1914 – Russia invades East Prussia
1926 – George S. Kaufman and Irving Berlin’s musical “The Cocoanuts,” starring the Marx Brothers, closes at the Lyric Theatre, NYC, after 276 performances and is later adapted as a film
1936 – Twenty-two nations line up as the first basketball competition in the Olympic Games begins in Berlin; Estonia beats France 34-29 in the first game
1944 – Anton de Kom is arrested as a Surinamese resistance fighter
1960 – Students stage kneel-in demonstrations in Atlanta churches
1992 – Taking advantage of six months of training on their hometown Terrassa pitch, Spain wins its first hockey gold medal by beating Germany 2-1 in the women’s final at the Barcelona Olympics
1992 – The Orlando Magic signs NBA No. 1 draft pick Shaquille O’Neal
2021 – Kevin Durant, with 29 points, leads the USA to his third and the team’s fourth consecutive Olympic men’s basketball gold medal with an 87-82 win over France in Tokyo
Author: gil7
Today in History for 7th August 2025
Historical Events
626 – Battle at Constantinople: Slavic, Persians and Avar siege of Constantinople fails, keeping the Byzantine Empire intact
1900 – Diamond workers in Amsterdam strike
1930 – Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s Liberal Party loses the election to Richard Bedford Bennett of the Conservative Party
2008 – Russo-Georgian War: Georgia moves troops into the Russian-supported self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia in response to aggression; first European war of the 21st century
2012 – Heavy rain forces 20,000 people to flee their homes in Manila, Philippines
Famous Birthdays
1844 – Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist and petrologist, born in Paris (d. 1911)
1872 – Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff, Dutch politician (Governor-General of Dutch East Indies 1926-31), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1957)
1973 – Kevin Muscat, Australian soccer defender (Olyroos, Olympics 1996), born in Crawley, United Kingdom
1976 – Cathy Park Hong, American Korean poet (Dance Dance Revolution), born in Los Angeles, California
1977 – Samantha Ronson, British DJ, born in Camden, London
Famous Deaths
1821 – Caroline of Brunswick, Queen Consort of King George IV (1820-21), dies at 53
1942 – Richard Gott, British general (commandant of 8th Army), dies in battle at 43
1970 – Jonathan Jackson, US African American activist, shot dead in a shootout at 17
2004 – Red Adair, American oil field firefighter, dies at 89
2023 – DJ Casper [William Perry Jr.], American club DJ and songwriter (“Cha Cha Slide”), dies of cancer at 58
Famous Deaths for 6th August 2025
1657 – Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Polish-Lithuanian military leader of Zaporozhian Cossacks (organized rebellion of Ukrainian Cossacks against the Polish), dies (b. c. 1595)
1821 – Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni, Italian composer and conductor, dies at 64
1828 – Konstantin von Benckendorff, Russian general and statesman, dies of a fever at 43
1881 – James Springer White, American theologian (co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church), dies at 60
1900 – Wilhelm Liebknecht, German socialist (Social Democratic Party), dies at 74
1946 – Benny Lynch, Scottish boxer (World flyweight title 1937-38), dies of malnutrition-induced respiratory failure at 33
1996 – Muhammad al-Badr, magnate of Northern Yemen (1962), dies
2012 – Robert Hughes, Australian art critic and writer (Barcelona), dies at 74
2016 – Helen Delich Bentley, American politician (Rep-R-MD, 1985-950), dies at 92
2023 – David LaFlamme, American electric rock violinist (It’s A Beautiful Day – “White Bird”), dies at 82
Historical Events for 6th August 2025
1675 – Russian Tsar Alexis bans foreign hair styles for those below the nobility
1921 – The municipal ferry system connecting Clason Point, Bronx to College Point, Queens begins
1937 – MLB overturns New York Yankees’ 7-6 win over Cleveland Indians due to umpire error
1956 – After going bankrupt in 1955, the American national broadcaster DuMont Television Network airs its final broadcast, a boxing match from St. Nicholas Arena
1994 – Algerian Muslim fundamentalists threaten schools and universities
2015 – American comedian Jon Stewart hosts late-night talk and satirical news program “The Daily Show” for the last time
2019 – Lawyer representing 800 boy scouts identify 350 sex abusers within Boy Scouts of America saying, “It’s the largest paedophile ring on earth”
