1914 – US declares neutrality on the outbreak of WWI
1936 – Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas leads a self-coup, giving him authoritarian control of the country
1941 – Winston Churchill departs on the Prince of Wales to the US
1942 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Cairo, Egypt
1948 – Five-day Southern States filibuster succeeds in maintaining America’s poll tax
1957 – Argentine Maserati driver Juan Manuel Fangio clinches his record fifth F1 World Drivers’ Championship (fourth consecutive) by winning the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring
1994 – 27th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Hyatt Regency
1996 – Jim Bunning, Earl Weaver, Bill Foster, and Ned Hanlon are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
Author: gil7
Today in History for 4th August 2025
Historical Events
1558 – The first printing of the Zohar in Spain popularizes the Jewish study of Kabbalah
1777 – Retired British cavalry officer Philip Astley establishes his riding school with performances in London, a precursor to the circus
1897 – Henry A. Rucker is appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for Georgia
1941 – Winston Churchill departs on the Prince of Wales to the US
2015 – Muppets Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog announce the end of their relationship on Twitter
Famous Birthdays
1900 – Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, British consort of King George VI and Queen Mother after his death, born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England (d. 2002)
1900 – Nabi Tajima, 2nd oldest Japanese supercentenarian and the last living person certified to have been born in the 19th century, born in Kikaijima, Japan
1901 – Louis Armstrong, American jazz trumpeter and singer (“Hello, Dolly!”; “What A Wonderful World”), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1971)
1904 – Helen Kane [Schroeder], American actress (Heads Up, Pointed Heels), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 1966)
1910 – William Schuman, American composer (Pulitzer Prize, 1943), and administrator (Juilliard, 1945-61; Lincoln Center, 1961-68), born in New York City (d. 1992)
Famous Deaths
1938 – Pearl White, American actress/stunt woman (Perils of Pauline), dies at 49
1981 – Melvyn Douglas [Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg], American actor (Hud, Being There, Ghost Story), dies at 80
1984 – Edmond Ryan, actor (Human Monster), dies at 79 of a heart attack
2003 – Frederick Chapman Robbins, American pediatrician and virologist and Nobel Prize laureate 1954, dies at 86
2019 – Bob Wilber, American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader (The World’s Greatest Jazz Band), dies at 91
Famous Deaths for 3rd August 2025
1879 – Joseph Severn, English painter (b. 1793)
1942 – Richard Willstätter, German chemist (Nobel 1915), dies at 69
1944 – Felka Platek, Polish painter, wife of painter Felix Nussbaum, murdered at in Auschwitz Concentration Camp at 44
1947 – Vic Willis, American Baseball HOF pitcher (no-hitter 1899; World Series 1909; MLB ERA leader 1899 and strikeout leader 1902; Boston Beaneaters, Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 71
1948 – Tommy Ryan, American boxer (World Welterweight, Middleweight champion), dies at 78
1958 – Peter Collins, English auto racer (British GP 1958), dies in race accident at German GP at 26
1994 – Innokenti Smoktunovski, Russian actor (Hamlet), dies at 69
2000 – Michael Meyer, English novelist and translator, dies at 79
2019 – Mike Troy, American swimmer (Olympics 2 x gold 200m butterfly, 4×200m freestyle relay 1960), dies at 78
2021 – Jocelyne Bourassa, Canadian golfer (LPGA Rookie of the Year 1972; Canadian Open 1973), dies at 74
Historical Events for 3rd August 2025
1933 – Philadelphia A’s defeat NY Yankees 7-0, the first time in 308 games “Bronx Bombers” are shut out
1949 – Republic of Indonesia proclaims ceasefire
1954 – The Convair XFY-1 Pogo, a VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft, makes its first successful flight
1972 – British Prime Minister Edward Heath proclaims an emergency crisis due to a dock strike
1989 – Lawrence Delisle drives his four kids into a river
1994 – 102.4°F (39.1°C) in Tokyo, Japan (record)
1997 – Manchester United defeats Chelsea 4-2 on penalties to win the Charity Shield after a bad-tempered 1-1 draw at Wembley
2023 – Forty-one migrants form Ivory Coast and Guinea drown and just four survive after their boat capsizes off Italian island of Lampedusa
Today in History for 3rd August 2025
Historical Events
1941 – German troops conquer Roslavl in Russia
1946 – Belgian government of Huysmans forms
1956 – American sprinter Willie Williams sets a 100 m world record at 10.1 in Berlin, Germany
1963 – Warner Bros. Records releases the single of Allan Sherman’s novelty song “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp),” set to the music of Amilcare Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours” from his 1876 opera “La Gioconda”
2024 – American swimmer Katie Ledecky ties Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina as the most decorated female Olympian of all time when she wins her fourth consecutive 800m in Paris, her ninth individual gold medal
Famous Birthdays
1878 – Constantino Gaito, Argentinian composer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1945)
1885 – Siegfried Salomon, Danish composer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1962)
1924 – (Elizabeth) “Connie” Converse, American folk singer-songwriter, born in Laconia, New Hampshire (disappeared 1974)
1937 – Duncan Sharpe, Pakistani cricketer (3 Tests for Pakistan 1959-60), born in Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India
1964 – Nate McMillan, American basketball head coach (Seattle SuperSonics 2000-05, Portland Trail Blazers 2005-12, Indiana Pacers 2016-19, Atlanta Hawks 2021-23), born in Raleigh, North Carolina
Famous Deaths
1779 – Henry Kobell, Dutch painter and cartoonist, dies at 27
1910 – Nicolas Kinet, Belgian pilot, dies
1954 – Colette [Sidonie-Gabrielle], French author, novelist (Gigi, La Vagabonde) and actress, dies at 81
