Author: gil7

Historical Events

1898 – First automobile speed record set of 63 kph (39 mph) by French Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat of Paris
1968 – Musical-fantasy film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, co-written by Roald Dahl and director Ken Hughes, starring Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes, with songs by Sherman and Sherman, premieres in NYC
1969 – “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, 6th James Bond Film starring George Lazenby and Diana Rigg, premieres in London
1979 – Stuntman Stanley Barrett unofficially breaks the land speed record and the sound barrier in his three-wheeled vehicle the Budweiser Rocket (739.666 mph or Mach 1.01). The speed was never officially recorded and the attempt remains controversial.
2018 – Nevada becomes the first US state with a female-majority legislature with new appointments taking it to 51%

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1927 – Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (1995-99), born in Memramcook, New Brunswick (d. 2009)
1939 – Sandro Lopopolo Italian lightweight boxer (Olympic-Silver-1960), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2014)
1963 – Karl Dorrell, American football coach, born in Alameda, California
1972 – Lawrence Wong, Singapore economist and politician, Prime Minister (2024-), born in Singapore
2001 – Billie Eilish, American Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?), born in Los Angeles, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1633 – Theodoor Galle, Flemish engraver, buried at 62
1832 – Philip Freneau, American poet of the American Revolution (The American Village), dies at 80
1990 – Paul Tortelier, French concert cellist, composer, and teacher, dies at 76
2002 – Wayne Owens, former U.S. Congressman (D-Utah) (b. 1937)
2007 – Jack Linkletter, American TV host (Haggis Baggis, Hootenanny), dies at 70

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

283 – St. Caius begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1843 – Henry Cole, founder of London’s VandA Museum, commissions printing of the 1st Christmas card
1914 – Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv by Turkish authorities
1991 – Pittsburgh Penguins score team record 8 goals in one period in 2nd session of 10-2 win over NHL expansion San Jose Sharks
2019 – Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf sentenced to death in absentia for high treason

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1869 – Nikolai Ivanovich Kazanli, Russian composer, born in Tiraspol, Russian Empire (d. 1916)
1893 – Erwin Piscator, German stage director (Der Stellvertreter), born in Greifenstein-Ulm, German Empire (d. 1966)
1903 – Ray Noble, English jazz bandleader, songwriter (“The Very Thought of You”; “Goodnight, Sweetheart”), composer, and actor, born in Brighton, Sussex, England (d. 1978)
1914 – Syed Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (prolific batsman of 30’s and 40’s), born in Indore, British India (d. 2005)
1923 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian of Christianity, born in Arkon, Ohio(d. 2006)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1962 – Thomas Mitchell, American Academy Award-winning actor (Gone With The Wind; High Noon), dies of bone cancer at 70
1962 – Carl Diem, German sports executive (Sec Gen Organising Committee 1936 Berlin Olympics; creator Olympic torch relay), dies at 80
1982 – Big Joe Williams, American Delta blues singer-songwriter, and nine-string guitarist (“Baby, Please Don’t Go”), dies at 79
2006 – Larry Sherry, American baseball pitcher (World Series MVP 1959, LA Dodgers), dies at 71
2022 – Manuel Muñoz, Chilean soccer striker (26 caps; CSD Colo-Colo), dies at 94

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1877 – Anton Bruckner reluctantly steps in to conduct the premiere of his “Symphony No. 3,” dedicated to Richard Wagner; it is a critical disaster and undergoes many revisions
1923 – National Football League Championship: undefeated Canton Bulldogs (11-0-1) repeat as champions
1962 – Nepal establishes its constitution and becomes a Constitutional Hindu Monarchy
1990 – Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected President of Haiti
1993 – Jule Styne, Norman and Bob Merrill’s musical “Red Shoes”, based on the 1948 film, opens at Gershwin Theater, NYC; runs for 5 performances

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1915 – Georgy Sviridov, Soviet Russian neo-romantic composer (The Blizzard; Time; Forward!), born in Fatezh, Kursk Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1998)
1944 – N!xau [ǂToma], Namibian farmer and actor (The Gods Must Be Crazy), born in Tsumkwe, Namibia (d. 2007)
1946 – Adriaan van Dis, Dutch author (Promised Country), born in Bergen aan Zee, Netherlands
1971 – Laurence Cottle, Welsh session rock, jazz, and jazz-fusion bass guitarist and composer (Earthworks; Alan Parsons Project; Black Sabbath), born in Swansea, Wales
1979 – Trevor Immelman, South African golfer (US Masters 2008), born in Cape Town, Western Cape

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

882 – John VIII, Italian Pope (872-82), dies
1921 – Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer (Samson et Dalila; Organ Symphony), dies of a heart attack at 86
1984 – Debs Garms, American baseball utility (World Series 1944 St. Louis Cardinals; NL batting champion 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 77
2006 – Taliep Petersen, South African singer and composer (b. 1950)
2020 – Kálmán Sóvári, Hungarian soccer defender (17 caps; Újpesti Dózsa, VM Egyetértés), dies at 79

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1930 – Occasional leg-spin bowler Don Bradman takes his 1st of only 2 Test cricket wickets when he traps West Indian batsman Ivan Barrow lbw for 27 in the 1st Test in Adelaide
1984 – USSR launches Vega 1 for rendezvous with Halley’s Comet
2011 – ESPN and the NCAA extend their TV rights deal through 2023-24, giving the network worldwide multi-media rights to 24 NCAA championships for various sports; deal worth $500m
2015 – 1,000 schools closed in Los Angeles after a email threat, supposedly from jihadists
2019 – Raiders play their final NFL game in Oakland conceding 17 unanswered 2nd half points to go down 20-16 to the Jacksonville Jaguars; team to play out of Las Vegas in 2020

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

130 – Lucius Verus, Roman emperor, born in Rome, Italy (d. 169)
1925 – Jack Rothstein, British concert violinist (London Czech Trio), conductor (Viennese Orchestra of London), and session player (The Beatles – “I Am the Walrus”; “Within You Without You”; Paul McCartney – “Here Today”), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 2001)
1938 – Bob Foster, American boxer (world light-heavyweight champion 1968-74), born in Lubbock, Texas (d. 2015)
1939 – Dave Clark, British rock drummer, singer-songwriter, and producer (Dave Clark Five – “Glad All Over”), born in Tottenham, Middlesex, England
1948 – David Gwillim, English actor (Island at Top of the World), born in Plymouth, Devon, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1924 – T. Frank Appleby, American politician (U.S. House of Representatives – (R) New Jersey, 1921-23), dies at 60
1947 – George L. Funke, Dutch botanist (Flower Physiology), dies after an operation at 50
1994 – Hans de Jong, Dutch conductor (De Damrakkertjes; Amsterdams Vrouwenkoor), dies at 86
2001 – Russ Haas, American professional wrestler, dies of a heart attack at 27
2003 – Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey defenseman (NHL All Star 1971, 72; Chicago Black Hawks), dies in a motor vehicle accident at 56

More Famous Deaths »