2023 – Train derailment in Nawabshah, Sindh province, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and injures more than 60
Today in History for 6th August 2025
Historical Events
1917 – WWI: Battle of Mărăşeşti between the Romanian and German armies begins
1948 – Dutch super athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen wins the 200 m in 24.4 seconds at the London Olympics, becoming the first woman to claim three individual track and field gold medals at a Games, having already won the 100 m and 80 m hurdles
1965 – 32nd NFL Chicago College All-Star Game at Soldier Field: Cleveland 24, All-Stars 16 (68,000 attendees)
1974 – Explosion and fire destroy Great Northern Railroad yard in Wenatchee, Washington
2015 – Eqyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi inaugurates the Suez Canal Expansion at a ceremony in Ismaïlia
Famous Birthdays
1738 – Hayashi Shihei, Japanese military scholar, born in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan (d. 1793)
1942 – George Jung [Boston George], American drug trafficker whose story was portrayed in the biopic “Blow”, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2021)
1943 – Ray Buktenica, Greenwich Village actor (Rhoda, House Calls), born in New York City
1953 – Pat MacDonald, American rock singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Timbuk 3 – “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”), born in Green Bay, Wisconsin
1963 – Charles Ingram, English former British Army major known for cheating on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, born in Derbyshire, England
Famous Deaths
1272 – Stephen V, King of Hungary and Croatia (1270-72), son of Béla IV, dies at 32 or 33
1928 – W. H. Grattan Flood, Irish author and composer, dies at 68
1996 – Richard M. Goodwin, American mathematician and economist (The Dynamics of A Capitalist Economy), dies at 83
2009 – Bahadır Akkuzu, Turkish rock guitarist and singer (Kurtalan Ekspres), dies of a heart attack at 54
2022 – David Muse, American rock and smooth jazz saxophonist and flutist (Firefall – “You Are The Woman”; Marshall Tucker Band), dies of cancer at 73
Today in History for 6th August 2025
Historical Events
1917 – WWI: Battle of Mărăşeşti between the Romanian and German armies begins
1948 – Dutch super athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen wins the 200 m in 24.4 seconds at the London Olympics, becoming the first woman to claim three individual track and field gold medals at a Games, having already won the 100 m and 80 m hurdles
1965 – 32nd NFL Chicago College All-Star Game at Soldier Field: Cleveland 24, All-Stars 16 (68,000 attendees)
1974 – Explosion and fire destroy Great Northern Railroad yard in Wenatchee, Washington
2015 – Eqyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi inaugurates the Suez Canal Expansion at a ceremony in Ismaïlia
Famous Birthdays
1738 – Hayashi Shihei, Japanese military scholar, born in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan (d. 1793)
1942 – George Jung [Boston George], American drug trafficker whose story was portrayed in the biopic “Blow”, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2021)
1943 – Ray Buktenica, Greenwich Village actor (Rhoda, House Calls), born in New York City
1953 – Pat MacDonald, American rock singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Timbuk 3 – “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”), born in Green Bay, Wisconsin
1963 – Charles Ingram, English former British Army major known for cheating on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, born in Derbyshire, England
Famous Deaths
1272 – Stephen V, King of Hungary and Croatia (1270-72), son of Béla IV, dies at 32 or 33
1928 – W. H. Grattan Flood, Irish author and composer, dies at 68
1996 – Richard M. Goodwin, American mathematician and economist (The Dynamics of A Capitalist Economy), dies at 83
2009 – Bahadır Akkuzu, Turkish rock guitarist and singer (Kurtalan Ekspres), dies of a heart attack at 54
2022 – David Muse, American rock and smooth jazz saxophonist and flutist (Firefall – “You Are The Woman”; Marshall Tucker Band), dies of cancer at 73
Famous Deaths for 5th August 2025
1778 – Thomas Linley the younger, English violinist and composer known as the “English Mozart”, drowns in a boating accident at 22
1799 – Richard Howe, British admiral, dies at 73
1895 – Friedrich Engels, German social philosopher and revolutionary socialist who co-authored “The Communist Manifesto” with Karl Marx, dies of throat cancer at 74
