Stores shuts 800 shops
2003 – Skype Technologies releases its pioneering video-conferencing software
2013 – Actor Gary Sinise is named an honorary Marine by the Commandant of the Marine Corps
Famous Birthdays
1891 – Michael Chekhov, Russian-American actor (Abie’s Irish Rose, Rhapsody), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1955)
1905 – Lan Adomián, Russian-American-Mexican composer, and Spanish Civil War fighter (Lincoln Brigade), born in Moghiler-Podolsk, Russia (d. 1979)
1915 – Nathan Pritikin, American nutritionist and inventor, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1985)
1920 – Charles White, American actor (Airport 95, Serpico), born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey (d. 2005)
1928 – Charles Gray, British actor (Clay-Rawhide, Diamonds Are Forever, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), born in Bournemouth, Hampshire (d. 2000)
Famous Deaths
1093 – Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1057)
1910 – Johan Eilerts de Haan, Dutch naval officer and explorer (Lucie River, Suriname), dies, likely due to malaria, at 44
1960 – Hazza el-Majali, Prime Minister of Jordan is assassinated
1975 – Éamon de Valera, Irish republican politician and President of Ireland (1937-48, 51-54, 57-59), dies at 92
2016 – Gene Wilder [Jerome Silberman], American actor (Blazing Saddles; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Silver Streak; Young Frankenstein), dies at 83
Famous Deaths for 28th August 2025
430 – Augustine of Hippo, North African saint and theologian (Belijdenissen), dies at 75
1818 – Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, trader, founder of Chicago, dies
1820 – Andrew Ellicott, American surveyor of the District of Columbia and site of Washington D.C., dies at 66
1927 – Li Dazhao [Ta-chao], Chinese intellectual, revolutionary and co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party with Chen Duxiu, executed as a political prisoner at 37
1971 – Nathan Leopold, US kidnapper and murderer of Bobby Franks (1924), dies at 66
1982 – Nini de Boël, Flemish operetta singer (White Horse), dies at 84
1988 – Paul Whitelaw, New Zealand cricket batsman (2 Tests; Auckland), dies at 78
1994 – Jean-Marie Vincent, Haitian pater, murdered
2007 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American Academy Award-winning stage and screen singer and actress (Sayonara; Flower Drum Song; Courtship of Eddie’s Father – “Mrs. Livingston”), dies of cancer at 78
2024 – (Herman) “Pete” Wade, American country and pop session guitarist (Nashville A-Team; Lynn Anderson – “Rose Garden”; Crystal Gayle – “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”), dies of complications after hip surgery at 89
Historical Events for 28th August 2025
1922 – WEAF in New York City airs the first radio commercial for Queensboro Realty, costing $100 for 10 minutes
1955 – Chicago Black teenager Emmett Till is kidnapped, beaten, and shot dead by white men in Money, Mississippi; his killers are eventually acquitted, but the case helps ignite the US civil rights movement.
1967 – WCBS-AM (880) radio in NYC begins its all-news format; the AM station is knocked off the air just beforehand, moving the debut to the FM sister station (101.1)
1980 – First use of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine to scan the human body at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Scotland
1982 – The USSR performs an underground nuclear test
2017 – Matt Vogel debuts as the voice of Kermit the Frog in the “Muppet Thought of the Week” video
2017 – Investigation into German nurse Niels Högel, serving a life sentence for killing two patients, concludes he probably killed 86 more
2022 – Pakistan appeals for international aid as the death toll from monsoon rains and floods rises to over 1,000 people
Today in History for 28th August 2025
Historical Events
1859 – A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of the USA, Europe, and even as far afield as Japan
1884 – MLB pitcher Mickey Welch sets a record for most consecutive batters struck out to begin a game, striking out the first nine men he faces
1942 – Swedish runner Gunder Hägg sets a world record of 8:01.2 in the 3000 m
1950 – Earle and Roy Mack purchase 54% of the Philadelphia A’s from Connie Mack Jr.
1986 – Bolivian President Víctor Paz Estenssoro calls a state of siege
Famous Birthdays
1829 – Albert Dietrich, German composer and conductor, born in Meissen, Kingdom of Saxony (d. 1908)
1952 – Guy Nadon, Canadian actor (L’ange gardien), born in Montréal, Québec
1961 – Jennifer Coolidge, American actress and comedian (Legally Blonde film series; Christopher Guest films), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1965 – Satoshi Tajiri, Japanese video game designer (Game Freak, creator of the Pokémon franchise), born in Setagaya, Japan
1982 – (Margaret) LeAnn Rimes [Cibrian], American country singer (“Blue”; “How Do I Live”), born in Jackson, Mississippi
Famous Deaths
1677 – Wallerant Vaillant, French painter and engraver, dies at 54
1963 – Bernard Silver, American co-inventor of the barcode, dies of leukemia at 38
1978 – Bruce Catton, American historian and writer (Civil War), dies at 78
1987 – John Huston, US/Irish actor and director (Maltese Falcon), dies at 81
2024 – (Herman) “Pete” Wade, American country and pop session guitarist (Nashville A-Team; Lynn Anderson – “Rose Garden”; Crystal Gayle – “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”), dies of complications after hip surgery at 89
Famous Deaths for 27th August 2025
1394 – Chōkei, 98th Emperor of Japan (1368-83), dies at 50 or 51 (b. 1343)
1590 – Pope Sixtus V [Felice Piergentile], Pope of the Catholic Church (1585-90), dies at 68
1758 – Barbara of Portugal [Maria Madalena Bárbara Xavier Leonor Teresa Antónia Josefa], Queen of Spain, dies at 46
1875 – William Chapman Ralston, American banker (b. 1826)
1887 – Wilhelm Volckmar, German organ virtuoso, composer, and teacher, dies at 74
1898 – John Hopkinson, British physicist and electrical engineer (Hopkinson’s Law), dies with three of his children in a mountaineering accident in the Pennine Alps, Switzerland at 49
1948 – Oley Speaks, American composer (On the Road to Mandalay), dies at 74
1979 – Bolesław Szabelski, Polish organist and composer, dies at 82
1983 – William Hitzig, Austrian Maxwell physician, dies at 78
2001 – Abu Ali Mustafa, leader of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (assassinated) (b. 1938)