1978 – Ezzedin Kalak, Palestinian PLO representative in Paris, assassinated at about 42
2013 – Farman Fatehpuri [Syed Dildar Ali], Urdu scholar, linguist, critic and author, dies of natural causes at 87
Famous Deaths for 2nd August 2025
1100 – William II [William Rufus], King of England (1087-1100), killed by an arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrell while hunting in the New Forest at 44
1921 – Enrico Caruso, Italian operatic tenor (Faust), dies of pleurisy at 48
1955 – Rupprecht, last crown prince of Bavaria and German fieldmarshall during WWI, dies at 86
1955 – Alfred Lépine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach, dies at 54
1972 – Helen Hoyt, American poet, known for “Ellis Park”, dies at 85
1974 – W. Douglas Hawkes, British auto racer and designer, dies at 80
1983 – Charles Eyck, Dutch painter and sculptor (Limburg School), dies at 85
1992 – Ephraim Katz, Israeli American writer and filmmaker (The Film Encyclopedia), dies at 60
1995 – Brian Smith, Canadian sportscaster and NHL player, dies at 54 after being shot the previous day
2007 – Holden Roberto, Angolan independence leader, founder of the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), dies at 84
Historical Events for 2nd August 2025
1858 – Government of India transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown
1880 – British Parliament officially adopts Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
1914 – Belgian government receives German ultimatum
1928 – Benito Mussolini signs peace treaty with Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
1991 – Space shuttle STS 43 (Atlantis 9) launched
2018 – Japanese newspaper “Yomiuri Shimbun” reveals Tokyo Medical University has been tampering with female entrance exams to ensure under 30% accepted
2020 – Islamic State stages a jail break at a prison in Afghan city of Jalalabad, placing bombs at its entrance, results in 20 hr gunfight, 29 deaths and over 300 prisoners at large
2022 – US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the first speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, prompting condemnation from the Chinese Communist Party
Today in History for 2nd August 2025
Historical Events
1931 – Referendum in favor of autonomous status for Spanish Catalonia garners 99.5% of the vote; about 75% of eligible voters participate
1943 – Sunderland seaplanes sink U-706 and U-106
1959 – Future Hall of Fame 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits 1st of his 521 MLB home runs in SF Giants 5-3 win v Pittsburgh Pirates
2012 – American swimmer Michael Phelps wins an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal in the 200m individual medley in 1:54.27 at the London Olympics
2018 – Apple becomes the first American publicly listed company to reach $1 trillion in value
Famous Birthdays
1925 – John McCormack, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (d. 2017)
1928 – Malcolm Hilton, English cricket slow left-arm (4 Tests), born in Chadderton, Lancashire (d. 1990)
1948 – Andy Fairweather Low, Welsh session and touring guitarist (Amen Corner; Roger Waters; Eric Clapton; George Harrison), born in Ystrad Mynach, Wales
1949 – James Fallows, American writer and journalist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1972 – Jimmy Pop [James Franks], American rock singer and musician (The Bloodhound Gang – “The Bad Touch”), born in Trappe, Pennsylvania
Famous Deaths
1823 – Lazare Carnot, French politician, engineer and mathematician known as the Organizer of Victory in the French Revolutionary Wars, dies at 70
1922 – Mina Kruseman, Dutch author and feminist, dies at 82
1992 – Michel Berger [Hamburger], French singer-songwriter, and record producer. dies of a heart attack at 44
2003 – Mike Levey, American TV infomercials host, dies of cancer at 55
2020 – Leon Fleisher, American pianist and conductor (Annapolis Symphony 1970-82), dies of cancer at 92
Famous Deaths for 1st August 2025
1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian dies at about 48 {[exact birthdate unknown c.1493]
1667 – Paul Foot, lawyer/historian, dies at 48
1932 – Arnold Fothergill, English cricket fast bowler (2 Tests, 8 wickets. BB 4/19; Somerset CCC, MCC), dies at 77
1944 – Manuel L. Quezon y Molina, Second President of the Philippines (1935-42), dies of tuberculosis at 65
1966 – Earl Rudolph “Bud” Powell, American jazz pianist and composer, dies at 41
1973 – Walter Ulbricht, German politician (Head Of State, German Democratic Republic), dies at 80
1988 – John Dearden, American cardinal (1969-88) and archbishop of Detroit, dies at 80
2012 – Joan Bernard, British army officer in the Auxiliary Territorial Service and founding principal of Trevelyan College (1966-78), dies due to ill-health at 94
2022 – John Hughes, Scottish soccer striker (8 caps; Celtic 255 games), dies from cancer at 79
2024 – Craig Shakespeare, English soccer coach (WBA, Leicester CIty) and midfielder (Walsall 284 games), dies from cancer at 60
Historical Events for 1st August 2025
1954 – South African Natives Resettlement Act comes into effect, empowering the government to remove Africans from any area within and adjacent to the magisterial district of Johannesburg
1968 – Canada begins replacing silver with nickel in its coins
1996 – American athlete Michael Johnson wins 200 m at the Atlanta Olympics in a world record 19.32 seconds to become the first man to complete the 200-400 m double
2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 in Asunción, Paraguay
2010 – US Senior Open Men’s Golf, Sahalee CC: Berhard Langer of Germany wins by three strokes ahead of runner-up Fred Couples
2010 – 200 m x 250 m photo mosaic commemorating the life of Filipino President Corazon Aquino is unveiled near Quirino Grandstand at Luneta Park, Manila
2023 – Former US President Donald Trump is indicted by special counsel Jack Smith on charges of conspiring to defraud the country and prevent the peaceful transfer of power
2023 – South America experiences a winter heatwave, with Vicuña in Chilean Andres reaching 100°F (37.78°C), the warmest day in northern Chile for 72 years