1922 – Tommy McCarthy, American Baseball HOF outfielder (Boston Beaneaters, Philadelphia Quakers, St. Louis Browns), dies from cancer at 59
1931 – Ullrich Haupt, Prussian actor (Morocco, Du Barry-Woman of Passion), accidentally shot at 43
1977 – Charles Carson, British actor (Cry the Beloved Country), dies at 91
1980 – Harold Runnels, American politician (b. 1924)
1987 – Zygmunt Mycielski, Polish composer, music writer and editor (Ruch Muzyczny, 1957-68), dies at 79
1996 – Frank Marcus, German playwright and critic, dies at 68
2014 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, 11th US Surgeon General (1969-73), dies at 87
Historical Events for 5th August 2025
1435 – Battle of Ponza: King Alfonso V of Aragon is captured by the Genoese
1862 – Union forces prevent Confederate attempts to capture Baton Rouge, Louisiana
1926 – French and German trade agreement is signed
1974 – US President Richard Nixon admits he withheld information about Watergate break-in
1985 – Establishment of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is announced
1989 – General elections are held in Nicaragua; Sandinista Front wins a majority
2019 – Indian government announces it is changing the status of Indian-controlled Kashmir from a state to a union territory, revoking Article 370 in response to security concerns
2024 – British graffiti artist Banksy begins a series of animal artworks around London with a goat near Kew Bridge
Today in History for 5th August 2025
Historical Events
1763 – Pontiac’s War: Battle of Bushy Run – British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Native American forces at Bushy Run
1957 – Comic strip “Andy Capp” makes its debut
1983 – American rock singer David Crosby sentenced to 5 years in Texas state prison on drug and weapons convictions
1989 – First-ever tie in harness racing’s Hambletonian as Park Avenue Joe and Probe tie the third and final heat; Park Avenue Joe wins the series on a countback
1997 – Ramzi Yousef, the Pakistani mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, goes on trial in New York; he is eventually found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 240 years
Famous Birthdays
1301 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, son of King Edward I, beheaded for plotting against King Edward III, born in Woodstock, Oxfordshire (d. 1330)
1822 – Johann Georg Herzog, German composer and organist, born in Hummendorf, Kingdom of Bavaria (d. 1909)
1935 – John Saxon, American actor (Bees, Nightmare on Elm St, Electric Horseman), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2020)
1968 – Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Japanese professional wrestler better known as “Kendo Kashin”, born in Japan
1981 – Erik Guay, Canadian alpine skier, born in Montreal, Quebec
Famous Deaths
1678 – Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican musician and composer, dies at 59
1931 – Ullrich Haupt, Prussian actor (Morocco, Du Barry-Woman of Passion), accidentally shot at 43
1983 – Judy Canova, American comedian and actress (Cannonball), dies of cancer at 66
2005 – Polina Astakhova, Soviet-Ukrainian gymnast (5 Olympic gold 1956, 60, 64), dies at 68
2023 – (Russell) “Rusty” Richards, American cowboy singer, yodeler, songwriter (Sons of the Pioneers, 1963-84), actor and film stuntman, dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 4th August 2025
1578 – Thomas Stuckley, English adventurer and mercenary, killed at the Battle of Three Kings in Morocco
1612 – Hugh Broughton, English scholar (b. 1549)
1718 – René Lepage de Ste-Claire, lord-founder of the town of Rimouski, in New France, dies at 62
1778 – Pierre de Rigaud, Canadian-born French Governor of New France, dies at 79
1795 – Timothy Ruggles, American leading Tory politician who supported the British during the American Revolutionary War, dies at 83
1958 – Ethel Anderson, Australian poet, essayist, novelist, and painter, dies at 75
1997 – Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian, oldest verified person in history (born 1875), dies at 122 years, 164 days
2011 – Mark Duggan is shot by police in London at 29, sparking widespread riots
2021 – David Haddon Whitaker, British publisher (Whitaker’s Almanack; Bookseller), and proponent of Standard Book Numbering (SBN) system, dies at 90
2021 – Graham McRae, New Zealand auto racer (Tasman Formula 5000 Series 1971, 72, 73; LandM Continental 5000 C’ship 1972), dies at 81